This spring, the state government says tax relief is coming to Californians.

Governor Schwarzenegger signed Senator Lois Wolk’s (D-Davis) measure SB 401 on April 12. The law offers tax relief to California homeowners engaged in short sales or loan modifications and exempts federal renewable energy grants from taxation.

Without the law, debt forgiven on many home loans would be considered income and subject to state income tax. Under the new law, taxpayers can exclude up to $500,000 in income from mortgage debt forgiveness resulting from a short sale or loan modification on a recourse loan.

SB 401 also accelerates solar and wind energy projects by preventing state taxation of federal renewable energy production tax credits. Congress converted the tax credits to cash grants in 2009 as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act – simultaneously exempting the grants from federal taxation.

The new law also makes numerous updates, conforming state law to federal changes since 2005, making state and federal law simpler and more consistent.

The debt relief provisions take effect immediately and retroactively for the 2009 tax year and through 2012.

” [I] applaud Senator Lois Wolk, Senator Ron Calderon, Assemblymember V. Manuel Pérez and Assemblymember Anthony Portantino for their work,” Schwarzenegger said in a press release. “It is important that we continue to provide all possible assistance to homeowners who were negatively impacted by the mortgage crisis, and this bill will provide them with necessary mortgage debt relief and protect them from thousands of dollars in unfair taxes.”

The California Taxpayers’ Association supported the bill.

Vice President of Communications and Research David Kline said in addition to the assistance for struggling homeowners who now will not have to pay income tax on income they never received, SB 401 will reduce tax paperwork and reduce government waste by conforming state law to federal tax laws previously enacted by Congress.

Lack of conformity created a huge weight for taxpayers in California, including many small and large businesses, who are overburdened by regulation and taxation. A lack of conformity merely perpetuates the perception that California is hostile to business, Kline said.

Additionally, with California in the midst of a budget crisis, Kline said conformity is one tax policy that will not drain the state’s financial reserves. Rather, it will save money for both California and its taxpayers.

Kline said the bill’s one major problem is it does not include provisions to conform California law with the federal law relating to the deductibility (from personal income tax) of contributions made to health savings accounts. There are separate bills that seek to make this change, but they have not been successful.

Experts also believe the bill should benefit college students looking to live and work in California after graduation.

“The bill improves California’s business climate and thus improves the availability of jobs for college graduates,” Kline said. “The lack of tax conformity had been a major complaint of many large California employers and this was a factor when businesses were deciding whether to locate or expand in California or in other states.”

Although Senator Wolk said there is nothing that specifically affects college students, the increase in the “kiddie-age” tax from age 14 to 24 will allow children to not have to use their parents’ tax rate until age 24 if their child earns a certain amount of money.

Denise Azimi, communications director of the Franchise Tax Board, said she agreed the law will help college students, as the mortgage relief will allow students’ parents not to have to pay a state tax bill on top of college tuition.

For more information on the law visit ftb.ca.gov/aboutFTB/newsroom/Mortgage_Debt_Relief_Law.shtml.

ANGELA SWARTZ can be reached city@theaggie.org.

THURSDAY

Anger management

A male was seen pounding and pulling down the blinds on Inner Circle.

Hair-do profiling

A suspicious-looking man with dreadlocks was seen in the area on Eucalyptus Street and Boxelder Place.

Foliage attachment

A resident was upset when the Public Works Department was clearing out bushes that were blocking the stop sign on Villanova Drive.

FRIDAY

Auto zone… Get in the zone!

Someone broke into a vehicle, moved it across the street and removed the wheels and other parts from the car on Antelope Avenue.

Jacked up

A vehicle was up on a jack and all four wheels were removed on Sycamore Lane.

Blank statement

Someone’s bank account was drained, possibly by someone he or she knew on E Street.

New hot spot

Two subjects were drinking alcohol in the bushes on Second and K Streets.

SATURDAY

Picnic Day behavior

A subject threw a gooey substance at a window on Second Street.

Extra bulge

Someone stuffed a dress down his pants and ran out of the store on Second Street.

Friendly forewarning

Someone’s friend received a text message from someone he knew saying he was kicking his truck on Russell Boulevard.

Turn down the heat

People were spraying fire extinguishers on Drew Circle.

SUNDAY

Booze a-plenty

Subjects were shooting beer out of a water gun on A Street.

Effects of a vertical block party

There were an excessive number of subjects on a roof on A Street and an officer was concerned it could collapse.

Finding the way

Subjects got into an unlocked vehicle and stole the GPS unit on Leonardo Street.

Fire flies – literally

People were behind a residence on Tiber Avenue shooting flames from an unfamiliar apparatus and then a small explosion was heard.

If one of these incidents from Picnic Day weekend sounds familiar, you were probably in the POLICE BRIEFS. They are compiled by POOJA KUMAR from the public logs of the Davis Police Department (cityofdavis.org/police/log) and represent the official version of what happened.

