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, including miscellaneous itemized deductions that are allowed only to the extent that the aggregate amount of those deductions exceed 2% of adjusted gross income. This bill, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2018, and before January 1, 2023, would allow a deduction, not to exceed $100, under that law for the qualified costs paid or incurred by a taxpayer for the adoption of a qualified pet, as defined, from a qualified animal rescue organization. The bill would make these provisions operative on the effective date of any budget measure that specifically appropriates funds to the Franchise Tax Board for its costs of administering these provisions. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
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Existing law, the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) , an initiative measure enacted by the voters as Proposition 63 at the November 2, 2004, statewide general election, establishes the continuously appropriated Mental Health Services Fund to fund various county mental health programs. Existing law requires the State Department of Health Care Services to, among other things, implement specified mental health services through contracts with county mental health programs or counties acting jointly. Existing law requires the department to conduct program reviews of performance contracts to determine compliance, as specified. If a county mental health program is not in compliance with its performance contract, existing law authorizes the department to request a plan of correction with a specific timeline to achieve improvements. Existing law establishes the Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission to oversee various parts of the act, as specified. Existing law authorizes the commission to, among other things, obtain data and information from specified entities to utilize in its oversight, review, training and technical assistance, accountability, and evaluation capacity regarding projects and programs supported with MHSA funds. Existing law requires each county mental health program to prepare and submit a 3-year program and expenditure plan, and annual updates, as specified, to the commission and the department within 30 days after adoption. Existing law authorizes the commission, if it identifies a critical issue related to the performance of a county mental health program, to refer the issue to the State Department of Health Care Services. Existing law authorizes the department to withhold mental health funding, upon a determination of noncompliance by the county, as specified, or if a county does not submit a specified annual revenue and expenditure report by the required deadline. Existing law requires that funds be reserved for administrative costs, not to exceed 5% of the total of annual revenues received for the Mental Health Services Fund, for the department and the commission, among other specified entities, to implement duties pursuant to programs under the act, as specified. Existing law requires that those funds be subject to appropriation in the annual Budget Act. This bill would establish the Mental Health Services Fund Transparency and Accountability Office within the California Health and Human Services Agency, as specified. The bill would transfer various functions of the State Department of Health Care Services under the act to the office. Under this bill, the office would succeed to, and be vested with, all the duties, powers, responsibilities, and jurisdiction, vested in the department, regarding oversight of the Mental Health Services Fund, as specified. The bill would also require the office to assume certain duties, including, among others, initiating investigations, advising counties, conducting research, and reporting to the Legislature, by December 31, 2019, of any additional authority it deems necessary to complete its duties and to ensure county compliance with the act, as specified. The bill would make conforming changes to other provisions to reflect the transfer of those mental health responsibilities. Existing law authorizes the act to be amended by a 23 vote of the Legislature if the amendments are consistent with, and further the intent of, the act. Existing law authorizes the Legislature to add provisions to clarify procedures and terms of the act by majority vote. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations relating to mental health services in California and stating that the provisions of this bill are consistent with, and further the intent of, the act. By amending the provisions of the act, this bill would require a 23 vote of the Legislature.
The State Housing Law requires the housing or building department or, if there is no building department, the health department, of every city or county or a specified environmental agency to enforce within its jurisdiction all of the State Housing Law, the building standards published in the California Building Standards Code, and other specified rules and regulations. If there is a violation of these provisions or any order or notice that gives a reasonable time to correct that violation, or if a nuisance exists, an enforcement agency is required, after 30 days' notice to abate the nuisance, to institute appropriate action or proceeding to prevent, restrain, correct, or abate the violation or nuisance. This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to these provisions.
Existing law establishes the Assumption Program of Loans for Education, administered by the Student Aid Commission, under which any person enrolled in an eligible institution of postsecondary education, as defined, or any person who agrees to participate in a teacher trainee or teacher internship program, is eligible to enter into an agreement for loan assumption, to be redeemed pursuant to a prescribed procedure upon becoming employed as a teacher in an eligible school, as defined, if he or she satisfies certain conditions. This bill would express the intent of the Legislature to restore the funding for the Assumption Program of Loans for Education to its 2011–12 fiscal year level. The bill would require the commission to award 7,200 new warrants for the assumption of loans under the program in the 2017–18 fiscal year. The bill would appropriate $5,000,000 from the General Fund to the commission for the funding of warrants for the assumption of loans under the program for the 2017–18 fiscal year. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of, an environmental impact report on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment. This bill would exempt from the provisions of CEQA a project, or the issuance of a permit for a project, that consists of the inspection, maintenance, repair, rehabilitation, replacement, or removal of, or the addition of an auxiliary lane or bikeway to, existing transportation infrastructure and that meets certain requirements. The bill would require the public agency carrying out the project to take certain actions.
