Amended  IN  Assembly  March 02, 2017

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2017–2018 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill No. 280

Introduced by Assembly Member Low

February 02, 2017

An act to add Article 24 (commencing with Section 18902) to Chapter 3 of Part 10.2 of Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, relating to taxation. taxation, and making an appropriation therefor.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 280, as amended, Low. Personal income taxes: voluntary contributions: Rape Kit Back Log Voluntary Tax Contribution Fund.
Existing law authorizes taxpayers an individual to contribute amounts in excess of their his or her personal income tax liability for the support of specified funds. Existing law also has general administrative provisions applicable to voluntary contributions. Existing
Under existing law, there are general administrative provisions applicable to these voluntary contributions, which, among other things, specify when a voluntary contribution is to be placed on the return, provide for the disbursement of contributions following repeal of the fund provisions, and require undesignated funds to be transferred to the General Fund.
Existing law requires any new or extended voluntary contribution that takes effect on or after January 2, 2017, to include the words “voluntary tax contribution” in the name of the fund, to require the administering agency, as defined, agency to include specified information about the fund on its Internet Web site, to continuously appropriate from the fund the contributions made to the administering agency, and to set a minimum contribution amount for the continuation of any voluntary tax contribution on the tax return form and a generally applicable repeal date for a voluntary tax contribution. Existing law authorizes the Franchise Tax Board to add one or more voluntary contribution designations if the Franchise Tax Board determines that space is available on the tax return to accommodate the additional voluntary contribution designation.
Existing law establishes the state’s DNA Identification Fund in the State Treasury, which is administered by the Department of Justice. Subject to appropriation by the Legislature, existing law requires these funds to be used by the Attorney General to support DNA testing and to offset impacts of increased testing, as specified.
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 Rape Kit Back Log Voluntary Tax Contribution Fund, which would be created by this bill. The bill would conform with those aforementioned administrative requirements by continuously appropriating those funds to the Franchise Tax Board and the Controller for administrative costs and to the administrating agency to process costs. The bill would require remaining funds in the Rape Kit Back Log Voluntary Tax Contribution Fund to be transferred to the DNA Identification Fund to be used for DNA testing in the processing of rape kits, kits. The bill would also conform by repealing the provisions as of December 1 of the year that the minimum contribution amount if of $250,000 is not met or by the specified repeal date, and date and requiring the administrating agency Department of Justice to post on its Internet Web site specified reporting requirements. information. By continuously appropriating these funds, the bill would make an appropriation.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: YES   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

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


SECTION 1.

 Article 24 (commencing with Section 18902) is added to Chapter 3 of Part 10.2 of Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, to read:
Article  24. Rape Kit Back Log Voluntary Tax Contribution Fund

18902.
 (a) An individual may designate on the tax return that a contribution in excess of the tax liability, if any, be made to the Rape Kit Back Log Voluntary Tax Contribution Fund, which is established by Section 18902. That designation is to be used as a voluntary contribution 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 initial 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.
(d) The Franchise Tax Board shall revise the form of the return to include a space labeled the “Rape Kit Back Log Voluntary Tax Contribution Fund” to allow for the designation permitted. 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 for DNA testing in the processing of rape kits.
(e) 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).

18903.
 There is hereby established in the State Treasury the Rape Kit Back Log Voluntary Tax Contribution Fund to receive contributions made pursuant to Section 18902. 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 18902 to be transferred to the Rape Kit Back Log Voluntary Tax Contribution Fund. The Controller shall transfer from the Personal Income Tax Fund to the Rape Kit Back Log Voluntary Tax Contribution Fund an amount not in excess of the sum of the amounts designated by individuals pursuant to Section 18902 for payment into that fund.

18904.
 All (a) Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code, moneys transferred to the Rape Kit Back Log Voluntary Tax Contribution Fund shall be continuously appropriated as follows:
(a)To 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) (1) To the ____ to disburse moneys for distribution of grantsto ____. After the transfer described in subdivision (a), any remaining moneys in the Rape Kit Back Log Voluntary Tax Contribution Fund shall be transferred to the DNA Identification Fund described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 76104.6 of the Government Code. Funds shall be allocated for direct services provided by the ____ and may not be used for the department’s Department of Justice’s administrative costs.
(2) The ____ Department of Justice shall report on its Internet Web site the process for awarding money, the amount of money spent on administration, and an itemization of how program funds were awarded, including, but not limited to, information regarding recipients of funds. comply with subdivision (b) of Section 18873.

18905.
 It is the intent of the Legislature that this article create an additional funding source for processing rape kits and shall be used to supplement, not supplant, other funding sources for this program.

18906.
 (a) Except as otherwise provided in subdivision (b), this article shall remain in effect only until January 1 of the fifth seventh taxable year following the first appearance of the Rape Kit Back Log Voluntary Tax Contribution 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 Rape Kit Back Log Voluntary Tax Contribution Fund appears on the tax return, the Franchise Tax Board shall determine whether the amount of contributions estimated to be received during the calendar year will equal or exceed the minimum contribution amount for the calendar year. 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 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) pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 18873.