BILL NUMBER: AJR 7	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Mathis

                        FEBRUARY 25, 2015

   Relative to disabled veterans business enterprise.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AJR 7, as introduced, Mathis. Disabled veterans: first businesses.

   This measure would request the Congress of the United States of
America to further amend the GI Bill of Rights to make benefits
available to disabled veterans for use as startup capital in the
establishment of first businesses.
   Fiscal committee: no.



   WHEREAS, Men and women of the State of California volunteer to
serve in the Armed Forces of the United States in greater numbers
than those from any other state; and
   WHEREAS, California is currently home to more than 1,800,000
veterans of our Armed Forces; and
   WHEREAS, California veterans have been grateful recipients of the
financial support of their fellow Americans through the Veterans
Administration and the GI Bill; and
   WHEREAS, The Congress of the United States passed, and President
Franklin D. Roosevelt signed, the GI Bill of Rights in 1944 to
support our veterans of World War II in their transition back to
civilian life; and
   WHEREAS, The Congress of the United States in 2008 added
significant new benefits for those who enlisted to serve the nation
in the wake of the attacks on the United States on September 11,
2001; and
   WHEREAS, Up to 10 percent of veterans choose to start, run, and
own their own businesses; and
   WHEREAS, Over 30 percent of veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom,
Operation Enduring Freedom, and other fronts on the war against
terrorism are receiving disability ratings from the federal Veterans
Administration; and
   WHEREAS, More than five million Americans, including over one-half
million Californians, served in these conflicts; and
   WHEREAS, The State of California is the recognized national leader
in the establishment and success of disabled veteran business owner
procurement support programs; and
   WHEREAS, The State of California established its Disabled Veteran
Business Enterprise program not only to recognize the contributions
of our veterans to our national well-being, but also as a
rehabilitation measure to assist veteran entrepreneurs to catch up to
their civilian business owner cohorts; and
   WHEREAS, Disabled veteran businesses make a significant
contribution to the state's economy and serve as a source of
employment for fellow veterans; and
   WHEREAS, Finding enough capital to successfully launch a new
business or buy an existing business is the largest challenge that
new business owners face; now, therefore, be it
   Resolved by the Assembly and the Senate of the State of
California, jointly, That the Legislature requests that the Congress
of the United States of America further amend the GI Bill of Rights
to make benefits available, with all appropriate safeguards, to
disabled veterans for use as startup capital in the establishment of
first businesses; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of
this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United
States, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to the
Majority Leader of the Senate, and to each Senator and Representative
from California in the Congress of the United States.