Lines filed out of the front entrance of G Street’s Woodstock’s Pizza from noon until closing time as the restaurant seated at full capacity the entire day, said Woodstock’s Manager Bobby Fields.

“It was insane,” he said. “We had the biggest sale in Woodstock’s history on [this year’s Picnic Day].”

It wasn’t just Woodstock’s.

Picnic Day 2010, the 96th annual Picnic Day, strangled the streets of downtown Davis with parties, crowds and lines for restaurants and frozen dessert parlors alike. It was busy to an extent such that neither Cultivé Frozen Yogurt, Yoloberry nor Baskin Robbins had time to comment on the event as Picnic Day’s increased demand for frozen goods carried over full-force into Sunday.

At Ben and Jerry’s on First Street, Picnic Day was employee Sabrina Jefferson’s second day on the job, and she enjoyed serving the throngs of customers awaiting frozen treats on what was a comfortable 75-degree day.

“It was crazy, but at the same time, it was a lot of fun,” she said, adding that she did not mind working on Picnic Day because it is an all-day event that could be enjoyed at night.

The Davis Graduate on Russell Boulevard opened at 6 a.m. to meet the demands of early risers that wanted to take advantage of the bar’s one-dollar beer promotion.

Like Jefferson, manager Kenny Jessen found satisfaction in dealing with the increased foot-traffic.

“I have to prepare two weeks in advance [for Picnic Day] due to the fact that we’re so busy,” he said. “It’s a lot of work, but in the end it is well worth it.”

Others like Rose Vo, concierge at D Street’s Best Western Palm Court Hotel, said that working Picnic Day is not as enjoyable as experiencing it.

“Everybody hates working on Picnic Day; a lot of people requested off,” she said. “[There’s] a lot of garbage, a lot of pollution [on] our property, a lot of dirt going in, a lot of throw-up [and] a lot of alcoholic drinks.”

Employees and staff members may attempt to request off on Picnic Day, but policies at certain restaurants and bars require them to work in some capacity.

“Of course, nobody wants to work on Picnic Day-they’d rather be partying and having a good time,” said Woodstock’s Fields. “Here we have a policy: Everyone who works here is scheduled for one shift on Picnic Day.”

In an article posted on the UC Davis news and information website, UC Davis Police Lt. Matt Carmichael estimated that Picnic Day 2010 attracted an audience of about 75,000 people. Officers from the UC Berkeley and UC San Francisco Police Departments joined the UC Davis officers in keeping order on campus.

Off campus, the streets kept police officers busy.

“Most of our officers didn’t have time to write citations for littering [and other offenses],” said Davis Police Department Lt. Tom Waltz. “I noticed numerous accounts of people urinating on store fronts.”

For the Davis Police Department, Picnic Day presented a particularly harrowing case of felony battery. In addition to the 371 calls for service and 33 arrests during the Police Department’s Picnic Day “operational period,” a fight between 10 and 20 individuals broke out at 5:50 p.m. near The Davis Graduate, Waltz said.

As a police officer attempted to break up the fight by restraining one individual, another tackled him.

“Luckily some citizens stepped in and pulled the second subject off of him,” Waltz said.

The officer sustained several abrasions and a neck injury that warranted a visit to the emergency room, where he was treated and released later that night.

A Street apartments convulsed with raucous partygoers, with one party’s pink entrance sign reading, “21 and over; no high school sluts.” Another downtown house party featured a live band, an inflatable swimming pool and a dozen attendees dangling their feet off the protruding roof of the façade.

From the artificial horse insemination at the Horse Barn Area to “Doxie Derby” wiener-dog races at the Pavilion, UC Davis’ Picnic Day fostered its traditional family-friendly atmosphere. But sophomore Spanish and communication double major Kristiina Arrasmith said she found it odd that so many people were getting drunk on such a family-oriented day.

“You never see that many parties in Davis and then you bring all these families [on Picnic Day] and there’s all these drunk people,” Arrasmith said. “It just seems there are better days to be drunk.”

Senior managerial economics major Bill Kneapler said Picnic Day is the perfect mix of family and college fun. But he acknowledges alcohol is part of the experience, as well.

“It is the defining element of Picnic Day for college students,” he said.

YARA ELMJOUIE can be reached at city@theaggie.org.

Daniel Watts may have a unique topic for his constitutional law class essay: a paper about how he changed the Davis municipal code.

The 27-year-old UC Davis School of Law student, who ran for governor of California in 2003, is one of five candidates running for a city council seat in the June 8 Davis City Council election.

As part of his platform, Watts is seeking to repeal city ordinances that violate First Amendment rights to free speech, including Section 26.01.010 of the Davis Municipal Code addressing annoying persons and Section 26.01.100 addressing obscene language.

The ordinance banning annoying persons on the streets is “impermissibly vague” and the ordinance banning profane language impinges on the fundamental right of freedom of speech, Watts said.

Watts first appeared before the council in mid-March after sending a letter to the city attorney and receiving no reply.

Watts gave the city council until March 29 to repeal the ordinances, threatening litigation if they did not.

