Bill Text: AZ HB2685 | 2016 | Fifty-second Legislature 2nd Regular | Introduced
Bill Title: Tax credit; early childhood education
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-02-17 - Referred to House RULES Committee [HB2685 Detail]
Download: Arizona-2016-HB2685-Introduced.html
|
REFERENCE TITLE: tax credit; early childhood education |
|
State of Arizona House of Representatives Fifty-second Legislature Second Regular Session 2016
|
|
HB 2685 |
|
|
|
Introduced by Representatives Bolding, Cardenas: Boyer, Livingston, Norgaard, Otondo
|
AN ACT
Amending sections 15-1251 and 43-222, Arizona Revised Statutes; amending title 43, chapter 10, article 5, Arizona Revised Statutes, by adding section 43‑1088.01; amending title 43, chapter 11, article 6, Arizona Revised Statutes, by adding section 43-1182; relating to income tax credits.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section 1. Section 15-1251, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
15-1251. State block grant for early childhood education program; evaluation
A. The state block grant for early childhood education program is established in the state board department of education consisting of monies appropriated by the legislature and contributions received for that purpose pursuant to sections 43‑1088.01 and 43-1182. The purpose of the program is to promote improved pupil achievement by providing flexible supplemental funding for early childhood programs, including preschool programs for economically disadvantaged children, and programs that serve all public school pupils statewide who are in kindergarten programs and grades one, two and three who are three, four and five years of age.
B. Funding for the program for each fiscal year shall be allocated based on the number of pupils in kindergarten programs and grades one, two and three in each charter school or school district who were eligible for free lunches during the prior fiscal year under the national school lunch and child nutrition acts (42 United States Code sections 1751 through 1785) are three, four and five years of age and whose family income does not exceed one hundred thirty-three percent of the federal poverty guidelines established annually by the United States department of health and human services. Any charter school or school district that did not determine for the prior fiscal year if the number of its pupils in kindergarten programs and grades one, two and three were eligible for free lunches under the national school lunch and child nutrition acts who are three, four and five years of age and whose family income does not exceed one hundred thirty-three percent of the federal poverty guidelines shall receive funding for the program in the current fiscal year based on the number of its pupils in kindergarten programs and grades one, two and three who would have been eligible for free lunches in the prior fiscal year according to the statewide kindergarten programs and grades one, two and three who are three, four and five years of age and whose family income does not exceed one hundred thirty-three percent of the federal poverty guidelines in comparison with the same eligibility average for all school districts and charter schools collectively for the prior fiscal year. Notwithstanding this section, a school district or charter school with an average daily membership of more than six hundred pupils in kindergarten programs and grades one, two and three in the prior fiscal year shall have participated in the national school lunch and child nutrition acts free lunches program in the prior fiscal year to be eligible for program funding in the current fiscal year.
C. A school district or charter school that devotes part or all of its program funding to preschool programs shall comply with all of the following requirements:
1. Ensure that program funding only supplements, and does not supplant, the existing program capacity of the school district or charter school.
1. 2. Restrict the preschool program only to preschool children eligible for free or reduced price lunches under the national school lunch and child nutrition acts who are three, four and five years of age and whose family income does not exceed one hundred thirty-three percent of the federal poverty guidelines.
2. 3. Allow participating pupils to receive preschool services only from a public, federally funded or private child care provider, each of which shall be licensed by the department of health services and each of which, beginning in fiscal year 1999‑2000, also shall be accredited by a state board of education approved organization that provides accreditation for preschool programs.
3. 4. Provide all federally funded or private child care providers located within the school district or within ten miles of the charter school with information necessary for them to participate in the program, including names and addresses of children selected for participation and of their parents or guardians.
4. 5. Provide all parents or guardians of children selected for the program with a list of licensed federally funded or private child care providers located within the school district or within ten miles of the charter school and explain to parents or guardians that they may choose to have their child receive services under the program from any provider on the list if that provider agrees to participate.
5. 6. Allow at least fifty per cent percent of pupils selected for the program to receive preschool services from a federally funded or private child care provider of their parent's or guardian's own choosing.
6. 7. Allow any eligible child care provider located within the school district or within ten miles of the charter school to participate in the program if it is willing to provide services at a unit cost similar to that paid to other providers in the area under the program.
7. 8. Limit the use of contracts with federally funded and private child care providers to financial agreements pertaining to numbers of children to be served, hours of service to be provided per child, payment rates and other financial aspects of the program.
8. 9. Limit to five per cent percent the amount of block grant monies that may be used locally for program administration.
9. D. The department of education shall pay the grants to participating federally funded and providers, private child care providers and schools in a timely manner based on necessary information provided by the successful applicants. Grants may not exceed one hundred fifty thousand dollars per year to any single provider or school.
E. Notwithstanding section 15-161, any private provider that receives a block grant for the purposes of this section is subject to oversight by the department of education as necessary to administer and ensure the success and integrity of the block grant program under this section.
