Official Summary Text
AB 2607, as amended, Nguyen.
CalSavers: retirement savings.
California Americans with Disabilities Act Small Business Capital Access Loan Program.
Existing law establishes the California Americans with Disabilities Act Small Business Capital Access Loan Program to assist small businesses in complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Existing law requires the Capital Programs and Climate Financing Authority to adopt regulations to establish and regulate new loss reserve accounts for qualified loans made by participating lenders to small businesses for eligible products, as specified, including regulations limiting terms of loans and recaptures from loss reserve accounts to 5 years, as specified. Existing law caps qualified loans under the program at $50,000. Existing law establishes the California Americans with Disabilities Act Small Business Capital Access Loan Program Fund, a continuously appropriated fund to be administered by the
authority for the purposes of the program. Existing law prescribes the uses for moneys in the fund, including specified program and administrative expenditures, and limits administrative expenditures to 5% of the initial appropriation plus 5% of all moneys recaptured.
Existing law establishes the California Seismic Safety Capital Access Loan Program, which is similar to the California Americans with Disabilities Act Small Business Capital Access Loan Program, to assist residential property owners with and small business owners seismically retrofitting residences and small businesses, as specified. Existing law establishes the California Seismic Safety Capital Access Loan Program Fund, a continuously appropriated fund to be used for the purposes of the program, as specified.
This bill would increase the cap for qualified loans under the California Americans with Disabilities Act Small Business Capital Access Loan Program to
$250,000. The bill would, as of the operative date of the bill, require the authority to transfer the moneys from the California Seismic Safety Capital Access Loan Program Fund to the California Americans with Disabilities Act Small Business Capital Access Loan Program Fund. The bill would provide that moneys in the California Americans with Disabilities Act Small Business Capital Access Loan Program Fund may additionally be used for financial assistance to eligible projects, as specified. The bill would change the limit for administrative expenditures from the California Americans with Disabilities Act Small Business Capital Access Loan Program Fund to 5% of the initial appropriation plus 5% of all interest earned and moneys recaptured. The bill would require the regulations adopted for the California Americans with Disabilities Act Small Business Capital Access Loan Program to increase the 5-year term and recapture limits described above to 15 years. By transferring money into a continuously appropriated
fund, expanding the purposes for which moneys in a continuously appropriated fund may be used, and increasing the amount of moneys that may be expended from a continuously appropriated fund, this bill would make an appropriation.
Existing law, the CalSavers Retirement Savings Trust Act, administered by the CalSavers Retirement Savings Board (board), establishes the CalSavers Retirement Savings Program (program) and the CalSavers Retirement Savings Trust (trust). Under existing law, the trust consists of a program fund and an administrative fund with trust moneys that are continuously appropriated and administered by the CalSavers Retirement Savings Board for the purpose of promoting greater retirement savings for California private employees. Existing law requires eligible employers to offer a payroll deposit retirement savings arrangement so that eligible employees may contribute a portion of their salary or wages to a retirement savings program account in the program, as specified.
Existing law defines “eligible employer” as a person or entity engaged in a business,
industry, profession, trade, or other enterprise in the state, whether for profit or not for profit, excluding, among others, specified federal, state, and local governmental entities, with at least one eligible employee and that satisfies certain requirements to establish or participate in a payroll deposit retirement savings arrangement.
This bill would expand that definition of “eligible employer” to include household employers, defined as those who have hired or contracted someone to work in or around their home for the benefit of their personal household and who provide the employee a W-2 federal tax form to evidence tax deductions at the federal and state level. By expanding eligibility under these provisions, the bill would remove a restriction limiting expenditure of funds and authorize the expenditure of continuously appropriated moneys for a new purpose, thereby making an appropriation.
Existing law requires the
board, subject to its authority and fiduciary duty, to design and implement the program. Existing law authorizes the board to provide for investment in myRAs. Existing law requires the program to include, as determined by the board, one or more payroll deduction IRA arrangements. Existing law provides the board with the power and authority to, among other things, make and enter into contracts necessary for the administration of the trust and to disseminate information concerning tax credits available to small business owners for allowing their employees to participate in the program and the federal Retirement Savings Contribution Credit (Saver’s Credit).
This bill would eliminate the authority of the board to invest in myRAs and would make related conforming changes. The bill would require the program, with board approval, to establish an IRA on behalf of participants who are eligible to receive federal or state retirement benefits, as specified, establish a payroll
deposit emergency savings account on behalf of participants for the purpose of preserving retirement investments, and notify participants at least 30 days prior to the creation of the accounts.
This bill would additionally authorize the board to assess the feasibility of multi-state or regional agreements to administer the program and to disseminate information concerning tax credits available to small business owners for allowing their employees to participate in the successor to the Saver’s Credit, known as the Saver’s Match.
Existing law requires the board, prior to opening the program for enrollment, to establish a retirement investments clearinghouse on its internet website and a vendor registration process, if there is sufficient interest by vendors to participate and provide the necessary funding. Existing law requires vendors that would like to participate in the board’s retirement investments clearinghouse and be
listed on the board’s internet website as a registered vendor to provide specified information to the board.
This bill would eliminate the above-described requirement for the board to establish a retirement investments clearinghouse on its internet website and a vendor registration process, and would instead require vendors that would like to contract with the board to provide specified information to the board. The bill would make related conforming changes.
Existing law authorizes an employer to choose to have a payroll deposit retirement savings arrangement to allow employee participation in the program under the terms and conditions prescribed by the board. Existing law requires, by December 31, 2025, eligible employers with one or more eligible employees and do not offer a retirement savings program, as provided, to have a payroll deposit retirement savings arrangement to allow employee participation in the program.
Existing law provides the board the powers and duties necessary to administer the enforcement of employer compliance, as provided.
This bill would instead, beginning December 31, 2027 and by December 31 of each calendar year, require eligible employers with one or more eligible employees who do not offer a retirement savings program, as specified, to have a payroll deposit retirement savings arrangement to allow employee participation in the program.
Existing law requires the board to issue to each employer who fails to allow its eligible employees to participate in the program, as provided, a notice of penalty application. Existing law requires each eligible employer that, without good cause, fails to allow its employees to participate in the program, as specified, after the board serves a final notice of penalty application, to be subject to a penalty of $250 per eligible employee and an additional penalty of $500 per
eligible employee if noncompliance continues, as described. Existing law requires the Franchise Tax Board to issue a first notice of the imposition of a penalty to an eligible employer for failure to comply after the board informs the Franchise Tax Board of the eligible employer’s noncompliance. Existing law requires amounts collected by the Franchise Tax Board for these purposes to be transmitted to the board for deposit in the trust.
This bill would additionally subject each eligible employer that fails to allow its eligible employees to participate in the program after the above-described penalties have been assessed to a penalty of $500 per eligible employee. The bill would prohibit the penalties assessed from being imposed more than once every 180 days since the last violation. By depositing additional penalties into the trust, a continuously appropriated fund, the bill would make an appropriation.