BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2263
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 29, 2014
Counsel: Stella Choe
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Tom Ammiano, Chair
AB 2263 (Bradford) - As Amended: April 22, 2014
SUMMARY : Requires a staff member to serve as a veterans service
ombudsman at each facility that is under the jurisdiction of the
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR).
Specifically, this bill :
1)States that the veterans service ombudsman shall be
responsible for assisting inmates who are veterans, including,
but not limited to, facilitating access of inmates who are
veterans to county veterans service officers, United States
Department of Veterans Affairs and California Department of
Veterans Affairs officers and personnel, and facilitating
access to the inmates who are veterans by those officers and
personnel, so that the inmates who are veterans may pursue
claims for federal veterans' benefits or any other privilege,
preference, care, or compensation provided under federal or
state law because of service in the military.
2)Requires the veterans service ombudsman to coordinate with the
United States Department of Veterans Affairs in order to
provide inmates who are veterans with access to earned
veterans' benefits.
3)Requires the veterans service ombudsman to coordinate with the
California Department of Veterans Affairs and the county
veterans service officer in the county in which the facility
is located for advice, assistance, and training, and to
evaluate the effectiveness of the program.
EXISTING FEDERAL LAW :
1)Limits the veterans' benefits a veteran may receive while he
or she is incarcerated for a felony, except provides a 60-day
grace period where the incarcerated veteran may still receive
full benefits. The withholding of benefits begins on the 61st
day of incarceration. (38 U.S.C.S. § 5313(a)(1); 38 C.F.R. §
AB 2263
Page 2
3.666(a).)
2)States that an incarcerated veteran is entitled to full
benefits while he or she is participating in a work-release
program or is residing in a halfway house. (38 U.S.C.S. §
5313(a)(2).)
3)Allows the dependents of an incarcerated felon to receive an
apportionment of the benefits to which the incarcerated
veteran would have been entitled, unless the dependent is
incarcerated for a felony. (38 U.S.C.S. § 5313(b).)
4)Prohibits compensation on behalf of a veteran for any period
during which he or she is a "fugitive felon." (38 U.S.C.S. §
5313B; 38 C.F.R. § 3.666(n).)
5)Defines a "fugitive felon" as a person who is a fugitive by
reason of:
a) Avoiding prosecution, or custody or confinement after
conviction, for an offense, or an attempt to commit an
offense, which is a felony under the laws of the place from
which the person flees; or
b) Violating a condition of probation or parole imposed for
commission of a felony under Federal or State law. (38
U.S.C.S. § 5313B(b).)
6)Requires restoration of withheld benefits if a conviction is
overturned on appeal. (38 C.F.R. § 3.666(m).)
EXISTING STATE LAW :
1)Requires CDCR to develop guidance policies relative to the
release of veterans who are inmates. The policies shall be
developed with the intent to assist veterans who are inmates
in pursuing claims for federal veterans' benefits, or in
establishing rights to any other privilege, preference, care,
or compensation provided under federal or state law because of
honorable service in the military. In developing the policies,
the department may coordinate with the Department of Veterans
Affairs and the county veterans service officer or veterans
service organizations. (Pen. Code, § 2695.)
2)Authorizes each county board of supervisors to appoint a
AB 2263
Page 3
county veterans service officer to perform specified
veterans-related services, including assisting veterans in
pursuing claims for federal or state veterans' benefits.
(Mil. & Vet. Code, § 972.)
3)Contains a number of provisions aimed at assisting California
veterans, such as farm and home loan assistance (Mil. &Vet.
Code, §§ 987.50 et seq.), business enterprise opportunities
(Mil. & Vet. Code, §§ 999 to 999.13), and educational
assistance (Mil. &Vet. Code, §§ 981 et seq.).
4)Adopts the same standards used in federal law to determine
benefits eligibility for incarcerated veterans.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement : According to the author, "Recidivism
rates among veterans continue to be an issue primarily for
economic reasons. Currently the Department of Corrections has
been doing a good job of trying to provide veteran inmates
with information and forms to apply and receive VA benefits.
However, the process for qualifying for VA benefits is often
burdensome for even people with a four year college degree.
"One of the major problems is that facilities do not have a
designated person responsible for assuring that veterans are
able to have access to VA benefits upon release.
"AB 2263 would ask the Department of Corrections to designate
an ombudsman at each facility to assist veterans in filing
claims for veteran's benefits in order to help reduce
recidivism among this population."
2)Incarcerated Veterans : A study conducted by the University of
California, San Francisco and the San Francisco Veterans
Affairs Medical Center has shown that approximately one-third
of veterans returning from Iraq received one or more mental
health or psychosocial diagnoses. (See Mental Illness Appears
Common among Veterans Returning from Iraq and Afghanistan,
Science Daily (Mar. 13, 2007)
(as of Mar. 23, 2009).) Another study
reported in the New England Journal of Medicine indicates that
AB 2263
Page 4
the rate of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among
veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan increased in a
linear manner with increased exposure to combat. (See
generally, Hoge, M.D., Combat Duty in Iraq and Afghanistan,
Mental Health Problems, and Barriers to Care (2004) 351 N.
