BILL NUMBER: AB 924 ENROLLED
BILL TEXT
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 17, 2015
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY MAY 22, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 29, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 13, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 26, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Cooley
FEBRUARY 26, 2015
An act to add and repeal Article 1 (commencing with Section 18701)
of Chapter 3 of Part 10.2 of Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation
Code, and to amend Section 18969 of the Welfare and Institutions
Code, relating to taxation.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 924, Cooley. Personal income tax: voluntary contributions:
State Children's Trust Fund.
Existing law allows individual taxpayers to contribute amounts in
excess of their personal tax liability for the support of specified
funds or accounts and previously allowed contributions to the State
Children's Trust Fund, which provides funding for child abuse and
neglect prevention and intervention programs.
This bill, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1,
2015, would allow individual taxpayers to contribute amounts in
excess of their tax liability to the State Children's Trust Fund. The
bill would prohibit a voluntary contribution designation for this
fund from being added on the form of the tax return until another
designation is removed or space is available, whichever occurs first.
This bill would require moneys in the State Children's Trust Fund
from the voluntary contributions, upon appropriation by the
Legislature, to be allocated to the Franchise Tax Board and the
Controller for reimbursement of costs, as provided, and the balance
to the State Department of Social Services for specified uses related
to the prevention of child abuse and neglect, as provided.
This bill would provide that these voluntary contribution
provisions are inoperative and repealed on the earlier of the
following: inoperative on January 1 of the 5th taxable year following
the first appearance of the fund on the tax return and repealed on
December 1 of that year or inoperative for taxable years beginning on
or after January 1 of a specified calendar year in which the
Franchise Tax Board estimates by September 1 that the contributions
made on returns filed in that calendar year will be less than
$250,000, or an adjusted amount for subsequent taxable years, and
repealed on December 1 of that calendar year.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Article 1 (commencing with Section 18701) is added to
Chapter 3 of Part 10.2 of Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation
Code, to read:
Article 1. State Children's Trust Fund
18701. (a) An individual may designate on the tax return that a
contribution in excess of the tax liability, if any, be made to the
State Children's Trust Fund established by Section 18969 of the
Welfare and Institutions Code.
(b) The contributions shall be in full dollar amounts and may be
made individually by each signatory on a joint return.
(c) A designation under subdivision (a) shall be made for a
taxable year on the original return for that taxable year, and once
made shall be irrevocable. If payments and credits reported on the
return, together with any other credits associated with the
individual's account, do not exceed the individual's tax liability,
the return shall be treated as though no designation has been made.
(d) If an individual designates a contribution to more than one
account or fund listed on the tax return, and the amount available is
insufficient to satisfy the total amount designated, the
contribution shall be allocated among the designees on a pro rata
basis.
(e) The Franchise Tax Board shall revise the form of the return to
include a space labeled "State Children's Trust Fund for the
Prevention of Child Abuse" to allow for the designation permitted
under subdivision (a). The form shall also include in the
instructions information that the contribution may be in the amount
of one dollar ($1) or more and that the contribution shall be used to
support child abuse prevention programs with demonstrated success,
public education efforts to change adult behaviors and educate
parents, innovative research to identify best practices, and the
replication of those practices to prevent child abuse and neglect.
(f) Notwithstanding any other law, a voluntary contribution
designation for the State Children's Trust Fund shall not be added on
the tax return until another voluntary contribution designation is
removed or space is available, whichever occurs first.
(g) A deduction shall be allowed under Article 6 (commencing with
Section 17201) of Chapter 3 of Part 10 for a contribution made
pursuant to subdivision (a).
18702. 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 18701 to be transferred to the State
Children's Trust Fund, as established by Section 18969 of the Welfare
and Institutions Code. The Controller shall transfer from the
Personal Income Tax Fund to the State Children's Trust Fund an amount
not in excess of the sum of the amounts designated by individuals
pursuant to Section 18701 for payment into that fund.
18703. All money transferred to the State Children's Trust Fund
pursuant to this article, 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) Up to 10 percent of all moneys appropriated pursuant to this
article, to the State Department of Social Services to pursue public
education about child abuse and neglect prevention and early
intervention in order to encourage voluntary contributions to the
State Children's Trust Fund. The State Department of Social Services
may delegate these duties by entering into a contract with a
designated private entity that has demonstrated experience in
education and promotion.
