BILL NUMBER: AB 882	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MAY 27, 2011
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 25, 2011

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Cook

                        FEBRUARY 17, 2011

    An act to add and repeal Section 700.5 of, and to add and
repeal Chapter 2.5 (commencing with Section 775) of Division 4 of,
  An act to repeal, add, and repeal Section 974.5 of
 the Military and Veterans Code, relating to veterans.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 882, as amended, Cook. Veterans: benefits and services.
   Existing law establishes the Department of Veterans Affairs within
state government and sets forth its powers and duties, including,
but not limited to, administration of veterans benefits programs.
Existing law establishes the California Veterans Board within the
department and sets forth its powers and duties, including, but not
limited to, its power to determine operational policy for the
department. 
   This bill would, until January 1, 2016, establish the California
Veterans Services and Workforce Development Division within the
Department of Veterans Affairs for the purpose of coordinating and
administering veterans assistance programs in the state, and would
require the division to perform various functions and duties relating
to the coordination and administration of veterans assistance
programs, as specified. The bill would require the administrative and
support staff responsible for the administration of the specified
programs to be transferred from the Employment Development Department
(EDD) to the division, and would require the costs of the transfer
to utilize existing resources of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

   The federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998 provides for
workforce investment activities, including activities in which states
may participate. Existing law contains various programs for job
training and employment investment, including work incentive and
employment training outreach programs. Existing law, the California
Workforce Investment Act, requires each local workforce investment
board to establish at least one full service one-stop career center
in the local workforce investment area and to provide specified job
placement services.  Existing law authorize   d 
 the department and the Employment Development Department (EDD)
to enter into interagency agreements with counties that elect 
 ed   to participate in a specified program. 
   This bill would,  by January 1, 2013, and  until January
1, 2016,  establish the One-Stop Center Pilot Program For
Veterans' Compensation and Benefits Assistance in the Counties of Los
Angeles and San Diego and in the city and county of San Francisco
for the purpose of providing collaboration between the EDD and county
veteran service officers in order to more effectively achieve
increased compensation and pension benefit claims for California
veterans through the established one-stop career centers, as
specified. As part of the pilot program, the bill would 
require the department  and EDD  to enter into agreements
with  the   no more than 4  counties
 and city and county in which the program is established in
order to combine the resources and personnel of the county veteran
service officers, the department, and the EDD   that
elect to participate in the County Veterans Service Center Pilot
Program   , which this bill would establish  . 
By imposing new duties on local government with respect to the
implementation of these local programs, the bill would impose a
state-mandated local program.  
   The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.  
   This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.  
   This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to
the necessity of a special statute for the Counties of Los Angeles
and San Diego and the City and County of San Francisco. 
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program:  yes   no  .


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   SECTION 1.    Section 974.5 of the  
Military and Veterans Code   is repealed.  
   974.5.  (a) The purpose of this section is to provide a mechanism
to facilitate the delivery of complete, efficient, information and
other services to veterans in a convenient setting.
   (b) By July 1, 1999, the Department of Veterans Affairs and the
Department of Employment Development may enter into interagency
agreements with individual counties that elect to participate in the
program pursuant to this section, after a determination that services
to be provided pursuant to this section are not otherwise being
provided and would, thus, not be duplicated. Services provided
pursuant to this section shall not be contrary to the purposes of,
nor shall they be in conflict with, any one-stop service program
provided under federal guidelines. Pursuant to the agreements the
departments may agree to provide resources and staff, or both, as
necessary to locate within a single facility owned by the
participating county, under the coordination of the county veteran
service director, a more complete and convenient local service
program for veterans.
   (c) The veteran service center shall be staffed with persons
knowledgeable in employment and veterans benefits issues, and shall
contain all necessary resources, information, forms, and other
materials necessary for a veteran to receive full employment
assistance and a complete assessment of veterans benefits to which he
or she is entitled.
   (d) The Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of
Employment Development, after consulting with participating counties,
shall jointly report to the Legislature by January 1, 2002,
regarding the progress of the program. 
   SEC. 2.    Section 974.5 is added to the  
Military and Veterans Code   , to read:  
   974.5.  (a) The purpose of this section is to establish the County
Veterans Service Center Pilot Program to provide a mechanism to
facilitate the delivery of complete, efficient, information and other
services to veterans in a convenient setting.
   (b) By January 1, 2013, the Department of Veterans Affairs and the
Department of Employment Development shall enter into interagency
agreements with no more than four individual counties that elect to
participate in the program pursuant to this section, after a
determination that services to be provided pursuant to this section
could improve the state's delivery of services and benefits to
veterans and aid veterans in obtaining services and benefits to which
veterans are entitled. Services provided pursuant to this section
shall not be contrary to the purposes of, nor shall they be in
conflict with, any one-stop service program provided under federal
guidelines. Pursuant to the agreements, the departments may agree to
provide resources and staff, or both, as necessary to locate within a
single facility owned by the participating county, the state, or
both.
   (c) The veteran service center shall be staffed with persons
knowledgeable in employment and veterans benefits issues, including,
but not limited to, workforce development, job training, educational
benefits, compensation and pension benefits, and low-interest
financing offered through CalVet for home loans and farm purchases,
and shall contain all necessary resources, information, forms, and
other materials necessary for a veteran to receive full employment
assistance and a complete assessment of veterans benefits to which he
or she is entitled.
   (d) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2016, and as of that date is repealed.  
  SECTION 1.    The Legislature hereby finds and
declares the following:
   (a) California has the largest veteran population in the nation,
comprised of an estimated 2 million veterans. Each month, thousands
of military personnel are released from active service and face
tremendous challenges transitioning back into civilian life.
   (b) The challenges military veterans face are compounded by a
complex system of veteran assistance programs that is difficult to
navigate.
   (c) The United States Department of Veterans Affairs expended
approximately $6 billion in California in the 2005 federal fiscal
year. Of that amount, $2.66 billion dollars was in disability
payments (compensation and benefits) to veterans. The states that
have the largest veteran populations in the nation are California,
Florida, and Texas. Texas veterans have collected 44 percent more
disability benefits than the amount collected by California veterans.

