Grants a $3,000 personal income tax deduction to active members of the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary who have been active members for 5 or more years.

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S2735-2011 Actions

• Jan 4, 2012: REFERRED TO INVESTIGATIONS AND GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS
• Jan 31, 2011: REFERRED TO INVESTIGATIONS AND GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS

S2735-2011 Memo

BILL NUMBER:S2735               REVISED 05/02/11

TITLE OF BILL:
An act
to amend the tax law, in relation to establishing a personal tax
deduction for members of the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary

PURPOSE:
To grant a $3,000 personal income tax deduction to active members of
the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary who have been active members
for five or more years.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section one of the bill adds a new paragraph 39 of subsection (c) of
section 612 of the tax law that would allow an active member in the
United States Coast Guard Auxiliary a $3,000 state income tax
deduction provided that: (a) the member has served for at least five
years in the Coast Guard Auxiliary and (b) such membership is
certified by the chief director of the United States Coast Guard
Auxiliary.

EXISTING LAW:
None.

JUSTIFICATION:
The Coast Guard Auxiliary is the civilian, nonmilitary component of
the US Coast Guard, created by Congress in 1939. It is an all
volunteer, non paid, uniformed organization that directly supports
the Coast Guard in all of its missions, except direct military and
law enforcement actions. There are approximately 3,400 active
Auxiliary members in New York. They actively patrol our waterways,
assisting the Coast Guard in protecting our coastline from foreign
and domestic threats, educating the boating public, inspecting
commercial/pleasure boats and serving side-by-side with active duty
members of the Coast Guard at their stations and on their vessels.
They are ready for immediate call-out for a maritime emergency,
should the need arise as it did on September 11, 2001. The Auxiliary
provides and promotes: Homeland Security; Direct Coast Guard
Augmentation; Maritime Domain Awareness Patrols (MDA); Search and
Rescue (SAR); Public Education; Free Vessel Safety Checks; Marine
Environmental Protection; and U.S. Coast Guard Recruiting.
In 2004, the Auxiliary performed 8,321 Vessel Safety Checks, expended
18,121 hours in public education and the total volunteer hours
expended for all Auxiliary programs was 422,673. These volunteers
provide a difficult but necessary service that keep boaters in New
York safe. By providing the exemption, it would help maintain current
Auxiliary membership, assist in recruitment of new members, increase
membership morale, and
serve as a modest reward for the extraordinary service and
contribution of time, talent, dedication and personal wealth that the
Auxiliary brings to the community.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2009-2010: S.3447/A.9089

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:


The Department of Taxation and Finance estimates that enactment of
this bill would result in a $90,000 revenue loss during SFY 2012-13
and a $350,000 revenue loss annually thereafter.

EFFECTIVE DATE:
This Act shall take effect on the first of January next succeeding the
date on which it shall have become a law.

S2735-2011 Text

                      S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
  ________________________________________________________________________

                                    2735

                         2011-2012 Regular Sessions

                              I N  SENATE

                              January 31, 2011
                                 ___________

  Introduced  by  Sens. JOHNSON, FLANAGAN, GOLDEN, LARKIN, MAZIARZ -- read
    twice and ordered printed, and when printed to  be  committed  to  the
    Committee on Investigations and Government Operations

  AN  ACT to amend the tax law, in relation to establishing a personal tax
    deduction for members of the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary

    THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
  BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


    Section  1. Subsection (c) of section 612 of the tax law is amended by
  adding a new paragraph 39 to read as follows:

    (39) THREE THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR ANY TAXPAYER WHO, DURING  THE  TAXABLE
  YEAR, WAS AN ENROLLED AND ACTIVE MEMBER OF THE UNITED STATES COAST GUARD
  AUXILIARY  AND  HAS  BEEN SO ENROLLED AND ACTIVE FOR FIVE OR MORE YEARS.
  THE TAXPAYER SHALL HAVE BEEN CERTIFIED BY  THE  CHIEF  DIRECTOR  OF  THE
  UNITED  STATES COAST GUARD AUXILIARY AS AN ENROLLED AND ACTIVE MEMBER OF
  THE UNITED STATES COAST GUARD AUXILIARY FOR AT  LEAST  FIVE  YEARS.  THE
  COMMISSIONER SHALL DETERMINE THE PROCEDURE FOR SUCH CERTIFICATION.
    S  2. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed-
  ing the date on which it shall have become a law.





   EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                        [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                             LBD01847-01-1