§ 5862b. Vermont Children’s Trust Foundation checkoff
(a) Returns filed by individuals shall include, on a form prescribed by the Commissioner
of Taxes, an opportunity for the taxpayer to designate funds to the Vermont Children’s
Trust Foundation.
(b) Amounts so designated shall be deducted from refunds due to, or overpayments made
by, the designating taxpayers. All amounts so designated and deducted shall be deposited
in an account by the Commissioner of Taxes for payment to the Vermont Children’s Trust
Foundation. If at any time after the payment of amounts so designated to the account
it is determined that the taxpayer was not entitled to all or any part of the amount
so designated, the Commissioner may assess, and the account shall then pay to the
Commissioner, the amount received, together with interest at the rate prescribed by
section 3108 of this title, from the date the payment was made until the date of repayment.
(c) The Commissioner of Taxes shall explain to taxpayers the purposes of the account and
how to contribute to it. The Commissioner shall make available to taxpayers the annual
income and expense report of the Vermont Children’s Trust Foundation and shall provide
notice in the instructions for the State individual income tax return that the report
is available at the Department of Taxes.
(d) If amounts paid with respect to a return are insufficient to cover both the amount
owed on the return under this chapter and the amount designated by the taxpayer as
a contribution to the Vermont Children’s Trust Foundation, the payment shall first
be applied to the amount owed on the return under this chapter and the balance, if
any, shall be deposited in the account.
(e) Nothing in this section shall be construed to require the Commissioner to collect
any amount designated as a contribution to the Vermont Children’s Trust Foundation.
(f) The Vermont Children’s Trust Foundation shall use the revenue received under this
section to provide funds for community-based primary prevention programs that have
been shown to be effective for juveniles. The Foundation shall solicit proposals for
grant awards from public and private persons and agencies and shall evaluate the proposals
on the basis of the following criteria:
(1) the demonstrated effectiveness of the program upon which the proposal is based;
(2) the need for such services within the community;
(3) other resources available to meet the need for primary prevention services; and
(4) the ability of the applicant to obtain funding from another source to cover a portion
of the program costs.
(g) To the extent that funds permit, the Vermont Children’s Trust Foundation shall award
and administer grants to applicants of proposals that the Foundation determines to
have met the criteria established in subsection (f) of this section. The Foundation
shall monitor expenditures by grantees and evaluate the effectiveness of the programs,
assistance, or services financed by the revenue received under this section. The Foundation
shall develop guidelines for the coordination of community-based primary prevention
programs, the application process, and the distribution of grants under this section. (Added 1995, No. 164 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 2021, No. 179 (Adj. Sess.), § 8, eff. July 1, 2022; 2023, No. 6, § 379, eff. July 1, 2023.)