BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 663|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 663
Author: Correa (D)
Amended: 1/24/12
Vote: 21
SENATE VETERANS AFFAIRS COMMITTEE : 6-0, 1/10/12
AYES: Correa, Cannella, Berryhill, Negrete McLeod, Rubio,
Lieu
NO VOTE RECORDED: Calderon, Runner
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-0, 1/17/12
AYES: Kehoe, Walters, Alquist, Emmerson, Pavley, Price,
Steinberg
NO VOTE RECORDED: Lieu, Runner
SUBJECT : Veterans: Homeless Veterans Advocate
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill 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.
ANALYSIS : This bill requires the Department of Veterans
Affairs 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
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will likely decrease homelessness among veterans, and
requires the department to transmit the strategic plan to
the Chairman of the Assembly and Senate Committees on
Veterans Affairs.
This plan includes 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.
Comments
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 percent 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.
Senate Appropriations 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,
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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.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2012-13 2013-14
2014-15 Fund
Admin expenses unknown,
likely less than $50 General
RM:nl 1/25/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: NONE RECEIVED
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