F. The department of education shall adopt written policies, procedures and guidelines that are consistent with this section and necessary to implement the state block grant for early childhood education program.
G. The department of education may use up to two percent of the monies received from contributions and appropriations each year to administer the block grant program under this section.
D. H. The legislative council shall conduct a programmatic evaluation of the state block grant for early childhood education program every three years. For this evaluation, the staff of legislative council shall develop outcome measures to indicate the effectiveness of the early childhood education program. The department of education shall assist the staff of legislative council in collecting any information necessary to complete the evaluation.
Sec. 2. Section 43-222, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
43-222. Income tax credit review schedule
The joint legislative income tax credit review committee shall review the following income tax credits:
1. For years ending in 0 and 5, sections 43‑1079.01, 43‑1087, 43‑1088, 43-1089.04, 43‑1167.01 and 43‑1175.
2. For years ending in 1 and 6, sections 43‑1074.02, 43‑1083, 43‑1083.02, 43‑1085.01, 43-1088.01, 43‑1164.02, 43-1164.03, 43-1182 and 43‑1183.
3. For years ending in 2 and 7, sections 43‑1073, 43‑1079, 43‑1080, 43‑1085, 43‑1086, 43‑1089, 43‑1089.01, 43‑1089.02, 43-1089.03, 43‑1090, 43‑1164, 43‑1167, 43‑1169, 43‑1176 and 43‑1181.
4. For years ending in 3 and 8, sections 43‑1074.01, 43‑1081, 43‑1168, 43‑1170 and 43‑1178.
5. For years ending in 4 and 9, sections 43‑1076, 43‑1076.01, 43‑1081.01, 43‑1083.01, 43‑1083.04, 43‑1084, 43‑1162, 43‑1162.01, 43‑1164.01, 43‑1164.05, 43‑1170.01 and 43-1184 and, beginning in 2019, sections 43‑1083.03 and 43‑1164.04.
Sec. 3. Title 43, chapter 10, article 5, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 43-1088.01, to read:
43-1088.01. Credit for contributions to block grant for early childhood education
A. For taxable years beginning from and after December 31, 2015, a credit is allowed against the taxes imposed by this title for voluntary cash contributions by the taxpayer during the taxable year to the department of education for the purposes of the state block grant for early childhood education program as provided by section 15-1251.
B. The amount of the credit is the amount paid by the taxpayer during the taxable year, but not more than:
1. Two hundred dollars for a taxpayer filing as a single individual or a head of household.
2. Four hundred dollars for a married couple filing a joint return.
C. 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.
D. 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.
E. 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 unused amount of the credit forward for not more than five consecutive taxable years.
F. 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.
Sec. 4. Title 43, chapter 11, article 6, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 43-1182, to read:
43-1182. Credit for contributions to block grant for early childhood education
A. For taxable years beginning from and after December 31, 2015, a credit is allowed against the taxes imposed by this title for the amount of voluntary cash contributions by the taxpayer during the taxable year to the department of education for the purposes of the state block grant for early childhood education program as provided by section 15-1251.
B. The department:
1. May not allow tax credits under this section that exceed in the aggregate a total of ten million dollars in any fiscal year.
2. Shall preapprove tax credit amounts under this section.
3. Shall allow the tax credits under this section on a first come, first served basis.
C. For the purposes of subsection B, paragraph 2 of this section, before making a contribution to the department of education, the taxpayer must notify the department of education of the total amount of contributions that the taxpayer intends to make to the department of education. Before accepting the contribution, the department of education shall request preapproval from the department of revenue for the taxpayer's intended contribution amount. The department of revenue shall preapprove or deny the requested amount within twenty days after receiving the request from the department of education. If the department of revenue preapproves the request, the department of education shall immediately notify the taxpayer that the requested amount was preapproved by the department of revenue. In order to receive a tax credit under this section, the taxpayer must make the contribution to the department of education within twenty days after receiving notice from the department of education that the requested amount was preapproved. If the department of education does not receive the preapproved contribution from the taxpayer within the required twenty days, the department of education shall immediately notify the department of revenue, and the department of revenue shall no longer include this preapproved contribution amount when calculating the limit prescribed in subsection B, paragraph 1 of this section.
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 unused amount of the credit forward for not more than five consecutive taxable years.
E. Co-owners of a business, including corporate partners in a partnership and stockholders of an S corporation as defined in section 1361 of the internal revenue code, may each claim only the pro rata share of the credit allowed under this section based on the ownership interest. The total of the credits allowed all such owners may not exceed the amount that would have been allowed a sole owner.
F. 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.
Sec. 5. Purpose
Pursuant to section 43-223, Arizona Revised Statutes, the legislature enacts sections 43-1088.01 and 43-1182, Arizona Revised Statutes, as added by this act, to encourage private taxpayer contributions to fund the state block grant for early childhood education.
Sec. 6. Retroactivity
This act applies retroactively to taxable years beginning from and after December 31, 2015.
