Sen. Robert Dutton

The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law authorize various credits against the taxes imposed by those laws, including a credit for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2009, in the amount of $3,000 for each full-time employee hired by a qualified employer. Those laws define "qualified employer" as a taxpayer that employed 20 or fewer employees as of the last day of the preceding taxable year. This bill would, under both laws, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2011, expand the definition of "qualified employer" to mean a taxpayer that employed 50 or fewer employees as of the last day of the preceding taxable year. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.

Existing law, the Nursing Practice Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of registered nurses by the Board of Registered Nursing and makes a violation of the act a crime. Existing law requires a licensee renewing his or her license to submit proof to the board that during a specified time the licensee has been informed of developments in the registered nursing field either by pursuing a continuing education course offered by a provider approved by the board or by other means deemed equivalent by the board. Existing law requires the board to establish, by regulation, standards for continuing education. Existing law requires these standards to make a variety of alternative forms of continuing education available to licensees. Existing law requires the content of all courses of continuing education to be relevant to the practice of nursing. This bill would provide that continuing education courses, as specified, that advance or promote labor organizing on behalf of a union, or that advance or promote statutory or regulatory changes, political candidates, political advocacy, or political strategy shall not be considered content relevant to the practice of nursing and shall not be acceptable for meeting requirements for licensure renewal. The bill would also prohibit an approved provider from representing that such a continuing education course is acceptable for meeting requirements for licensure renewal and would require the board, subject to specified procedural requirements, to withdraw its approval of a provider that violates that requirement for no less than 5 years, as specified. Because a violation of these requirements by a provider would constitute a crime, 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

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.

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.

The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law authorize various credits against the taxes imposed by those laws, including a hiring credit for qualified taxpayers who hire qualified employees, as defined, within enterprise zones, Manufacturing Enhancement Areas, targeted tax areas, and LAMBRAS, subject to specified criteria. This bill would, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2010, authorize a hiring credit for qualified taxpayers who hire qualified employees, as defined. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.

The Personal Income Tax Law authorizes various credits against the taxes imposed by that law, including a credit against those taxes in an amount equal to the lesser of 5% of the purchase price of a qualified principal residence, as defined, or $10,000, for purchases made between March 1, 2009, and before March 1, 2010, subject to specified restrictions. This bill would authorize a credit against those taxes in an amount equal to the lesser of 5% of the purchase price of a qualified principal residence, as defined, or $10,000, for purchases made between May 1, 2010, and on or before December 31, 2010, or on or after December 31, 2010, and before August 1, 2011, subject to specified restrictions, including the submission of a certification to the Franchise Tax Board by either the taxpayer or seller, made under the penalty of perjury, that the residence has either never been occupied or that the taxpayer is a first-time home buyer. By expanding the definition of an existing crime, this bill imposes 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.

The Sales and Use Tax Law imposes a tax on retailers measured by the gross receipts from the sale of tangible personal property sold at retail in this state, or on the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of tangible personal property purchased from a retailer for storage, use, or other consumption in this state, and provides various exemptions from the taxes imposed by that law. This bill would provide a partial exemption from those taxes for the gross receipts from the sale of, and the storage, use, or other consumption of, tangible personal property, as defined, purchased for use by a qualified person, as defined, to be used primarily in any stage of manufacturing, processing, refining, fabricating, or recycling of property, as specified, or to be used primarily in qualified research, as specified, or to be used to maintain, repair, measure, or test that property. The bill would also partially exempt from those taxes the gross receipts from the sale of, and the storage, use, or other consumption of, tangible personal property purchased for use by a contractor, as specified, for a qualified person. The bill would require the purchaser to furnish the retailer with an exemption certificate, as specified. The Bradley-Burns Uniform Local Sales and Use Tax Law authorizes counties and cities to impose local sales and use taxes in conformity with the Sales and Use Tax Law, and existing law authorizes districts, as specified, to impose transactions and use taxes in accordance with the Transactions and Use Tax Law, which conforms to the Sales and Use Tax Law. Exemptions from state sales and use taxes are incorporated into these laws. This bill would specify that this exemption does not apply to local sales and use taxes, transactions and use taxes, and specified state taxes from which revenues are deposited into the Local Public Safety Fund, the Local Revenue Fund, or the Fiscal Recovery Fund. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.

The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law provide that gain or loss upon the disposition of a capital asset is determined by reference to the adjusted basis of that asset. This bill would, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2013, and before January 1, 2016, provide that gross income does not include 50% of any net capital gain, as defined, from the sale or exchange of a capital asset, as defined, that is held for more than 3 years, as specified. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.

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 expenses, as defined. In general, 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, for purposes of the Corporation Tax Law, 24% of the basic research payments, as defined. The term "base amount" means the product of the average annual gross receipts of the taxpayer for each of the specified years preceding the taxable year and the fixed-base percentage, as defined, but in no event less than 50% of the qualified research expenses for the taxable year. A taxpayer may elect an alternative simplified credit for increasing research expenses under federal income tax laws. This bill would increase the credit for increasing research expenses to 20% of the excess of the qualified research expenses over the base amount. This bill would also provide complete conformity to the alternative simplified credit provided under those federal income tax laws. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.

The Personal Income Tax Law authorizes various deductions in computing income that is subject to tax under that law. This bill would allow a deduction in connection with health savings accounts in conformity with federal law for each taxable year beginning on or after January 1, 2010. In general, the deduction would be an amount equal to the aggregate amount paid in cash during the taxable year by, or on behalf of, an eligible individual, as defined, to a health savings account of that individual, as provided. This bill would also provide related conformity to that federal law for each taxable year beginning on or after January 1, 2010, with respect to treatment of the account as a tax-exempt trust, the allowance of rollovers from Archer Medical Savings Accounts, health flexible spending arrangements, or health reimbursement accounts to a health savings account, and penalties in connection therewith. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.