One-time stimulus and grant payments: garnishment: exclusion from gross income.

Existing law requires the Controller to make a one-time Golden State Stimulus payment to each qualified recipient, as defined, of an applicable amount, as specified, and authorizes the Controller to make the payment in a form and manner determined by the Franchise Tax Board, as specified. Existing law also requires the State Department of Social Services to make a one-time grant payment (Golden State Grant payment) to qualified grant recipients, as defined, of $600, as specified. This bill would, except as provided, make both payments automatically exempt from a garnishment order, as defined, and would require a financial institution to employ a certain procedure to identify a deposit exempt pursuant to that provision. The bill would prohibit a financial institution that attempts to comply with those provisions in good faith from being subject to liability, as specified. The bill would also further clarify the definition of "qualified recipient" for purposes of the Golden State Stimulus payment and a "grant recipient" eligible to receive a Golden State Grant payment. The Personal Income Tax Law imposes a tax on individual taxpayers measured by the taxpayer's taxable income for the taxable year, but, in modified conformity with federal income tax laws, allows various exclusions from gross income. Existing law requires a bill authorizing a new tax expenditure, defined to include exclusions from income, to contain, among other things, specific goals, purposes, and objectives that the tax expenditure will achieve, detailed performance indicators, and data collection requirements. This bill would exclude the Golden State Grant payment from gross income for personal income tax purposes. The bill would also include additional information required for any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure. The bill would appropriate $100,000 from the General Fund to augment Schedule (1) of Item 7730-001-0001 of the 2020 Budget Act for the Franchise Tax Board to be allocated to existing California Earned Income Tax Credit outreach contracts to provide increased awareness of the Golden State Stimulus and would exempt, for the purpose of providing timely distribution of funds for Golden State Stimulus awareness, the Franchise Tax Board and its administrative partner, the Department of Community Services and Development, from all provisions of state contracting law governing the amendment of contracts. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as a bill providing for appropriations related to the Budget Bill.