BOY SCOUTS TAX CHECK-OFF & FUND                                                  H.B. 4243 & 4244:

                                                                                                      FLOOR SUMMARY

House Bills 4243 and 4244 (as passed by the House)

Sponsor:  Representative Paul Opsommer (H.B. 4243)

               Representative Bruce Rendon (H.B. 4244)

House Committee:  Tax Policy

CONTENT

House Bill 4243 would amend Section 435 of the Income Tax Act to add a tax check-off for the Boy Scouts of Michigan Fund, beginning with the 2012 tax year.

House Bill 4244 would enact the "Boy Scouts of Michigan Fund Act" to do the following:

-- Create the "Boy Scouts of Michigan Fund" in the Department of Treasury to provide funds for donation to any Boy Scout organization located in Michigan, "to prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the scout oath and law".

-- Require the State Treasurer to credit to the Fund all amounts appropriated for this purpose under Section 435 of the Income Tax Act.

-- Provide that money granted or received as a gift or donation to the Fund would be available for distribution upon appropriation to each county from which a contribution, gift, or donation was received.

-- Allow money from the Fund to be used as matching funds for a Federal grant if those funds were to be used for the purposes described in the bill.

The bills are tie-barred.

MCL 206.435 (H.B. 4243)                                             Legislative Analyst:  Suzanne Lowe

FISCAL IMPACT

The revenue from the proposed income tax check-off for the Boy Scouts of Michigan Fund would depend on the size and number of taxpayer donations.  The income tax check-off revenue history in recent years is summarized in the Table 1 below.  The proposed Fund would be administered by the Department of Treasury.  The Fund would carry-forward and be subject to appropriation.

Table 1

Estimated Income Tax Check-Off Donations by Fund

	Tax Year 2009		Tax Year 2010		Tax Year 2011^a)
	Number of Donations	Total Donated	Number of Donations	Total Donated	Number of Donations	Total Donated
Amanda's Fund for Breast Cancer	3,754	$37,818
Animal Welfare Fund^1)	7,854	100,862	10,852	$148,164	10,800	125,636
Children's Hospital of MI Fund	5,661	61,186	7,418	90,853
Children's Miracle Network Fund	3,432	35,357	4,707	56,901
Children's Trust Fund^1)	17,244	185,407	7,387	92,631	8,499	88,839
Children of Veterans Tuition Grant Program^1)	15,225	126,531	5,928	76,417	5,878	70,374
Foster Care Trust Fund	2,407	24,123	3,467	40,057
Girl Scouts of Michigan Fund^1)					3,500	44,163
Michigan Military Relief Fund^1)	22,432	273,428	7,443	128,603	9,463	134,757
Michigan Council for the Arts Fund	2,598	27,978	3,356	34,677
Michigan Housing and Community Development Fund	1,618	17,415
Michigan Law Enforcement Memorial Fund	2,492	27,457
Prostate Cancer Research	2,920	29,319
Renewable Fuels Fund	2,157	18,247	2,589	23,648
United Way Fund^1)	5,736	241,797	7,747	389,080	5,574	163,937
Total		$1,206,925		$1,081,031		$627,706

^a) Collections through April 22, 2012.

¹⁾  Check-offs on the 2011 contribution schedule.

       Source:  Department of Treasury

Date Completed:  5-30-12                                                  Fiscal Analyst:  Elizabeth Pratt

This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.