BILL NUMBER: AB 1329 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 5, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Patterson
( Coauthor: Assembly Member
Chávez Coauthors: Assembly Members
Chávez and Steinorth )
FEBRUARY 27, 2015
An act to add Section 17053.1 to the Revenue and Taxation Code,
relating to taxation, to take effect immediately, tax levy.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1329, as amended, Patterson. Personal Income Tax Law: credit:
fuel management activities.
The Personal Income Tax Law allows various credits against the
taxes imposed by that law.
This bill, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1,
2016, would allow a credit under that law in an amount equal to
25% of the amounts the qualified costs, as
defined, paid or incurred by a qualified taxpayer, not to
exceed a specified amount, during the taxable year for fuel
management activities, as defined, performed on qualified real
property owned by the qualified taxpayer.
This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 17053.1 is added to the Revenue and Taxation
Code, to read:
17053.1. (a) For taxable years beginning on or after January 1,
2016, there shall be allowed a credit against the "net tax," as
defined by Section 17039, in an amount equal to 25 percent
of the amounts the qualified costs paid or
incurred by a qualified taxpayer during the taxable year for fuel
management activities performed on qualified real property, subject
to subdivision (c).
(b) For the purposes of this section, the following definitions
shall apply:
(1) "Defensible space" means the area adjacent to a structure or
dwelling where wildfire prevention or protection practices are
implemented to provide defense from an approaching wildfire or to
minimize the spread of a structure fire to wildlands or surrounding
areas.
(2) "Fuel management activities" means the creation of a
defensible space around structures, the establishment of fuel breaks,
the thinning of woody vegetation for the primary purpose of reducing
risk to structures from wildfire, or the secondary treatment of
woody fuel by looping, scattering, piling, chipping, removing from
the site, or prescribed burning, provided these activities meet or
exceed the requirements of the 2015 California Forest Practice Rules.
(3) "Hazardous fire area" has the same meaning as that term is
defined in Section 4251 of the Public Resources Code.
(4) "Licensed contractor" means a contractor licensed under the
Contractors' State License Law (Chapter 9 (commencing with Section
7000) of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code) with a
license that relates to the duties necessary to provide fuel
management activities.
(5) "Professional forester" means a person licensed under the
Professional Foresters Law (Article 3 (commencing with Section 750)
of Chapter 2.5 of Division 1 of the Public Resources Code).
(6) "Qualified costs" means 25 percent of the costs paid or
incurred by a qualified taxpayer for labor or services performed for
fuel management activities by a licensed contractor or professional
forester, which costs are evidenced by records and documents,
including, but not limited to, a written certification.
(4)
(7) "Qualified real property" means real property that
is located within a hazardous fire area or a very high fire hazard
severity zone in this state.
(5)
(8) "Qualified taxpayer" means a taxpayer who owns
qualified real property. A taxpayer who owns a share of qualified
real property may be allowed a share of the credit based on the
taxpayer's share of the qualified costs.
(6)
(9) "Wildfire" means an unplanned, unwanted wildland
fire, including unauthorized human-caused fires, escaped wildland
fire use events, escaped prescribed fire projects, and all other
wildland fires where the objective is to extinguish the fire.
(7)
(10) "Very high fire hazard severity zone" has the same
meaning as that term is defined in subdivision (i) of Section 51177
of the Government Code.
(11) "Written certification" means a written evaluation by the
State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection or local fire department
that certifies the establishment of defensible space, provided that
the certification shall be obtained within 30 days after completion
of the work establishing the defensible space. The qualified taxpayer
shall retain a copy of the certification and provide it to the
Franchise Tax Board upon request.
(c) The amount of the credit allowed by this section shall not
exceed the lesser of two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) per
qualified taxpayer per taxable year or 50 percent of a qualified
taxpayer's total tax liability for that year
the previous taxable year .
(d) A deduction shall not be allowed under this part for any
amount paid or incurred for which a credit is allowed by this
section.
(e) The Franchise Tax Board shall establish a procedure to verify
that the amount was paid or incurred by the qualified taxpayer for
fuel management activities on qualified property.
(f) It is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation to
comply with the requirements of Section 41.
(g) If the credit allowed by this section exceeds the "net tax,"
the excess may be carried over to reduce the "net tax" in the
following year, and the succeeding six years, if necessary, until the
credit is exhausted.
SEC. 2. This act provides for a tax levy within the meaning of
Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate effect.