Am. S.B. 88 Summary

• Establishes nonrefundable tax credits for donations to educational scholarship organizations that provide scholarships to low-income students attending chartered nonpublic schools.

• Defines eligible students as low-income residents (household income not exceeding 300% of reduced-price lunch threshold) who did not receive another qualified scholarship under similar programs.

• Sets individual tax credit limits at $1,000 per year and joint filer limits at $2,500 per year; other taxpayers capped at $300,000 with three-year carryforward for excess credits.

• Requires educational scholarship organizations to be nonprofit, 501(c)(3) entities that spend at least 90% of donations on scholarships, conduct criminal background checks on employees, and award 50% of new scholarships to students new to private schools.

• Establishes annual credit limit of $20 million for fiscal year 2012, increasing 20% annually if the prior year limit was reached; modifies criminal records check requirements and tax credit ordering rules across multiple tax codes.