BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 240
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Date of Hearing: March 10, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON VETERANS AFFAIRS
Irwin, Chair
AB
240 (Wilk) - As Introduced February 5, 2015
SUBJECT: Department of Parks and Recreation: park passes
SUMMARY: Expands the scope of the existing Distinguished
Veteran park pass (Pass) benefit. Specifically, this bill :
1)Extends the Pass benefit by amending Public Resources Code
section 5011.5 to require the Department of Parks and
Recreation (department) to issue the Pass to a person who has
been issued license plates by the Department of Motor Vehicles
pursuant to the following Vehicle Code sections:
a) 5101.3, pertaining to survivors of the attack on Pearl
Harbor on December 7, 1941;
b) 5101.4, pertaining to recipients of the Army Medal of
Honor, Navy Medal of Honor, Air Force Medal of Honor, Army
Distinguished Service Cross, Navy Cross, or Air Force
Cross;
c) 5101.5, pertaining to former American prisoners of war;
d) 5101.6, pertaining to Congressional Medal of Honor
recipients;
e) 5101.8, pertaining to Purple Heart recipients; and
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f) Subdivision (d) of section 5156 pertaining to Gold Star
Families. This section states in pertinent part concerning
eligibility for the Gold Star Plate:
i) ?[A plate shall be issued to a] person who bears,
and shows proof satisfactory to the Department of
Veterans Affairs of, one of the following relationships
to the member of the Armed Forces killed in the line of
duty while serving on active duty:
(i) Widow.
(ii) Widower.
(iii) Biological parent.
(iv) Adoptive parent.
(v) Stepparent.
(vi) Foster parent in loco parentis.
(vii) Biological child.
(viii) Adoptive child.
(ix) Stepchild.
(x) Sibling.
(xi) Half-sibling.
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(xii) Grandparent.
(xiii) Grandchild.
(1) Upon the death of a person issued a Gold Star
Family specialized license plate, the license plate
shall be transferred to the surviving spouse, ?
2)Requires that the department issue the Pass on the following
conditions:
a) Upon presentation to the department of evidence of
currently valid vehicle registration associated with any
one of those license plate programs; and
b) Upon application therefor.
3)States that Passes so issued shall entitle the bearer to the
use of all facilities, including boat launching facilities, in
units of the state park system for a period of time coinciding
with the validity of the vehicle registration.
EXISTING LAW: The department has an existing Pass program. The
code pertaining to it is Public Resources Code section 5011.5,
et seq., which states:
5011.5. (a) A veteran of a war in which the United States has
been, or may be engaged, who is a resident of this state, upon
presentation to the department of proof of disability, proof
of being held captive as a prisoner of war, or proof of being
a recipient of a Congressional Medal of Honor, and proof of an
honorable discharge from service, upon application therefor,
shall be issued a pass entitling the bearer to the use of all
facilities, including boat launching facilities, in units of
the state park system.
(b) As used in this section:
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(1) "Veteran" means a former member of the Armed Forces of the
United States who has a 50 percent or greater service-connected
disability, or who was held as a prisoner of war by forces
hostile to the United States, as certified by the United States
Department of Veterans Affairs, and who was honorably discharged
from service.
(2) "War" means that period of time commencing when Congress
declares war or when the Armed Forces of the United States are
engaged in active military operations against a foreign power,
whether or not war has been formally declared, and ending upon
the termination of hostilities as proclaimed by the President
of the United States.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown at this time.
COMMENTS: The policy foundation of this bill is to recognize
the more extreme sacrifices of certain veterans and their
families; a policy this state has consistently supported.
Under the existing Pass program the following categories of
honorably discharged veterans are eligible to receive the Pass:
Veterans with a disability rating of 50% or more and
Congressional Medal of Honor recipients. Although the language
is somewhat ambiguous, former prisoners of war are eligible
without regard to disability rating.
To this list of eligible people, the bill would add those who
hold a valid registration associated with the following
specialized license plates: Prisoner of War, Congressional Medal
of Honor, Pearl Harbor Survivor, Army Medal of Honor, Navy Medal
of Honor, Air Force Medal of Honor, Air Force Medal of Honor,
Army Distinguished Service Cross, Navy Cross, AF Cross, Purple
Heart recipients, and Gold Star Families. According to the
author, DMV reports that as of December 31, 2014 there were a
combined 8,405 license plates issued of all the above types.
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Adding these people is clearly aligned with existing policy.
Without going through each category, these are recipients of the
United States' highest military honors, servicemembers who have
been wounded in combat, and families who have experienced the
loss of a family servicemember killed in the line of duty. It
is not at all incongruous to include them, and indeed there is
overlap with the existing categories of those people who are
eligible for the Pass.
Policy Questions for Members:
Don't these people merit the Pass and privilege regardless of
their license plate? The use of the license plates as a way for
the department to determine eligibility and quantify the likely
number of people who might now get the Pass is a novel solution.
It helps resolve the logistical challenges in verifying
eligible status and in increases the predictability of the
extent to which revenue might be lost to the department. The
Pass, once issued, is a lifetime Pass.
However, once it is determined that a person is a member of
group whose sacrifice we want to honor, why withdraw their
eligibility or take away their access privileges once their
registration expires? That person's status as, for example, a
Purple Heart recipient or Gold Star Family member does not
change if they choose not to have the specialized plate.
Should the registered owner have to be present for free park
access? Staff is aware that the author is contemplating
amendments to give day use access, but not the Pass, to those
vehicles bearing a currently registered specialized plate. This
is an easy way to facilitate entry to state parks, though not
much easier than showing a Pass at the gate. It also relieves
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eligible persons from having to contact and apply to the
department for a pass/relieves the department from the
administrative burden of issuing a Pass.
However, unlike the lifetime Pass, the plated vehicle may be
used by anyone who is driving the vehicle, without regard to the
presence of the person entitled to the benefit. If the plate is
used as a proxy for the Pass, should the registered owner have
to be present for free entry to the parks?
Why differentiate between various veterans? These veterans and
family members are being added to the Pass program because their
sacrifices are deemed among the most extreme. Might it make
sense to recognize the sacrifice of all veterans?
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
None on File.
Opposition
None on File.
Analysis Prepared
by: John Spangler / V.A. / (916) 319-3550
AB 240
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