Existing law imposes various taxes that are administered by the Franchise Tax Board, the State Board of Equalization, and the Employment Development Department. This bill would require the Franchise Tax Board, the State Board of Equalization, and the Employment Development Department to collaborate and focus the agencies' current and future information technology efforts to conduct a feasibility study on the development of a single Internet Web site portal that virtually consolidates the agencies to enable online, self-service access to the agencies, as provided. This bill would also require these agencies, upon a joint determination by the agencies that a need exists to improve cost-effective services to taxpayers and an appropriation by the Legislature, to consolidate forms, applications, and other documents to reduce or eliminate the number of multiple submissions of the same information by taxpayers.
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Existing law requires that a vote by mail ballot be received by the issuing elections official or the precinct board no later than the close of polls on election day. This bill would make an exception for military or overseas voters, as defined, and would instead require that their vote by mail ballots be postmarked by the United States Postal Service or the Military Postal Service Agency on or before election day and received by their elections officials no later than 3 days after election day. Because the bill would impose additional duties on local elections officials, it 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 California Constitution requires the Governor, within the first 10 days of each calendar year, to submit to the Legislature a budget for the ensuing fiscal year containing itemized statements for recommended state expenditures and estimated state revenues. Existing law requires the Director of Finance to provide to the Legislature, on or before May 14 of each year, specified information, including an estimate of General Fund revenues for the current fiscal year and for the ensuing fiscal year. This bill would require the Director of Finance to calculate any increase between the General Fund revenue estimate for the 2013–14 fiscal year in the Governor's Budget Summary 2014–15 and the estimate of General Fund revenue for the 2013–14 fiscal year submitted by the Director of Finance on or before May 14, 2014. The bill would require the Director of Finance to calculate any increase between the General Fund revenue estimate in the budget for the 2014–15 fiscal year submitted by the Governor and the estimate of General Fund revenues for the 2014–15 fiscal year submitted by the Director of Finance on or before May 14, 2014. The bill would prohibit General Fund appropriations other than those made by this bill for the 2013–14 and 2014–15 fiscal years from exceeding the amount of General Fund revenues in the budget approved for the 2013–14 fiscal year and, for the 2014–15 fiscal year, in the budget submitted by the Governor. The bill would appropriate the amount of any increase in General Fund revenues calculated by the Director of Finance necessary to meet the state's minimum funding obligation pursuant to Section 8 of Article XVI of the California Constitution to the Controller for apportionment to school districts and community college districts. If any funds remain after this appropriation, the bill would appropriate 50% of the remaining funds to the Budget Stabilization Account and would appropriate 50% of the funds, up to $2.534 billion, to specified transportation funds and accounts for immediate repayment of outstanding loans made from those transportation funds and accounts to the General Fund. The bill would appropriate certain amounts repaid to specified transportation funds and accounts for local street and road purposes, to be apportioned by the controller according to a specified formula. The bill would appropriate any funds remaining after these appropriations to the Budget Stabilization Account.
The Budget Act of 2013 suspends reimbursements for local agencies and school districts for certain state-mandated local programs. This bill would amend the Budget Act of 2013 by removing voter identification procedures from the list of suspended state-mandated local programs. The bill would appropriate $7,553,000 from the General Fund to pay for mandate claims for Voter Identification Procedures, as specified. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as a Budget Bill.
The California Constitution authorizes the Legislature to classify personal property for differential taxation or for exemption by means of a statute approved by a 23 vote of the membership of each house. Under the Private Railroad Car Tax Law, the State Board of Equalization assesses and taxes private railroad cars operated upon railroads in this state by class based on the owner's acquisition cost, less depreciation, as provided. In making an assessment, the board is required to determine the average number of each class of private railroad cars physically present in the state in the calendar year immediately preceding the fiscal year in which the tax is imposed upon the basis of car days. This bill would instead require the board, in making the assessment, to determine the physical presence of private railroad cars in the state in the calendar year immediately preceding the fiscal year in which the tax is imposed upon the basis of mileage. Existing law also requires the board, in making the above assessment, to value the cars by class based on the owner's acquisition cost, less depreciation, and sets forth the manner in which depreciation is calculated for each class of cars, as specified. This bill would instead require the board, in making the assessment, to value the cars based on the owner's acquisition cost, including additions and betterments, less depreciation, and would revise the manner in which the depreciation is calculated, as specified. Existing law requires the board to exclude from the California factor car mileage, car days, or other data that occurs while cars are not qualified for revenue service and are in a repair facility in the state, as specified. Existing law defines the term "class of private railroad cars" for these purposes. This bill would delete the definition of the term "class of private railroad cars" and would eliminate the requirement that the board exclude from the California factor car mileage, car days, or other data that occurs while cars are not qualified for revenue service and are in a repair facility in the state.
