BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1972
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 27, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Lorena Gonzalez, Chair
AB
1972 (Chau) - As Introduced February 16, 2016
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|Policy |Water, Parks and Wildlife |Vote:|15 - 0 |
|Committee: | | | |
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| | Veterans Affairs | | 9 - 0 |
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill requires the Department of Parks & Recreation (DPR) to
issue a Distinguished Veteran 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:
AB 1972
Page 2
1)Deletes the current criteria limiting eligibility to disabled
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.
FISCAL EFFECT:
Unknown Increased costs to DPR in the hundreds of thousands to
low millions of dollars range.
There are approximately 34,000 existing Distinguished Veteran
pass holders. DPR costs from online reservations for calendar
year 2015 were approximately $2 million. This includes about
$200,000 in camping and cancellation fees DPR covers if the pass
holder does not show for a reservation. This does not include
walk-ins who are not captured separately from paying visitors.
According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, as of 2014
there were 331,645 Veterans in California receiving monthly
disability compensation. Nationally, it is estimated that about
18% of all service-disabled Veterans are peace time Veterans.
Assuming this percentage is similar at the state level and
Veterans receiving compensation have at least a 50% disability,
this bill would increase eligibility by about 60,000 Veterans.
If half of the newly eligible Veterans obtain a pass and average
usage remains the same, this would increase DPR costs an
additional $1.7 million.
COMMENTS:
AB 1972
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1)Purpose. According to the author, Veterans who served during
peace time and have a 50% or greater service connected
disability are currently ineligible for the Distinguished
Veterans Park Pass. This 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 occurred due to their
service to this country.
2)Background. Currently, DPR is required to issue a park pass
for free use of all state park facilities to 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 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.
For the purpose of the free pass, current law 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. War is defined as 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.
DPR processes approximately 300 pass applications each month
and the number of applications has been increasing by 10% each
year for the past several years.
AB 1972
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Existing law also 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.
3)Related Legislation. AB 1844 (Gallagher) requires the
Department of Fish and Wildlife to provide reduced-fee hunting
and sport fishing licenses and cards to all Veterans of the
Armed Services. AB 1844 is also pending in this committee.
Analysis Prepared by:Jennifer Galehouse / APPR. / (916)
319-2081