BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1972
Page 1
Date of Hearing: March 29, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON WATER, PARKS, AND WILDLIFE
Marc Levine, Chair
AB 1972
(Chau) - As Introduced February 16, 2016
SUBJECT: Veterans: state park passes
SUMMARY: Requires the Department of Parks & Recreation (DPR) to
issue a park pass for free use of all state park facilities to
any Veteran of the United States Armed Forces who has a
disability, was a prisoner of war, or received a Congressional
Medal of Honor, and was honorably discharged, regardless of
whether they served during war or peace time. Specifically,
this bill:
1)Strikes the current criteria which limit eligibility to
receive a free park pass to Veterans of a war in which the
United States has been or may be engaged.
2)Clarifies the definitions of disability, prisoner of war, and
Veteran for these purposes, and strikes the definition of war
which would no longer be applicable.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Requires DPR to issue a park pass for free use of all state
park facilities to a Veteran of a war in which the United
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States has been or may be engaged, who is a resident of this
state, upon presentation to DPR 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.
2)Defines a Veteran as a former member of the United States
Armed Services who has a 50% or greater service-connected
disability, was held as a prisoner of war by forces hostile to
the United States, and who was honorably discharged. Defines
war to mean a period of time commencing when Congress declares
war or when the United States Armed Forces 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.
3)Authorizes DPR to provide free or reduced-fee day use access
to state parks to Veterans and active duty or reserve military
personnel for the United States Armed Forces or the National
Guard on Memorial Day and Veterans Day.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS: This bill broadens eligibility for free Veteran state
park passes by extending the benefit to all veterans of the
United States Armed Services who have a disability, were held as
a prisoner or war, or received the Congressional Medal of Honor,
regardless of whether they served during war time.
1)Author's Statement: The author has introduced this bill to
allow disabled Veterans to receive a Distinguished Veteran
pass that allows them free entry into the state park system,
regardless of whether or not they served during a war or
conflict recognized by the United States Department of
Veterans Affairs. Veterans who served during peace time and
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have a 50% or greater service connected disability are
currently ineligible for the Distinguished Veterans Park Pass.
These can include Veterans who become disabled because of
vehicle accidents, ammunition accidents, or other accidents
during training exercises. The author asserts that Veterans
who become disabled, regardless of whether the disability
occurs during a war or a training exercise should be eligible
for the Distinguished Veterans Park Pass because their
disability only occurred due to their service to this country.
2)Background: DPR currently offers a free Distinguished
Veterans state park pass to Veterans who have served during
war time and have a 50% disability, were a prisoner of war, or
are a recipient of a Congressional Medal of Honor. The pass
is not available to Veterans who only served during peace
time. Background information provided by the author's office
includes an example of a Veteran who served during the 1980s
and has a service-connected disability, but was ineligible for
the pass because, although there were military operations in
Grenada and Honduras during his time of service, those
operations were not recognized by the United States Department
of Veterans Affairs as official wars. The author of this bill
asserts that all Veterans with a service-connected disability
should be entitled to receive a Distinguished Veterans park
pass, regardless of whether their service-connected disability
occurred during war time or a training exercise, because their
disability only occurred due to their service to this country.
According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, as of 2014
there were 331,645 Veterans in California receiving monthly
disability compensation. It is not known how many of these
are war-time Veterans. Nationally, it is estimated that about
18% of all service-disabled Veterans are peace time Veterans.
Assuming this statistic holds true for California as well,
this bill would increase the number of Veterans eligible for
the state park Distinguished Veterans pass by around 60,000
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persons. To date, DPR under the current law has issued
approximately 37,000 Distinguished Veteran park passes since
the inception of the program.
3)Double-referral: This bill is double-referred to the Assembly
Committee on Veterans Affairs which is scheduled to hear this
bill next.
4)Prior and related legislation: AB 240 (Wilk) of 2015 would
have required DPR to issue a park pass allowing free day use
entry to all units of the state park system to a person with a
registered vehicle that has been issued specialized license
plates by the Department of Motor Vehicles under the Pearl
Harbor Survivor, Legion of Valor, former prisoner-of-war,
Congressional Medal of Honor, Purple Heart Veteran, or Gold
Star Family license plate programs. AB 240 passed this
committee but was held in Senate Appropriations.
AB 315 (Assembly Committee on Veterans Affairs) of 2014
proposed to add Purple Heart recipients to the list of
Veterans eligible to receive a free state park Distinguished
Veterans' pass. AB 315 passed this committee but was held in
the Senate Appropriations Committee.
AB 150 (Olsen), Chapter 688, Statutes of 2013, authorized DPR
to offer reduced-fee or free day use to state parks to
Veterans or active duty or reserve military personnel of the
United States Armed Forces or the National Guard on Memorial
Day and Veterans Day.
AB 1844 (Gallagher) would require the DFW to make reduced-fee
hunting and sport fishing licenses and cards available to all
Veterans of the Armed Services. AB 1844 is also pending in
this committee.
5)Support Arguments: Supporters urge that all disabled Veterans
with a 50% or more service-connected disability should be
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acknowledged for their service to the country by being
eligible to receive a Distinguished Veterans state park pass,
regardless of whether their service-connected disability
occurred during war or peace time exercises. Supporters also
emphasize this bill will be a morale booster for Veterans.
6)Opposition Arguments: None received.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
American G.I. Forum of California
American Legion, Department of California
American Legion, Department of California, Chinatown Post 628
AMVETS-Department of California
California Association of County Veterans Service Officers
California State Commanders Veterans Council
California State Parks Foundation
Chinese American Military Support
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Military Officers Association of America, California Council of
Chapters
VFW, Department of California
Vietnam Veterans of America, California State Council
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by:Diane Colborn / W., P., & W. / (916)
319-2096