BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1509
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 8, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON VETERANS AFFAIRS
Sharon Quirk-Silva, Chair
AB 1509 (Fox) - As Amended: March 25, 2014
SUBJECT : Veterans: transition assistance.
SUMMARY : Creates a California Transition Assistance Program
for discharging military members. Specifically, this bill :
1.Requires that by July 1, 2015, the Department of Veterans Affairs
(Department) develop a California transition assistance
program (Cal TAP) for veterans who have been discharged from
the Armed Forces of the United States or the National Guard of
any state.
2.States that the purpose of the Program shall be to assist
veterans in successfully transitioning from military to
civilian life in California and to complement the transition
program offered by the Department of Defense.
3.Requires that the Program include, but 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 resources and information, and housing information.
4.States 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.
EXISTING LAW
Title 10, United States Code, section 1144 (The Veterans
Opportunity to Work (VOW) to Hire Heroes Act of 2011) and
implementing federal regulations.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown at this time.
COMMENTS :
AB 1509
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Background : The federal Transition Goals, Plans, and Success
Program (TGPS) was established to improve and modernize its
predecessor program, the Transition Assistance Program (TAP).
The TGPS program offers job search assistance and other related
services to separating members of the military during their
transition into civilian life. TGPS is comprised of a
partnership among the Federal Departments of Labor, Defense,
Homeland Security, and Veterans Affairs. With this partnership,
separating service members and their eligible spouses receive
employment and training information within one year of their
separation or two years of their retirement from the military.
Service members of the armed forces participating in the TGPS
attend comprehensive workshops at selected military
installations worldwide (the makeup and form of the workshops
vary by service type).
Created by Governor Jerry Brown on August 23, 2011 through
Executive Order B-09-11, the California Interagency Council on
Veterans (ICV) works 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 ICV
Employment Cal TAP Sub-workgroup has a stated goal to "provide a
post military transitional assistance program for veterans
returning to California."
According to the Author :
The curriculum for [TGPS] workshops is entirely maintained
by the federal government, leaving little-to-no
state-specific employment, education, business and other
career choices information. AB 1509 complements the
federal Transition GPS (TGPS) by ensuring that veterans
discharging in California or moving to California after
discharge have the state specific benefit information and
tools they need.
Analysis : The TAP program preceding TGPS had remained
relatively the same for a long period. It was broadly
criticized in several respects including: it was not responsive
to the needs of veterans after a decade of conflict in Iraq,
Afghanistan, and other regions, it was "one-size-fits-all"
allowing little to no customization for individual
needs/plans/interests, it was given in "fire-hose" fashion just
before discharge when many servicemembers were not focused, it
was typically given in the place of discharge rather than the
AB 1509
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servicemembers destination after discharge, and that, in short,
it had become little more than a pro-forma exercise.
As part of the VOW to Hire Heroes Act of 2011, work began on
what would become TGPS. TGPS is so new that it is hard to
evaluate its effectiveness, but some positive changes have been
made; there is an effort to implement career management
throughout servicemembers' careers and some different TGPS
"tracks" are available, for example education and
entrepreneurship, to meet servicemembers' interests as they
transition.
Under both TAP and TGPS some state-specific input was possible.
Under TGPS, however, this has been reduced. Anecdotal evidence
is that, largely through personal relationships and the hard
work of some County Veteran Service Officers (CVSOs), some base
commanders have permitted CVSOs to give a period of instruction
during TGPS, but this is not uniform and is subject to command
discretion.
California offers a great deal of support for its veterans. As
conceived, the Cal TAP program will complement the TGPS program
and address some of its remaining shortcomings:
1.Cal TAP will offer California services, benefits, support, and
programmatic information that it is not possible to include in a
nationwide uniform program such as TGPS.
2.Cal TAP will be available for veterans on their discharge if
they so choose, or even much later, when they have taken some
time to come back to civilian life and focus on their next
steps.
3.Cal TAP will be available to veterans who discharge in another
state and come to California, providing crucial
California-specific information they would not get otherwise.
4.Cal TAP would provide the Department with an opportunity to
connect in person with veterans which it does not have via its
paper or online Reintegration Form and in particular to connect
with veterans who may discharge in another state and come to
California.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
AB 1509
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Support
American Legion Department of California
AMVETS Department of California
California Association of County Veteran Service Officers
Military Officers Association of America California Council of
Chapters
California State Commanders Veterans Council
Veterans of Foreign Wars, Department of California
Vietnam Veterans of America, California State Council
ArmedForce2Workforce
Opposition
None on file at this time.
Analysis Prepared by : John Spangler / V. A. / (916) 319-3550