BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1509| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- THIRD READING Bill No: AB 1509 Author: Fox (D), et al. Amended: 8/19/14 in Senate Vote: 21 SENATE VETERANS AFFAIRS COMMITTEE : 6-0, 6/24/14 AYES: Hueso, Knight, Correa, Lieu, Nielsen, Roth NO VOTE RECORDED: Block SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 5-0, 8/14/14 AYES: De León, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg NO VOTE RECORDED: Walters, Gaines ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 64-5, 5/28/14 - See last page for vote SUBJECT : Veterans: transition assistance SOURCE : Author DIGEST : This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (CalVet) to develop a transition assistance program for veterans who have been discharged from the Armed Forces of the United States or the National Guard of any state, as specified, by July 1, 2015. ANALYSIS : Existing federal law, the Veterans Opportunity to Work (VOW) to Hire Heroes Act of 2011 and implementing federal regulations. This bill: CONTINUED AB 1509 Page 2 1.Requires, by July 1, 2015, CalVet to develop a California transition assistance program (Cal TAP) for veterans, who have been discharged from the U.S. Armed Forces or National Guard of any state. 2.States that Cal TAP's purpose shall be to: A. Assist veterans in successfully transitioning from military to civilian life in California; and B. Complement the federal transition program offered by the Department of Defense. 1.Requires that Cal TAP include, but not be limited to, the following California-specific transition assistance information on: higher education benefits and programs, vocational training assistance, small business resources, health care programs and services, mental health resources, military sexual trauma resources, and housing resources. 2.States the Legislature's intent that the CalVet perform the above tasks utilizing its existing personnel and other resources, including its existing internet-based CalVet Internet Web site to disseminate this information. Background Transition: Military-to-Civilian . For a significant percentage of personnel, the transition from military service to civilian life, even during peacetime, has always presented challenges. According to a Pew Research Center survey (Dec. 2011) of 1,853 veterans, nearly 30 percent say that the transition was difficult for them - a proportion that swells to 44 percent among veterans who have served since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. According to the study, various factors, such as education, marital status, religiosity and trauma, influenced the transition process. For example, veterans who were commissioned officers and those with college degrees experienced easier readjustment to post-military life than enlisted personnel and those with only high school diplomas. Veterans who reported an emotionally traumatic experience while serving or had suffered a AB 1509 Page 3 serious service-related injury were significantly more likely to report problems with re-entry, when other factors are held constant. Those who have been transitioning to civilian life since the onset of the so-called Great Recession (late 2008-present) have faced further complications, such as high unemployment, associated with the global economic crisis. Federal Transition Assistance . In 2011, Congress passed and President Obama signed into law the "Veterans Opportunity to Work and Hire Heroes Act of 2011" (VOW Act). The VOW Act requires, among other things, that separating service members must attend the Transition Assistance Program (TAP). A partnership among the Departments of Defense (DOD), Veterans Affairs (VA) and Labor (DOL), the TAP program provides job assistance and separation counseling services on military installations. The program included information and counseling for pre-separation, employment assistance, relocation, education and training, health and life insurance, finances, Reserve affiliation, disabled veterans, and retirement. In 2013 the federal government launched a revamped program known as Transition GPS. The extended 5-7 day transition program represents an effort to standardize and expand counseling and, according to DOD, transform the military's approach to education, training, and credentialing for service members. TGPS components are: Pre-Separation Assessment and Individual Counseling: Separating service members receive individual counseling to discuss their career goals and start their transition process. Subsequently, they have a needs and goals assessment coupled with a counseling session about benefits, resources, and available assistance across a wide scope of military separation topics. Each individual develops an Individual Transition Plan that documents the deliverables that must be attained to meet the program's Career Readiness Standards. 5-Day Core Curriculum: The five-day TGPS Core Curriculum includes a financial planning seminar, a workshop offered by the VA on available federal veterans' benefits and services, and a redesigned employment workshop offered by DOL. Transitioning service members will also undertake a Military AB 1509 Page 4 Occupational Code Crosswalk to translate their military skills, training, and experience into civilian occupations, credentials, and employment. An Individual Transition Plan session allows service members to seek guidance from subject matter experts, identify career goals, and develop a detailed transition roadmap. 