“The City Council basically mocked us at the meeting,” Watts said in a phone interview.

“There was some joking around,” said City Councilmember Sue Greenwald of the meeting in which the city attorney assured Watts that the city knew the ordinances were unconstitutional.

Greenwald said Watts has not changed public policy because the city had never enforced the ordinances.

“He helped bring to light the fact that we had not brought code up to date and that’s nice,” Greenwald said, adding that is not uncommon for jurisdictions to drag their feet on updating municipal codes.

The item passed on the consent agenda last week and is likely to pass again during a second reading at the next city council meeting on April 27, Councilmember Lamar Heystek said.

“It is remarkable that he has helped to change public policy,” Heystek said, who himself is the youngest city councilmember to serve since Bob Black in 1972.

Watts said his constitutional law professor first introduced him to the ordinances. The professor had listed various similar policies that had already been declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.

Now, Watts’ efforts, in concert with the King Hall ACLU, have changed public policy and are the topic of his local government law essay.

“He’s very supportive and enthusiastic about my candidacy,” Watts said of his constitutional law professor.

The city council candidate said it was important to him these laws be repealed because of the status of freedom of speech as a fundamental right.

“The punishment here is so facially unconstitutional, it has to be off the books,” he said.

Watts is also running to help improve students’ rights and students’ relationships with the rest of the city.

“[Students] are the life blood of Davis,” Heystek said. “If we don’t advocate for students then we’re not advocating for the life blood of Davis. Anybody who brings up student issues has my sympathy.”

The four other candidates on the June 8 ballot are Joe Krovoza, Jon Li, Rochelle Swanson and Sydney Vergis[cq all].

CHINTAN DESAI can be reached at city@theaggie.org.

The city of Davis’ June ballot will include Measure Q, which would continue the one-half cent sales tax that has been in effect since 2004.

If passed, this measure would continue the sales tax until Dec. 31, 2016.

“It is critical that the Davis community pass Measure Q,” said Mayor Ruth Asmundson. “The current sales tax override provides approximately $3 million to the city’s General Fund which is then used to help support basic city services, such as fire, police and park maintenance.”

A half-cent sales tax may not seem significant, but according to Asmundson, revenues from this tax make up about 8 percent of Davis’s General Fund.

“I’m going to support Measure Q,” said Kate Williams, a UC Davis alumni and two-year resident of Davis. “I like that it is a small amount, and it is part of the General Fund as opposed to a dedicated purpose, like just schools or just fire. I like the flexibility. Governments need the flexibility to choose where they put their limited resources.”

The resolution to include Measure Q on the ballot passed the City Council with one “no” vote from Councilmember Lamar Heystek.

“I don’t believe the voters should pass measure Q,” Heystek said. “I don’t feel the city has been responsible for addressing the budget issues.

Heystek said the poor economy is not the only reason the city’s budget has been hurting. He believes there are major structural issues with the city budget that should be addressed, such as overly generous and “unsustainable” benefits for city employees.

“If every city employee retired right now, we would owe between 42 and 60 million dollars,” Heystek said. “We can’t sustain a liability of 60 million.”

Heystek also said the city’s benefits plan gives disproportionate benefits to higher paid employees, which takes money away from other areas.

“I’m not aware of misuse of city funds,” Williams said. “We vote them in, and until there’s evidence of mismanagement, I think we should give them the resources they need.”

Local business owner and Davis resident of over 40 years, Peter Linz, also supports Measure Q.

“It’s not something I oppose,” said Linz, who opened the Logos bookstore on Second Street about two months ago. “Nobody likes taxes but we need the money.”

Linz also believes that the half-cent sales tax would not deter shoppers.

“This is what we have right now,” he said. “I don’t think it would hurt business but I think we could hurt public services by getting rid of it.”

In contrast, Dan Urazandi, a 20-year Davis resident and owner of Bizarro World, opposes this measure.

“I personally don’t support any new taxes,” Urazandi said. “From a business perspective, a sales tax hike is always bad. I didn’t sign on to be a tax collector.”

Davis anticipates a $1 million dollar budget deficit for the 2010-11 year and many cuts have already been made to city programs. If Measure Q does not pass, more cuts would likely be inevitable.

“The City Council has not yet determined how it would cut additional $3 million from the General Fund if Measure Q does not pass – whether cuts would be across the board cuts or cuts to more targeted cuts to specific program areas,” Asmundson said.

Despite these potential cuts, Heystek urges voters not to pass Measure Q.

“Taxpayers should take this opportunity to protest the city’s approach to the budget,” Heystek said. “You need to show voters you’ve made a real effort to address these issues before you ask for their support.”

Urazandi echoes this opinion.

“The government is broke because they spent too much money,” he said. “If my son came to me and said he was broke, I would ask him the same question-what happened to the allowance I just gave you?”

Davis voters will ultimately decide on this issue in the election on June 8.

SARAH HANSEL can be reached at city@theaggie.org.