BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  SB 1353
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   July 9, 2008

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                  Mark Leno, Chair

            SB 1353 (Negrete McLeod) - As Introduced:  February 20, 2008 

          Policy Committee:                              Veterans  
          AffairsVote: 8-0 (Consent)
                        PERSS                                 6-0  
          (Consent)

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          No     Reimbursable:               

           SUMMARY  

          This bill authorizes the governor to issue an executive order  
          extending existing benefits, from 24 to 60 months, for state  
          employees who are members of the California National Guard or  
          Armed Forces Reserve and were called to active duty after  
          September 11, 2001.

           FISCAL EFFECT  


          Minor annual GF and special fund costs, probably less than  
          $50,000 in total.


          According to the Military Department, there are approximately  
          2,400 state employees who are members of the National Guard and  
          Reserves, half of whom were deployed to active duty since  
          September 11, 2001. About 200 state employees are deployed at  
          any one time and only 16% of these (32 employees) receive the  
          differential pay. Additionally, only 2% of those deployed (24  
          state employees) have been called to federal service for a  
          cumulative period of two years since 2002. No state employees  
          are known to have exceeded the two year period, and it is very  
          unlikely that any of the members who already served two years  
          will be selected again for deployment anytime soon. However, if  
          those same members were deployed again, the maximum additional  
          cost to all state agencies are estimated at $48,000. 










                                                                  SB 1353
                                                                  Page  2

           COMMENTS  


           Background and Purpose  . SB 711 (Dunn)/Chapter 5 of 2002,  
          provided that state employees called into active duty as a  
          member of the California National Guard, or a United States  
          military reserve organization since September 11, 2001 are  
          entitled to the following, for a period not to exceed 365  
          calendar days, as part of their compensation: a) the difference  
          between the military pay and allowances and the pay the employee  
          would have received from the state, and b) all of the benefits  
          that would have been received if the employee had not been  
          called into active duty. 


          SB 1801 (O'Connell)/Chapter 902 of 2002 further authorized the  
          governor to issue an Executive Order extending the compensation  
          and benefits for an additional 365 days, or a total of two  
          years. This bill, sponsored by the Military Department,  
          similarly authorizes the governor to extend the benefits by  
          executive order by up to an additional 1,460 days, for a total  
          of up to five years. 


           Analysis Prepared by  :    Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081