Bill > SB1349

This bill requires the Legislative Analyst’s Office, a nonpartisan government agency that provides fiscal and policy advice to the California Legislature, to conduct comprehensive assessments and publish public reports on six major tax expenditures—which are government programs like tax credits, deductions, and exemptions that reduce state revenue—starting with the first report by January 1, 2028, and concluding with a final report by January 1, 2032. Specifically, the legislation focuses on costly tax provisions that have historically lacked sufficient oversight and metrics, including specific rules related to research credits, inherited property, like-kind exchanges, accelerated depreciation, and business income apportionment. In preparing these reports, the Legislative Analyst’s Office must identify potential state budget savings, evaluate how cost-effective the tax breaks are compared to other options, analyze their impacts on the state's General Fund (the state's primary operating fund, which heavily funds public education through a system mandated by Proposition 98) and local economies, and recommend whether the Legislature should improve or repeal them. To perform this work, state tax and employment agencies are directed to provide secure, anonymized taxpayer data to the Legislative Analyst's Office, and relevant legislative policy committees are required to hold joint public hearings on the reports by August 15 of every second year of the legislative session, with the entire oversight program scheduled to automatically repeal on January 1, 2033.