Amended in Assembly April 6, 2016

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 2512

Introduced by Assembly Member Grove

February 19, 2016

An act to add begin insert and repeal end insert Section 73.2 begin delete to end delete begin insert of end insert the Military and Veterans Code, relating to women veterans health care.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2512, as amended, Grove. Task Force on California Women Veterans Health.

Existing law creates the Department of Veterans Affairs and the California Veterans Board that is required to advise the department and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs on policies for operations of the department. Existing law authorizes the board to create advisory committees consisting of veterans to advise the board in specific fields. Existing law requires the department, by July 1, 2015, to develop a transition assistance program for veterans who have been discharged from the Armed Forces of the United States or the National Guard, designed to assist veterans in successfully transitioning to civilian life, that includes information about California-specific transition assistance, including health care programs and services, mental health resources, and military sexual trauma resources.

This bill begin delete would end delete begin insert would, until July 1, 2022, end insert create the Task Force on California Women Veterans Health Care, within the department, comprised of begin delete an unspecified number of end delete begin delete members. end delete begin insert 9 voting members appointed by the Secretary of Veteran Affairs. end insert The bill would require the begin insert secretary to designate an employee of the department to serve as a non end insert begin insert voting representative of the department to the task force and would require the end insert department to provide staff support to the task force. The bill would require the task force to study the health care needs of women veterans in the state, as specified. The bill would also require the task force to submit begin delete a report end delete begin insert an annual report, commencing on or before January 1, 2020, and until January 1, 2022, inclusive, end insert to the Governor and the begin delete appropriate end delete begin insert policy end insert committees of the Legislature begin insert that have jurisdiction over the department, end insert that includes the task force’s findings and recommendations. The bill would require the task force, when conducting its study and preparing its begin insert annual end insert report, to consult with the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, the State Department of Public Health, the Department of Managed Health Care, and representatives of county veterans service officers.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

The Legislature hereby makes the following
findings and declarations:

(a) Recently, each branch of the Armed Forces of the United
States has opened to women combat positions that were previously
closed to women.

(b) According to the United States Department of Veterans
Affairs, the projected veterans population nationwide is
approximately 23,000,000, with women making up an estimated
10 percent of that population.

(c) The United States Department of Veterans Affairs estimates
the percentage of female veterans will increase from approximately
9 percent in 2010 to approximately 18 percent in 2040.

(d) Females comprise approximately 80,000 of the wartime
veterans.

(e) The number of women veterans will continue to increase
due to ongoing combat operations in begin delete th end delete begin insert the end insert Middle East and
Afghanistan.

(f) Women veterans often face unique challenges when
transitioning from active duty to civilian life.

(g) The challenging needs facing women veterans can often be
overlooked when providing services to the very large veteran
population.

(h) Ensuring the availability of specialized services for physical
and mental health, including treatment of post-traumatic stress
disorder, traumatic brain injury, military sexual trauma, and alcohol
and substance abuse tailored to the specific needs of women
veterans is essential if California is to ensure that our returning
veterans receive proper care.

(i) Establishing a task force to study the health issues facing
women veterans and making recommendations to the Governor
and the Legislature will provide much needed information and
insight.

SEC. 2.  

Section 73.2 is added to the Military and Veterans
Code, to read:

73.2.  

(a) (1) There is hereby created within the department
the Task Force on California Women Veterans Health Care.

(2) The task force shall be comprised of begin delete ______ members. end delete begin insert nine
voting members appointed by the secretary. end insert

(3) Task force members shall not begin delete be compensated for their
service. Task force members shall be reimbursed for their
reasonable and necessary expenses incurred in service of the task
force. end delete begin insert receive compensation for their service, including travel or
other expenses incurred to participate in task force meetings or
per diem. end insert

(b) The begin insert secretary shall designate an employee of the department
to serve as a nonvoting representative of the department to the
task force, and the end insert department shall provide staff support to the
task force.

(c) The task force shall study the health care needs of women
veterans in the state, including, but not limited to, all of the
following:

(1) The quality of, and access to, mental health services,
including services and treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder
and traumatic brain injury.

(2) Inpatient treatment availability.

(3) The adequacy and availability of appropriate health care for
women veterans within the federal health care system and within
the state.

(4) The adequacy and quality of, and access to, services
providing for the identification and treatment of military sexual
trauma, including sexual harassment or abuse.

(d) The task force shall submit begin delete a report end delete begin insert an annual report,
commencing on or before January 1, 2020, and until January 1,
2022, inclusive, end insert to the Governor and the begin delete appropriate end delete begin insert policy end insert
committees of the begin delete Legislature, end delete begin insert Legislature that have jurisdiction
over the department, end insert including the findings of the task force’s
study and recommendations to improve provision of health care
services to women veterans in the state.

(e) The task force, when conducting its study and preparing its
begin insert annual end insert report, shall consult with the United States Department of
Veterans Affairs, the State Department of Public Health, the
Department of Managed Health Care, and representatives of county
veterans service officers.

begin insert

(f) This section shall become inoperative on July 1, 2022, and,
as of January 1, 2023, is repealed, unless a later enacted statute,
that becomes operative on or before January 1, January 1, 2023,
deletes or extends the dates on which it becomes inoperative and
is repealed.

end insert