Revenue and Taxation committee advances CalABLE, pediatric research fund; sends multiple bills to suspense file

The California State Assembly Committee on Revenue and Taxation on April 2025 advanced AB 1076, a bill to expand outreach and funding tools for the CalABLE savings program, and AB 703, which would create a voluntary state tax contribution fund for pediatric cancer research. The panel also referred multiple bills to its suspense file to allow broader cost and policy review.

Why it matters: The committee’s actions keep funding and tax-policy proposals moving through the legislative process while using the committee’s revived “suspense file” tool to group higher-cost measures for later deliberation. The CalABLE measure and the pediatric cancer fund would affect different constituencies — people with disabilities and families affected by childhood cancers — but both drew supporters who said the state can and should create more predictable funding or outreach paths.

AB 1076 — CalABLE outreach and fundraising Assemblymember Addis, the bill’s author, told the committee AB 1076 clarifies CalABLE’s ability to accept philanthropic grants and legislative appropriations and requires that information about CalABLE be included in state tax return instructions. "CalABLE accounts are tax advantage savings accounts for people with disabilities that allow them to save a hundred thousand dollars," Addis said during her presentation.

Connie Chan, legislative manager for the state treasurer (the bill’s sponsor office), said CalABLE has over 13,000 accounts and about $180,000,000 in assets but remains accessible to less than 1 percent of the state’s eligible population; she also cited a treasurer’s office survey that found only 22.6 percent of respondents with a disability were familiar with CalABLE. Chan said the bill would enable CalABLE to solicit philanthropic support for outreach and to use modest tax-return language to raise awareness similar to the ScholarShare 529 approach. Anne Osborne, deputy executive director at CalABLE, was present for technical questions. The committee voted 5–0 to pass AB 1076 to the Appropriations Committee.

AB 703 — Pediatric cancer research voluntary tax contribution AB 703, presented on behalf of Assemblymember Alex Lee, would create a voluntary contribution fund on state tax returns for pediatric cancer research. Youth and family advocates described personal experiences with deadly pediatric brain tumors and urged the committee to approve a mechanism to raise private contributions through tax returns. "By passing this bill, California can become the seventh state in the nation to offer a childhood cancer research tax check-off," said Sahil Mehta, who testified in support.

The committee moved AB 703 as amended to Appropriations by roll call after discussion of technical amendments the author accepted.

Other items sent to suspense The committee reinstated its suspense-file rule for measures with estimated revenue impacts of roughly plus or minus $150,000 (the committee described the figure as a threshold) and said nearly every bill on the agenda would be referred to that file except items specifically called for a vote. The following bills were discussed in detail but referred to the suspense file for further fiscal review or later consideration by the committee: - AB 834 (teacher tax credit): Author and supporters described out-of-pocket classroom spending by teachers and proposed a state tax credit to mirror the federal $300 teacher deduction; committee designated it a suspense-file candidate. - AB 613 (CORE Act): Would recognize enforceable affordability restrictions on commercial leases for nonprofit-owned properties for property-tax assessment purposes, intended to preserve affordable commercial space for small businesses; assessors raised concerns about unclear definitions and administrative burdens, and the bill was placed in suspense while author and assessors work on technical fixes. - AB 1485 (tribal welfare exemption for land held for conservation): Would add federally recognized tribes to the entities eligible for the property-tax welfare exemption for land held for conservation; sponsors said it is intended to avoid penalizing tribes reacquiring ancestral lands that will remain in conservation uses. - AB 895 (quick-service restaurant tax credit): Seeks targeted tax credits for small, family-owned quick-service restaurants affected by sharp minimum-wage and payroll cost increases; proponents said the credit offsets higher workers’ compensation and labor costs and asked the committee to move it at the appropriate time; referred to suspense. - AB 1057 (Heroes Overtime Relief Act): Proposes a temporary tax exemption on overtime wages for qualified first responders during a declared state of emergency; sponsors and public-safety groups supported the measure; placed in suspense. - AB 1431 (rural health-care provider tax credit): Would offer an annual credit of up to $5,000 for medical professionals practicing in rural areas to improve access to care; health-provider groups and rural clinics supported the proposal; suspense-file referral. - AB 1481 (I-130 filing-fee tax credit): Proposes a state income tax credit for I-130 family-petition filing fees to ease the cost of family-based immigration; sponsors said they will seek conforming amendments; referred to suspense. - AB 245 (Los Angeles wildfire property-tax relief): A bill to extend rebuild deadlines and allow assessors to act to prevent lost relief for property owners affected by the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires; the author said the measure extends the current rebuild deadline by three years in affected areas and gives assessors authority to file required paperwork on owners’ behalf when necessary; committee referred it to suspense.

What the committee decided not to do: For high-cost or complex measures the committee repeatedly used the suspense-file referral to allow staff time to refine cost estimates, clarify implementation steps and reconcile technical language with county assessors and other local administrators.

Next steps: AB 1076 and AB 703 proceed to the Assembly Appropriations Committee. Bills placed in suspense will be re-noticed for the committee’s suspense calendar after fiscal analyses and any technical amendments.

Votes at a glance - AB 1076 (Addis) — Authorize CalABLE to accept philanthropic funds and require inclusion of CalABLE information on tax returns: passed to Appropriations by roll call (5–0). Recorded yes: Gibson; DeMio; Garcia; Mckinner; Quirk Silva. - AB 703 (Lee, presented by Gonzales) — Voluntary pediatric cancer research contribution fund on state tax returns: motion passed as amended to Appropriations (committee called roll; authors accepted committee amendments). Recorded yes votes were collected and the measure was ordered moved to Appropriations. - All other bills on today's agenda were placed in the committee's suspense file for further fiscal review and amendment as described above.

Who testified and key voices Speakers who presented or testified included Assemblymember Addis (author, AB 1076); Connie Chan (legislative manager, Office of the State Treasurer); Anne Osborne (deputy executive director, CalABLE); youth and family advocates Sahil Mehta and Rianne Colt (AB 703 supporters); Assemblymember Gonzales (presenter for AB 613 and others); Christina Wynne (Sacramento County Assessor, appearing on assessor association positions); and multiple nonprofit and industry witnesses who offered technical or policy testimony. The committee chair presiding was Assemblymember Gibson.

The committee will publish a suspense-file calendar with return dates for referred measures; bills that were passed to Appropriations will receive fiscal review there.