BILL ANALYSIS
AB 716
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 28, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON VETERANS AFFAIRS
Mary Salas, Chair
AB 716 (Huber) - As Amended: April 23, 2009
SUBJECT : Veterans Services: state agencies and departments.
SUMMARY : Declares the Legislative intent for the requires the
California Department of Veterans Affairs (CDVA) to establish a
veteran data exchange system and enter into memorandums of
understanding or interagency agreements with other state
agencies and departments to ascertain the veteran status of all
persons receiving services, benefits, or assistance from those
state agencies and departments. Specifically, This bill would
require each state agency and department that provides services,
benefits, or assistance to veterans to identify the services,
benefits, or assistance that are being provided and the number
of veterans who are using those services, benefits, or
assistance and to submit a report to the Legislature.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires CDVA to aid and assist California veterans and their
families and to administer the California Veterans Homes.
2)Establishes, under federal law, the U.S. Department of
Veterans Affairs (VA), and within it, the Veterans Health
Administration, which is responsible for VA medical centers
and outpatient clinics.
3)Requires the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) to
establish a two-year pilot program to utilize the federal
Public Assistance Reporting Information System (PARIS) to
identify veterans and their dependents or survivors who are
enrolled in the Medi-Cal program and assist them in obtaining
federal veteran health care benefits.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : Services for veterans can be found at a number of
departments. Unfortunately, CDVA doe not receive information,
in a systematic way, from other state departments and agencies
about services that are being provided to Veterans.
AB 716
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The Employment Development Division operates Workforce Services
Offices and One-Stop Career Centers. These offices and centers
have specially-trained staff to ensure veterans of the U.S.
Armed Forces receive maximum employment and training
opportunities. Services can include counseling, labor market
information, job referrals, job search workshops, and job
development with potential employers.
One of the forms the Department of Health Care Services requires
for Medi-Cal applicants asks whether an applicant is a veteran.
This information is not regularly shared with CDVA.
Through the Department of Motor Vehicles veterans and military
personnel in California qualify for the following:
1)Special Recognition License Plates
2)Disabled Person & Veteran License Plates
3)Veterans' Organizations License Plates
4)Disabled Person Parking Placard or Plates
5)Special Interest License Plate Ordering Information
On CDVA's website it is stated that nearly every county in
California has a resource list of community-based organizations
or government agencies that may provide assistance to homeless
Veterans. There are over 460 agencies providing shelter of all
types for veterans. If this many public entities come in to
contact with veterans on a daily basis the author indicates
there should be a way to for all these groups to share this
information with CDVA thus creating a coordinated outreach
effort and enabling veterans to receive needed and available
resources.
The Department of Mental Health and the Department of Housing
and Community Development do not track how many veterans they
serve. The author believes that if these departments were to
keep track of the services provided to veterans, California
would be better positioned to provide the services needed to
ensure a smoother transition for veterans coming home from Iraq
and Afghanistan. She cites a study that shows younger male
veterans aged 18 to 25 were more likely to have had serious
mental illness than male non-veterans in the same age group
(14.8 vs. 10.2 percent, respectively).
AB 716
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Reason for the bill:
The author cites that approximately 11 percent of veterans in
California who are eligible to receive federal benefits from the
VA actually participate in federal programs available to
veterans. California ranks 38th nationally in terms of
participation rate when calculating veterans receiving the
federal benefits they have earned. On a per capita basis, Texas
and Florida collect 44 percent and 31 percent more respectively
in federal disability benefits than California. This difference
is primarily due to Texas and Florida having more veterans'
services representatives available to assist veterans in
pursuing VA benefit claims.
It is estimated that if California could increase the
participation rate to the national average of slightly over 12
percent, over $330 million more could be returned to the state
and local economy and paid to our resident veterans who need
that money to support themselves and their families.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
American Legion, Department of California
AMVETS, Department of California
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Eric Worthen / V. A. / (916) 319-3550