BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                            



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                                    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:
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          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  







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          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  







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            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  







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          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  







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          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  







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            Gaines, Linder, Mansoor, Nestande, Wagner, Vacancy


          AL:nl  8/18/14   Senate Floor Analyses 

                           SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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