CALITICS REPORT - Sen. Ricardo Lara, Chair of the Legislative Latino Caucus in addition to being a member of the LGBT caucus, is working with a number of LGBT focused organizations to strip California tax exempt status from discriminatory groups:
The Youth Equality Act, sponsored by Sen. Ricardo Lara, D-Long Beach, would deny tax-exempt status to youth groups that discriminate on the basis of gender identity, race, sexual orientation, nationality, religion or religious affiliation.
That means those groups would have to pay corporate taxes on donations, membership dues, camp fees and other sources of income, as well as sales taxes on food, beverages and homemade items sold at fundraisers.
The Boy Scouts cite the many good things they do, which are many, as a reason to keep their tax exempt status. But apparently, those good things don't apply to gay teens.
This bill, which is the first of its kind in the nation, has a long way to go, but with the partisan breakdown of the Legislature, the biggest question is what Gov. Brown will do with it.
Of course, the Boy Scouts could just end their discrimination, and not have to worry about the bill at all. There is talk of a resolution that would end the discrimination, but no official proposal has been released.
(Brian Leubitz holds a law degree from the University of Texas and a Master of Public Policy (M.P.P) from the Goldman School at The University of California, Berkeley. He is the publisher and editor of Calitics.com where this piece was first posted.) –cw
CityWatch
Vol 11 Issue 30
Pub: Apr 12, 2013