BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2273|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2273
Author: Irwin (D)
Amended: 3/14/16 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE VETERANS AFFAIRS COMMITTEE: 5-0, 6/14/16
AYES: Nielsen, Hueso, Allen, Nguyen, Roth
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 79-0, 4/21/16 (Consent) - See last page for
vote
SUBJECT: Military law: suicide
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill prohibits a member of the active militia,
including the California National Guard (CNG), from being
prosecuted for a military crime, under state authority, based on
an attempt to kill him or herself.
ANALYSIS: Existing law provides that the California Military
Department (CMD) can prosecute member Soldiers and Airmen under
state authority.
This bill:
1)Prohibits a member of the active militia, including the CNG,
from being prosecuted for a military crime based on an attempt
to kill him or herself.
2)Requires the Adjutant General to ensure that any member of the
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Page 2
active militia who attempts to kill himself or herself is
referred, as soon as practically possible, to the CMD's
Behavioral Health Liaison Program, or its successor, to
receive assistance, counseling, or referral to other
appropriate available services.
Background
California State Militia. The Military and Veterans Code (MVC)
provides for a California state militia, which contains both an
active militia and an unorganized militia, as follows:
1)The active militia consists of the CNG, State Military Reserve
(SMR) and Naval Militia. (MVC §120)
2)The unorganized militia:
a) Consists of all persons liable to serve in the militia,
but not members of the CNG, SMR, or Naval Militia. (MVC
§121)
b) All able-bodied males between 18 and 45 years old who
are not members of the CMD constitute the unorganized
militia of the state. (MVC §122)
3)The Governor may call the unorganized militia for active duty
in case of war, rebellion, insurrection, invasion, tumult,
riot, breach of the peace, public calamity or catastrophe, or
other emergency or imminent danger, or may be called forth for
service under the Constitution and laws of the United States.
(MVC §128)
California Military Department. The CMD is a state department
located within the executive branch. According to MVC Code
Section 51, the CMD comprises the following:
1)The active militia, which consists of the CNG, State Military
Reserve and Naval Militia; and
2)Two non-militia elements: (a) The Office of the Adjutant
General and (b) the California Cadet Corps.
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The CMD's eclectic personnel mix includes both paid employees
and volunteers, both uniformed military and civilian workers,
both full-time and part-time status, and both federally funded
and state-funded. All uniformed employees are subject to
military law, either federal or state, depending upon their
legal authorization and/or current duty status.
Military law. Federal courts-martial are conducted under a
federal Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) and Manual for
Courts-Martial (MCM). Congress enacted the UCMJ, the code of
military criminal laws applicable to all U.S. federal military
members. The MCM contains the Rules for Courts-Martial (RCM) and
Military Rules of Evidence (MRE). Under this legal framework,
military members are subject to rules, orders, proceedings, and
consequences different from the rights and obligations of their
civilian counterparts.
The UCMJ authorizes three types of courts-martial: (1) summary
court-martial; (2) special court-martial; and (3) general
court-martial. Depending on the severity of the alleged offense,
the accused's commanding officer enjoys great discretion with
respect to the type of court-martial to convene. Generally, each
of the courts-martial provides fundamental constitutional and
procedural rights to the accused, including, but not limited to,
the right to a personal representative or counsel, the
opportunity to confront evidence and witnesses, and the right to
have a decision reviewed by a lawyer or a court of appeals.
Military members convicted by federal courts-martial may appeal
for review by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Services.
This independent tribunal was established within the UCMJ by act
of Congress -- not by a Presidential executive order. The same
constitutional principles are applicable to the Courts-Martial
Appellate Panel - the CMD's appellate tribunal.
California Military Law. California state law expressly adopts
the substance of federal military statutes, the UCMJ, MCM, RCM,
and MRE insofar as they may be applicable to state military
matters. MVC Section 451 states:
(a) The constitution and jurisdiction of general
courts-martial, special courts-martial, summary
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courts-martial, and courts of inquiry, the form and manner in
which the proceedings are conducted and recorded, the forms of
oaths and affirmations taken in the administration of military
law by such courts, the limits of punishment, and the
proceedings in the revision thereof, shall be governed by the
terms of the laws and regulations governing the United States
Army, Air Force, or Navy, and the law and procedure of similar
courts of the United States Army, Air Force, or Navy, except
as otherwise provided in this chapter.
