(b) Notwithstanding Section 19542 or any other law, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2020, and before January 1, 2026, the Franchise Tax Board may, upon request, disclose the return information described in paragraph (1) to the State Department of Social Services and the State Department of Health Care Services.

(1) Upon receipt of the information described in subdivision (a), the Franchise Tax Board may disclose the following:

(A) Whether the program participant did not file a tax return.

(B) Whether the program participant was claimed as a dependent on a tax return.

(2) The information provided shall remain confidential and shall be used only for purposes of informing individuals of the availability of the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA), CalFile, the federal Earned Income Tax Credit, the California Earned Income Tax Credit, and other federal and state antipoverty tax credits that are designed to alleviate poverty and tax burdens of low-income households.

(3) The Franchise Tax Board shall not disclose or provide any federal tax information.

(c) (1) The State Department of Social Services and the State Department of Health Care Services that receive data from the Franchise Tax Board shall annually provide to the Franchise Tax Board, no later than January 1 of each calendar year, the results and findings of outreach conducted to measure whether the outreach achieves its intended purpose of increasing the number of claims for the federal Earned Income Tax Credit, the California Earned Income Tax Credit, and other state and federal antipoverty tax credits.

(2) The results and findings of outreach conducted by the State Department of Social Services and the State Department of Health Care Services required under paragraph (1) shall include, but are not limited to, the following information:

(A) The number of outreach contacts.

(B) A description of each outreach program and the parameters of that program.

(C) The number of individuals responding to outreach contacts referenced in subparagraph (A), if known.

(d) For purposes of this section, the following shall apply:

(1) “Voluntary Income Tax Assistance (VITA)” means the free basic income tax return preparation program, for federal and state personal income tax returns, managed by the Internal Revenue Service and operated by Internal Revenue Service partners and trained volunteers.

(2) “CalFile” means the Franchise Tax Board’s free, direct, online program for taxpayers to complete and e-file their state personal income tax returns.

(3) “Program participant” means any individual who receives benefits from a social services program administered by the State Department of Social Services or the State Department of Health Care Services.

(e) An unauthorized disclosure or use of the information disclosed pursuant to this section is a misdemeanor pursuant to Section 19552.

(Amended by Stats. 2023, Ch. 55, Sec. 7. (SB 131) Effective July 10, 2023.)