BILL ANALYSIS
AB 716
Page 1
GOVERNOR'S VETO
AB 716 (Huber)
As Amended July 15, 2009
2/3 vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |74-0 |(June 3, 2009) |SENATE: |33-0 |(September 1, |
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|ASSEMBLY: |75-1 |(September 3, | | | |
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Original Committee Reference: V.A.
SUMMARY : Declares legislative intent for the California
Department of Veterans Affairs (CDVA) to enter into memorandums
of understanding (MOUs) 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 :
1)Directs the Employment Development Department (EDD) and the
Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to collect the name,
address, telephone number, and e-mail address, if available,
of individuals that identify themselves as veterans.
2)Requires the information specified to be transmitted to CDVA
on a quarterly basis, so CDVA may notify these veterans about
state and federal benefits and other veteran programs and
services for which the veterans may be eligible.
3)Requires EDD and DMV to notify the veterans that they are
collecting the information for the purpose specified.
The Senate Amendments require EDD and DMV to share information
with CDVA regarding information collected from veterans who self
identify. This information is to be shared on a quarterly
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basis.
EXISTING FEDERAL LAW establishes 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.
EXISTING STATE LAW requires:
1)CDVA to aid and assist California veterans and their families
and to administer the California Veterans Homes.
2)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 : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee:
1) CDVA would probably incur one-time costs to coordinate
the receipt of veterans' information from the Department of
Motor Vehicles (DMV) and Employment of Development
Department (EDD). The costs for CDVA to establish MOUs,
with departments they select, would likely be absorbable.
2) EDD and DMV would incur ongoing costs to collect and
transmit data to CDVA quarterly and these costs are
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.
EDD and One-Stop Career Centers. These offices and centers have
specially-trained staff to ensure veterans of the United States
Armed Forces receive maximum employment and training
opportunities. Services can include counseling, labor market
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information, job referrals, job search workshops, and job
development with potential employers.
One of the forms DHCS requires for Medi-Cal applicants asks
whether an applicant is a veteran. This information is not
regularly shared with CDVA.
Through the DMV, veterans and military personnel in California
qualify for the following:
1)Special Recognition License Plates. Disabled Person & Veteran
License Plates.
2)Veterans' Organizations License Plates.
3)Disabled Person Parking Placard or Plates.
4)Special Interest License Plate Ordering Information.
On CDVA's Web site 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 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%, respectively).
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Reason for the bill : The author cites that approximately 11% 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% and 31% 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%,
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.
GOVERNOR'S VETO MESSAGE :
"While I have consistently supported efforts to improve and
coordinate services for California veterans, the provisions of
this bill are already being administered through the California
Department of Veterans Affairs. One exciting example of this is
the Veterans Network of Care - a public/private partnership that
provides social service, mental health, employment, medical and
educational links for veterans and active duty personnel, as
well as their families. This program was developed with a grant
from Proposition 63 and contains over 15,000 web links and
250,000 pages of information.
"While I appreciate the author's intent, this bill is
unnecessary."
Analysis Prepared by: Eric Worthen / V. A. / (916) 319-3550
FN: 0003440
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