(b) The provisions of the Uniform Code of Military Justice
(UCMJ), and the rules and regulations published thereunder,
shall govern and be applicable to the active militia,
including the CNG, except as otherwise provided in this code,
the California Manual for Courts-Martial, or other regulations
as adopted by the Governor or Adjutant General.
Suicide. Articles 115 and 134 of the UCMJ penalize attempted
suicide and self-injury. Article 134 of the federal UCMJ, called
"the general article," criminalizes "all disorders and neglects
to the prejudice of good order and discipline in the Armed
Forces" and "all conduct of a nature to bring discredit upon the
Armed Forces." The Manual for Courts-Martial lists "self-injury
without intent to avoid service" as an example of conduct
punishable under this code.
During the past decade, the U.S. military has witnessed
abnormally high suicide rates, understood to be largely
associated with the high deployment rates of active and reserve
troops to the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
In response, the Department of Defense (DoD) established the
Defense Suicide Prevention Office to provide advocacy, program
oversight, and policy for military suicide prevention,
intervention and postvention efforts to reduce suicidal
behaviors in service members, civilians and their families. The
DoD Suicide Event Report standardizes suicide surveillance
efforts across the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps to
provide analytical data in support of the department's suicide
prevention mission.
On May 4, 2016, USA Today reported the following:
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The Pentagon reported Friday that 265 active-duty
servicemembers killed themselves last year, continuing a trend
of unusually high suicide rates that have plagued the U.S.
military for at least seven years.
The number of suicides among troops was 145 in 2001 and began
a steady increase until more than doubling to 321 in 2012, the
worst year in recent history for servicemembers killing
themselves.
Behavioral Health Liaison Program. In a 2013 memorandum to the
Little Hoover Commission, the CMD described its Behavioral
Health Liaison Program (BHL) as follows:
"Proposition 63 funding has dramatically improved access to
mental health care for Soldiers and Airmen of the California
National Guard. It has enabled the California National Guard
to implement a behavioral health program that is recognized as
the best in the nation. Commonly referred to as 'The
California Model,' our approach to delivering behavioral
health services is being replicated by state National Guards
across the country.
"The Military Department's Behavioral Health Outreach Liaison
(BHL) program was established in 2009 with the assistance of
the leadership of the California Legislature. Using
Proposition 63 funds, this program provides two licensed
therapists who are assigned to Northern and Southern
California regions, and one agency coordinator."
In a February 2016 memorandum to the Joint Legislative Budget
Committee, the CMD reported that the BHL program:
" . . . (S)upports the behavioral health needs of over 21,000
CNG and (SMR members. The CMD BHL program had a FY 2015-16
baseline funding of $1,590,000 that funds 8.2 positions
through Proposition 63."
The 2016 memorandum reported that - in calendar year 2015 - the
BHL program had 9,198 contacts with supported service members
and made 1,567 referrals to county mental health departments and
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other agencies. The "five top issues" for which CNG members
sought assistance were:
1)General mental health support.
2)Suicidal ideation.
3)Substance abuse.
4)Employment.
5)Family/relationship issues.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
SUPPORT: (Verified8/1/16)
American G.I. Forum of California
American Legion - Department of California
AMVETS - Department of California
California Association of County Veterans Service Officers
Military Officers Association of America - California Council of
Chapters
National Association of Social Workers - California Chapter
Veterans of Foreign Wars - Department of California
Vietnam Veterans of American - California State Council
One individual
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/1/16)
None received
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 79-0, 4/21/16
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Arambula, Atkins, Baker,
Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke,
Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley,
Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth
Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto,
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Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper,
Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim,
Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis,
Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte,
O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Quirk, Rodriguez, Salas,
Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner,
Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Rendon
NO VOTE RECORDED: Ridley-Thomas
Prepared by:Wade Teasdale / V.A. / (916) 651-1503
8/3/16 19:31:27
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