Amended in Assembly April 23, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly BillNo. 1029


Introduced by Assembly Member Frazier

February 26, 2015


An act to add Article 8 (commencing with Section 999.75) to Chapter 6 of Division 4 of the Military and Veterans Code, relating to veterans.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1029, as amended, Frazier. Veterans: service providers.

Existing law provides for certain services, protections, and benefits for veterans. Existing law establishes a 3-percent participation goal for disabled veteran business enterprises in state procurement.

begin delete

This bill would require each entity of state government to give preference to a qualified entity, as defined, when awarding a grant or contract to provide social services to veterans. The bill would require a qualified entity to submit with the application for the grant or the bid for contract a certification, as provided, from the Department of Veterans Affairs. The bill would also authorize the Department of Veterans Affairs to conduct audits of qualified entities, as specified.

end delete
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This bill would allow entities meeting specified requirements to apply to the Department of Veterans Affairs to become certified California veteran service providers. The bill would require the department to maintain a list of certified California veteran service providers on its Internet Web site. The bill would require that certification would remain valid for 3 years unless the entity is decertified by the department. The bill would require the department to adopt rules, procedures, and regulations as necessary to decertify an entity if it no longer meets the requirements to be a certified California veteran service provider.

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Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

P2    1begin insert

begin insertSECTION 1.end insert  

end insert

begin insert(a)end insertbegin insertend insertbegin insertThe Legislature finds and declares that it is
2necessary to provide the public the means to determine which
3charitable entities providing supportive services to veterans meet
4certain minimum standards of cultural competency and financial
5legitimacy.end insert

begin insert

6(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to establish a voluntary
7certification program whereby the Department of Veterans Affairs
8will certify that certain charitable entities providing supportive
9services to veterans meet minimum standards.

end insert
begin insert

10(c) It is further the intent of the Legislature that the Secretary
11of the Department of Veterans Affairs consider whether it would
12be beneficial to the people of the State of California to, in the
13future, establish a uniform process for state contracting that
14provides a preference to entities certified by the department
15pursuant to Section 999.75 of the Military and Veterans Code
16under a state contract or grant for supportive services to veterans
17or their families.

end insert
18

begin deleteSECTION 1.end delete
19begin insertSEC. 2.end insert  

Article 8 (commencing with Section 999.75) is added
20to Chapter 6 of Division 4 of the Military and Veterans Code, to
21read:

22 

23Article 8.  Veterans Preference For State Services Contracts
24

 

25

999.75.  

For purposes of this article, both of the following shall
26apply:

27(a) Abegin delete “qualified entity” means an entity that provides veterans
28with services, as specified in subdivision (a) of Section 999.76,
29and is capable of managing the grant moneys provided or the
30contract funds allocated in a fiscally prudent manner,end delete
begin insert “certified
31California veteran service provider” means an entity that is
32certified by the department as having an established history of
33providing supportive servicesend insert
and that meets all of the following
34requirements:

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P3    1(1) Provides supportive health and mental health services, small
2business assistance, employment services, and job training services
3to veterans.

end insert
begin delete

4(1)

end delete

5begin insert(2)end insert Demonstrates the knowledge, experience, andbegin delete capacityend delete
6begin insert cultural competencyend insert to providebegin delete desiredend deletebegin insert supportiveend insert services to
7begin delete veterans.end deletebegin insert veterans and their families.end insert

begin delete

8(2)

end delete

9begin insert(3)end insert Demonstrates through audits and employment history the
10fiscal and management capacity to capably performbegin delete public
11contracts. end delete
begin insert supportive services to veterans and their families.end insert

begin delete

12(3)

end delete

13begin insert(4)end insert Is a nonprofit organization that is exempt from federal
14income taxation as an organization described in Section 501(c)(3)
15of the Internal Revenuebegin delete Code with the primary purpose of
16providing services to veterans and their families.end delete
begin insert Code.end insert

begin delete

17(4) Demonstrates that the majority of the entity’s resources are
18dedicated to serving the needs of veterans and their families.

end delete
begin insert

19(5) Demonstrates through the submission of appropriate
20supporting data that the entity has effectively served the needs of
21veteran or veteran family clients.

end insert
begin delete

22(5)

end delete

23begin insert(6)end insert Demonstrates that all required filings with the Secretary of
24State, the office of the Attorney General, and the Franchise Tax
25Board are current.begin insert Demonstrates that the entity meets or exceeds
26the provisions of Article 1.3 (commencing with Section 17510) of
27Chapter 1 of Part 3 of Division 7 of the Business and Professions
28Code and complies with the standards included in the Attorney
29General’s Guide for Charities.end insert

30(b) Abegin delete qualified entityend deletebegin insert certified California veteran service
31providerend insert
shall provide to the department all of the following
32up-to-datebegin delete documents:end deletebegin insert documents upon application for certification
33and at any time during the certification period on request and
34reasonable notice by the department:end insert

35(1) Articles of incorporation and all amendments to the articles
36of incorporation.

37(2) IRS Letter of Determination.

38(3) Taxpayer identification number.

39(4) Independent audit reports dating back three years.

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P4    1(c) (1) In order to obtain certification as a certified California
2veteran service provider, the qualified entity shall apply to the
3department, in a form and manner as required by the department.

end insert
begin insert

4(2) The department shall process and approve or reject all
5applications on the basis of the requirements set forth in
6subdivision (a).

end insert
begin insert

7(d) The department shall maintain a list of certified California
8veteran service providers on its Internet Web site.

end insert
begin delete
9

999.76.  

(a) Notwithstanding any other law, each entity of state
10government that awards grants to, or enters into contracts with,
11nongovernmental agencies shall give preference to a qualified
12entity when awarding a grant for a project that would provide to
13veterans, or when entering into a contract to provide to veterans,
14social services, including, but not limited to, housing services,
15mental health services, or employment and job training services.

16(b) The qualified entity shall submit, with the application for
17the grant or the bid for the contract, a certification from the
18department.

19 (c)  (1) In order to obtain a certification as required by
20subdivision (b), the qualified entity shall apply to the department,
21in a form and manner as required by the department, for
22certification of its status as a qualified entity.

23 (2) The department shall process and approve or reject all
24applications on the basis of the requirements set forth in Section
25999.75.

26(d) The department may conduct an audit of qualified entities
27that receive grant funds, as provided by this section, to ensure the
28grant funds are being used to serve veterans. The results of an audit
29shall be made available to the public. The department may comply
30with the requirements of this subdivision by posting the results of
31an audit on its Internet Web site.

end delete
32

begin delete999.77.end delete
33begin insert999.76.end insert  

(a) A certification approved by the department shall
34be valid forbegin delete twoend deletebegin insert threeend insert years from the date the department accepts
35credentials forbegin delete certification.end deletebegin insert certification unless the department
36decertifies the certified California veteran service provider.end insert

37(b) The department may accept current certifications and licenses
38from any other state entity, agency, or department in order to
39provide a certificationbegin delete to a qualified entityend deletebegin insert of a certified California
P5    1veteran service providerend insert
pursuant tobegin delete subdivisions (b) and (c) of
2Section 999.76.end delete
begin insert Section 999.75.end insert

begin insert

3(c) The department may accept an organization’s status as a
4congressionally chartered veterans service organization as support
5for certification of a certified California veteran service provider
6pursuant to Section 999.75.

end insert
begin insert

7(d) The department shall adopt rules, procedures, and
8regulations as necessary to decertify a certified California veteran
9service provider prior to the expiration of a current certification
10when the certified California veteran service provider no longer
11meets the requirements set forth in Section 999.75.

end insert


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