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2019 Regular Session
SENATE BILL NO. 224
BY SENATOR BOUDREAUX
TAX/INCOME/PERSONAL. Provides for the individual income tax credit for donations
to school tuition organizations. (1/1/20)
1 AN ACT
2 To amend and reenact R.S. 47:6301(B)(1)(c)(v), (ix), and (x), relative to the credit for
3 donations to school tuition organizations; to provide for timing and distribution of
4 scholarship payments; to provide relative to the annual report; and to provide for
5 related matters.
6 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
7 Section 1. R.S. 47:6301(B)(1)(c)(v), (ix), and (x) are hereby amended and reenacted
8 to read as follows:
9 ยง6301. Credit; donations to school tuition organizations
10 * * *
11 B.(1) * * *
12 (c) A school tuition organization which provides scholarships to qualified
13 students shall do all of the following:
14 * * *
15 (v) Distribute scholarship payments in September, December, February, and
16 May of each year as checks made out to a parent of a qualified student which are
17 mailed October and February of each year to the qualifying school where the
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1 student is enrolled. The parent shall restrictively endorse the check approve the
2 scholarship payment for deposit into the account of the school. The parent shall not
3 designate any entity or individual associated with the school as the parent's attorney
4 to endorse a scholarship check approve a scholarship payment. Any parent who
5 receives payments in accordance with the provisions of this Section shall not be
6 allowed to claim the amount received as any other credit, deduction, exemption, or
7 rebate under Title 47 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950. A school tuition
8 organization may withhold scholarship payments designated for a qualified
9 student if one or more previous payments were not approved by the parent for
10 deposit into the account of the qualified school where the student is or was
11 previously enrolled. If a student who has received a scholarship ceases to be
12 enrolled in a qualified school, the school shall immediately notify the respective
13 student school tuition organization and the Department of Education that the student
14 is no longer enrolled. Upon receipt of such notification, the student school tuition
15 organization shall cease making payments to the school for that student. Scholarship
16 payments made by a school tuition organization shall not be claimed for the
17 purposes of any other credit, deduction, exemption, or rebate.
18 * * *
19 (ix) Provide a public report to the Department of Education which contains
20 information regarding all scholarships awarded or granted in the previous state fiscal
21 year. The report shall be prepared by a certified public accountant and shall be
22 submitted to the department no later than the first last day of January each year. The
23 report shall contain the name and address of the school tuition organization, the total
24 number and total dollar amount of donations received during the previous state fiscal
25 year, the total number and total dollar amount of educational scholarships awarded
26 to qualified students, the total amount expended on administrative costs, and the
27 percentage breakdown of donations expended on scholarship and administrative
28 costs during the previous state fiscal year. The report shall include the actual tuition
29 and fee amounts published by the qualifying schools which enrolled a student with
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1 a scholarship from that school tuition organization. The report shall also contain the
2 total amount of contributions received by the school tuition organization, the total
3 amount of contributions made by each contributor during the previous calendar year,
4 and the social security number or Louisiana taxpayer identification number of each
5 contributor. Failure of a student school tuition organization to report all information
6 required in this Item to the Department of Education by the first last day of January,
7 unless granted an extension of no more than thirty days by the Department of
8 Education for good cause the school tuition organization applies for a thirty-day
9 extension before the report due date, shall be deemed sufficient noncompliance
10 of this Section and shall result in the tuition organization being barred from
11 participating in the credit authorized under this Section for the current school year
12 and the upcoming school year. An electronic format of this report shall be furnished
13 to the Department of Revenue by the Department of Education on or by the first day
14 of February before the first day of March of each year.
15 (x) Annually demonstrate its financial accountability through a financial
16 information report that complies with uniform financial accounting standards. The
17 report shall be prepared by a certified public accountant and shall be submitted to the
18 Department of Education. The report shall contain a certification from an auditor that
19 the report is free of material misstatements.
20 * * *
21 Section 2. This Act shall become effective on January 1, 2020.
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Leonore Heavey.
DIGEST
SB 224 Engrossed 2019 Regular Session Boudreaux
Present law provides a credit for the amount of the taxpayer's donation actually used by a
school tuition organization (STO) to fund a scholarship to a qualified student, which shall
not include administrative costs.
Present law requires payments of scholarships four times a year.
Proposed law reduces the required scholarship payments to two per year.
Present law requires that scholarship payments be made in the form of a check that is mailed
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to the parent of the child receiving the scholarship.
Proposed law eliminates the requirement that all scholarship payments be made by paper
check.
Proposed law authorizes a school tuition organization to withhold scholarship payments
designated for a qualified student if one or more previous payments were not approved by
the parent for deposit into the account of the qualified school where the student is or was
previously enrolled.
Present law requires that the school tuition organization prepare and submit an annual report
to the Department of Education by Jan. 1 of each year.
Proposed law changes the annual report due date to Jan. 31.
Present law authorizes the Department of Education to grant a 30-day extension for the
annual report upon good cause shown by the school tuition organization.
Proposed law changes the 30-day extension to an automatic extension provided that the
school tuition organization requests the extension before the due date of the report.
Effective January 1, 2020.
(Amends R.S. 47:6301(B)(1)(c)(v), (ix), and (x))
Summary of Amendments Adopted by Senate
Committee Amendments Proposed by Senate Committee on Revenue and Fiscal
Affairs to the original bill
1. Removes provision related to determining the amount of the credit.
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Coding: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law;
words in boldface type and underscored are additions.