BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 1505
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   May 2, 2012

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Felipe Fuentes, Chair

                     AB 1505 (Pan) - As Amended:  April 9, 2012 

          Policy Committee:                              Veterans 
          AffairsVote: 6-0
                         Judiciary                            7-1

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program: 
          No     Reimbursable:              

           SUMMARY  

          This bill requires the California Department of Veterans Affairs 
          (DVA) to provide qualified benefits for California service 
          members discharged from the military under the former "Don't 
          Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT) policy. Specifically, this bill:   

          1)Defines "qualified benefits" to mean benefits administered by 
            CDVA, including college tuition fee waivers for dependents of 
            veterans, nonresident college fee waivers, disabled veteran 
            business opportunities, farm and home loans, veterans homes, 
            and employment insurance assistance.

          2)Defines a "qualified veteran" to mean any person who served in 
            the U.S. Armed Forces who was separated solely on the basis of 
            sexual orientation pursuant to any federal policy prohibiting 
            homosexual personnel from serving in the U.S. Armed Forces and 
            not as a result of any other violation.

          3)Provides that the definition of "qualified veteran" shall 
            apply without regard to the classification of separation 
            executed by the U.S. government.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          Unknown, likely minor state costs to the extent this bill 
          results in increased state services for additional veterans. 
          Based on the Veterans Affairs Committee estimate of 32,000 DADT 
          discharges since 1980, assuming that about 10% are Californians, 
          and assuming that only a small percentage, 10%, are dishonorably 
          discharged, and therefore currently ineligible for veterans' 








                                                                  AB 1505
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          benefits, and assuming 50% of that number pursued state services 
          pursuant to this bill, this relatively small number would not 
          likely lead to significant expenditures.  

          Moreover, as highlighted in the Assembly Veterans Affairs 
          Committee analysis, since many state veterans' benefits are 
          conditioned on federal discharge and benefit status, it is not 
          clear this bill will have any significant effect on state 
          services.      

           COMMENTS  

           1)Rationale  . This bill, sponsored by Equality California and 
            Sacramento Valley Veterans, seeks to ensure California 
            veterans dishonorably discharged under DADT qualify for 
            veterans' services. 

            According to the author, "As a general rule, veterans 
            separated from the military with a discharge that is 
            characterized as "dishonorable" or "other than honorable" are 
            ineligible to receive state or federal veterans' benefits. 
            However, in 2009, Attorney General Jerry Brown issued an 
            opinion determining that under existing anti-discrimination 
            law, the California Department of Veterans Affairs may not 
            discriminate in its administration of veterans' benefits and 
            programs. . . This bill seeks to clarify that veterans who 
            were discharged from the military solely on the basis of their 
            sexual orientation may remain eligible for veterans' benefits 
            provided by California."

           2)The impact of this bill on federal benefits status is unclear  . 
            As noted by both the Assembly Veterans Affairs Committee 
            analysis and the Assembly Judiciary analysis, under DADT, 
            discharge for homosexual conduct is characterized as other 
            than honorable only when there are aggravating circumstances 
            in connection with homosexual acts.  

            Although California controls the provision of state veteran 
            benefits, the statutory construction of many benefit laws is 
            conditioned on the veteran's federal discharge and/or 
            discharge type.  Therefore, for the small subset of service 
            members who received a "dishonorable" or "other than 
            honorable" discharge status under DADT, it appears that any 
            state benefit that requires a federal status to trigger 
            eligibility may not be available absent further federal 








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            eligibility changes, notwithstanding the current state policy 
            of nondiscrimination reinforced by this bill and the AG's 
            opinion.  

            Individual veterans may also apply to military authorities 
            seeking to upgrade one's discharge status so as to become 
            eligible, but discharge upgrades are strictly within the 
            purview of the federal government.



           Analysis Prepared by  :    Geoff Long / APPR. / (916) 319-2081