AB 187, as amended, Bonta. Taxation: ammunition:begin insert School-Based Early Mental Health Intervention and Prevention Services Matching Grant Program:end insert Public Safety Emergency Prevention Fund.
Existing sales and use tax laws impose taxes 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.
begin insertExisting law, the School-Based Early Mental Health Intervention and Prevention Services Matching Grant Program, authorizes the Director of Mental Health, in consultation with the Superintendent of Public Instruction, to award matching grants to local educational agencies to pay the state share of the costs of providing programs that provide school-based early mental health intervention and prevention services to eligible pupils at schoolsites of eligible pupils, in accordance with specified criteria.
end insertThis bill would impose a tax upon retailers for the privilege of selling ammunition at the rate of 10% of the gross receipts of any retailer from the sale of ammunition sold at retail in this state on or afterbegin delete Januaryend deletebegin insert Julyend insert 1, 2014. It would also impose a comparable excise tax on the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of ammunition purchased from a retailer for the storage, use, or other consumption in this state, as provided. The taxes would be collected pursuant to the Fee Collection Procedures Law. This bill would require that revenues collected pursuant to these taxes be deposited inbegin insert
the Ammunition Tax Fund, which this bill would create. This bill would require, upon appropriation by the Legislature, moneys in the Ammunition Tax end insertbegin insertFund to be allocated in specified percentages to the School-Based Early Mental Health Intervention and Prevention Services Matching Grant Program, and toend insert the Public Safety Emergency Prevention Fund, which the bill would create.begin delete Theend deletebegin insert This bill would require theend insert moneys in thebegin delete fund would be allocatedend deletebegin insert end insertbegin insertPublic
Safety Emergency Prevention Fundend insert, upon appropriation by the Legislature, tobegin insert be expended byend insert
the Office of Emergency Services to fund public safety programs in high crime municipalities.
Because this bill would expand the scope of the Fee Collection Procedures Law, the violation of which is a crime, and would create crimes for specified retailer misconduct, it 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 include a change in state statute that would result in a taxpayer paying a higher tax within the meaning of Section 3 of Article XIII A of the California Constitution, and thus would require for passage the approval of 2⁄3 of the membership of each house of the Legislature.
This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
Vote: 2⁄3. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
The Legislature finds and declares all of the
2following:
3(a) begin insert(1)end insertbegin insert end insert California recognizes a clearly defined nexus between
4the use of guns in violent crime and access to guns and
5ammunition.
6(b)
end delete
7begin insert(2)end insert While many factors can contribute to an increase in gun
8crime, one important way to reduce crime is through proper funding
9of public safety services.
10(c)
end delete
11begin insert(3)end insert Communities, such as Oakland and Stockton, have been
12suffering from spikes in violent crime with 131 and 71 homicides
13reported in 2012, respectively, in conjunction with reductions in
14public safety budgets and street-level police forces. There is a clear
15and compelling risk to the safety of the public in these
16communities.
17(d)
end delete
18begin insert(4)end insert The Legislature, therefore, finds and declares that providing
19a source of stable revenue through a tax on the sale of ammunition
20to fund vital public safety programs in high crime municipalities
21will serve California’s best interest by likely reducing acts of
22violence committed with a deadly weapon in the state and thereby
23promoting the health and safety of the state’s residents.
24(b) (1) People with mental illness are no more likely to commit
25violent acts than are others. California law, however, does restrict
26the ownership of guns by individuals who have been adjudicated
27as being a danger to themselves or others because of mental
illness.
28(2) The ability of mental health professionals to predict any
29particular mental disorder or disordered individual as being likely
30responsible for or likely to commit an act of violence with a deadly
31weapon is weak. Nonetheless, recent tragic events involving mass
32shootings in Connecticut, Colorado, Arizona, and elsewhere are
33revealing a pattern of young individuals who are suffering from
34some form of mental illness that progressed from mild or moderate
35to more serious conditions, when those individuals’ mental illness
36was not identified and treated at an early age.
37(3) Research has found that there is a clear relationship between
38early adjustment problems and later adolescent problems, and
P4 1that many of these adjustment problems are due to mild to
2moderate mental disorders among
schoolage children. In many
3cases, signs of these problems can be detected in early school
4grades.
5(4) Treating mental illness in a timely manner before conditions
6become more severe, in conjunction with restricting gun ownership
7by individuals adjudicated as being a danger to themselves or
8others, may be a productive approach for reducing the extent to
9which some people suffering from mental illness commit a violent
10act with the use of a deadly weapon.
11(5) In 1991 California enacted the School-Based Early Mental
12Health Intervention and Prevention Services Matching Grant
13Program (EMHI). This program is intended to ensure that pupils
14will receive the benefits of school-based early mental health
15intervention and prevention services that will enhance the mental
16health and social development of children.