The Personal Income Tax Law conforms to specified provisions of the federal Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007, relating to the exclusion of the discharge of qualified principal residence indebtedness, as defined, from a taxpayer's income if that debt is discharged after January 1, 2007, and before January 1, 2010, as provided. The federal Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 extended the operation of those provisions to debt that is discharged before January 1, 2013. This bill would extend the operation of the exclusion of the discharge of qualified principal residence indebtedness to debt that is discharged on or after January 1, 2013, and before January 1, 2014. The bill would become operative only if SB 391 is enacted and takes effect. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
(1) Existing law creates the High-Speed Rail Authority with specified powers and duties relating to the development and implementation of an intercity high-speed train system. Existing law, for any project along the high-speed rail network, authorizes the authority to contract with the Department of Transportation to perform specified project design services, including construction inspection services. This bill would require the authority to require that any employee of the authority, or any employee working for a public or private entity that has contracted with the authority, prior to entering onto any privately owned property, identify himself or herself to the property owner and obtain the consent of the property owner, as specified. (2) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
(1) Existing law provides that school districts and county offices of education are responsible for the overall development of comprehensive school safety plans for its schools operating kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive. Existing law requires the schoolsite council of a school to write and develop a school safety plan relevant to the needs and resources of the particular school, except as specified with regard to a small school district. Existing law requires the school safety plan to include specified strategies and programs that will provide or maintain a high level of school safety. Existing law authorizes a school district or county office of education to elect to not have its schoolsite council develop and write portions of its school safety plan that include tactical responses to criminal incidents, as defined, and instead develop those portions of the school safety plan with law enforcement officials and other specified persons. Existing law requires any vote to approve the tactical response plan to be announced in open session following a closed session. Existing law provides certain protections from disclosure for this tactical response plan. This bill would require a comprehensive school safety plan to include a tactical response plan, and would revise the definition of "tactical responses to criminal incidents" to include a plan to safeguard against incidents that include a firearm, explosive, or other deadly weapon. The bill would require any vote to approve or update the tactical response plan to be announced in open session following a closed session. The bill would prohibit the governing board of a school district or a county office of education from being required to disclose those portions of the tactical response plan that may be kept private. (2) By requiring school districts and county offices of education to perform additional duties in regards to their comprehensive school safety plans, the 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 provides for various deductions in computing the income that is subject to the taxes imposed by that law including in modified conformity with federal tax law, a deduction for that portion of medical expenses that is more than 7.5% of adjusted gross income. Self-employed individuals may deduct health insurance premiums for medical expenses incurred by the taxpayer in lieu of the itemized deduction for medical expenses. This bill, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2014, would allow a deduction from gross income under the Personal Income Tax Law for the amounts paid or incurred by a taxpayer during the taxable year for medical insurance for medical care, as defined, and for transportation for and essential to that medical care, as provided. The bill would not allow as an itemized deduction, an amount allowed as a deduction from gross income as provided in the bill. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
Existing law requires the Department of Fish and Wildlife, when income is derived directly from real property acquired and operated by the state as a wildlife management area, as defined, to pay annually to the county in which the property is located an amount equal to the county taxes levied upon the property at the time title to the property was transferred to the state, and any assessments levied upon the property by any irrigation, drainage, or reclamation district. This bill would appropriate $19,000,000 from the General Fund to the department to make payments to counties for unpaid amounts under these provisions. The bill would also appropriate $2,000,000 annually, beginning with the 2014–15 fiscal year, from the General Fund to the department to make payments to counties under these provisions. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.