BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
1570 (Salas)
Hearing Date: 7/13/2009 Amended: 6/02/2009
Consultant: Maureen Ortiz Policy Vote: VA 6-0
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BILL SUMMARY: AB 1570 gives grant preferences to social
service providers that provide services to veterans and that
obtain a certification from the Department of Veterans' Affairs
(DVA), authorizes the DVA to audit entities that receive the
grants, and establishes the Veterans' Service Fund for deposit
of donations as specified.
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 Fund
DVA admin costs $57.5 $115
$115 General
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STAFF COMMENTS: This bill meets the criteria for referral to the
Suspense file.
The Department of Veterans' Affairs anticipates annual costs of
approximately $115,000 which includes one PY as an Associate
Governmental Program Analyst, in order to establish procedures,
review applications, certify applicants, provide
re-certification every two years, and complete the auditing
functions. Although AB 1570 requires the DVA to use existing
resources to implement the certification process and to complete
audits on social service providers that receive the grants, it
is unlikely that such funds exist due to the numerous reductions
in state departments' budgets as a result of the current
condition of the state budget. The bill also authorizes DVA to
accept donations and creates the Veterans Services Fund for
deposit of those monies to be used upon appropriation by the
Legislature. DVA will be required to develop a form to be used
by entities applying for certification that will enable them
grant preference.
It should be noted that there are currently three other
veteran-related and statutorily established projects for which
private donations are also being requested. Those programs are
as follows: 1) the Gold Star Family License Plate project
which must raise $300,000 before implementation, 2) the
California Mexican American Veterans Memorial Enhancement and
Beautification project which has a fundraising goal of nearly
$1.5 million, and 3) the Central Coast State Veterans Cemetery
in Monterey which must raise at least $3 million before
construction of the cemetery may begin.
This bill will mainly involve grants or contracts for veterans
services entered into by the DVA, the Employment Development
Department, the Department of Mental Health, the
Department of Housing and Community Development, and the
Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs. Each department will
probably incur minor administrative costs to revise their
criteria for awarding grants and contracts to account for the
preference to be provided to qualified entities pursuant to this
bill.
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AB 1570 (Salas)
AB 1570 will require each entity of state government that awards
grants to, or enters into contracts with, nongovernmental
agencies to give preference to a social service provider that
provides services to veterans. Social services include housing
services,
mental health services, or employment and job training services.
The provider will be required to submit a certification from the
DVA with the grant application. In order to obtain the DVA
certification, the provider must submit the following documents:
1) Articles of Incorporation and all amendments to the Articles
of Incorporation, 2) IRS Letter of Determination, 3) taxpayer
identification number, and 4) independent audit reports dating
back three years. The bill provides that a DVA certification
will be valid for a period of two years and will need to be
reauthorized at that time.
A qualified entity is defined as an entity that provides
services to veterans and is capable of managing the grant moneys
in a fiscally prudent manner and also meets all of the following
requirements:
1) Demonstrates the knowledge, experience, and capacity to
provide desired services to veterans,
2) Demonstrates through audits and employment history the fiscal
and management capacity to capably perform public contracts,
3) Is a nonprofit organization as specified, with the primary
purpose of providing services to veterans and their families,
4) Demonstrates that the majority of the entity's resources are
dedicated to serving the needs of veterans and their families,
and,
5) Demonstrates that all required filings with the Secretary of
State, Attorney General's office, and the Franchise Tax Board
are current.