Amended in Senate August 19, 2014

Amended in Assembly March 25, 2014

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1509

Introduced by Assembly Member Fox

(Coauthors: Assembly Members begin delete Brown and Quirk-Silva end delete begin insert Brown, Chesbro, Quirk-Silva, Wieckowski, and Yamada end insert )

begin insert

(Coauthors: Senators Berryhill and Cannella)

end insert

January 14, 2014

An act to add Section 90 to the Military and Veterans Code, relating to veterans.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1509, as amended, Fox. Veterans: transition assistance.

Existing law establishes the Department of Veterans Affairs, which is responsible for administering various programs and services for the benefit of veterans.

This bill would require, by July 1, 2015, the Department of Veterans Affairs to develop a transition assistance program for veterans who have been discharged from the Armed Forces of the United States or the National Guard of any state, as specified. begin insert The bill would require the program to include certain California-specific transition assistance information. end insert

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

The Legislature finds and declares the following:

(a) California veterans should receive ample begin delete resources and
information end delete begin insert information and resources end insert to assist their transition
into civilian life. Though California is home to nearly 1.9 million
veterans, California veterans utilize fewer benefits than their peers
at the national level. Further, 50 percent of begin delete post 9/11 end delete begin insert post-9/11 end insert
veterans experience difficulty transitioning to civilian life and are
experiencing higher rates of disabilities than previous generations
of veterans. Young begin delete post 9/11 end delete begin insert post-9/11 end insert veterans also experience
higher unemployment rates than their civilian counterparts.

(b) The begin delete Federal “Transition Assistance Program end delete begin insert federal
Transition end insert Goals, Plans and begin delete Success” end delete begin insert Success end insert (TGPS) begin delete Program, end delete
begin insert program, end insert formerly known as the Transition Assistance Program,
was created in 1990 to inform and assist veterans in understanding
their Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) benefits. However,
TGPS workshops provide information specific to the state where
a veteran is immediately ending his or her service and not to the
location of permanent residence. Veterans who were planning to
move to California after their service do not receive information
about how to best coordinate their VA benefits with existing
California benefits. A begin delete California specific end delete begin insert California-specific end insert
transition assistance program would ensure that all veterans
residing in California receive the resources and information they
need to successfully transition into civilian life.

begin insert

(c) It is the intent of the Legislature that the Department of
Veterans Affairs utilize its existing personnel and other resources,
including its existing CalVet Internet Web site, to disseminate
California-specific transition assistance information developed
pursuant to Section 90 of the Military and Veterans Code, as added
by Section 2 of this act. It is also the intent of the Legislature that
the Department of Veterans Affairs utilize the work and research
produced by the California Interagency Council on Veterans
Employment CAL TAP Sub-Workgroup.

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SEC. 2.  

Section 90 is added to the Military and Veterans Code,
to read:

90.  

begin delete (a) end delete begin delete   end delete By July 1, 2015, the begin delete Department of Veterans Affairs end delete
begin insert department end insert shall develop a transition assistance program for
veterans who have been discharged from the Armed Forces of the
United States or the National Guard of any state. The program
shall be designed to assist veterans in successfully transitioning
from military to civilian life in California and to complement the
transition program offered by the begin insert United States end insert Department of
Defense. The program shall include, but shall not be limited to,
the following California-specific transition assistance information:
higher education benefits and program information, vocational
training assistance, small business resources and information,
health care programs and services, mental health resources and
information, military sexual trauma (MST) resources and
information, and housing information.

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(b) It is the intent of the Legislature that the department utilize
its existing personnel and other resources, including its existing
internet-based CalVet Internet Web site, to disseminate this
information.

end delete