BILL ANALYSIS Ó
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
AB 557 (J. Perez)
Hearing Date: 8/15/2011 Amended: 7/14/2011
Consultant: Maureen Ortiz Policy Vote: VA: 7-0
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BILL SUMMARY: AB 557 creates the California Interagency Council
on Veteran Services and Programs to assess how California
veterans are accessing available state and federal benefits.
The Council will be required to report to the Legislature by
January 1, 2013 its recommendations for implementing policy,
regulatory, and resource changes.
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 Fund
Council ----unknown,
likely over $50------ General
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STAFF COMMENTS: This bill meets the criteria for referral to the
Suspense file.
Although AB 557 specifies that members of the council will not
receive any compensation, there will be staffing costs and
travel expenses associated with the requirement that the council
hold public meetings. The bill also provides that the council
shall operate within the current budget of each department and
agency represented. Therefore, there will be several
departments that will likely incur minor costs associated with
the administrative duties of the council.
The purpose of the council is to bring together key state
agencies and departments, federal officials, legislative
representatives, local governments, and stakeholder
organizations to ensure that the state's programs that serve
veterans are efficiently administered and properly integrated
with federal and local governments. The council will be
required to hold public meetings at least once every month
during the first year, and to hold quarterly meetings after the
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first year.
In pursuing its goals of enhancing benefits to California
veterans, the council will ensure that state agencies and
departments are doing all of the following:
a) Adequately serving the needs of veterans and National Guard
members, as well as the surge in demand for services from
veterans returning from Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation
Enduring Freedom.
b) Maximizing the use of federal funding available to support
veterans programs.
c) Discussing ways to streamline the administration of veterans
programs across agencies and jurisdictions to reduce
duplication, consolidate availability of services, and ease
veterans access to services.
d) Soliciting input and suggestions from the public and
governmental agencies.
e) Identifying best practices from other states in serving
veterans.
AB 557 authorizes the council to establish working groups, task
forces, or other structures to assist in its work.
The Council will be made up of the Secretary or Director (or
designee) from each of the following:
a) Service and Volunteering
b) Department of Housing and Community Development
c) The Employment Development Department
d) Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs
e) Department of Health Care Services
f) Employment Training Panel
g) Department of Mental Health
h) Military Department
i) Department of General Services
j) California Workforce Investment Board
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k) Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
Other members of the council include the following:
a) A representative of the Governor's Office
b) The Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs will be
the chairperson
c) One representative of county government appointed by the
Speaker of the Assembly, and who is a county veterans service
officer
d) One representative of county government appointed by the
Senate Committee on Rules, who is a county veterans service
officer
e) The chair of the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs
f) The chair of the Assembly Committee on Veterans Affairs
g) Representatives from two stakeholder organizations, with one
appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly and the other appointed
by Senate Committee on Rules.
AB 557 provides that the Governor shall appoint the vice
chairperson, and that members of the council will not receive
any compensation.
A recent study completed by the California Research Bureau
concluded that there are an estimated 29,000 homeless veterans
in California, making up over 20% of the homeless population.
Additionally, an audit performed in 2009 by the Bureau of State
Audits found that California's veterans participate in
collecting federal disability and pension benefits at
significantly lower rates than those in other states with large
veteran populations. Recommendations from the audit support the
need for more coordination between state agencies and
departments, and between the state, federal, and local
governments.