(c) The remainder to the State Department of Social Services for
innovative child abuse and neglect prevention and intervention
programs operated by private nonprofit organizations or public
institutions of higher education with recognized expertise in fields
related to child welfare and for evaluation, research, or
dissemination of information concerning existing program models for
the purpose of replication of successful models as specified in
Article 5 (commencing with Section 18965) of Chapter 11 of Part 6 of
Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
18704. It is the intent of the Legislature that this article
creates an additional source of funding for a specified purpose. The
funds generated by this article shall not be used in place of funds
from other sources that are available to the State Children's Trust
Fund.
18705. (a) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (2) of
subdivision (b), this article shall remain in effect only until
January 1 of the fifth taxable year following the first appearance of
the State Children's Trust Fund on the personal income tax return,
and is repealed as of December 1 of that year.
(b) (1) By September 1 of the second calendar year and each
subsequent calendar year that the State Children's Trust 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) 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 is 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 calendar 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 State Children's Trust Fund on the personal income tax return or
the minimum contribution amount as adjusted pursuant to subdivision
(c).
(c) For each calendar year, beginning with the third calendar year
after the first appearance of the State Children's Trust Fund on the
personal income tax return, the Franchise Tax Board shall adjust, on
or before September 1 of that calendar year, the minimum
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 subparagraph (A) of 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 for all items received on or before
August 1 of the calendar year pursuant to paragraph (1) of
subdivision (h) of Section 17041.
(d) Notwithstanding the repeal of this article, any contribution
amounts designated pursuant to this article prior to its repeal shall
continue to be transferred and disbursed in accordance with this
article as in effect immediately prior to that repeal.
SEC. 2. Section 18969 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
18969. (a) There is hereby created in the State Treasury a fund
which shall be known as the State Children's Trust Fund. The fund
shall consist of funds received from a county pursuant to Section
18968, funds collected by the state and transferred to the fund
pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 103625 of the Health and
Safety Code and Article 1 (commencing with Section 18701) of Chapter
3 of Part 10.2 of Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code,
grants, gifts, or bequests made to the state from private sources to
be used for innovative and distinctive child abuse and neglect
prevention and intervention projects, and money appropriated to the
fund for this purpose by the Legislature. The State Registrar may
retain a percentage of the fees collected pursuant to Section 103625
of the Health and Safety Code, not to exceed 10 percent, in order to
defray the costs of collection.
(b) Money in the State Children's Trust Fund, upon appropriation
by the Legislature, shall be allocated to the State Department of
Social Services for the purpose of funding child abuse and neglect
prevention and intervention programs. The department may not supplant
any federal, state, or county funds with any funds made available
through the State Children's Trust Fund.
(c) The department may establish positions as needed for the
purpose of implementing and administering child abuse and neglect
prevention and intervention programs that are funded by the State
Children's Trust Fund. However, the department shall use no more than
5 percent of the funds appropriated pursuant to this section,
exclusive of the funds transferred to the State Children's Trust Fund
pursuant to Article 1 (commencing with Section 18701) of Chapter 3
of Part 10.2 of Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, for
administrative costs. Administrative costs do not include the moneys
allocated to the department to pursue public education about child
abuse and neglect prevention and early intervention as described in
subdivision (b) of Section 18703 of the Revenue and Taxation Code.
(d) No State Children's Trust Fund money shall be used to supplant
state General Fund money for any purpose.
(e) It is the intent of the Legislature that the State Children's
Trust Fund provide for all of the following:
(1) The development of a public-private partnership by encouraging
consistent outreach to the private foundation and corporate
community.
(2) Funds for large-scale dissemination of information that will
promote public awareness regarding the nature and incidence of child
abuse and the availability of services for intervention. These public
awareness activities shall include, but not be limited to, the
production of public service announcements, well-designed posters,
pamphlets, booklets, videos, and other media tools.
(3) Research and demonstration projects that explore the nature
and incidence and the development of long-term solutions to the
problem of child abuse.
(4) The development of a mechanism to provide ongoing public
awareness through activities that will promote the charitable tax
deduction for the trust fund and seek continued contributions. These
activities may include convening a philanthropic roundtable,
developing literature for use by the State Bar of California for
dissemination, and whatever other activities are deemed necessary and
appropriate to promote the trust fund.