BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 171
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ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB
171 (Irwin)
As Amended May 28, 2015
2/3 vote. Urgency
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|Committee |Votes |Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+------+--------------------+--------------------|
|Veterans |9-0 |Irwin, Mathis, | |
|Affairs | |Alejo, Brough, | |
| | |Brown, Chávez, | |
| | |Daly, Frazier, | |
| | |Salas | |
| | | | |
|----------------+------+--------------------+--------------------|
|Appropriations |17-0 |Gomez, Bigelow, | |
| | |Bonta, Calderon, | |
| | |Chang, Daly, | |
| | |Eggman, Gallagher, | |
| | |Eduardo Garcia, | |
| | |Gordon, Holden, | |
| | |Jones, Quirk, | |
| | |Rendon, Wagner, | |
| | |Weber, Wood | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY: Appropriates money to the California Department of
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Veterans Affairs (CDVA) for allocation to the County Veterans
Service Officers (CVSOs) as specified. There are currently two
Military and Veterans Code Section 972.1; one is applicable until
the end of 2015, another applies January 1, 2016. As to the
current section, this bill deletes language pertaining to a
$500,000 appropriation and other obsolete references that would
conflict with the intent to raise the annual appropriation to $5.6
million dollars. Specifically, this bill:
1)As to the Military and Veterans Code Section 972.1 taking effect
January 1, 2016, deletes conflicting or obsolete references and
raises the annual appropriation minimum to $5.6 million.
2)Adds Military and Veterans Code Section 972.3. This new
section:
a) Appropriates $5.6 million annually from the General Fund
(GF) to CDVA for allocation to counties to fund the
activities of county veterans service officers pursuant to
Military and Veterans Code Section 972.1(a).
b) Clarifies that this money shall only be available for
encumbrance and expenditure for one year from the date upon
which it first becomes available for encumbrance.
c) Directs the CDVA to, no later than July 1, 2016, develop
an allocation formula based upon performance standards that
encourage innovation and reward outstanding service by county
veterans service officers. Moneys appropriated for this
purpose shall be allocated each fiscal year (FY) in
accordance with that formula among those counties that have
established and maintained a county veterans service officer
pursuant to Military and Veterans Code Section 970.
d) Contains an urgency clause. The basis for the urgency is
stated as: "Approximately 50 percent of the current GF
appropriation in support of county veteran service offices
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operations expires on June 30, 2015. In order to provide for
continuity of services critical to the successful
reintegration of California's veterans, to increase
California's utilization of veteran benefits, and to ensure
veteran's claims for benefits are processed in a timely
manner, it is necessary that this act take effect
immediately."
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee:
1)The Governor's Budget proposes a $2.6 million GF appropriation
to the CDVA for allocation to the CVSOs in 2015-16. Assuming
this amount was approved and was the same every year thereafter,
the annual impact of this bill will be an additional $3 million
GF cost.
2)Minor one-time costs to the CDVA to develop an allocation
formula.
3)Unknown savings to various state programs if the CVSOs are able
to transfer participants from state programs to appropriate
federal veterans programs.
The additional work by CVSOs may result in additional federal
payments to California veterans.
COMMENTS: CVSOs are local agencies established in 1946 to assist
veterans and their families in obtaining benefits and services
accrued through military service. They act as the department's
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network for claim initiation and development and draw down
significant federal dollars annually.
The cost of maintaining a CVSO is primarily a county general fund
expense; however, counties with an established CVSO receive some
State reimbursement funds as authorized by the California Military
and Veterans Code. Depending on the revenue source, these funds
are distributed either based on specific performance measurements
or as a percentage of net county cost. It is important to
emphasize that while state general funds and federal pass-through
funds distributed by the CDVA assists counties in maintaining
their CVSOs, the primary cost of the CVSO program statewide is a
county expense, as opposed to a State expense. Funds received by
CVSOs are subject to both internal county audits and regular
audits by the CDVA in accordance with the California Code of
Regulations.
According to the California Association of County Veterans Service
Officers 2015 Annual Report and Directory, in FY 2013-14, when
CVSO state local assistance funding was temporarily increased from
$2.6 million to $5.6 million, the CVSO's were able to increase
federal benefits to California veterans by over $100 million.
The total state audited amount of federal compensation and pension
payments to veterans and their families rose from $445 million in
FY 2012-13 to $545 million in FY 2013-14. The majority of those
payments are paid monthly to the veteran over his or her lifetime.
California's Utilization of Veteran Benefits
California's utilization of the primary monetary veteran benefits,
referred to as compensation and pension (C&P), has historically
lagged behind the nation as a whole. Recently, however,
California has improved its utilization rates though there is
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still work to be done.
In 2007 CDVA recommended several strategies to correct the
underutilization including:
?providing resources in support of additional full time
professional service representative staff with a focus on
areas with large veteran population and lower than average
benefit participation rates.
a) Subvention funding for county veteran service offices
should be increased to support an expansion of county
veterans service office staffing. The additional
funding shall be directed to expanding the staff
dedicated to full time outreach and claims work.
b) Resources are needed to fund additional professional
service representative staff at CalVet district offices
in support of claims representation (appeals), local
training, and local outreach. Outreach should
specifically increase in areas where the State can
provide economy of scale.
Currently subvention funding in support of CVSO operations is
temporarily at $5.6 million but is scheduled to revert to the
historic level of $2.6 million unless action is taken to set a new
minimum funding level. Many counties used this temporary increase
to add additional staff but also report that those positions are
temporary and most will be eliminated if the funding is not made
permanent.
Analysis Prepared by: John Spangler / V.A. /
(916) 319-3550
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