BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2562|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2562
Author: Committee on Veterans Affairs
Introduced:2/19/16
Vote: 21
SENATE VETERANS AFFAIRS COMMITTEE: 5-0, 6/14/16
AYES: Nielsen, Hueso, Allen, Nguyen, Roth
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 79-0, 4/21/16 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Military service: benefits
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill deletes references to specific dates on which
a military servicemember was deployed on active duty. (These
dates determine, in part, the servicemember's eligibility for
existing financial and legal protections provided during the
time period of the deployment.)
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Authorizes a reservist- who is called to active duty on and
after January 1, 2014 - for the period of active duty plus 60
calendar days, or a total of 180 days, whichever is the
lesser, to defer payments on:
a) Mortgages
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b) Credit cards
c) Retail installment accounts and contracts
d) Real property taxes and assessments
e) Vehicle leases
f) Obligations owed to utility companies
2)Authorizes similar provisions to a reservist, who was called
to active duty before January 1, 2014, as a part of the Iraq
and Afghanistan conflicts.
This bill deletes references to the dates on which a reservist
is called to active duty, in both the definition of a reservist
and the payment deferral provisions.
Background
Financial and legal protections for deployed troops. Federal
law provides specific financial and legal protections for active
duty and reserve troops when deployed on federal active duty.
The purpose is to allow troops to focus their full attention on
their military responsibilities without adverse consequences for
them or their families. The most prominent federal laws are:
1)The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act,
which is most commonly known by the pronounced acronym
"USERRA," and
2)The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, which provides relief to
deployed servicemembers, such as postponing or suspending
certain civil obligations.
California state law provides additional, similar protections
for servicemembers, primarily in the §§400 and §§800 portions of
the Military and Veterans Code.
In general, the federal and state benefits range from
prohibiting discrimination in employment on the basis of
military or veteran status, securing reemployment rights
following deployment, deferral of payment on financial
obligations (mortgages and auto loans, utility payments, etc.)
until return from deployment, and postponement of civil actions
and obligations.
Some of the state protections were enacted initially in response
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to the events of September 11, 2001. Others were added later
over time in piecemeal. The mix of state laws had varied benefit
menus and referenced differing conflicts (Afghanistan, Iraq,
etc.) and deployment dates. This has led to some confusion among
legal and financial institutions in complying with the laws.
Comments
According to the author, a reservist who is called to active
duty on and after January 1, 2014, is authorized to defer
payments on mortgages, credit cards, retail installment accounts
and contracts, real property taxes and assessments, vehicle
leases, and obligations owed to utility companies, for the
period of active duty plus 60 calendar days, or 180 days,
whichever is less. Similar provisions are authorized to a
reservist who was called to active duty before January 1, 2014,
as a part of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. Assembly Bill
2562 deletes the references to the date a reservist is called to
active duty, in both the definition of a reservist and the
payment deferral provisions, thereby making the benefits
available to any reservist who otherwise meets the definition.
The current wording is a result of drafting to make it
abundantly clear that the status quo would be preserved until
the effective date of AB 526 (see below under Prior
Legislation). This current wording has proven to be confusing to
financial institutions. AB 2562 removes the obsolete section of
existing code which covered the period before January 1, 2014
and removes the obsolete references to January 1, 2014, since
that date has passed. The obsolete language renders this
section confusing. This bill does not expand the universe of
eligible servicemembers in terms of time or conflict or any
other way.
Prior Legislation
AB 526 (Melendez, Chapter 236, Statutes of 2013) extended to a
larger class of military reservists the enhanced financial
protections currently offered only to service members ordered to
active duty as part of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. It
also added utility bills to the list of financial obligations
subject to statutory deferment.
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FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:NoLocal: No
SUPPORT: (Verified6/15/16)
American G.I. Forum of California
American Legion - Department of California
AMVETS - Department of California
Military Officers Association of America - California Council of
Chapters
OPPOSITION: (Verified6/15/16)
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,
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 Cooper Teasdale / V.A. / (916) 651-1503
6/15/16 17:24:44
**** END ****
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