BILL NUMBER: SB 1454 CHAPTERED 09/05/00 CHAPTER 301 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 5, 2000 APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 1, 2000 PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 18, 2000 PASSED THE SENATE MAY 24, 2000 AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 22, 2000 INTRODUCED BY Senator Chesbro FEBRUARY 9, 2000 An act to amend Sections 1047 and 1048 of, and to add Section 1044.5 to, the Military and Veterans Code, relating to veterans homes. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 1454, Chesbro. Veterans' homes: residents' rights. Existing law provides for the creation and operation of veterans' homes where aged and disabled veterans and their spouses may live. The homes are under the management and control of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and supervised by one administrator for each home site. The administrator may make rules and regulations governing the admission of applicants and conditions upon which veterans may reside in the homes. This bill would establish the right of veterans residing in a veterans' home to complain to the administrator about home accommodations and services without fear of reprisal. The bill would require the administrator to inform residents of this right and to post a notice of the right in the homes. Existing law provides for a Morale, Welfare, and Recreation Fund to be used for the general welfare of the residents of veterans' homes. The moneys in the fund may not be used for specified purposes, including medical treatment for which reimbursement is available from other sources and any function, operation, or activity that has an alternative source of funding. This bill would revise these provisions to provide that the fund may not be used for medical or related treatment, and would delete the provision relating to expenditures for any function, operation, or activity that has an alternative source of funding. The bill would also revise provisions related to General Fund appropriations related to the fund. Existing law requires the administrator of the veterans' homes to provide an annual report for all moneys deposited into the fund and all expenditures from the fund. The report must be submitted to the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, the fiscal committees of the Assembly and the Senate, and the committees of each house having jurisdiction over veterans affairs. This bill would require that the administrator's annual report also be provided to the Veterans' Home Allied Council. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 1044.5 is added to the Military and Veterans Code, to read: 1044.5. (a) A resident of a veterans home has the right to complain and otherwise exercise the freedom of expression and assembly guaranteed by the Sections 2 and 3 of Article I of the California Constitution and the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. The administrator of the home shall inform each resident in writing at the time of admission of the right to complain to the administrator about home accommodations and services. A notice of the right to complain shall be posted in the home. The administrator shall also inform each resident of the right to complain to the board or to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. Each resident of a home shall be encouraged and assisted, throughout the period of stay in the home, to understand and exercise the rights of freedom of expression and assembly as a resident and as a citizen. To this end, the resident may voice grievances and recommend changes in policies and services to home staff, other residents, and outside representatives of the resident's choice, free from restraint, interference, coercion, discrimination, or reprisal, including retaliatory eviction. (b) An administrator may not retaliate against any resident who exercises the right to voice grievances by evicting the resident. There shall be a rebuttable presumption that any eviction within 45 days of the exercise by a resident of the right to voice grievances is retaliatory. This presumption does not apply in favor of a resident who has failed to pay maintenance fees unless the resident pays the overdue fees. SEC. 2. Section 1047 of the Military and Veterans Code is amended to read: 1047. (a) The administrator shall maintain a Morale, Welfare, and Recreation Fund that shall be used, at the discretion of the administrator and subject to the approval of the secretary, to provide for the general welfare of the veterans, including, but not limited to, providing for operations of the Veterans' Home Exchange, hobby shop, motion picture theater, library, band, and any other function that is operated for the morale, welfare, and recreation of the veterans, and to pay for newspapers, chapel expenses, welfare and entertainment expenses, sport activities, celebrations, and any other activity that is for the morale, welfare, and recreation of the veterans. (b) Money in the Morale, Welfare, and Recreation Fund may not be expended for any of the following: (1) Medical treatments or any other related treatment. (2) Maintenance of the physical plant of the home. (3) Any function, operation, or activity that is not directly related to the morale, welfare, or recreation of the veterans. (c) Appropriations from the General Fund for the purposes described in paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) may not be reduced for the purpose of, or to have the effect of, requiring increased expenditures from the Morale, Welfare, and Recreation Fund for those described purposes. (d) The administrator shall prepare an itemized report that is organized by category and accounts for all expenditures made from the Morale, Welfare, and Recreation Fund during the previous fiscal year and shall submit the report on or before August 20 of each year to all of the following: (1) The secretary. (2) The fiscal committees of the Assembly and the Senate. (3) The committees of the Assembly and the Senate that have subject matter jurisdiction over veterans' affairs. (4) The Veterans' Home Allied Council. SEC. 3. Section 1048 of the Military and Veterans Code is amended to read: 1048. (a) The Moral, Welfare, and Recreation Fund shall include proceeds from operations of the Veterans' Home Exchange, revenue derived from the issuance of prisoner-of-war special license plates pursuant to Section 5101.5 of the Vehicle Code, all funds derived from golf course green fees and range ball fees, all donations to the fund, interest earned on invested funds, funds derived from the estates of deceased members, and any other moneys or property described in this chapter, including, but not limited to, moneys and properties received by the home from estate assets located outside the home, regardless of amount. (b) The administrator shall prepare an itemized report that is organized by category and accounts for all funds deposited into the Morale, Welfare, and Recreation Fund and transmitted to the Controller under Section 1047 during the previous fiscal year and shall submit the report on or before August 20 of each year to all of the following: (1) The secretary. (2) The fiscal committees of the Assembly and the Senate. (3) The committees of the Assembly and the Senate that have subject matter jurisdiction over veterans' affairs. (4) The Veterans' Home Allied Council.