2-Day Optional Career-Specific Curriculum: In addition to completing the Core Curriculum, transitioning service members have the option of participating in a series of two-day tailored tracks: (1) an Education track, for those pursuing a higher education degree; (2) a Technical and Skills Training track, for those seeking job-ready skills and industry-recognized credentials in shorter-term training programs; and (3) an Entrepreneurship track, for those wanting to start a business. CAPSTONE Event: Before their separation from the military, service members participate in a CAPSTONE event, which verifies that transitioning members have completed the TGPS curriculum and achieved Career Readiness Standards. Service members who require additional assistance are referred to supplemental training opportunities. In addition, through the CAPSTONE event, all are offered a 'warm handover' to appropriate government agencies and organizations that will be able to provide them continued benefits, services, and support as veterans. Military Life Cycle Transition Model: The TGPS program is intended to incorporate career readiness and transition preparation into the entire span of an individual's military career. In the past, transition and preparation for the civilian workforce occurred late in a service member's time in the military - near the point of separation. Under TGPS, these concepts are integrated earlier to ensure that the counseling, assessments, and access to resources to build skills or credentials occur at earlier stages of a service member's military tenure. The original TAP program and its TGPS successor have made significant gains in assisting separating military personnel, but certain shortcomings appear built into the system. For example, the service members often have difficulty getting state-specific information. California state agencies, county AB 1509 Page 5 veterans service officers, and California nonprofit organizations have worked to directly participate in TAP/TGPS sessions on military bases located in California - but participation varies from base to base and the material presented is not uniform in substance or approach. Furthermore, only a portion of personnel at such bases intend to stay in California after separation. Most are moving back to their states of origin or other areas. A greater problem resides on the flip side of that paradigm: The majority of separating service members who intend to live in California comes from military bases located outside of California - in other states and countries. The California state agencies and nonprofits are unable to directly engage them in state-specific discussions during the military's mandated transition process. State Transition Assistance . The State of California long has partnered with the federal government in generally delivering veterans benefits, but lacked a dedicated, comprehensive, uniform program focused on transition. In August 2011, Governor Brown issued an executive order establishing the California Interagency Council on Veterans (ICV), which was directed "to identify and prioritize the needs of California's veterans, and to coordinate the activities at all levels of government in addressing those needs." The ICV created four workgroups oriented around specific areas of veterans' need: Education, Employment, Health and Housing. The Employment Workgroup itself created "sub-workgroups" to focus on very detailed matters, including a sub-workgroup charged with developing a state-level, post-military transitional assistance program to complement the federal program. FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, approximately $200,000 in one-time costs to develop the program. (General Fund) CalVets indicates the need for two limited term analysts for development of the program. Actual implementation costs are unknown at this time and will be determined after the plan is AB 1509 Page 6 completed. SUPPORT : (Verified 8/8/14) American Legion Department of California AMVETS Department of California ArmedForce2Workforce California Association of County Veteran Service Officers California State Commanders Veterans Council Devry Education Group Military Officers Association of America California Council of Chapters True North Transitions Veteran and Military Business Owners Association Veterans Caucus of the California Democratic Party Veterans of Foreign Wars - Department of California Vietnam Veterans of America - California State Council ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author: The curriculum for [TGPS] workshops is entirely maintained by the federal government, leaving little-to-no state-specific employment, education, business and other career choices information. AB 1509 complements the federal Transition GPS (TGPS) by ensuring that veterans discharging in California or moving to California after discharge have the state specific benefit information and tools they need. ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 64-5, 5/28/14 AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Ammiano, Bloom, Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chesbro, Cooley, Dababneh, Daly, Dickinson, Eggman, Fong, Fox, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gorell, Gray, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hernández, Holden, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Logue, Lowenthal, Maienschein, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, John A. Pérez, V. Manuel Pérez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting, Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, Atkins NOES: Chávez, Conway, Grove, Jones, Wilk NO VOTE RECORDED: Allen, Bigelow, Dahle, Donnelly, Frazier, Beth AB 1509 Page 7 Gaines, Linder, Mansoor, Nestande, Wagner, Vacancy AL:nl 8/18/14 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END ****