BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                    AB 1765


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          Date of Hearing:  May 4, 2016


                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS


                               Lorena Gonzalez, Chair


          AB  
          1765 (Irwin) - As Amended April 19, 2016


          


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          Urgency:  No  State Mandated Local Program:  NoReimbursable:  No


          SUMMARY: This bill authorizes CaliforniaVolunteers (CV), within  
          the Governor's Office, to form a tax-exempt public benefit  
          nonprofit corporation to raise revenues and receive financial  
          support from public or private sources, for the purpose of  








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          undertaking or funding authorized activities.  The bill  
          prohibits the nonprofit public benefit corporation from using  
          more than 10% of the grants and financial support it receives  
          for its own administrative costs.


          FISCAL EFFECT:


          Cal Volunteers estimates a need for $200,000 and one PY to staff  
          the nonprofit corporation, but the bill limits administrative  
          expenditures of the corporation to $10% of funds received. The  
          amount of funding CV will receive through the nonprofit  
          corporation is unknown. The difference would be made up with  
          General Fund dollars. (GF and/or private funds)


          COMMENTS:


          1)Purpose. According to the author, the bill provides a  
            mechanism for CV to generate more revenue from public and  
            private sources to fund a broader range of programs and engage  
            more Californians in community service.  CV receives  
            approximately $830,000 from the state General Fund for its  
            operations but most of its budget is federally funded with a  
            large majority passing through to AmeriCorps grantees.  This  
            bill authorizes CV to set up a nonprofit to receive additional  
            monetary support for the various programs that it funds.  


          2)Background. CV is the designated state service entity in the  
            Governor's office that administers federal AmeriCorps funds  
            and grants in California.  AmeriCorps is a national network of  
            programs throughout the US that engage Americans in intensive  
            community service projects at public agencies and nonprofit  
            organizations across the country.  Members work in a variety  
            of service programs that address critical community needs in  
            the areas of education, public safety, health, the  








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            environment, and disaster response.


            CV was established by Executive Order S-24-06 with the  
            specific mission to recruit and mobilize citizens for  
            volunteer service by identifying service opportunities in  
            California.  CV provides federal AmeriCorps grant funding to a  
            host of community programs throughout the state, particularly  
            those that target unmet needs in counties with no AmeriCorps  
            state presence; provide critical support to veterans; and,  
            promote economic opportunities for disadvantaged communities.   
            Currently, CV helps to fund nearly 50 programs across the  
            state. 





          3)Prior Legislation.


             a)   AB 706 (Bonilla) of 2015 would have required CV to  
               administer an AmeriCorps program with a Science,  
               Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) focus and  
               authorized CV to establish a nonprofit entity similar to  
               the mechanism in this is bill.  AB 706 was vetoed by  
               Governor Brown who stated that "without a funding source  
               the program established in this bill would not be viable." 


             b)   AB 2328 (John A. Pérez) of 2014 would have created the  
               Cal AmeriCorps program administered by CV and enabled local  
               governments to compete to host service members.  AB 2328  
               was vetoed by Governor Brown who noted that "California  
               already has programs, such as the California Conservation  
               Corps and the California Volunteers Service Enterprise  
               Initiative, that couple volunteer service with educational  
               scholarships."









                                                                    AB 1765


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          Analysis Prepared by:Jennifer Swenson / APPR. / (916)  
          319-2081