Asm. Diane L Harkey

The Personal Income Tax Law provides, in modified conformity to federal income tax laws, for the manner in which taxable gains are to be recognized upon the disposition of property, including real property that is the principal residence of the taxpayer. This bill would provide additional conformity to those federal income tax laws relating to the exclusion of gain from the sale of a principal residence by a surviving spouse. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.

(1) Existing law establishes the Class Size Reduction Program, under which a participating school district or county office of education reduces class size to 20 pupils per class in kindergarten and grades 1 to 3, inclusive. If a school district or county office of education receives funding for a class, but fails to reduce the size of that class to 20 pupils, the school district or county office of education incurs a reduction in its next principal apportionment of state funds. Existing law provides that for the 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, and 2011–12 fiscal years, a local educational agency is eligible to receive funding for the same number of classes for which it had applied to receive program funding as of January 31, 2009. This bill would provide that, for the 2008–09 school year, a local educational agency may choose for state apportionment purposes the option to receive funding for the same number of classes for which it had applied to receive program funding as of January 31, 2009, or the funding option provided under the Class Size Reduction Program on December 31, 2008, prior to the enactment of the provision referenced above. This bill would provide that, for the 2009–10 school year, the Riverside Unified School District may choose to operate each of its grade 3 classrooms that participate in the Class Size Reduction Program either pursuant to the option to receive funding for the same number of classes for which it had applied to receive program funding as of January 31, 2009, or the funding option provided under the Class Size Reduction Program on December 31, 2008, prior to the enactment of the provision referenced above. (2) This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Riverside Unified School District. (3) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

This measure would urge the Congress of the United States, with respect to detainees of the United States Naval Station at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, not to redirect those detainees to or house them at the Marine Corps Base, Camp Pendleton, California.

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 Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 extended the operation of those provisions to debt that is discharged before January 1, 2013. This bill would provide further conformity to those federal acts, as provided. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Existing law establishes the Department of Housing and Community Development with duties that include overseeing various programs to promote economic and community development throughout the state. This bill would authorize, until January 1, 2016, the department to designate, based on specific factors, a Research and Development Tax Credit Area located within an Innovation Hub or a city, as respectively defined. The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law, by reference to a specified federal statute, allow a credit against taxes imposed by those laws for increasing research activities. The amount of the credit under both laws is equal to 15% of the excess of the qualified research expenses, as defined, for the taxable year over the base amount, as defined, and, in addition, under the Corporation Tax Law, 24% of the basic research payments, as defined. This bill would, under both laws, in lieu of that credit, for each taxable year beginning on or after January 1, 2011, and before January 1, 2016, provide to a qualified taxpayer, as defined, a tax credit for research and development, as defined, for expenses equal to 20% of the research and development expenses relating to the development of alternative energy sources and advanced transportation technologies, as those terms are defined, conducted in California in a research and development tax area, as described. The bill would further require the Legislative Analyst's Office to report to the Legislature on the effectiveness of the tax credit program established by this act. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.

This bill would urge the President of the United States and the Congress to employ necessary measures to ensure that no terrorist or suspected terrorist detained at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba is permitted to enter California in custody or otherwise.

This measure would declare February 19, 2010, as a Day of Remembrance in order to increase public awareness of the events surrounding the internment of Americans of Japanese ancestry during World War II.

The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law authorize various credits against the taxes imposed by those laws. This bill would, for each taxable year beginning on or after January 1, 2010, allow a credit under both laws in an amount equal to 50% of the amount of costs paid or incurred in connection with additional education and training for purposes of career advancement or retention, as specified. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.

This measure would recognize February 2010 as Black History Month, urge all citizens to join in celebrating the accomplishments of African Americans during Black History Month, and encourage the people of California to recognize the many talents, achievements, and contributions that African Americans make to their communities.

Existing law  authorizes, at the discretion of the appointing power, excluded employees to transfer eligible leave credits to an excluded employee when a catastrophic illness or injury occurs. This bill would authorize a request to be made of the employer of a retired state employee, as defined, who died from a nonwork-related illness or injury within 12 months of retirement to allow employees to donate leave credits to a leave bank. The donated leave, not to exceed $50,000, would be cashed out to the person designated to receive the deceased employee's leave balance. The bill would provide that donations would be accepted for 30 days following approval of the request, except as described below. The bill would apply retroactively to any employee who retired on or after December 1, 2009. The bill would require any leave donations for a retired state employee who died on or before December 31, 2010, to be accepted until January 31, 2011. The bill's provisions would apply to any retired state employee who at the time of retirement was a member of a collective bargaining unit that had bargained for a survivor's benefit that authorizes the donation of leave credits from employees to a leave bank on behalf of an employee on pay status who dies from a nonwork-related illness or injury.