BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE COMMITTEE ON VETERANS AFFAIRS
JEFF DENHAM, CHAIRMAN
Bill No: SB 646
Author: Denham
Version: As Introduced
Hearing Date: April 14, 2009
Fiscal: Yes
Consultant: Donald E. Wilson
SUBJECT OF BILL
California GI Bill
PROPOSED LAW
To create a state level GI Bill to provide supplementary
educational benefits upon the expiration of federal level
GI Bill benefits.
EXISTING LAW AND BACKGROUND
In 1944, the "Servicemembers Readjustment Act" was passed
by the United States' Congress and began the tradition of
providing educational benefits to returning service
members. By the time the program ended in 1956 it was
commonly referred to as the GI Bill.
The program was envisioned as a way to prevent the problems
that occurred at the end of World War I by helping veterans
readjust to civilian life.
In 1966, the GI Bill became more of the permanent fixture
we know today.
After 2001, the reserve educational assistance program
(REAP) was introduced, which provides further benefits.
In 2008 the Post 9/11 GI Bill was passed, which contains a
considerable amount more in tuition coverage.
COMMENT
1. This bill is intended to provide continuing
education benefits for those soldiers who have used
their federal level Montgomery GI Bill benefits in
their entirety.
2. This bill originally prevented runaway costs by
limiting a soldier's eligibility to not exceed the
number of months said soldier participated in the
Montgomery GI Bill program.
3. This bill was AB 767 (Walters) in 2007. The
program was expected to benefit about 3,300 California
veterans in its first year.
4. It was obvious from letters received by the
committee that much about the GI Bill program is
misunderstood. One letter from a state institution
declared "it is likely that hundreds of thousands of
veterans could qualify for an exemption under this
bill."
5. Here are the realities of the Montgomery GI Bill.
a) California's 2.2 million veterans consist largely of
those individuals who served in World War II, Korea,
Vietnam, and Desert Storm/Desert Shield along with all
those who served during peacetime in between those
conflicts.
b) The GI Bill used by WWII veterans lost its
authorization in 1956 and is no longer active. The
Montgomery GI Bill was not authorized until 1985. Under
the Montgomery GI Bill, servicemen only have 10 ten years
from the date of separation from the military to use it.
c) Under these circumstances, veterans from WWII to
Grenada were never eligible. Any Desert Storm or Desert
Shield veterans who started service in 1985 or before do
not fall under the parameters of the Montgomery GI Bill.
d) Most of California's veterans do not meet the
eligibility requirements for the Montgomery GI Bill and
cannot take advantage of it - much less of the program
this bill seeks to authorize.
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6. With a new Post 9/11 GI Bill that now covers veterans
from 2001 until now, there are even fewer veterans that
would need this program as compared to 2007.
7. The Montgomery GI Bill is not a program in which
soldiers are automatically enrolled. Even for those
veterans who have served since 1985, not all of them
qualify for the program. Only a percentage of soldiers
sign up for the GI Bill in boot camp or within the window
after boot camp graduation that one is allowed to sign up
for the program.
8. Of those soldiers that sign up, an even smaller
percentage go on after military separation to use their
benefits. According to the one source at the California
National Guard, up to 90% of the National Guard members
who sign up for GI Bill benefits do not use them later.
9. Concerns are also raised as to the potential loss of
revenues from losing out-of-state tuition charges. This
bill is limited to two categories of people (a) those
from California who volunteered for the Armed Forces of
the United States and (b) those who served in the
California National Guard, California State Military
Reserve, or the California Naval Militia. That concern
is over those people that may have enlisted in California
but not returned home upon completion of duty.
10. In summary, although there will be some
costs associated with this benefit, there is no reason
to believe that costs will skyrocket out of control.
In order to benefit from this bill a veteran will have
to meet the following, which will disqualify the vast
majority of California's veterans-
a) service after 1985
b) sign up for the program in boot camp
c) use the program within 10 years of separation from
the military
d) attended school long enough to exhaust federal
level benefits
e) apply for and qualify for this program after
exhausting federal benefits
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SUPPORT
Vietnam Veterans of America, California State Council
Faculty Association of California Community Colleges
American Legion, Department of California
OPPOSE
None received
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