BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 778|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
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CONSENT
Bill No: AB 778
Author: Maienschein (R), et al.
Amended: 4/13/15 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE VETERANS AFFAIRS COMMITTEE: 5-0, 6/9/15
AYES: Nielsen, Hueso, Allen, Nguyen, Roth
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 77-0, 4/30/15 (Consent) - See last page for
vote
SUBJECT: Fees: military service records
SOURCE: County Recorder's Association of California
DIGEST: This bill allows county recorders to provide certified
copies of military discharge documents, when those documents are
requested using any of the following methods: (1) In writing
(mail); (2) facsimile machine (fax); (3) digitized image
(email).
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Allows veterans and other specified persons to record military
separation documents at the local county recorder's office.
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Page 2
2)Provides that the county recorder shall require that a person,
who is requesting recordation of a military separation
document, sign a form stating that the person acknowledges
that recording the document establishes the document and all
information within it as part of the county's official record,
and that the information is open to public inspection.
3)Prohibits a public entity from charging a fee for recording,
indexing, or issuing certified copies of a veteran's military
records, and for furnishing copies of or searching for records
related to a veteran's claim for veterans' benefits.
4)Authorizes certified copies of a military discharge document
to be made available to any of the following:
a) The person who is the subject of the record, upon
presentation of proper photo identification.
b) A family member or legal representative of the person
who is the subject of the record.
c) A county office that provides veterans' benefits
services, upon written request of that office.
d) A United States official, upon written request of that
official.
This bill:
1) Allows a county recorder to furnish a certified copy of any
discharge, certificate of service, certificate of satisfactory
service, notice of separation, or report of separation of any
member of the United States Armed Forces to an applicant
pursuant to existing law if the recorder receives a written,
faxed, or digitized image of a request for military discharge
documents that is accompanied by a notarized statement sworn
under penalty of perjury, or a faxed copy or digitized image
of a notarized statement sworn under penalty of perjury, that
the requester meets one of the descriptions of persons allowed
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Page 3
to receive discharge documents pursuant to existing law.
2)Requires a faxed or digitized image of the notary
acknowledgment accompanying a faxed request for a certified
copy of any military discharge documents received pursuant to
1), above, to be legible.
3)Prohibits a recorder from providing a certified copy requested
pursuant to 1), above, if the notary's seal is not
photographically reproducible, or does not show the name of
the notary, the county of the notary's principal place of
business, the notary's telephone number, the notary's
registration number, and the notary's commission expiration
date typed or printed in a manner that is photographically
reproducible below, or immediately adjacent to, the notary's
signature in the acknowledgment.
4)Provides that, if a request for a certified copy of any
military discharge documents is made in person, the official
shall take a statement sworn under penalty of perjury that the
requester is signing his or her own legal name and is an
authorized person, and that official may then furnish a
certified copy to the applicant.
5)Defines "digitized image" of a request to mean an image of an
original paper request for a certified copy of any military
discharge documents.
Background
Military Separation Documents
Typically, the military issues a report of separation when a
member of the Armed Forces concludes a period of qualifying
Title 10 active duty service. The report of separation contains
information normally needed to verify military service for
benefits, retirement, employment and membership in veterans'
organizations. Since 1950, the report of separation form issued
is the DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from
Active Duty.) Information shown on the DD Form 214 includes the
service member's:
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1) Date and place of entry into active duty.
2) Home address at time of entry.
3) Date and place of release from active duty.
4) Home address after separation.
5) Last duty assignment and rank.
6) Military job specialty.
7) Military education.
8) Decorations, medals, badges, citations and campaign awards
received.
9) Total creditable service.
10) Foreign service credited.
11) Separation information (date and type of
separation, character of service, authority and reason for
separation and reenlistment eligibility codes).
Prior to the universal adoption of the DD Form 214, which became
effective on January 1, 1950, the military services used several
similar report of separation forms, any of which could be on
file with some county recorder offices. These include forms WD
AGO 53, WD AGO 55, WD AGO 53-55, NAVPERS 553, NAVMC 78PD, and
NAVCG 553.
Technological Advancement
In 2013, the Legislature enacted AB 464 (Daly), which allows for
electronic requests for vital records and creates statewide
standards for acceptable documents for recording real property.
The electronic requests may include digitized images. A digital
scan of an image is of higher quality, and can be securely
transmitted to a recipient through the Internet with less time
and expense than a fax. AB 464 applied this technology to
requests for vital records, but did not extend application to
requests for military separation documents.
Related/Prior Legislation
AB 2215 (Maienschein, Chapter 651, Statutes of 2014) allowed a
family member or a legal representative of a military veteran to
request county recordation of that veteran's military discharge
document, and required such persons to sign a specified
statement when doing so.
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AB 464 (Daly, Chapter 78, Statutes of 2013) allowed requests for
vital records (birth, death and marriage certificates) to be
made using digitized images, among other provisions.
AB 1179 (Parra, Chapter 6, Statutes of 2004) prohibited county
recorders from providing certified copies of military discharge
documents except to specified persons, and allowed county
recorders to issue certified copies of military discharge
documents when requested in writing or via fax, as specified.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: Yes
SUPPORT: (Verified6/24/15)
County Recorder's Association of California (source)
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
Veterans of Foreign Wars - Department of California
OPPOSITION: (Verified6/24/15)
None received
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 77-0, 4/30/15
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Chang, Chau,
Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd,
Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia,
Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, 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, O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Perea,
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Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago,
Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber,
Wilk, Williams, Wood, Atkins
NO VOTE RECORDED: Campos, Chávez, Gomez
Prepared by:Wade Cooper Teasdale / V.A. / (916) 651-1503
6/24/15 17:32:45
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