BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AJR 11|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
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CONSENT
Bill No: AJR 11
Author: Burke (D) and Atkins (D), et al
Amended: 4/23/15 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE VETERANS AFFAIRS COMMITTEE: 5-0, 6/9/15
AYES: Nielsen, Hueso, Allen, Nguyen, Roth
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 76-0, 4/23/15 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Military bases: closures
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This resolution memorializes the President and Congress
of the United States to recognize the unique military value of
California's defense installations and the disproportionate
sacrifices California endured in previous base realignment and
closure (BRAC) rounds.
ANALYSIS:
Existing federal law:
1)Public Law 101-510 (Defense Base Realignment and Closure Act
of 1990) provides the basic framework for the transfer and
disposal of military installations closed during the BRAC
process.
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Existing state law:
2)Requires the Office of Planning and Research (OPR) to serve as
the state's liaison to the United States Department of Defense
(DoD) to facilitate coordination regarding issues of
significant interest to the state and the DoD, particularly
with regard to any proposed federal BRAC actions.
3)Establishes the Military Base Reuse Authority Act to plan for,
finance and manage the transition of a base from military to
civilian use.
This resolution:
1)Outlines the overall economic impact of the defense industry
in California and prior BRAC rounds, and notes that as our
nation faces new security threats in the 21st century, in
space, cyberspace, over land, at sea, and in the air,
California is helping the military meet the challenges of
today and tomorrow.
2)Requests the President and Congress to not only recognize the
unique military value of California's defense installations,
but also continue to take into account all of the following:
a) California geography allows year-round training of all
types of forces.
b) California's ability to recruit and train highly skilled
and educated personnel.
c) The economic impact on communities located near military
installations.
d) Our quality of life, which enhances personnel retention.
e) The vast intellectual capital developed in California
since World War II.
f) Disproportionate sacrifices California endured in
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previous BRAC rounds.
Background
The federal government worked its way through four initial
iterations of the BRAC process between late 1988 and 1993.
Nationally, that process led to the closing of 350 large and
small military bases and 55 major realignments. Reportedly, this
saved federal taxpayers more than $16 billion through 2001 and
six billion dollars more each subsequent year.
Prior to 1988, California had, by far, the largest military
presence of any state, and was home to 335,979 (14.7%) of the
Department of Defense's (DoD) total 2,275,264 personnel and 91
(18.3%) of the 495 major military bases then scattered around
the nation. Not surprisingly, the BRAC cuts fell heavily on
California.
Through the first four rounds, the state suffered the loss of
93,546 uniformed and civilian DoD jobs, which represented 53.8%
of the net cuts nationally. California lost nearly 28% of its
military personnel, while the rest of the nation saw a reduction
of just 3.6%.
Unlike earlier rounds, the fifth BRAC round (2005) focused more
on realignment than closure. Along with saving money, a top
priority was military force readiness, consolidating assets onto
centralized installations from which they can be deployed
rapidly and flexibly in support of evolving global needs, and
joint service missions. Implementation of the 2005
recommendations was completed in 2011.
When a military installation is closed or its tenant units
merely downsized, the communities in the area are adversely
affected, particularly in the short-term. Military and civilian
personnel face the loss or relocation of jobs. The uniformed
personnel expect to be transferred regularly, but civilian
workers on base usually are long-term local residents.
Local retailers, who support the bases, directly or indirectly
suffer serious revenue decreases and may even be forced to
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close. Area governments lose revenues needed to maintain
services and infrastructure. In addition, the negotiation and
execution of land transfer, environmental cleanup, and
redevelopment of the properties can be a challenging, alien
process to communities.
The 2005 BRAC Commission recommended that Congress authorize
another BRAC round in 2015, and then every 8 years thereafter.
In 2012 then-Defense Secretary Leon Panetta called for two BRAC
rounds for 2013 and 2015, but Congress rejected Panetta's
requests and also declined to fund a Pentagon request in 2014 to
fund another BRAC round.
Related/Prior Legislation
SB 506 (Fuller, 2015) (a) creates a process for designating a
local retention authority to serve as the lead local government
entity responsible for efforts to retain local military
installations, and (b) establishes the Military and Aerospace
Program in the Governor's Office of Business and Economic
Development to address state and local defense retention, base
conversion and base reuse issues. (Pending, suspense, Senate
Committee on Appropriations)
AB 442 (Irwin, 2015) codifies the Governor's Military Council,
under direction of the California Military Department, and
provides for appointment to the Council by the Governor.
(Pending, Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs)
AB 1080 (Obernolte, 2015) authorizes the Department of Finance
to find that an agreement between a former redevelopment agency
and a joint powers authority that was created to exercise the
powers provided by the Military Base Reuse Authority Act is an
enforceable obligation. (Pending, Assembly Committee on Local
Government)
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:NoLocal: No
SUPPORT: (Verified6/9/15)
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American Legion, Department of California
AMVETS, Department of California
California Association of County Veterans Service Officers
California State Commanders Veterans Council
Los Angeles County
Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation
Military Officers Association of America, California Council of
Chapters
Rural County Representatives of California
Veterans of Foreign Wars, Department of California
Vietnam Veterans of America, California State Council
OPPOSITION: (Verified6/9/15)
None received
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 76-0, 4/23/15
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Chang, Chau,
Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly,
Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina
Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez,
Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden,
Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder,
Lopez, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez,
Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, Olsen, Patterson, Perea, Quirk,
Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark
Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams,
Wood, Atkins
NO VOTE RECORDED: Campos, Low, O'Donnell, Salas
Prepared by:Wade Cooper Teasdale / V.A. / (916) 651-1503
6/10/15 16:43:26
**** END ****
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