AB 242

Under current law, an individual income tax check-off procedure exists that

allows an individual who files a return to designate any amount of additional

payment or any amount of a refund due for the endangered resources program.

Similar checkoffs exist to provide payments to several other programs, including a

veterans trust fund, prostate cancer research, multiple sclerosis programs, a fire

fighters memorial, which is temporary and expires after $400,000 is designated, and

a breast cancer research program, and to provide a donation to a professional football

stadium district.

For taxable years beginning after December 31, 2011, taxpayers may not have

the opportunity to make such a designation to more than 10 checkoffs, not including

temporary checkoffs, and no temporary checkoffs may be created after December 31,

2011. The bill also prohibits the Department of Revenue (DOR) from placing more

than 10 checkoffs on the income tax form, and repeals the current law provision that

requires DOR to highlight certain checkoffs with a symbol. Other than a checkoff

created in a bill that is introduced in both houses of the legislature before June 1,

2011, if any checkoff is created after December 31, 2011, and before January 1, 2015,

it may not appear on the tax form, and no designations may be made to the checkoff,

before January 1, 2015.

Beginning in September 2014, and every three years thereafter, the bill

requires the secretary of revenue to rank the checkoffs in order of the amount of

designations received during the previous three-year period.

If nine checkoffs exist, not including temporary checkoffs, only the top six

checkoffs, in terms of designations received, may appear on the tax form for the next

three years, and the seventh place on the tax form will be taken by a checkoff that

hasn't received any designations during the previous three-year period.

If more than 10 checkoffs exist, not including temporary checkoffs, only the top

eight checkoffs, in terms of designations received, may appear on the tax form for the

next three years, and the ninth and tenth places on the tax form will be taken by

checkoffs that haven't received any designations during the previous three-year

period. The new checkoffs that appear on the form will be selected by the legislature

from among all checkoffs authorized by law.