BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE COMMITTEE ON VETERANS AFFAIRS
LOU CORREA, CHAIRMAN
Bill No: AB 1224
Author: Assembly Veterans Committee
Version: As Proposed
Hearing Date: April 10, 2012
Fiscal: Yes
Consultant: Donald E. Wilson
SUBJECT OF BILL
Veterans' cooperative housing and 3-year Employment
Training Panel (ETP) veterans.
PROPOSED LAW
1. Gives the California Department of Veterans Affairs
(CDVA) the authority to promulgate regulations for its new
authority regarding cooperative housing.
2. Requires the Employment Training Panel's (ETP)
three-year plan to include goals and strategies to support
target populations in need of employment training,
including military veterans and California National Guard
members.
EXISTING LAW
1. Provides for the establishment of employment training
programs and specifies which individuals
qualify as "eligible participants" of the training
programs.
2. Establishes the Employment Training Panel (ETP) in the
Employment development and requires the Governor to appoint
the executive director and two assistant directors of ETP
specifying that at least one assistant director have
experience serving the needs of small business.
3. Provides that ETP is governed by eight panel members.
Seven are appointed by the Governor and the leadership of
the Legislature and have backgrounds in business management
and employee relations, as specified. The Secretary of
Business, Transportation and Housing, or his/her designee,
shall serve as an ex officio, voting member.
4. Specifies the duties of ETP to include the duty to make
contracts for training in job-related vocational skills,
as specified and permits the ETP, subject to certain
requirements, to delegate its authority to approve
contracts for new hire training to any entity, as
specified, for purposes of serving the needs of small
businesses.
5. Requires the ETP, among other things, to establish a
3-year plan, as specified, that must be updated annually to
establish minimum standards for the consideration of
proposals, including the identification of employers and to
develop a process by which local workforce investment
boards may apply for marketing resources for the purpose of
identifying local employers that have training needs
reflecting the priorities of the panel. Authorizes the ETP
to delegate its authority to approve contracts for training
to local workforce investment boards, as provided.
6. Requires the ETP to allocate its annual funds for the
training programs designed for individuals who are
currently working and receiving specified benefits, as
provided.
7. Authorizes the ETP to utilize funds in the Employment
Training Fund (ETF) for, among other expenditures, the
purpose of funding up to five licensed nurse training
programs to train individuals who are currently working as
nurse assistants or caregivers in a health facility, as
defined.
EXISTING BACKGROUND
1. In 1921, California chose to forego a wartime bonus for
World War I veterans and, instead, established a home loan
program to encourage home ownership.
2. The latest generation of veterans was unable to take
advantage of this program until 2009 when the Federal
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Government finally updated the federal law concerning the
Cal-Vet Loan Program.
3. Up until the renewal of the law, demand for the Cal-Vet
home loan program has dwindled as veterans loans had not
offered the benefits it once did. As a result of the
ability to find better opportunities outside of the CDVA,
demand for the program dwindled. Loans fell from 2,752 in
fiscal year 2000-01 to 954 in 2001-02. The program failed
to break 1,000 loans again in 2002-03. In the same year,
home improvement loans issued fell to 148.
4. Further problems for the program were that housing
prices in California were quickly outdistancing loan limits
under the program. The California Department of Veterans'
Affairs (CDVA) thought it had solved the problem of
continually returning to the legislature for renewed
maximum loan values by tying the Cal-Vet loan limit to the
Federal Fannie Mae Limit (SB 1893, Johannessen, 2002.)
5. As home prices increased over the years, the Cal-Vet
program had to continually request increases for the
maximum allowed home loan amount in order to offer usable
loans for California priced property. Eventually
California home prices far outdistanced the rest of the
nation and the Cal-Vet program had to continually request
increases for the maximum allowed home loan amount in order
to offer usable loans for California priced property.
Assembly Bill 1439 of 2005 (Assembly Veterans Affairs
Committee), finally fixed the loan limit amount for homes
to 125% of the Fannie Mae home loan limit. Farms were
fixed to 150% of the loan limit.
6. In anticipation of the 2009 Federal Law change, SB 1572
of 2008 (Wyland) was put on the ballot as Proposition 12,
which authorized an additional $900 million dollars to the
Cal-Vet fund.
7. Equity housing cooperatives have traditionally not been
allowed to have loans associated with them. Even though a
veteran might own a home within the cooperative, the
cooperative itself is a corporation that retains rights
over the property. Since technically the veteran is not
the full owner Cal-Vet has not been able to give loans to
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veterans entering into these agreements since the veteran
is not an owner with right over his property.
8. Limited equity housing cooperatives (LEHC) have a
non-profit as the corporation and are meant to help those
with fewer financial means to get into a cooperative.
9. Since Vietnam it was discovered that many veterans may
not be ready to pick up where they left off when they left
civilian life. Many veterans who returned home from
Vietnam were found on skid rows across America a decade
after the war and then diagnosed with post-traumatic stress
disorder (PTSD). The lack of diagnosis and treatment for
PTSD condemned many to a life most would choose not to
follow. Many have committed suicide or gotten into trouble
with the law.
10. Veterans returning home now not only have PTSD but also
traumatic brain injury (TBI) and both have the potential to
put veterans who are returning home now in the same
position as many of those who returned from Vietnam.
Veterans' advocates have vowed to not let the same thing
happen to this generation.
11. Veterans returning home now that are getting in legal
trouble or facing substance abuse problems are usually
those suffering from PTSD and/or TBI and veterans advocates
are hoping to find some form, or forms, of traditional
housing to help veterans that are going through treatment
or have recently finished treatment and are attempting to
fully integrate into civilian life.
12. Advocates believe that one way to encourage home
ownership for those returning to a full civilian life is to
allow the Cal-Vet program to give loans to veterans who
would like to buy into LEHC.
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COMMENT
1. Legislative Counsel advises that the ETP portions of
this bill have chaptering conflicts with AB 119.
2. This ETP portion of this bill deals with the same
subject matter as AB 3066 of 2009 (Assembly Veterans
Committee), AB 1567 of 2010 (Assembly Veterans Committee).
Both bills passed the committee without opposition, but
were vetoed by the previous governor. AB 3066 was vetoed
by the governor. AB 1567 was also vetoed and included the
following message-
"I appreciate the service and dedication our veterans have
provided to California and strongly support providing them
employment training and opportunities. However, ETP
already supports employment training for military veterans
and its annual strategic planning process already puts a
strong focus on developing training projects and
partnerships in the veteran community. As California
continues to struggle in these difficult economic times,
this bill would reduce ETP's flexibility to meet the
changing needs of California's employers and
workers."
3. The new sections of this bill deals with clean up
language on cooperative housing as established by AB 1330
of 2009 (Salas) and AB 2087 of 2010 (Torres). AB 1084 of
2011 (Davis) added clean up language as this bill now does
for cooperative housing. All of these bills passed the
committee and the senate floor without opposition.
4. If CDVA is now going to administer co-operative
housing, it likely needs to promulgate regulations. The
department believes that this bill will give them the
authority to do so.
SUPPORT
American Legion, Department of California
AMVETS-Department of California
California Association of County Veteran Service Officers
California State Commanders Veterans Council
Vietnam Veterans of America - California State Council
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OPPOSE
None received
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