BILL ANALYSIS Ó
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 722|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|1020 N Street, Suite 524 | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 722
Author: Correa (D), et al.
Amended: 4/22/14
Vote: 27 - Urgency
SENATE VETERANS AFFAIRS COMMITTEE : 6-0, 1/14/14
AYES: Hueso, Knight, Block, Correa, Lieu, Roth
NO VOTE RECORDED: Nielsen, Vacancy
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 5-0, 1/21/14
AYES: De León, Gaines, Hill, Padilla, Steinberg
NO VOTE RECORDED: Walters, Lara
SENATE FLOOR : 33-0, 1/23/14
AYES: Anderson, Beall, Berryhill, Block, Cannella, Corbett,
Correa, De León, DeSaulnier, Evans, Gaines, Galgiani, Hancock,
Hernandez, Hill, Hueso, Huff, Jackson, Knight, Lara, Leno,
Lieu, Liu, Mitchell, Monning, Padilla, Roth, Steinberg,
Torres, Vidak, Walters, Wolk, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Calderon, Fuller, Nielsen, Pavley, Wright,
Wyland, Vacancy
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 5/19/14 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : California Mexican American Veterans Memorial
Beautification
and Enhancement Fund: extension of operation
SOURCE : Author
CONTINUED
SB 722
Page
2
DIGEST : This bill extends the date for the reversion of funds
in the California Mexican American Veterans Memorial
Beautification and Enhancement (CMAVMBE) Account to the General
Fund until July 1, 2016.
Assembly Amendments make a minor change and add coauthors.
ANALYSIS : Existing law:
1.Establishes the CMAVMBE Committee under the jurisdiction of
the Department of Veterans Affairs (CALVET), to oversee
enhancement of an existing memorial on state grounds, and
provides for its composition (seven members) and duties.
2.Authorizes the Committee to, among other things, establish a
schedule for the design, construction, and dedication of the
memorial, solicit designs and devise a process for selection
of the final design, monitor construction, and consult with
and obtain final design and site orientation approval from the
Department of General Services and the CALVET Secretary.
3.Requires the Committee to notify the Governor and the CALVET
Secretary when the beautification and enhancement of the
memorial is complete.
4.Provides that any monies remaining in the CMAVMBE Account will
revert to the General Fund on July 1, 2014.
This bill extends the date for the reversion of funds in this
account until July 1, 2016.
Background
Shortly after the World War II armistice, a group of
Mexican-American women (Madres) created a memorial that would
honor their husbands and sons who had died in the military
service of the United States during the War. Beginning in 1948,
the Madres launched a fundraising drive to finance the memorial.
Their efforts included vending homemade tamales and conducting
raffle sales at their local church parishes and other venues.
Dedicated in May 1951, the memorial consisted of a statue of a
solitary infantryman. Known as "El Soldado," the statue stood on
the grounds of the Mexican American Center in Sacramento.
CONTINUED
SB 722
Page
3
Weathered and worn over time, El Soldado remained at this site
for decades until the location was rezoned by local government.
The statue was donated to the State of California with the
expectation that it would become an official and permanent state
memorial. In 1975 El Soldado was moved to its present location
across the street from the Main entrance to the State Capitol.
Beginning with AB 1350 (Polanco) in 1993, several legislative
measures addressed the modest statue memorial. AB 1350
authorized expansion and enhancement of El Soldado. The measure
also established the 11-member CMAVMBE Commission as a
non-governmental committee of citizens authorized to establish a
schedule for its design, construction, and dedication; to
solicit designs and devise a process for selection of the final
design; and to monitor construction.
In addition, AB 1350 provided that funds for the enhancement
would come from individuals voluntarily designating an amount on
their state personal income tax returns (in excess of their tax
liability) to the CMAVMBE Account, also created by the
legislation. This AB 1350 Commission had no significant
activity for years, including public meetings, fundraising or
memorial enhancements.
By the mid-2000s, community leaders, including members of the
existing Commission, were working to enact legislation that
would jumpstart the languishing effort to enhance the El Soldado
memorial. Authored by Senator Gloria Negrete McLeod, SB 599
(Chapter 558, Statutes of 2007) was sponsored by the American
G.I. Forum and the Mexican-American Veterans Memorial, Inc. The
bill received no formal opposition and sailed through both
houses of the Legislature on consent.
SB 599 repealed the 11-member CMAVMBE Commission and created a
new seven-member committee under the jurisdiction of CALVET.
The rationale was that California veterans and others favoring
expansion and maintenance of the memorial would be better served
by having it administered by an agency already dedicated to
serving the interests and needs of veterans, instead of by a
commission that had not functioned for so long.
The new Committee is made up of five gubernatorial appointees
and one appointee each of the Senate President Pro Tempore and
CONTINUED
SB 722
Page
4
the Assembly Speaker. The Committee is authorized to establish
a schedule for the design, construction and dedication of the
enhanced memorial; to solicit and select designs that may be
used to beautify the existing memorial; and to solicit and
receive contributions that will be used to off-set the costs of
the enhancements and beautification project. None of the
members receive compensation. SB 599 also repealed the
long-defunct income tax check-off.
In recent years the Committee had difficulty proceeding on the
project because there were not enough members to achieve a
voting quorum. At the start of calendar year 2013, Governor
Brown filled out the Committee by appointment and it began
making progress. The greatest challenge throughout the various
life phases of the memorial project has been fundraising. Only
private donations can be used to support this state memorial.
Via SB 599, the Military and Veteran Code Section 1340
authorizes creation of the CMAVMBE Account within the General
Fund. It specifies that all funds received by CALVET shall be
deposited in the account for the design and construction of the
California Mexican American Veterans' Memorial as specified in
Section 1341. Section 1341 provides for continuous
appropriation of all funds for the project, but also states
that, on July 1, 2014, any moneys remaining in the CMAVMBE
Account shall revert to the General Fund.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: Yes Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, potentially
minor foregone revenue to the General Fund.
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/20/14)
State Treasurer Bill Lockyer
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 5/19/14
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian
Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley,
Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox,
Frazier, Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon,
Gorell, Gray, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hernández,
CONTINUED
SB 722
Page
5
Holden, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal,
Maienschein, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Olsen, Pan,
Patterson, Perea, John A. Pérez, V. Manuel Pérez, Quirk,
Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Skinner,
Stone, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk,
Williams, Yamada, Atkins
NO VOTE RECORDED: Mansoor, Nazarian, Nestande, Vacancy
AL:nl 5/20/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
**** END ****
CONTINUED