Bill Text: CA AB1031 | 2017-2018 | Regular Session | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Personal income taxes: voluntary contributions: Rare and Endangered Species Preservation Program: Native California Wildlife Rehabilitation Voluntary Tax Contribution Fund.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-3)

Status: (Passed) 2017-10-05 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 504, Statutes of 2017. [AB1031 Detail]

Download: California-2017-AB1031-Introduced.html

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CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2017–2018 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 1031

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Introduced by Assembly Member Waldron

February 16, 2017

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An act to add and repeal Article 5.2 (commencing with Section 18749) of Chapter 3 of Part 10.2 of Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, relating to taxation.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 1031, as introduced, Waldron. Personal income taxes: voluntary contributions: Native California Wildlife Rehabilitation Fund.

Existing law allows an individual taxpayer to contribute amounts in excess of his or her personal income tax liability for the support of specified funds.

This bill would allow an individual to designate on his or her tax return that a specified amount in excess of his or her tax liability be transferred to the Native California Wildlife Rehabilitation Fund, which would be created by this bill. The bill would require the Franchise Tax Board to revise the tax return form to include a space for the designation of contributions to the fund when another voluntary designation is removed from the form or there is space, whichever occurs first.

This bill would require money contributed to the fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to be allocated to the Franchise Tax Board and the Controller for reimbursement of costs, as provided, and to the Department of Fish and Wildlife to establish a competitive grant program to award grants to nonprofit organizations for the recovery and rehabilitation of injured, sick, or orphaned wildlife and for conservation education.

The bill would provide that these provisions would remain in effect only until January 1 of the 5th taxable year following the first appearance of the Native California Wildlife Rehabilitation Fund on the tax return, or January 1, 2024, whichever occurs first, but would further provide for an earlier repeal if the Franchise Tax Board determines that the amount of contributions estimated to be received during a calendar year will not at least equal the minimum contribution amount, as defined, for that calendar year, in which case these provisions would be repealed on December 1 of that year.

Digest Key

Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

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Bill Text

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

 Article 5.2 (commencing with Section 18749) is added to Chapter 3 of Part 10.2 of Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, to read:

Article  5.2. Native California Wildlife Rehabilitation Fund

18749.

 (a) An individual may designate on the tax return that a contribution in excess of the tax liability, if any, be made to the Native California Wildlife Rehabilitation Fund, established by Section 18749.1. That designation is to be used as a voluntary checkoff on the tax return.

(b) The contributions shall be in full dollar amounts and may be made individually by each signatory on a joint return.

(c) A designation shall be made for any taxable year on the original return for that taxable year, and once made is irrevocable. If payments and credits reported on the return, together with any other credits associated with the taxpayer’s account, do not exceed the taxpayer’s liability, the return shall be treated as though no designation has been made. If no designee is specified, the contribution shall be transferred to the General Fund, after reimbursement of the direct actual costs of the Franchise Tax Board for the collection and administration of funds under this article.

(d) If an individual designates a contribution to more than one account or fund listed on the tax return, and the amount available for designation is insufficient to satisfy the total amount designated, the contribution shall be allocated among the designees on a pro rata basis.

(e) When another voluntary contribution designation is removed from the tax return, or as soon as space is available, whichever occurs first, the Franchise Tax Board shall revise the form of the tax return to include a space labeled the “Native California Wildlife Rehabilitation Fund” to allow for the designation provided. The form shall include in the instruction information that the contribution may be in the amount of one dollar ($1) or more and that the contribution shall be used to support any of the following activities:

(1) Recovery and rehabilitation of injured, sick, or orphaned wildlife.

(2) Conservation education.

(f) A deduction shall be allowed under Article 6 (commencing with Section 17201) of Chapter 3 of Part 10 for any contribution made pursuant to subdivision (a).

18749.1.

 There is in the State Treasury the Native California Wildlife Rehabilitation Fund to receive contributions made pursuant to Section 18749. The Franchise Tax Board shall notify the Controller of both the amount of money paid by taxpayers in excess of their tax liability and the amount of refund money that taxpayers have designated pursuant to Section 18749 to be transferred to the Native California Wildlife Rehabilitation Fund. The Controller shall transfer from the Personal Income Tax Fund to the Native California Wildlife Rehabilitation Fund an amount not in excess of the sum of the amounts designated by individuals pursuant to Section 18749 for payment into that fund.

18749.2.

 All money transferred to the Native California Wildlife Rehabilitation Fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, shall be allocated as follows:

(a) To the Franchise Tax Board and the Controller for reimbursement of all costs incurred by the Franchise Tax Board and the Controller in connection with their duties under this article.

(b) The revenues remaining, after allocation pursuant to subdivision (a), to the Department of Fish and Wildlife for the establishment of a competitive grant program to award grants to nonprofit organizations to conduct any of the following activities:

(1) Recovery and rehabilitation of injured, sick, or orphaned wildlife.

(2) Conservation education.

18749.3.

 (a) Except as otherwise provided in subdivision (b), this article shall remain operative only until January 1 of the fifth taxable year following the first appearance of the Native California Wildlife Rehabilitation Fund on the tax return, or January 1, 2024, whichever occurs first, and is repealed as of December 1 of that year.

(b) (1) By September 1 of the second calendar year and by September 1 of each subsequent calendar year that the Native California Wildlife Rehabilitation Fund appears on the tax return, the Franchise Tax Board shall do all of the following:

(A) Determine the minimum contribution amount required to be received during the next calendar year for the fund to appear on the tax return for the taxable year that includes that next calendar year.

(B) Provide written notification to the Department of Fish and Wildlife of the amount determined in subparagraph (A).

(C) Determine whether the amount of contributions estimated to be received during the calendar year will equal or exceed the minimum contribution amount determined by the Franchise Tax Board for the calendar year pursuant to subparagraph (A). The Franchise Tax Board shall estimate the amount of contributions to be received by using the actual amounts received and an estimate of the contributions that will be received by the end of that calendar year.

(2) If the Franchise Tax Board determines that the amount of the contributions estimated to be received during a calendar year will not at least equal the minimum contribution amount for the calendar year, this article shall be inoperative with respect to taxable years beginning on or after January 1 of that calendar year and shall be repealed on December 1 of that year.

(3) For purposes of this section, the minimum contribution amount for a calendar year means two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) for the second calendar year after the first appearance of the Native California Wildlife Rehabilitation Fund on the personal income tax return or the adjusted minimum contribution amount adjusted pursuant to subdivision (c).

(c) For each calendar year, beginning with the third calendar year after the first appearance of the Native California Wildlife Rehabilitation Fund on the tax return, the Franchise Tax Board shall adjust, on or before September 1 of that calendar year, the minimum estimated contribution amount specified in subdivision (b) as follows:

(1) The minimum contribution amount for the calendar year shall be an amount equal to the product of the minimum contribution amount for the prior calendar year, multiplied by the inflation factor adjustment as specified in paragraph (2) of subdivision (h) of Section 17041, rounded off to the nearest dollar.

(2) The inflation factor adjustment used for the calendar year shall be based on the figures for the percentage change in the California Consumer Price Index received on or before August 1 of the calendar year pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (h) of Section 17041.