BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1268
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ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 1268 (John A. Pérez)
As Introduced February 22, 2013
2/3 vote
LABOR & EMPLOYMENT 7-0 VETERANS AFFAIRS 8-0
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|Ayes:|Roger Hernández, Morrell, |Ayes:|Muratsuchi, Chávez, |
| |Alejo, Chau, Gomez, | |Atkins, Brown, Eggman, |
| |Gorell, Holden | |Fox, Salas, Yamada |
| | | | |
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APPROPRIATIONS 13-0
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|Ayes:|Gatto, Bocanegra, | | |
| |Bradford, | | |
| |Ian Calderon, Campos, | | |
| |Eggman, Gomez, Hall, | | |
| |Ammiano, Linder, | | |
| |Pan, Quirk, Weber | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Establishes the Veterans Workforce Development and
Employment Office (Office) within the Labor and Workforce
Development Agency (Agency), as specified. Specifically, this
bill :
1)Creates the Office within the Agency for the purpose of
coordinating state veterans workforce development and
employment services and requires the Office to do all of the
following:
a) Administer specified state and federal unemployment
programs and services for veterans currently covered by the
Employment Development Department (EDD);
b) Develop a plan, by May 1, 2014, in collaboration with
the EDD for the transfer of its veterans program and
service administrative responsibilities from EDD to the
Office;
c) Transfer all support staff responsible for
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administration of the Disabled Veterans' Outreach Program
(DVOP) and the federal Local Veterans' Employment
Representatives (LVER) programs from the EDD to the Office
according to the plan; and,
d) Coordinate its efforts with the state Department of
Veterans Affairs and the Governor's Interagency Council on
Veterans.
2)Provides that the Office shall coordinate and consult with
appropriate state agencies, departments, veterans'
organizations and veterans' service providers, as specified.
3)Repeals existing law referencing the annual report required
from EDD to the Legislature following any fiscal year in which
state funds support the Veterans Employment Training services
program and instead states that the Office shall provide an
annual report to the Legislature regarding specified
performance measures.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Authorizes the EDD within the Agency to perform various
functions and duties with respect to job creation and
retention activities.
2)Requires the EDD to research and develop a profile of the
employment and training needs of veterans throughout the state
and to develop a plan to distribute employment funds for
veterans' employment services, additionally requires the EDD
to seek federal funding for these purposes.
3)Requires the EDD to submit an annual report to the
Legislature, as specified, following any fiscal year in which
state funds support the Veterans Employment Training services
program.
4)Authorizes the EDD, in coordination with the California
Workforce Investment Board (CWIB) to administer the federal
Jobs for Veterans State Grant Program, and oversees the
federal LVER, the Transition Assistance Program (TAP), and the
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DVOP.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, the Agency will incur one-time administrative costs,
likely in the low hundreds of thousands of dollars, to establish
and organize the new division and transition the specified
programs and staff from EDD to the new division, with ongoing
costs in the range of $200,000 to coordinate and collaborate
with other state agencies providing veterans services.
EDD would likely incur one-time transition costs associated with
the relocation of staff and programs to the Office. According
to EDD, the transfer of the federal Jobs for Veterans State
Grant Program will lead to $19.3 million in annual funding
shifting from EDD to the Office.
There are approximately 200 federally-funded positions at EDD
involved with this program. In addition, there are five central
office staff that supports the LVER and DVOP programs
exclusively, but these staff are not funded by the federal Jobs
for Veterans Grant Program; instead, they are funded with other
federal Workforce Investment Act (WIA) funds. Assuming these
five staff are transferred over to the Office, there would be a
loss of approximately $550,000 in federal WIA funds to EDD.
COMMENTS : The author points out that, recent U.S. Bureau of
Labor Statistics reports indicate that many veterans, especially
younger veterans, women veterans, and members of the National
Guard, experience significant difficulty and challenges finding
employment.
Furthermore the author contends, performance outcomes under the
state's current structure for federally-funded veterans'
employment services indicate California lags far behind most
other states in aiding veterans find and retain jobs.
According to the author, the goal in establishing this Office is
to better coordinate state veteran workforce development and
employment services with the workforce training and employment
programs administered by other state agencies and departments.
Moreover, as the economy continues to recover and the state and
its local governments invest in major public works projects,
including any veteran job training and employment programs
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resulting from the passage of Proposition 39, our state
government needs to be better positioned organizationally to
more effectively respond to and take advantage of the
opportunities available to train and hire our veterans.
Under this legislation, the veterans' services within EDD would
be transferred to and administered by the newly created Office.
Analysis Prepared by : Lorie Alvarez / L. & E. / (916)
319-2091
FN: 0000756