BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1127|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 1127
Author: Oropeza (D)
Amended: 8/2/10
Vote: 21
SENATE VETERANS AFFAIRS COMMITTEE : 4-0, 4/13/10
AYES: Denham, Correa, Negrete McLeod, Cedillo
NO VOTE RECORDED: Wyland, Vacancy, Vacancy
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SENATE FLOOR : 35-0, 6/1/10 (Consent)
AYES: Aanestad, Alquist, Ashburn, Calderon, Cedillo,
Cogdill, Corbett, Correa, Cox, Denham, DeSaulnier,
Ducheny, Dutton, Florez, Hancock, Harman, Hollingsworth,
Huff, Kehoe, Leno, Liu, Lowenthal, Negrete McLeod,
Padilla, Pavley, Price, Romero, Runner, Simitian,
Steinberg, Strickland, Wolk, Wright, Wyland, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Oropeza, Walters, Wiggins, Vacancy,
Vacancy
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 78-0, 8/12/10 (Consent) - See last page
for vote
SUBJECT : Department of Veteran Affairs: Internet
resources for
veterans and their family members
SOURCE : Author
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DIGEST : This bill requires the Department of Veterans
Affairs (DVA) to make specific Internet and printed
material related to veteran ailments available to family
members of veterans returning from active duty.
Assembly Amendments require DVA to update its Internet Web
site to prominently display a link to the Network of Care
for Veterans and Service Members site.
ANALYSIS :
This bill:
1. Requires the DVA to make available to family members of
veterans returning from active duty user friendly
Internet resources that provide information on the signs
of pertinent ailments from various conflicts, including,
but not limited to, all of the following:
A. Exposure to Agent Orange and post-traumatic stress
disorder from the Vietnam War.
B. Exposure to depleted uranium and Gulf War Syndrome
from Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert
Storm.
C. Traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress
disorder from Operation Enduring Freedom and
Operation Iraqi Freedom.
2. Stipulates that the Internet resources shall provide
links to the appropriate agency or person that may help
the family members of the veteran address any issues
arising from these ailments.
3. Requires printed material regarding these ailments to be
available at any public function of the DVA.
4. Requires DVA to make specific Internet and printed
material related to veteran ailments available to family
members of veterans returning from active duty.
Comments
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According to the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee
analysis, returning war veterans can often have problems
reintegrating to society. In the modern era, American
society witnessed the problem of reintegration in the early
1980s when it was discovered that many of the people on
skid row were Vietnam Veterans with Post Traumatic Stress
Syndrome, now known as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
(PTSD). Traditionally it is the Federal Government's
responsibility to take care of veterans, but as more and
more unseen ailments such as PTSD and Traumatic Brain
Injury are affecting veterans who are being discharged
without diagnosis and without notification to the federal
Veterans' Administration (VA).
As a result of unseen and undiagnosed ailments these
veterans then fall through the cracks of the VA health
system and land on county mental health systems, which
according to the funding in that county, may or may not
cover that particular ailment.
When these conditions go untreated some veterans turn to
drugs and alcohol and can often lose what few benefits they
have. The loss of these benefits only continues the
downward spiral. When veterans return home undiagnosed and
outside of the VA system, their family is often the only
asset left to help get these veterans help.
On Monday, May 23, 2009, the Administration announced the
launch of the Network of Care for Veterans Web site. In an
effort with other departments the DVA combined efforts to
provide assistance for deserving veterans who have served.
Through the Network of Care, Californians can show their
support for those who serve and have served their state and
nation.
The Administration has said, "Fighting in a war is a
life-changing experience. A veteran can leave the
battlefield but leaving behind the pain, the anguish and
the terrible memories is much more difficult and much more
challenging to do."
County mental health directors widely recognize the needs
of returning soldiers and their families, and in their
community mental health plans have included programs and
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resources to meet those needs. They used Mental Health
Services Act funds to develop a public-private partnership
to develop what they labeled convenient, easy-to-use online
resource specific to the
needs of veterans and service members, the Network of Care.
It is a one-stop resource for access to community mental
health services in all 58 of our California counties. It
is not only for veterans; it is for their families too.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/12/10)
American Legion, Department of California
AMVETS, Department of California
Vietnam Veterans of America, California State Council
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Bass, Beall,
Bill Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block,
Blumenfield, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero,
Charles Calderon, Carter, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto,
Davis, De La Torre, De Leon, DeVore, Eng, Evans, Feuer,
Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines,
Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto, Gilmore, Hagman, Hall, Harkey,
Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman, Jeffries,
Jones, Knight, Lieu, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma,
Mendoza, Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande, Niello,
Nielsen, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino, Ruskin, Salas,
Saldana, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Audra
Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran,
Villines, Yamada, John A. Perez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Norby, Vacancy
TSM:mw 8/16/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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