BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 193| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- UNFINISHED BUSINESS Bill No: SB 193 Author: Committee on Veterans Affairs Amended: 6/8/15 Vote: 21 SENATE VETERANS AFFAIRS COMMITTEE: 5-0, 4/14/15 AYES: Nielsen, Hueso, Allen, Nguyen, Roth SENATE FLOOR: 37-0, 4/20/15 (Consent) AYES: Allen, Anderson, Bates, Beall, Berryhill, Block, Cannella, De León, Gaines, Galgiani, Hall, Hancock, Hernandez, Hertzberg, Hill, Hueso, Huff, Jackson, Lara, Leno, Leyva, Liu, McGuire, Mendoza, Mitchell, Monning, Moorlach, Morrell, Nguyen, Nielsen, Pan, Roth, Runner, Stone, Vidak, Wieckowski, Wolk NO VOTE RECORDED: Fuller, Pavley ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 80-0, 8/31/15 - See last page for vote SUBJECT: Veterans SOURCE: Author DIGEST: This bill cleans up portions of the Military and Veterans Code by deleting outdated references to federal executive orders and statutes (which the State borrows to define military law for the active state militia), and by adding updated references to federal law. Assembly Amendments (1) remove outdated references to the Articles of War and the National Defense Act, (2) add a reference to laws and regulations of the United States Navy, (3) add a reference to incorporate regulations adopted by the Governor, and (4) incorporate by reference the California SB 193 Page 2 version of the Manual for Courts-Martial (MCM). ANALYSIS: Existing law adopts standards and procedures contained in the federal Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), and federal MCM, as governing and applicable to the active state militia, which includes the California National Guard (CNG). This bill: 1)Deletes outdated references to federal executive orders and statutes creating the UCMJ and MCM. 2)Deletes an outdated reference to the Articles of War and the National Defense Act. 3)Adds a reference to laws and regulations of the United States Navy. 4)Adds a reference to incorporate regulations adopted by the Governor. 5)Incorporates by reference the California version of the MCM. 6)Clarifies that the UCMJ, regulations adopted by the Governor or Adjutant General, and the California MCM apply to the active militia, including the CNG. Background Military law includes jurisdiction exercised by courts-martial and jurisdiction exercised by commanders with respect to nonjudicial punishment. The purpose of military law is to promote justice, assist in maintaining good order and discipline in the armed forces, promote efficiency and effectiveness in the military establishment, thereby strengthening national security. The standards and procedures are contained in federal statutes, the UCMJ, MCM, Rules for Courts-Martial (RCM) and Military Rules of Evidence (MRE). In seeking to maintain good order and discipline within the components of the California Military Department (CMD), existing SB 193 Page 3 state law expressly adopts the substance, standards and procedure contained in the federal UCMJ, MCM, RCM and MRE insofar as they may be applicable to state military matters. The adoption is by reference to the federal authorities, which necessitates that the references be kept current. The CMD includes the active state militia, which, in turn, comprises the CNG, State Military Reserve and Naval Militia. (When members of the CNG are called onto federal active duty under Title 10 of the U.S. Code, they become subject to federal military law for the duration of their active duty mobilization and are not subject to state military law.) Related/Prior Legislation AB 1410 (Assembly Committee on Veterans Affairs, Chapter 322, Statutes of 2013) provides clear statutory authority for the CMD's existing practices regarding its Courts-Martial Appellate Panel. AB 2579 (Sharon Runner, Chapter 358, Statutes of 2006) updates California military law in the area of punishments available for state courts-martial to make them more consistent with comparable provisions in federal military law. SB 1025 (Craven, Chapter 90, Statutes of 1989) adopts the federal UCMJ and MCM for the State of California's application to its active militia, including the CNG. FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.:NoLocal: No SUPPORT: (Verified8/31/15) None received OPPOSITION: (Verified8/31/15) None received SB 193 Page 4 ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 80-0, 8/31/15 AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, 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, Perea, Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Atkins Prepared by: Wade Cooper Teasdale / V.A. / (916) 651-1503 8/31/15 18:14:49 **** END ****