   (d) Increasing disability benefit participation in California in
an amount that would approach the national average could generate an
additional $330 million in annual payments to California veterans.
   (e) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this act to
consolidate the veterans assistance programs and their dedicated
staff as identified in Section 64.5 of the Military and Veterans
Code, as added by this act, within the California Veterans Services
and Workforce Development Division of the Department of Veterans
Affairs.  
  SEC. 2.    Section 700.5 is added to the Military
and Veterans Code, to read:
   700.5.   (a) The California Veterans Services and Workforce
Development Division is hereby established within the department for
the purpose of coordinating and administering veterans assistance
programs in the state. The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall have
authority over the division.
   (b) The division shall do all of the following:
   (1) Coordinate with other state agencies that provide benefits and
assistance to veterans to ensure that information about veterans
assistance programs and benefits is made available to all state
agencies that serve veterans in the state.
   (2) Administer the Transition Assistance Program (TAP) as
prescribed under the federal Jobs for Veterans State Grants program,
in cooperation with the Employment Development Department (EDD). The
division shall work with staff from the EDD to develop a plan whereby
responsibility for the administration of the TAP shall be
transferred from the EDD to the division. The development of the plan
shall be completed on or before April 1, 2012.
   (c) (1) In complying with this section, all administrative and
support staff responsible for the administration of the TAP shall be
transferred from the EDD to the division.
   (2) Any costs associated with the implementation of these
transfers shall utilize existing resources of the Department of
Veterans Affairs, as the operational cost of these programs utilizes
funding from the Jobs for Veterans State Grant program, as prescribed
within the United States Department of Labor.
   (d) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2016, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2016, deletes or extends
that date.  
  SEC. 3.    Chapter 2.5 (commencing with Section
775) is added to Division 4 of the Military and Veterans Code, to
read:
      CHAPTER 2.5.  ONE-STOP CENTER PILOT PROGRAM FOR VETERANS'
COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS ASSISTANCE


   775.  For purposes of this chapter, the following terms have the
following meanings:
   (a) "Department" means the Department of Veterans Affairs.
   (b) "EDD" means the Employment Development Department.
   (c) "One-stop career center" means a one-stop career center
established pursuant to Section 14230 of the Unemployment Insurance
Code and located in the county of Los Angeles or San Diego or the
city and county of San Francisco.
   (d) "Pilot project" means the One-Stop Center Pilot Program for
Veterans' Compensation and Benefits Assistance established by this
chapter.
   776.  The One-Stop Center Pilot Program For Veterans' Compensation
and Benefits Assistance is hereby established in the counties of Los
Angeles and San Diego and in the City and County of San Francisco
for the purpose of collaboration between the department, the EDD, and
the county veteran service officers of those respective counties and
city and county in order to more effectively achieve increased
compensation and pension benefit claims for California veterans
through the established one-stop career centers as a part of the
Local Veteran Employment Representative program, as prescribed by the
United States Department of Labor.
   777.  For purposes of the pilot project, the department shall
enter into agreements with the counties and city and county in which
the program is established in order to combine the resources and
personnel of the county veteran service officers, the department, and
the EDD.
   778.  The sole purpose of the pilot project is to provide that the
EDD and one-stop career centers share information with the county
veterans service officers and collaborate in order to more
effectively address the needs of our veterans.
   779.  This chapter shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2016, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2016, deletes or extends
that date.  
  SEC. 4.   If the Commission on State Mandates
determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs
shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of
Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.  
  SEC. 5.    The Legislature finds and declares that
a special law is necessary and that a general law cannot be made
applicable within the meaning of Section 16 of Article IV of the
California Constitution because of the unique need to assist the
large populations of unemployed veterans in the counties of Los
Angeles and San Diego and the city and county of San Francisco.