17(6) Scientific evaluation of EMHI
has shown dramatic
18improvements in adjustment behavior among children in grades
191 to 3, inclusive, and success in reducing the incidence of early
20mild to moderate mental illness. Further, the improvement in
21children’s behavior has been shown to continue through their later
22school years.
23(7) Due to state budget constraints EMHI was defunded in the
242012-13 Budget Act. The Legislature, therefore, finds and declares
25that providing a source of stable revenue to continue the EMHI
26matching grants is in California’s best interest, both in economic
27and human terms, to identify and treat the minor and moderate
28mental difficulties that children experience before they become
29serious mental disorders. The Legislature further finds and
30declares that a reduction in the incidence of mental illness is likely
31to reduce acts of violence committed with a deadly weapon in our
32state, and therefore a tax on the sale of ammunition is a means of
33refunding the EMHI program.
Section 1656.1 of the Civil Code is amended to read:
(a) Whether a retailer may add sales tax reimbursement
36to the sales price of the tangible personal property sold at retail to
37a purchaser depends solely upon the terms of the agreement of
38sale. It shall be presumed that the parties agreed to the addition of
39sales tax reimbursement to the sales price of tangible personal
40property sold at retail to a purchaser if:
P5 1(1) The agreement of sale expressly provides forbegin delete suchend deletebegin insert thatend insert
2 addition of sales tax reimbursement;
3(2) Sales tax reimbursement is shown on the sales check or other
4proof of sale; or
5(3) The retailer posts in his or her premises in a location visible
6to purchasers, or includes on a price tag or in an advertisement or
7other printed material directed to purchasers, a notice to the effect
8that reimbursement for sales tax will be added to the sales price
9of all items or certain items, whichever is applicable.
10(b) It shall be presumed that the property, the gross receipts
11from the sale of which is subject to the sales tax, is sold at a price
12which includes tax reimbursement if the retailer posts in his or her
13premises, or includes on a price tag or in an advertisement,
14whichever is applicable, one of the following
notices:
15(1) “All prices of taxable items include sales tax reimbursement
16computed to the nearest mill.”
17(2) “The price of this item includes sales tax reimbursement
18computed to the nearest mill.”
19(c) (1) The State Board of Equalization shall prepare and make
20available for inspection and duplication or reproduction a sales
21tax reimbursement schedule which shall
set forth the various rates
22of tax then in effect as applied to price ranges from one cent ($0.01)
23to at least one dollar ($1).
24(2) Reimbursement on sales prices in excess of those shown in
25the schedules prepared pursuant to paragraph (1) may be computed
26by applying the applicable tax rate to the sales price, rounded off
27to the nearest cent by eliminating any fraction less than one-half
28cent and increasing any fraction of one-half cent or over to the
29next higher cent.
30(3) If sales tax reimbursement is added to the sales price of
31tangible personal property sold at retail, the retailer shall use a
32schedule provided by the board, or a schedule approved by the
33board.
34(d) The presumptions created
by this section are rebuttable
35presumptions.
36(e) For purposes of this section, as applied to Part 14.5
37(commencing with Section 33001) of Division 2 of the Revenue
38and Taxation Code, sales tax reimbursement shall refer to
39reimbursement for the tax imposed by that part, and tangible
P6 1personal property shall include ammunition as defined under that
2part.
Title 7 (commencing with Section 14001) is added to
4Part 4 of the Penal Code, to read:
5
The Public Safety Emergency Prevention Fund is hereby
10created in the State Treasury.begin delete All moneys raised pursuant to the
11taxes imposed by Sections 33021 and 33022 of the Revenue and
12Taxation Code shall be deposited in the Public Safety Emergency
13Prevention Fund.end delete
All moneys in the fund shall, upon appropriation by
15the Legislature, be expended by the Office of Emergency Services
16to support public safety programs in high crime municipalities.
begin insertSection 6012.4 is added to the end insertbegin insertRevenue and Taxation
18Codeend insertbegin insert, to read:end insert
For purposes of this part, “gross receipts” shall not
20include the amount of any tax imposed upon ammunition pursuant
21to Part 14.5 (commencing with Section 33001).
Part 14.5 (commencing with Section 33001) is added
24to Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, to read:
25
This part shall be known and may be cited as the
31Ammunition Tax Law.
For purposes of this part:
33(a) “Ammunition” includes, but is not limited to, any bullet,
34cartridge, or projectile capable of being fired from a firearm with
35a deadly consequence. “Ammunition” does not include blanks.
36(b) “Firearm” means a device, designed to be used as a weapon,
37from which is expelled through a barrel, a projectile by the force
38of an explosion or other form of combustion.
39(c) “Retailer engaged in business in this state” has the same
40meaning as defined in Section 6203.
Unless the context otherwise requires, the definitions
2provided in Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 6001) of Part 1
3govern the construction of this part.
