BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 221
Page 1
Date of Hearing: July 15, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
SB 221
(Jackson) - As Amended July 9, 2015
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Policy |Public Employees, |Vote:|6 - 0 |
|Committee: |Retirement/Soc Sec | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------|
| |Veterans Affairs | |8 - 0 |
| | | | |
| | | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill provides additional credit for sick leave with pay of
up to 96 hours for state employees hired on or after January 1,
2016, who are military veterans with military service-connected
disabilities rated at 30% or more by the US Department of
Veterans Affairs (VA), and requires the additional sick leave be
used for undergoing medical treatment for the military
service-connected disabilities. The additional sick leave may
be used for the first 12 months of employment, but cannot be
SB 221
Page 2
carried forward beyond those initial 12 months.
FISCAL EFFECT:
1)Unknown, but potentially significant General and Special Fund
costs to state agencies, in excess of $150,000, as a result of
granting additional sick leave credit; potentially minor
administrative costs to modify systems and procedures and
monitor compliance.
2)Potential cost savings to state agencies that provide services
to disabled veterans to the extent the additional sick leave
affords those veterans greater access to their federal VA
benefits.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. According to the author, newly-hired disabled
veterans may not have sufficient sick leave to attend medical
appointments on a regular basis. New state employees begin
with no sick leave and accrue it, only after their first month
of employment, at a rate of eight hours per month. The author
contends VA appointments can be difficult to schedule and
reschedule, and it is often important for veterans with
physical or mental health issues to receive their scheduled
medical attention. SB 221 is intended to make it easier for
disabled veterans to transition into state service.
2)Disabled Veteran Employees. California has approximately
230,000 state employees, though it is unknown what percentage
of those are veterans or have a military service-connected
disability. According to the VA, there are approximately 1
million working-age veterans living in California, which
SB 221
Page 3
represents approximately 4% of the state's total working-age
population. If military veterans were similarly represented
among state employees, approximately 9,200 may be veterans,
though given the number of veterans who work as peace
officers, this number may be higher. While it is unknown how
many of those veterans may have a military service-connected
disability rated at 30% or more by the VA, even a small
percentage could result in significant costs to state
agencies.
Analysis Prepared by:Joel Tashjian / APPR. / (916)
319-2081