BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 287 Page 1 Date of Hearing: May 8, 2013 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Mike Gatto, Chair AB 287 (Frazier) - As Amended: April 29, 2013 Policy Committee: Veterans AffairsVote: 10-0 Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: SUMMARY This bill requires the California Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) to annually compile and update a list of names of Vietnam veterans to be added to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on the Capitol grounds. Specifically, this bill: 1)Requires DVA to form a committee to review and consider requests for including names on the memorial pursuant to specified requirements. 2)Specifies the list shall contain the names of individuals not included on the memorial at the time the list is compiled, including those inadvertently left off of the memorial and the names of veterans who died as a result of illness or injuries, including physical or mental injuries documented by the Department of Defense, the Veterans Administration, or licensed medical professionals, that can reasonably be assumed to have resulted from military service in the Vietnam War. 3)Specifies that names on the list may be added to the Memorial if adequate private funding is available and there is sufficient space on the Memorial to accommodate the names. FISCAL EFFECT 1)Minor GF costs to DVA to administer the names committee. 2)Minor costs, covered by private sources, to add names to the Memorial. COMMENTS AB 287 Page 2 Rationale . The author notes there are multiple reasons some veterans were not included on the original memorial. Some were inadvertently left off the original list, while many died after returning from service, as a direct result of injuries or illness resulting from their service in the Vietnam War. "The intent of the memorial is to honor and remember California's Vietnam veterans who died as a result of their injuries from the war or went missing during the war. The bill would further that purpose by making the memorial as complete as possible so that all California Vietnam veterans are honored and no one is ever forgotten." Analysis Prepared by : Geoff Long / APPR. / (916) 319-2081