BILL NUMBER: SJR 16	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Senator Denham
   (Coauthors: Senators Aanestad, Alquist, Correa, Cox, Huff,
Maldonado, Negrete McLeod, Runner, Strickland, Wiggins, Wright, and
Wyland)
   (Coauthors: Assembly Members Tom Berryhill, Cook, Davis, DeVore,
Fletcher, Fong, Gaines, Gilmore, Jeffries, Knight, Logue, Salas, and
Smyth)

                        JUNE 29, 2009

   Relative to veterans' educational benefits.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SJR 16, as introduced, Denham. Veterans: educational benefits.
   This measure would request that the President and the Congress of
the United States pass the H.R. 2474 that would restore funding for
California veterans pursuing higher education.
   Fiscal committee: no.



   WHEREAS, In 2008, Congress passed the Post-9/11 Veterans
Educational Assistance Act of 2008 to expand educational benefits to
veterans of the war on terror. A veteran can receive a grant of up to
the maximum tuition and fees charged to an in-state undergraduate
student attending a public institution in his or her particular
state. The benefit can be used at either a public or private
institution; and
   WHEREAS, Under California law, public institutions of higher
education may not charge tuition to in-state residents. Because
California's public institutions of higher education charge no
tuition, their fees are often considerably higher than the amount of
fees charged by private institutions that are permitted to levy a
tuition cost. Based on the amount charged by public institutions to
California's in-state residents, the United States Department of
Veterans Affairs has determined the maximum tuition benefit to be
zero dollars ($0), while the maximum fee benefit can equal up to six
thousand five hundred eighty-six dollars and fifty-four cents
($6,586.54); and
   WHEREAS, In California, veterans receive no tuition benefit and
are often only allowed to use a fraction of their fee allotment at a
private institution of higher education. For a student attending
Stanford University, with an approximate tuition cost of thirty-seven
thousand dollars ($37,000) and fees of one thousand dollars
($1,000), a California veteran would receive no benefit to defray the
cost of tuition and would only be able to access one thousand
dollars ($1,000) in fee benefits to cover that portion of the cost;
and
   WHEREAS, The federal Veterans Educational Equity Act ensures
California veterans are able to access the full benefit calculated
under the law, rather than limiting their funding because of the
state's zero tuition policy. The full benefit, tuition plus fees, can
be used to offset the full cost of the tuition plus fees. Thus, the
bill ensures California veterans can use up to the full six thousand
five hundred eighty-six dollars and fifty-four cent ($6,586.54)
benefit calculated by the United States Department of Veterans
Affairs, similar to the benefits enjoyed by other veterans in other
states; and
   WHEREAS, H.R. 2474 by California Congressman McKeon seeks to
remedy the loophole that denies California veterans their educational
benefits; now, therefore, be it
   Resolved by the Senate and the Assembly of the State of
California, jointly, That the Legislature of the State of California
respectfully requests the President and the Congress of the United
States to pass H.R. 2474 that would restore funding for California
veterans pursuing higher education; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this
resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States,
the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Majority Leader of
the Senate, and each Senator and Representative from California in
the Congress of the United States.