AMENDED IN SENIOR SENATE OCTOBER 26, 2011

SENIOR ASSEMBLY PROPOSAL NO. 22

INTRODUCED BY SENIOR ASSEMBLY MEMBER ROLFE

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AP 22: TAXATION: DEDUCTIONS: MILEAGE RATES: SENIOR VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES

UNDER EXISTING FEDERAL LAW, BEGINNING ON JANUARY 1, 2011, THE STANDARD MILEAGE RATES USED TO CALCULATE THE DEDUCTIBLE COSTS OF OPERATING AN AUTOMOBILE ARE 14 CENTS PER MILE DRIVEN IN SERVICE OF CHARITABLE ORGANIZATIONS AND 51 CENTS PER MILE FOR BUSINESS MILES DRIVEN. EXISTING CALIFORNIA LAW CONFORMS TO THESE RATES FOR CALIFORNIA INCOME TAX PURPOSES.

THIS MEASURE WOULD MEMORIALIZE THE LEGISLATURE AND THE GOVERNOR TO ENACT LEGISLATION ESTABLISHING A STATE TAX DEDUCTION FOR SENIORS 55 YEARS OF AGE AND OLDER, FOR MILES DRIVEN DURING VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES UP TO AN AMOUNT THAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE ALLOWABLE FEDERAL VOLUNTEER TRAVEL EXPENSE DEDUCTION AND THE FEDERAL BUSINESS TRAVEL EXPENSE DEDUCTION.

VOTE: MAJORITY.

AP 22: RELATING TO TAXATION

WHEREAS, CALIFORNIA SERVICES TO THE ELDERLY, POOR, AND PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES HAVE BEEN SERIOUSLY REDUCED AND FACE SIGNIFICANT FURTHER REDUCTIONS DUE TO MULTIPLE STATE BUDGET DEFICITS. IN ORDER TO MEET THE NEEDS OF OUR STATE’S ELDERS, CHILDREN, DISABLED, AND POOR WE NEED TO LEVERAGE EVERY RESOURCE THAT IS AVAILABLE; AND

WHEREAS, THE REDUCTION OF SERVICES LEAVES HUGE GAPS IN ADDRESSING THE NEEDS OF THE ELDERLY, CHILDREN, AND PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES; AND

WHEREAS, VOLUNTEERS, PARTICULARLY THE LARGE BLOCK OF POTENTIAL VOLUNTEERS WHO ARE AGING AND CALIFORNIA BABY BOOMERS WHO ARE RETIRING, REPRESENT ONE RESOURCE TO BE USED IN ADDRESSING THESE GAPS IN SERVICES; AND

WHEREAS, IN 2010 THE UNITED STATES BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS STATED THAT VOLUNTEERS 65 YEARS OF AGE AND OLDER SPENT AN AVERAGE OF 96 HOURS PER YEAR VOLUNTEERING, WHILE THE AVERAGE NUMBER OF HOURS FOR NONSENIORS WAS 40; AND

WHEREAS, INDEPENDENT RESEARCH CONDUCTED ON THE VALUE OF VOLUNTEER TIME ESTIMATED THE VALUE OF A VOLUNTEER IN 2010 TO BE $21.36 PER HOUR, BASED UPON THE AVERAGE WAGE OF NONMANAGEMENT, NONAGRICULTURAL WORKERS IN 2010; AND

WHEREAS, MANY VOLUNTEERS SPEND A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF TIME DRIVING AS A PORTION OF THEIR VOLUNTEER ACTIVITY, SUCH AS TAKING SENIORS TO AND FROM MEDICAL APPOINTMENTS OR DELIVERING MEALS TO HOMEBOUND SENIORS. IN CALIFORNIA IN 2009, THERE WERE 41,156 MILES DRIVEN TO DELIVER MEALS FOR MEALS ON WHEELS ALONE; AND

WHEREAS, ACCORDING TO THE GIVING YEARS, PUBLISHED BY THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR’S OFFICE ON SERVICE AND VOLUNTEERISM, SENIOR VOLUNTEERS CITED TRANSPORTATION AS THE GREATEST BARRIER TO INCREASED VOLUNTEERISM, BECAUSE TRANSPORTATION IS A MAJOR EXPENSE; AND

WHEREAS, THE CURRENT ALLOWABLE FEDERAL TAX DEDUCTION FOR TRAVEL DURING VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES IN SERVICE OF CHARITABLE ORGANIZATIONS IS $.14 PER MILE COMPARED TO THE ALLOWABLE FEDERAL TAX DEDUCTION FOR BUSINESS-RELATED DRIVING OF $.51 PER MILE; AND

WHEREAS, MANY OF THE 19,014 SENIOR VOLUNTEERS REPORTED IN 2010 BY THE UNITED STATES BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS MAY BE LIVING ON A FIXED INCOME AND HAVE LIMITED ABILITY TO DONATE SIGNIFICANT DOLLARS AS OPPOSED TO TIME; AND

WHEREAS, THE PRICE OF GASOLINE IN THE UNITED STATES CONTINUES TO BE NEAR OR ABOVE $4 PER GALLON, CREATING A SIGNIFICANT BARRIER TO VOLUNTEERING; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT

RESOLVED, BY THE SENIOR ASSEMBLY AND THE SENIOR SENATE, JOINTLY, THAT THE SENIOR LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA AT ITS 2011 REGULAR SESSION, A MAJORITY OF THE MEMBERS VOTING THEREFOR, HEREBY PROPOSES THAT THE LEGISLATURE AND THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA ENCOURAGE SENIOR VOLUNTEERISM BY ENACTING A STATE TAX DEDUCTION FOR SENIORS 55 YEARS OF AGE AND OLDER, FOR MILES DRIVEN DURING VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES UP TO AN AMOUNT THAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE ALLOWABLE FEDERAL VOLUNTEER TRAVEL EXPENSE DEDUCTION AND THE FEDERAL BUSINESS TRAVEL EXPENSE DEDUCTION; AND BE IT FURTHER

RESOLVED, THAT THE SENIOR LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA RESPECTFULLY MEMORIALIZES THE LEGISLATURE AND THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA TO ENACT APPROPRIATE LEGISLATION THAT WOULD ADDRESS THE CONCERNS SET FORTH IN THIS MEASURE; AND BE IT FURTHER

RESOLVED, THAT A COPY OF THIS MEASURE BE TRANSMITTED TO THE SPEAKER OF THE ASSEMBLY, THE PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE OF THE SENATE, AND THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA.

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RN 11 17673