BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AJR 7|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AJR 7
Author: Mathis (R)
Amended: 5/22/15 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE VETERANS AFFAIRS COMMITTEE: 5-0, 6/23/15
AYES: Nielsen, Hueso, Allen, Nguyen, Roth
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 75-0, 5/22/15 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Veterans: first businesses
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill 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 all
veterans for use as startup capital in the establishment of
first businesses.
ANALYSIS:
Existing federal law, the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational
Assistance Act of 2008 (GI Bill), provides educational
assistance to servicemembers, veterans, and their dependents.
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This bill requests that the Congress of the United States of
America further amend the GI Bill to make benefits available,
with all appropriate safeguards, to all veterans for use as
startup capital in the establishment of first businesses.
Background
GI Bill. Established originally in 1944 and modified several
times over the years, the GI Bill program provides educational
assistance to servicemembers, veterans, and their dependents.
The Post-9/11 GI Bill, which gives veterans with active duty
service on, or after, Sept. 11 2001, enhanced educational
benefits that cover more educational expenses, provide a living
allowance, money for books and the ability to transfer unused
educational benefits to spouses or children.
Any veteran who served at least 90 days on active duty after
September 11, 2001, is eligible for the Post-9/11 GI Bill. Those
who served less than 36 months since 9/11/2001 receive reduced
benefits. Those who retired prior to August 1, 2009, are not
eligible to transfer benefits to their dependents. In most
cases, veterans will need to use their benefits within 15 years
of discharge.
Those who meet the time in-service requirements and apply for
transfer of benefits while still on active duty can transfer
Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits to spouses and dependents. However,
dependents must be named and assigned at least one percent of
the benefits available prior to discharge.
Veteran Entrepreneurship Programs. The federal Small Business
Administration (SBA) manages entrepreneurship programs that
assist veterans, in general, and veterans with service-connected
disabilities. Areas supporting include starting a business,
writing a business plan, registering a business, obtaining
licenses and permits, understanding laws and regulations,
preparing taxes, hiring employees, employee benefits and
incentives, marketing, and business exporting.
The SBA also oversees the Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small
Business Concern (SDVOSBC) Procurement Program. Veterans with
service-connected disabilities may win federal procurement
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contracts characterized by veteran preferences, restricted
competition, set-asides or sole-sourcing.
The California Department of General Services administers the
Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise Program, which requires
that state governmental entities that award contracts for goods
and services (aka "awarding departments") expend no less than 3
percent of the value of all their contracts on firms that are
owned by disabled veterans. The business enterprises must meet
certain eligibility criteria, such as at least 51 percent of the
business must be owned by a veteran who has received a USDVA
service-connected disability rating of at least 10 percent.
Comments
The author's intent is to assist future entrepreneurs
transitioning from military to civilian life in the same way
that we currently assist future scholars. According to Forbes,
80 percent of new small businesses fail within their first 18
months, often due to insufficient capital to fund the
post-startup growth phase. The bill appropriately includes a
recommendation for strong safeguards to protect GI Bill
entrepreneurship funds if Congress enacts this approach. This
concern arises because some educational entities have targeted
veterans' GI bill benefits in a predatory manner, and the same
could occur with GI Bill entrepreneurial moneys.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:NoLocal: No
SUPPORT: (Verified6/23/15)
American Legion - Department of California
AMVETS - Department of California
California Association of County Veterans Service Officers
California State Commanders Veteran Council
Military Officers Association of America - California Council of
Chapters
MJ King Insurance Services
Veterans of Foreign Wars - Department of California
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Vietnam Veterans of American - California State Council
OPPOSITION: (Verified6/23/15)
None received
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 75-0, 5/22/15
AYES: Achadjian, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla,
Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, 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, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina,
Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, Patterson, Perea,
Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago,
Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Wilk, Williams,
Wood, Atkins
NO VOTE RECORDED: Alejo, O'Donnell, Olsen, Waldron, Weber
Prepared by:Wade Cooper Teasdale / V.A. / (916) 651-1503
6/24/15 16:04:04
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