The Personal Income Tax Law allows various credits against the taxes imposed by that law, including certain credits that are allowed in modified conformity to credits allowed by federal income tax laws. Federal income tax laws allow a refundable earned income tax credit for certain low-income individuals who have earned income from specified sources and who meet certain other requirements. The Personal Income Tax Law, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2015, in modified conformity with federal income tax laws, allows an earned income credit against personal income tax, and a payment from the Tax Relief and Refund Account for an allowable credit in excess of tax liability, to an eligible individual in an amount determined in accordance with federal law as applicable for federal income tax purposes for the taxable year, multiplied by the earned income tax credit adjustment factor, as specified. Existing law creates the Tax Relief and Refund Account, which is continuously appropriated, and provides that required payments to be made to taxpayers or other persons from the Personal Income Tax Fund are to be paid from that account, including amounts allowable as an earned income credit in excess of any tax liability. The Personal Income Tax Law provides that the amount of the credit is calculated as a percentage of the eligible individual's earned income and is phased out above a specified amount as income increases. This bill, for specified taxable years beginning on and after January 1, 2017, would increase the earned income threshold for which the phaseout begins, thereby increasing the amount of eligible taxpayers and the credit percentage for those eligible individuals for those taxable years beginning on and after January 1, 2017. The bill would suspend this increase under specified circumstances. By increasing the allowable credit amount, this bill would authorize new payments from the Tax Relief and Refund Account for additional amounts in excess of personal income tax liabilities, thereby making an appropriation.
The Personal Income Tax Law allows various credits against the taxes imposed by that law, including certain credits that are allowed in modified conformity to credits allowed by federal income tax laws. Federal income tax laws allow a refundable earned income tax credit for certain low-income individuals who have earned income from wages, salaries, tips, and other employee compensation plus net earnings from self-employment and who meet certain other requirements. The Personal Income Tax Law, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2015, in modified conformity with federal income tax laws, allows an earned income credit against personal income tax, which is only for earned income from wages, salaries, tips, and other employee compensation, and a payment in excess of that credit amount, to an eligible individual that is equal to that portion of the earned income tax credit allowed by federal law as determined by the earned income tax credit adjustment factor as set forth in the annual Budget Act which, unless otherwise specified in that act, is 0%. This bill, for taxable years beginning on and after January 1, 2017, would expand the earned income credit allowed by the Personal Income Tax Law by providing additional conformity with federal income tax law to include specified net earnings from self-employment in earned income, thus allowing an earned income credit for taxpayers for those earnings. This bill would additionally set the earned income tax credit adjustment factor as 85%. Existing law establishes the continuously appropriated Tax Relief and Refund Account and provides that payments required to be made to taxpayers or other persons from the Personal Income Tax Fund are to be paid from that account, including any amount allowable as an earned income credit in excess of any tax liabilities. By authorizing new payments from that account for additional amounts in excess of personal income tax liabilities, this bill would make an appropriation. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
The California Constitution generally limits ad valorem taxes on real property to 1% of the full cash value of that property. For purposes of this limitation, "full cash value" is defined as the assessor's valuation of real property as shown on the 1975–76 tax bill under "full cash value" or, thereafter, the appraised value of that real property when purchased, newly constructed, or a change in ownership has occurred. The California Constitution authorizes the Legislature to provide that a severely disabled person and a person over 55 years of age may transfer the base year value, as defined, of property that is eligible for the homeowner's property tax exemption to a replacement dwelling that is of equal or lesser value located within the same county as the property from which the base year value is transferred, and, if a county ordinance so providing has been adopted, to a replacement dwelling that is located in a different county. This measure, on and after January 1, 2019, would instead allow the base year value of property eligible for the homeowner's exemption of any person aged 55 years or older or who is severely disabled to be transferred to any replacement dwelling, regardless of its value or whether it is located within the same county. The measure, on and after January 1, 2019, would also allow for such a transfer of base year value of property eligible for the homeowner's exemption of any person younger than 55 years of age, but only one such transfer while that person is younger than 55 years of age.
This measure would recognize August 6, 2017, as the 52nd anniversary of the signing of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965.
This measure would proclaim the period of October 23, 2017, to October 31, 2017, inclusive, as Red Ribbon Week and would encourage all Californians to help build drug-free communities and to participate in drug prevention activities.