BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
AB 1972 (Chau) - Veterans: state park passes
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|Version: May 27, 2016 |Policy Vote: N.R. & W. 8 - 0 |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: No |
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|Hearing Date: August 1, 2016 |Consultant: Narisha Bonakdar |
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This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: AB 1972 strikes the current restriction limiting
eligibility to receive a free park pass, known as the
Distinguished Veteran Pass (pass), to veterans of a war who meet
specified criteria, thus extending eligibility for the pass to
any veteran who has a 50 percent or greater service-connected
disability.
Fiscal
Impact: Unknown, but significant revenue loss, likely in the low
millions annually, to the California Department of Parks and
Recreation (CDPR). (See staff comments)
Background:
California State Parks. The California State Park system
consists of 280 state parks, state natural reserves, state
historic monuments, state beaches, and other units representing
the state's diverse natural, cultural, recreational and historic
resources. The units are managed by the CDPR.
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Free and Reduced Licenses. Under existing law, CDPR is required
to issue several free and reduced fee licenses to eligible
individuals. These include the following:
The Disabled Discount Pass is available to persons with
permanent disabilities, as specified. This lifetime pass
requires a one-time fee of $3.50, and entitles its bearer to a
50 percent discount for vehicle day use, family camping, and
boat use fees.
The Golden Bear Pass is available to individuals receiving
Supplemental Security Income, any person receiving aid under
the applicable aid codes in the CalWORKS Program, or any
person 62 years of age or older with income limitations. This
reduced-fee ($5) pass permits free entry into most California
State Parks where vehicle day use fees are collected.
The Distinguished Veteran Pass is available to honorably
discharged war-time veterans, as defined, who are residents of
California and submit proof that they have a 50% or greater
service-connected disability, were a prisoner of war, or
received a Medal of Honor. The free park pass entitles the
holder to use all the basic facilities, including day use,
camping and boating, at no charge.
CDPR is also authorized to provide free or reduced-fee day use
access to state parks on Memorial Day or Veterans Day to
veterans and active duty or reserve military personnel for the
United States Armed Forces or the National Guard.
Veterans Passes. CDPR has issued a total of 39,047 Distinguished
Veterans passes since they were created in statute in 1979.
While applications may fluctuate significantly throughout the
history of the pass, absent any significant expansion of the
eligible population, the number of passes issued has increased
significantly (on average 19 percent per year).
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Peace v. wartime. The State uses federal classification of peace
and wartimes. Under current law, US Veteran's Affairs recognizes
the following wartime periods to determine eligibility for VA
Pension benefits:
Mexican Border Period (May 9, 1916 - April 5, 1917 for
Veterans who served in Mexico, on its borders, or adjacent
waters)
World War I (April 6, 1917 - November 11, 1918)
World War II (December 7, 1941 - December 31, 1946)
Korean conflict (June 27, 1950 - January 31, 1955)
Vietnam era (February 28, 1961 - May 7, 1975 for Veterans
who served in the Republic of Vietnam during that period;
otherwise August 5, 1964 - May 7, 1975)
Gulf War (August 2, 1990 - through a future date to be set
by law or Presidential Proclamation)
Proposed Law: This bill:
1.Strikes the current restriction limiting eligibility to
receive a Distinguished Veteran Pass to veterans of a war who
have a 50 percent or greater service-connected disability.
2.Clarifies the definitions of "disability", "prisoner of war",
and "veteran".
3.States legislative intent to consider alternative sources of
funding for the Distinguished Veteran Pass if CDPR determines
that revenue losses are significant.
4.Requires the CDPR, on or before January 1, 2019, to report the
revenue losses associated with the issuance of free veterans
passes in its proposed budget.
Related
Legislation:1) AB 1844 (Gallagher) requires the California Department of Fish
and Wildlife to provide reduced-fee lifetime hunting and sport
fishing licenses and cards to all Veterans of the Armed
Services. AB 1844 is also pending in Senate Appropriations
committee.
Staff
Comments: According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, as
of 2014 there were 331,645 Veterans in California receiving
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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 CDPR costs an
additional $1.7 million.
There are approximately 39,000 existing Distinguished Veteran
pass holders. CDPR costs from online reservations for calendar
year 2015 were approximately $2 million. This includes about
$200,000 in camping and cancellation fees CDPR 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, or lost revenue that would be earned if any of the
Distinguished Veteran's passholders were required to purchase
one of the existing day use parks passes (ranging from $50 to
$195 annually) or pay daily use fees (generally $10).
As of June 2016, there are approximately 39,000 existing
Distinguished Veteran pass holders. CDPR costs resulting from
these passes for online reservations in 2015 equaled
approximately $2 million (on average $59 per person). This
excludes walk-ins who are not captured separately from paying
visitors, and revenue losses resulting from eligible veterans
not being required to purchase on of CDPR's existing day use
passes (valued at up to $195 per year). CDPR also estimates an
approximate cost of $15.66 per person in administrative costs,
making per person cost total about $74. If 6,000 (10 percent of
the newly eligible population) participates in the program,
CDPR's costs would equal $447,960 annually. Staff notes that's
approximately 12 percent of the eligible population currently
has a pass, and that, absent a significant increase in the
eligible populations the issuance of Distinguished Veterans
passes has increased by approximately 12 percent each year.
This bill provides unique benefits to one population over others
that might be equally deserving of these benefits. This
disparate treatment creates pressure to provide similar benefits
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to additional populations to resolve the disparity. It may also
create pressure to expand the benefits offered to this
population. As such, staff notes that this bill may result in
significant cost pressures on state resources in addition to the
costs outlined in the fiscal impact statement.
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