Bill Text: AZ HB2600 | 2015 | Fifty-second Legislature 1st Regular | Introduced
Bill Title: Public school tax credit reallocation
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 13-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-02-11 - Referred to House WM Committee [HB2600 Detail]
Download: Arizona-2015-HB2600-Introduced.html
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REFERENCE TITLE: public school tax credit reallocation |
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State of Arizona House of Representatives Fifty-second Legislature First Regular Session 2015
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HB 2600 |
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Introduced by Representatives Friese, Andrade, Cardenas, Mach, Steele, Velasquez: Benally, Fernandez, Gabaldón, McCune Davis, Otondo, Saldate, Wheeler
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AN ACT
Amending title 15, chapter 2, article 2, Arizona Revised Statutes, by adding section 15-237.02; amending section 43-1089.01, Arizona Revised Statutes; relating to the public schools tax credit.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section 1. Title 15, chapter 2, article 2, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 15-237.02, to read:
15-237.02. Public school needs fund; applications; selection criteria; ranking
A. The public school needs fund is established consisting of monies transferred pursuant to section 43-1089.01, subsection F. The department of education shall receive, hold, pay and manage the monies in the fund in trust for the support of extracurricular activities or character education programs of public schools as provided by section 43-1089.01. Monies in the fund are continuously appropriated.
B. The department shall:
1. Develop application forms and procedures and selection criteria for school districts and charter schools to apply for distributions of monies from the fund.
2. Rate and numerically rank the applications based on the financial need of the school district or charter school, the total amount of public school tax credit donations received from taxpayers by the school district or charter school in the immediately preceding year and the quality of the request.
C. If the amount of monies requested by school districts and charter schools under this section exceeds the amount of monies available for distribution in the fund, the department shall rank the applications according to the application criteria and award monies to projects in rank order until the monies are exhausted.
Sec. 2. Section 43-1089.01, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
43-1089.01. Tax credit; public school fees and contributions; definitions
A. A credit is allowed against the taxes imposed by this title for the amount of any fees or cash contributions by a taxpayer or on the taxpayer's behalf pursuant to section 43‑401, subsection G during the taxable year to a public school located in this state for the support of extracurricular activities or character education programs of the public school, but not exceeding:
1. Two Five hundred dollars for a single individual or a head of household.
2. Three hundred dollars in taxable year 2005 for a married couple filing a joint return.
3. Four hundred dollars in taxable year 2006 and any subsequent through taxable year 2015 for a married couple filing a joint return.
4. One thousand dollars in taxable year 2016 and any subsequent taxable year for a married couple filing a joint return.
B. A husband and wife who file separate returns for a taxable year in which they could have filed a joint return may each claim only one‑half of the tax credit that would have been allowed for a joint return.
C. The credit allowed by this section is in lieu of any deduction pursuant to section 170 of the internal revenue code and taken for state tax purposes.
D. If the allowable tax credit exceeds the taxes otherwise due under this title on the claimant's income, or if there are no taxes due under this title, the taxpayer may carry the amount of the claim not used to offset the taxes under this title forward for not more than five consecutive taxable years' income tax liability.
E. The site council of the public school that receives contributions that are not designated for a specific purpose shall determine how the contributions are used at the school site. If a charter school does not have a site council, the principal, director or chief administrator of the charter school shall determine how the contributions that are not designated for a specific purpose are used at the school site. If at the end of a fiscal year a public school has unspent contributions that were previously designated for a specific purpose or program and that purpose or program has been discontinued or has not been used for two consecutive fiscal years, these contributions shall be considered undesignated in the following fiscal year for the purposes of this subsection.
F. A public school that receives fees or cash contributions that qualify for the credit under this section shall retain for its designated purposes the first two hundred fifty thousand dollars it receives each year. Of any additional monies it receives the public school shall:
1. Surrender and transfer twenty-five percent to the public school needs fund established by section 15-237.02.
2. Retain for its designated purposes the remainder of the monies the school receives each year.
F. G. A public school that receives fees or a cash contribution pursuant to subsection A of this section shall report to the department, in a form prescribed by the department, by February 28 of each year the following information:
1. The total number of fee and cash contribution payments received during the previous calendar year.
2. The total dollar amount of fees and contributions received during the previous calendar year.
3. The total dollar amount of fees and contributions spent by the school during the previous calendar year, categorized by specific extracurricular activity or character education program.
H. For the purposes of this section, a contribution for which a credit is claimed and that is made on or before the fifteenth day of the fourth month following the close of the taxable year may be applied to either the current or preceding taxable year and is considered to have been made on the last day of that taxable year.
G. I. For the purposes of this section:
1. "Character education programs" means a program described in section 15‑719.
2. "Extracurricular activities" means school-sponsored activities that require enrolled students to pay a fee in order to participate, including fees for:
(a) Band uniforms.
(b) Equipment or uniforms for varsity athletic activities.
(c) Scientific laboratory materials.
(d) In‑state or out‑of‑state trips that are solely for competitive events. Extracurricular activities do not include any senior trips or events that are recreational, amusement or tourist activities.
3. "Public school" means a school that is part of a school district, a joint technical education district or a charter school.
