BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
SB 663 (Correa)
Hearing Date: 1/17/2012 Amended: 1/12/2012
Consultant: Maureen Ortiz Policy Vote: VA: 6-0
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BILL SUMMARY: SB 663 requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs
to include in the strategic plan created by the Interagency
Council on Veterans Affairs specified issues of the homeless
veteran community, and to transmit the strategic plan to the
Legislature.
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 Fund
Admin expenses --------unknown, likely less
than $50--------- General
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STAFF COMMENTS:
SB 663 will require the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) to
include in the strategic plan a review of the goals and
objectives relating to homeless veterans, to determine whether
the methods the department uses to plan, analyze, develop,
monitor, and implement the strategic plan will likely decrease
homelessness among veterans.
The plan will also include a determination of the number of
homeless veterans in this state and the number of those veterans
who received benefits from state or federal programs, including,
but not limited to, the number of homeless veterans in need of
multifamily or transitional housing and the number of those
veterans who received benefits for those needs.
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
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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.
Staff notes that on August 23, 2011 Governor Brown ordered the
formation of an Inter-Departmental Council on Veterans Services
- a council similar to that which was proposed in AB 557 (J.
Perez) of 2011. In the Executive Order B-9-11, the Governor
directed the Veterans Affairs Secretary to establish the council
to identify and prioritize the needs of California's veterans,
and to coordinate the activities at all levels of government in
addressing those needs.
The Executive Order ordered that the Secretaries of the Labor
and Workforce Development Agency, California Volunteers, the
Business Transportation and Housing Agency, the Health and Human
Services Agency, and the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation, the Adjutant General of the Military Department,
and the Directors of the Employment Development Department, the
Department of Consumer Affairs, the Department of
Rehabilitation, and the Department of Housing and Community
Development serve as members of the California interagency
Council on Veterans.
In addition, numerous veterans stakeholders such as the
California Veterans Board, the California Association of Veteran
Service Officers, the California Association of Veteran Service
Agencies, the California Commanders Council, the Employment
Training Panel, the California Workforce Investment Board, and
the Association of Independent California Colleges and
Universities were invited to nominate a representative to
participate in the Council. A member from the California State
Senate, the State Assembly, the judicial branch, the University
of California, California State University, and California
Community Colleges have also been appointed to the Council.
The Council has held one meeting to date and has several more
scheduled this month and next.
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