4
In addition to the tax imposed under Chapter 2
8(commencing with Section 6051) of Part 1, for the privilege of
9selling ammunition at retail there is hereby imposed a tax upon all
10retailers at the rate of 10 percent of the gross receipts of any retailer
11from the sale of all ammunition sold at retail in this state on or
12afterbegin delete Januaryend deletebegin insert Julyend insert 1, 2014.
(a) In addition to the tax imposed under Chapter 3
14(commencing with Section 6201) of Part 1, an excise tax is hereby
15imposed on the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of
16ammunition purchased from any retailer on or afterbegin delete Januaryend deletebegin insert Julyend insert
17 1, 2014, for storage, use, or other consumption in this state at the
18rate of 10 percent of the sales price of the ammunition.
19(b) Every person storing, using, or otherwise consuming in this
20state ammunition purchased from a retailer is liable for the tax.
21His
or her liability is not extinguished until the tax has been paid
22to this state except that a receipt from a retailer engaged in business
23in this state or from a retailer who is authorized by the board, under
24the rules and regulations as it may prescribe, to collect the tax and
25who is, for the purposes of this part relating to the use tax, regarded
26as a retailer engaged in business in this state, given to the purchaser
27pursuant to subdivision (c) is sufficient to relieve the purchaser
28from further liability for the tax to which the receipt refers.
29(c) Every retailer engaged in business in this state and making
30sales for storage, use, or other consumption in this state, not
31exempted under Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 33031),
32shall, at the time of making the sales or, if the storage, use, or other
33consumption of ammunition is not then taxable
hereunder, at the
34time the storage, use, or other consumption becomes taxable,
35collect the tax from the purchaser and give to the purchaser a
36receipt therefor in the manner and form prescribed by the board.
37(d) The tax required to be collected by the retailer and any
38amount unreturned to the customer which is not tax but was
39collected from the customer under the representation by the retailer
40that it was tax constitutes debts owed by the retailer to this state.
P8 1(e) It is unlawful for any retailer to advertise or hold out or state
2to the public or to any customer, directly or indirectly, that the tax
3or any part thereof will be assumed or absorbed by the retailer or
4that it will not be added to the selling price of thebegin delete propertyend delete
5begin insert
ammunitionend insert sold or that if added it or any part thereof will be
6refunded.
7(f) The tax required to be collected by the retailer from the
8purchaser shall be displayed separately from the list price, the price
9advertised in the premises, the marked price, or other price on the
10sales check or other proof of sales.
11(g) Any person violating subdivision (c), (e), or (f) is guilty of
12a misdemeanor.
13
There are exempted from the taxes imposed by this
17part, the sale of, or the storage, use, or other consumption of,
18ammunition purchasedbegin delete by any peace officer required to carry or by any
19use a firearm that uses ammunition while on duty, orend delete
20governmental law enforcement agency employingbegin delete thatend deletebegin insert aend insert peace
21begin delete officer,end deletebegin insert officerend insert for usebegin insert
by that peace officerend insert in the normal course
22of employment.
23
The board shall administer and collect thebegin delete taxend deletebegin insert taxesend insert
27 imposed by this part pursuant to the Fee Collection Procedures
28Law (Part 30 (commencing with Section 55001)). For purposes
29of this part, the references in the Fee Collection Procedures Law
30to “fee” shall include thebegin delete taxend deletebegin insert taxesend insert imposed by this part and
31references to “feepayer” shall mean any person liable for the
32payment of the taxes imposed under this part
and collected pursuant
33to that law.
The taxes imposed by this part are due and payable to
35the board quarterly on or before the last day of the month next
36succeeding each quarterly period of three months.
On or before the last day of the month following each
38quarterly period a return for the preceding quarterly period shall
39be filed with the board.
All amounts required to be paid under this part shall
4be made in remittances to the board, and those revenues, net of
5refunds and costs of administration, and shall be deposited in the
6begin delete Public Safety Emergency Prevention Fund, established pursuant begin insert Ammunition Tax Fund, which
7to Section 14001 of the Penal Code.end delete
8is hereby created in the State Treasury. Upon appropriation by
9the Legislature, the moneys in the fund shall be allocated as
10follows:end insert
11(a) Thirty-three
and one-third percent to the School-Based Early
12Mental Health Intervention and Prevention Services Matching
13Grant Program (Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 4380) of
14Part 4 of Division 4 of the Welfare and Institutions Code).
15(b) Sixty-six and two-thirds percent to the Public Safety
16Emergency Prevention Fund, established pursuant to Section
1714001 of the Penal Code for the purposes described in Section
1814002 of the Penal Code.
No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
21Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
22the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
23district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
24infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
25for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of
26the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within
27the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B
of the California
28Constitution.
This act provides for a tax levy within the meaning of
31Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate effect.
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