BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 1413
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Date of Hearing: August 8, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
SB 1413 (Negrete McLeod) - As Amended: June 19, 2012
Policy Committee: Veterans
AffairsVote: 9-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill authorizes the Adjutant General of the California
Military Department (the California National Guard) to establish
support programs - morale, welfare, recreational, educational,
etc. - for members and families of the Military Department, and
to construct or acquire facilities and/or equipment for these
programs. Specifically, this bill:
1)Authorizes the Military Department to solicit and accept funds
or other donations for support programs, and requires these
funds to be deposited in the California Military Department
Support Fund, which is established by this bill.
2)Requires any money in the fund to be available, upon
appropriation by the Legislature, for these support programs,
and for the construction or acquisition of related facilities
or equipment.
3)Specifies legislative intent that any funds appropriated for
this purpose shall supplement, not supplant, Military
Department funding.
4)Requires the Adjutant General to conduct an annual internal
audit of the Support Fund, and to report findings to the
Department of Finance.
FISCAL EFFECT
Unknown, potentially significant costs for support programs,
including facilities and equipment. These costs, however, are
contingent upon the Military Department's ability to raise
SB 1413
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funding for support programs, and upon subsequent legislative
appropriation.
According to the Military Department, other states - Arkansas
and Florida are mentioned - have had success raising funds from
corporate and private sources. The department is unable to
estimate what a reasonable fiscal objective might be, and why
and which private sources might contribute to military support
programs.
COMMENTS
Rationale . This bill, sponsored by the Military Department, is
designed to enable the department to raise funds for member
support programs. According to the department, the federal
Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) program, upon which the
benefit in this bill is based, is designed for large active duty
installations, like Camp Pendleton in San Diego. These large
bases generate hundreds of millions of dollars in sales at their
retail shopping centers, and use a percentage of the profits to
fund consolidated MWR activities like bowling alleys, recreation
centers, athletic fields, and child care centers.
The National Guard doesn't have large military installations
that generate non-appropriated funds or the facilities needed to
host consolidated activities. State service members drill at
one of more than 100 armories spread throughout California.
According to the department, if the state wishes to provide its
service members an MWR benefit similar to their active duty
counterparts, the state needs to design a program using the
federal MWR guidelines as a model, but customized for the
National Guard.
Analysis Prepared by : Geoff Long / APPR. / (916) 319-2081