BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1286
Author: Skinner (D), et al.
Amended: 5/8/13 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE GOVERNANCE & FINANCE COMMITTEE : 7-0, 6/26/13
AYES: Wolk, Knight, Beall, DeSaulnier, Emmerson, Hernandez, Liu
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 72-1, 5/16/13 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Personal income tax: contributions: California
Breast Cancer
Research Fund
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill suspends for two years the annual
adjustment of minimum contribution level for the California
Breast Cancer Research Fund tax check-off.
ANALYSIS : Existing law allows taxpayers to contribute to one
or more of 18 voluntary contribution funds, known as VCFs or
check-offs, by checking a box on their state income tax return.
California law requires contributions made through check-offs to
be made from taxpayers' own resources and not from their tax
liability, as is possible on federal tax returns. Check-off
amounts may be claimed as charitable contributions on taxpayers'
tax returns in the subsequent year.
This bill suspends, for the 2014 and 2015 calendar years, the
CONTINUED
AB 1286
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annual adjustment of the minimum contribution amount for the
California Breast Cancer Research Fund tax check off.
Background
The Franchise Tax Board (FTB) designs tax returns to provide for
the designation of contributions to specified funds either on
the return itself or on a separate schedule that must be
attached to the return. With a few exceptions, VCFs remain on
the return until they are either repealed by a sunset date, or
if they fail to meet a minimum contribution amount. Minimum
contribution amounts are adjusted annually for inflation, with
specific exceptions. For most VCFs, the minimum contribution
amount is $250,000, beginning in the fund's second year.
By September 1 of each year, the FTB must determine the minimum
contribution amount required for each fund to remain on the form
for the following calendar year and estimate whether
contributions to each fund meet that amount. If the FTB
estimates that a fund will fail to meet its minimum contribution
amount, that fund is repealed for the following calendar year.
The following check-offs do not have a minimum contribution
requirement:
California Firefighters' Memorial Foundation Fund;
California Peace Officer Memorial Foundation Fund, and
California Seniors Special Fund.
Comments
This bill freezes, for two years, the minimum contribution level
for the tax check off in support of the California Breast Cancer
Research Fund. Established in 1993, this tax check off has
provided more than $8 million for breast cancer research and
grants. The economic downturn has impacted charitable giving,
resulting in reduced donations to the fund and potentially
jeopardizing the fund's ability to meet its minimum contribution
levels in the coming years. This bill temporarily suspends the
annual adjustment of the fund's minimum contribution level and
allows the program to regain its momentum as the economy
improves.
Related Legislation
AB 1286
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AB 247 (Wagner) extends the repeal date from 2015 to 2020 for
the "California Fund for Senior Citizens" tax check-off on the
tax form.
AB 394 (Yamada) extends the repeal date from 2015 to 2020 for
the "California Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders
Research Fund" tax check-off on the tax form.
AB 511 (Pan) creates the "American Red Cross, California
Chapters Fund" check-off on the tax form.
AB 754 (Muratsuchi) creates the "Protect Our Coast and Oceans
Fund: check-off on the tax form.
SB 116 (Liu) extends the repeal date from 2014 to 2019 for the
"Emergency Food Assistance Program" check off on the tax form.
SB 571 (Price) creates the "Art for Kids Fund" check-off on the
tax form.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local:
No
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/28/13)
American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network
Breast Cancer Action
Breast Cancer Fund
California Breast Cancer Organizations
University of California
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 72-1, 5/16/13
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Ammiano, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom,
Blumenfield, Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown,
Buchanan, Ian Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley,
Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox, Frazier,
Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gordon, Gorell, Gray,
Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hernández, Jones, Jones-Sawyer,
Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal, Maienschein, Mansoor,
Medina, Mitchell, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Nestande,
Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez, Quirk,
Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Salas, Skinner, Ting, Torres, Wagner,
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Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams, Yamada, John A.
Pérez
NOES: Chávez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Allen, Grove, Holden, Melendez, Morrell,
Stone, Vacancy
AB:nl 6/28/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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