Engl. J. Med., pp. 13-22.) Studies also indicate that PTSD
may result in drug and alcohol abuse by veterans. (See Stress
& Substance Abuse: A Special Report, National Institute on
Drug Abuse (Sept. 12, 2005)
(as of
March 23, 2009).)
Mental health and substance abuse problems experienced by
veterans are linked to future incarceration. In a Bureau of
Justice study, 35 to 45% of incarcerated veterans reported
symptoms of mental health disorders in the previous 12 months,
including mania, psychotic disorders, and major depressive
episodes. (Noonan & Mumola, U.S. Dep't of Just., Veterans in
State and Federal Prison, 2004 (2007) p. 6.) Three-quarters
of veterans in state prisons reported past drug use, and
one-quarter reported being on drugs at the time of the offense
for which they were incarcerated. (Id. at 5.) Veterans are
also more likely than non-veterans to report past intravenous
drug use. (Ibid.) It is likely that a significant number of
veterans with substance abuse issues may be self-medicating as
a means of dealing with mental illness. (See Wynn, Dual
Diagnosis, Journal of Addictive Disorders (2002),
(as of March 23, 2009).)
Veterans are disproportionately represented in the prison
population as compared to the population of the United States
as a whole. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs,
in July 2007, there were an estimated 23,977,000 veterans in
the United States. [See United States Department of Veterans
Affairs (Jul. 25, 2007) table (as of March 23,
2009).] In contrast, veterans make up 10% of state prisoners.
(See Noonan & Mumola, supra, at p. 1.) By 2004, veterans of
the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan already
comprised for 4% of veterans in state and federal prisons.
(Ibid.)
CDCR has informed this committee that as of March 31, 2014,
there were 4,627 verified veteran inmates in CDCR
institutions.
AB 2263
Page 5
3)Arguments in Support :
a) Coalition of California Welfare Rights Organizations
(Sponsor) "is pleased to support AB 2263 (Bradford) would
require a parole agent to be appointed as a veterans
service officer at each facility that is under the
jurisdiction of the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation. The veterans' service officer would be
responsible for assisting inmates who are veterans in
pursuing claims for veterans' benefits, as specified. The
bill would require the veterans' service officer to
coordinate with the United States Department of Veterans
Affairs, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and county
veterans service officers, as specified.
"Recidivism is a major problem caused primarily through
economic insecurity. This recidivism can be curtailed for
veterans by having designated persons in each facility to
assist the veteran to apply and be able to access his or
her veteran's benefits upon release to assure that they do
not end up back in the facility due to economic
insecurity."
b) California Correctional Peace Officers Association
(CCPOA) "believes that providing inmates who are veterans
with appropriate benefits for which they are eligible as a
result of military services will greatly assist such
inmates in succeeding once they are released. The
transition from inmate to parolee or to a person under
probation supervision is a difficult one for everyone
released from prison. To the extent that veterans are
eligible for services from the federal government it will
ease their transition and thereby reduce recidivism. In
our view, the potential benefits of this measure will far
exceed its costs."
4)Related Legislation : AB 2703 (Quirk-Silva) would require the
Department of Veterans Affairs, no later than July 1, 2015, to
develop an allocation formula based upon performance to
encourage innovation and reward outstanding service by county
veterans service officers. The bill would also appropriate
$6,000,000 from the General Fund to the Department of Veterans
Affairs for disbursement to the counties to fund the
activities of county veterans service officers, as specified,
AB 2263
Page 6
and to encourage innovation and reward outstanding service by
these officers. AB 2703 is pending hearing by the Committee
on Veterans Affairs.
5)Prior Legislation :
a) AB 2490 (Butler), Chapter 407, Statutes of 2012, as
introduced required a parole agent to be appointed as a
veterans service officer at any facility that is under
CDCR's jurisdiction. AB 2490 was later amended to require
CDCR to develop guidance policies to assist veterans who
are inmates in pursuing claims for federal veterans'
benefits, or in establishing rights to any other privilege,
preference, care, or compensation provided under federal or
state law because of honorable service in the military.
b) AB 589 (Cook), of the 2009-10 Legislative Session,
enabled CDCR to contract with county veterans services to
assist an incarcerated, honorably discharged veteran and/or
his or her dependents to any privilege, preference, care or
compensation provided by the United States or California.
AB 589 was later amended to another subject area.
c) AB 2671 (Salas), of the 2007-08 Legislative Session,
would have required CDCR to create a pre-release
application process for honorably-discharged incarcerated
veterans who are eligible for federal and state benefits.
AB 2671 was vetoed.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Coalition of California Welfare Rights Organization (Sponsor)
California Correctional Peace Officers Association
California Public Defenders Association
Taxpayers for Improving Public Safety
Opposition
None
Analysis Prepared by : Stella Choe / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744
AB 2263
Page 7