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AB-321 Sales and Use Tax: exemptions: zero-emission public transportation ferries.(2023-2024)

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Date Published: 04/13/2023 09:00 PM
AB321:v97#DOCUMENT

Amended  IN  Assembly  April 13, 2023
Amended  IN  Assembly  March 06, 2023

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 321

Introduced by Assembly Member Wilson
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Berman, Bonta, and Connolly)
(Coauthors: Senators Dodd and Wiener)

January 26, 2023

An act to add and repeal Section 6377.2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, relating to taxation, to take effect immediately, tax levy.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 321, as amended, Wilson. Sales and Use Tax: exemptions: zero-emission public transportation ferries.
Existing sales and use tax laws impose 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. Those laws provide various exemptions from those taxes.
This bill, beginning January 1, 2024, and until January 1, 2028, 2029, would exempt from those taxes the gross receipts from the sale in this state of, and the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of, zero-emission public transportation ferries, as defined. defined, sold to a public agency, as specified.
Existing law requires a bill that would authorize a new tax expenditure under the Sales and Use Tax Law to identify specific goals, purposes, and objectives that the tax expenditure will achieve, and detailed performance indicators and data collection requirements for determining whether the tax expenditure achieves these goals, purposes, and objectives.
The bill would provide findings and declarations relating to the goals of the exemption for zero-emission public transportation ferries.
Existing law imposes or dedicates certain state sales and use tax rates for local funding, including through the Local Revenue Fund 2011.
This bill would specify that this exemption does not apply to those state sales and use tax rates imposed or dedicated for local government funding, including those rates for which revenues are deposited into the Local Revenue Fund 2011.
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 laws authorize districts, as specified, to impose transactions and use taxes in accordance with the Transactions and Use Tax Law, which generally conforms to the Sales and Use Tax Law. Amendments to the Sales and Use Tax Law are automatically incorporated into the local tax laws.
This bill would specify that this exemption does not apply to local sales and use taxes or transactions and use taxes.
This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Section 6377.2 is added to the Revenue and Taxation Code, to read:

6377.2.
 (a) There are exempted from the taxes imposed by this part the gross receipts from the sale in this state of, and the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of, any zero-emission public transportation ferry sold to a city, county, city and county, transportation or transit district, or other public agency that provides transit services to the public. public and that is subject to the State Air Resources Board regulation on airborne toxic control measures for commercial harbor craft (Section 93118.5 of Title 17 of the California Code of Regulations).
(b) For purposes of this section, “zero-emission public transportation ferry” means ferryboats operated, sponsored, funded, or subsidized by an STA-eligible operator, as that term is defined in Section 99312.2 of the Public Utilities Code, that produce no emissions of criteria pollutants, toxic air contaminants, and greenhouse gases when stationary or operating, as determined by the State Air Resources Board.
(c) (1) Notwithstanding any provision of the Bradley-Burns Uniform Local Sales and Use Tax Law (Part 1.5 (commencing with Section 7200)) or the Transactions and Use Tax Law (Part 1.6 (commencing with Section 7251)), the exemption established by subdivision (a) does not apply with respect to any tax levied pursuant to, or in accordance with, either of those laws.
(2) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the exemption established by this section shall not apply with respect to any tax levied pursuant to Section 6051.2 or 6201.2, pursuant to Section 35 of Article XIII of the California Constitution, or any tax levied pursuant to Section 6051 or 6201 that is deposited in the State Treasury to the credit of the Local Revenue Fund 2011 pursuant to Section 6051.15 or 6201.15.
(d) (1) For purposes of complying with Section 41 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, the Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(A) The specific goals, purposes, and objectives that the exemption provided by this section will achieve are the following:
(i) To assist transit agencies in transitioning public transportation ferry fleets to zero emission by reducing upfront capital costs and incremental costs between technologies.
(ii) To overcome an important upfront funding shortfall that currently impedes procurement of zero-emission public transportation ferries and is critically needed to help public transit agencies comply with the State Air Resources Board’s Commercial Harbor Craft regulations.
(iii) To eliminate mobile criteria pollutant emissions and clean the air in disadvantaged communities.
(iv) To substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
(B) The performance indicators for the Legislature to use in determining if the tax exemption achieves the stated goals, purposes, and objectives are as follows:
(i) The annual number of zero-emission public transit ferry vessel purchases by transit authorities and agencies statewide.
(ii) The annual number of zero-emission public transportation ferries purchased during implementation of the amendments to the State Air Resources Board’s Commercial Harbor Craft regulations.
(2) The data collection requirements to enable the Legislature to determine whether the exemption is meeting, failing to meet, or exceeding its specified goals, purposes, and objectives are as follows:
(A) The Legislative Analyst’s Office shall review the effectiveness of the tax exemption and may request information from the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration and any state governmental entity with authority relating to the purchasing of public transportation ferries.
(B) The California Department of Tax and Fee Administration and any state governmental entity with authority relating to the purchasing of public transportation ferries shall provide to the Legislative Analyst’s Office any data requested by the Legislative Analyst’s Office pursuant to this paragraph.
(3) The Legislative Analyst’s Office shall submit a report to the Legislature on the effectiveness of the exemption provided by this section, in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code, no later than May 1, 2034. 2027.
(4) The disclosure requirements of paragraphs (2) and (3) shall be treated as an exception to the requirements of Sections 7056 and 7056.5.

(e)(1)Except as necessary to complete the reporting requirements of subdivision (d), this section shall become inoperative on January 1, 2034.

(2)This section is repealed as of June 1, 2028.

(e) (1) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2024.
(2) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2029, and as of that date is repealed.

SEC. 2.

 This act provides for a tax levy within the meaning of Article IV of the California Constitution and shall go into immediate effect.