The Personal Income Tax Law allows various credits against the taxes imposed by that law. This bill would, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2016, and before January 1, 2021, allow a credit under the Personal Income Tax Law in an amount equal to 20% of the monetary contributions made to one or more qualified tuition programs, as defined, by a qualified taxpayer, as defined, during the taxable year, not to exceed $500. This bill would include findings and declarations regarding the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation to provide that the credit amount in excess of tax liability is refundable in those years in which an appropriation for that purpose is made by the Legislature. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
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In a fiscal year immediately after a fiscal year in which a transfer is made into the Public School System Stabilization Account, existing law prohibits a school district's adopted or revised budget from containing a combined assigned or unassigned ending fund balance that is in excess of either 2 or 3 times the minimum recommended reserve for economic uncertainties adopted by the State Board of Education, depending on the school district's units of average daily attendance. Existing law authorizes the county superintendent of schools to waive the prohibition, pursuant to specified conditions, for up to 2 consecutive fiscal years within a 3-year period if the school district provides documentation indicating that extraordinary fiscal circumstances substantiate the need for the balance. This bill would repeal those provisions. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law requires the Attorney General to provide a ballot label and a ballot title for each measure to be submitted to the voters at a statewide election. Existing law requires the Attorney General to prepare a summary of the chief purposes and points of each statewide ballot measure as part of the ballot title. Existing law, including provisions of the Political Reform Act of 1974, requires that the ballot pamphlet contain, among other things, the official summary prepared by the Attorney General. This bill would require the Legislative Analyst, instead of the Attorney General, to prepare the ballot label and the ballot title and summary for all measures submitted to the voters of the state. The bill would also make conforming changes. The Political Reform Act of 1974, an initiative measure, provides that the Legislature may amend the act to further the act's purposes upon a 23 vote of each house and compliance with specified procedural requirements. This bill would declare that it furthers the purposes of the act.
The Personal Income Tax Law, in modified conformity with federal income tax laws, allows various deductions in computing the income that is subject to the taxes imposed by that law. This bill, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2015, would allow as a deduction under that law the lesser of (1) the amount contributed by a qualified taxpayer, as defined, to a qualified tuition program, as specified, or (2) $3,000 in the case of a qualified taxpayer who is single or is a married individual filing a separate return, and $6,000 in the case of a qualified taxpayer who is a married individual filing a joint return or an individual filing a head of household return. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law authorize various credits against the taxes imposed by those laws. This bill, under both laws, for taxable years beginning on and after January 1, 2016, and before January 1, 2021, or an earlier date in the event of a specified occurrence, would allow a credit to a taxpayer participating in a lawn replacement rebate program, as defined, in an amount equal to 25% of the costs paid or incurred by the taxpayer to replace conventional lawn on the qualified taxpayer's property during that taxable year, not to exceed $1,500, as specified. The bill would make findings and declarations in this regard. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
Existing law requires motor carriers of property to annually pay a permit fee. Existing law defines a motor carrier of property as a person operating a commercial motor vehicle for specified purposes but excludes pickup trucks from the definition of "commercial motor vehicle" for these purposes. Existing law, except as specified, defines a pickup truck as a motor truck with a manufacturer's gross vehicle weight rating of less than 11,500 pounds, an unladen weight of less than 8,001 pounds, and that is equipped with an open box-type bed not exceeding 9 feet in length. This bill would revise the above definition to define a pickup truck as a motor truck with a manufacturer's gross vehicle weight rating of less than 11,750 pounds.
(1) Existing law states that the theft of a firearm is grand theft, punishable as a felony by imprisonment in the state prison for 16 months, or 2 or 3 years. The Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act, enacted by Proposition 47, as approved by the voters at the November 4, 2014, statewide general election, notwithstanding these provisions, instead requires the theft of property that does not exceed $950 to be considered petty theft, and makes the crime punishable as a misdemeanor, except in cases when the defendant has previously been convicted of one or more specified serious or violent felonies or an offense requiring registration as a sex offender. This bill would make the theft of a firearm grand theft in all cases, punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for 16 months, or 2 or 3 years. (2) Under existing law, every person who buys or receives any property that has been stolen, knowing the property to be stolen, is guilty of a misdemeanor or a felony, except that if the value of the property does not exceed $950, Proposition 47 makes the offense punishable as a misdemeanor if the defendant has not previously been convicted of one or more specified serious or violent felonies or an offense requiring registration as a sex offender. This bill would make buying or receiving a stolen firearm a misdemeanor or a felony. (3) The California Constitution authorizes the Legislature to amend or repeal an initiative statute by another statute that becomes effective when approved by the electors. This bill would provide that it would become effective only upon approval of the voters, and would provide for the submission of this measure to the voters for approval at the next statewide general election.
Existing law, with respect to supplemental property tax assessments, specifies various limitation periods for assessments on the supplemental tax roll. Existing law provides for the application of property tax exemptions to those supplemental assessments provided, among other things, that an assessee file an exemption application within a specified time. Existing property tax law allows taxes, penalties, and interest imposed for late filings of property tax exemption applications for the supplemental roll that exceed $250 in total to be canceled or refunded up to 85% or 90%, as applicable, in the case of the exemption for a college, cemetery, church, religious, exhibition, or veterans' organization. This bill would expand this reduction to be applied to exemptions for public schools, as provided. Existing property tax law provides, with respect to property as to which the college, cemetery, church, religious, exhibition, veterans' organization, free public libraries, free museums, public schools, community colleges, state colleges, state universities, tribal housing, or welfare exemption was available but for which a timely application for exemption was not filed, that 90% of any tax or penalty or interest on that property shall be canceled or refunded if an appropriate application for exemption is filed on or before the lien date in the calendar year next succeeding the calendar year in which the exemption was not claimed by a timely application. Existing property tax law requires, if an appropriate application for exemption is filed within 90 days from the first day of the month following the month in which the property was acquired or by February 15 of the following calendar year, whichever occurs first, any tax or penalty or interest imposed upon property owned by any organization qualified for the college, cemetery, church, religious, exhibition, veterans' organization, tribal housing, or welfare exemption that is acquired by that organization during a given calendar year, after the lien date but before the first day of the fiscal year commencing within that calendar year, if the property is of a kind that would have been qualified for the college, cemetery, church, religious, exhibition, veterans' organization, tribal housing, or welfare exemption if it had been owned by the organization on the lien date, to be canceled or refunded. This bill would add public schools to the list of entities eligible for the cancellation or refund of any tax or penalty or interest imposed on property acquired in a given calendar year after the lien date but before the first day of the fiscal year commencing within that calendar year. The bill also would make conforming changes. By increasing the duties of local officials relative to the administration of taxes, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.
The Personal Income Tax Law allows various deductions in computing income that is subject to tax under that law. This bill, for taxable years on or after January 1, 2016, and before January 1, 2021, would allow a deduction from adjusted gross income, not to exceed $2,500, for the cost of education-related expenses of the taxpayer's dependent child or children attending public or private school, as specified. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
Existing law requires the court to consider and give due weight to the wishes of a child in making an order granting or modifying custody or visitation, if the child is of sufficient age and capacity to form an intelligent preference as to custody or visitation. Existing law also requires the court to permit a child who is 14 years of age or older to address the court regarding custody or visitation, unless the court determines that doing so is not in the child's best interests. This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to those provisions.