BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1972
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ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB
1972 (Chau)
As Amended May 27, 2016
Majority vote
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|Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Water |15-0 |Levine, Gallagher, | |
| | |Bigelow, Dababneh, | |
| | |Dodd, Gordon, | |
| | |Cristina Garcia, | |
| | |Gomez, Harper, Lopez, | |
| | |Mathis, Medina, | |
| | |Olsen, Salas, | |
| | |Williams | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Veterans |9-0 |Irwin, Chávez, | |
|Affairs | |Achadjian, Alejo, | |
| | |Brown, Daly, Frazier, | |
| | |Mathis, Salas | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Appropriations |20-0 |Gonzalez, Bigelow, | |
| | |Bloom, Bonilla, | |
| | |Bonta, Calderon, | |
| | |Chang, Daly, Eggman, | |
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| | |Gallagher, Eduardo | |
| | |Garcia, Roger | |
| | |Hernández, Holden, | |
| | |Jones, Obernolte, | |
| | |Quirk, Santiago, | |
| | |Wagner, Weber, Wood | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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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.
3)Requires DPR, on or before January 1, 2019, to report in its
proposed budget on the revenue losses associated with issuance
of free veterans' passes under this bill.
4)States that it is the intent of the Legislature if, based on
the report provided by DPR, revenue losses are determined to
be significant under this bill, to consider alternative
sources of funding to pay for the free park passes without
harming DPR's operating budget.
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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
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 an eligible Veteran as a former member of the United
States Armed Services who has a 50% or greater
service-connected disability, or 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: According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee:
1)Unknown revenue losses to DPR in the hundreds of thousands to
low millions of dollars range.
There are approximately 34,000 existing Distinguished Veteran
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pass holders. DPR lost revenue 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 revenue losses an additional $1.7 million.
2)Reporting costs are absorbable.
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 of war, or received the Congressional Medal of Honor,
regardless of whether they served during war time.
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 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
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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.
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.
To date, DPR under the current law has issued approximately
37,000 Distinguished Veteran park passes since the inception of
the program.
Analysis Prepared by:
Diane Colborn / W., P., & W. / (916) 319-2096
FN:
0003301
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