BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1509
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 1509 (Fox)
As Amended March 25, 2014
Majority vote
VETERANS AFFAIRS 7-1 APPROPRIATIONS 12-0
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|Ayes:|Quirk-Silva, Medina, |Ayes:|Gatto, Bocanegra, |
| |Brown, Eggman, Fox, | |Bradford, |
| |Muratsuchi, Salas | |Ian Calderon, Campos, |
| | | |Eggman, Gomez, Holden, |
| | | |Pan, Quirk, |
| | | |Ridley-Thomas, Weber |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Ch�vez | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Creates a California Transition Assistance Program
(Cal TAP) for discharging military members. Specifically, this
bill :
1)Requires that by July 1, 2015, the Department of Veterans
Affairs (Department) develop 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 Cal TAP 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 Cal TAP 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.
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FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, significant ongoing state costs, presumably GF, to
create a state program to help transition veterans to civilian
life. Depending on the scale of the program, and whether the
program is designed to simply provide access to existing
information and programs, or whether the program is designed to
provide independent assistance , costs would likely range from
several hundred thousand dollars for start-up and program
maintenance, to more than $1 million.
The bill states legislative intent that the Department use
existing personnel and other resources, including its existing
internet-based CalVet Internet Web site, to disseminate this
information.
COMMENTS :
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:
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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: TAP 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 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, Cal TAP will complement the TGPS program and address
some of its remaining shortcomings:
1)Cal TAP will offer California services, benefits, support, and
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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.
Analysis Prepared by : John J. Spangler / V.A. / (916)
319-3550
FN: 0003590