BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1565
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Date of Hearing: April 29, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON VETERANS AFFAIRS
Sharon Quirk-Silva, Chair
AB 1565 (V. Manuel Pérez) - As Amended: April 22, 2014
SUBJECT : Department of Veterans Affairs: state services for
veterans
SUMMARY :
Requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to:
1)Review existing providers of transportation services to
veterans for the purpose of identifying those areas of the
state most in need of volunteer transportation providers for
veterans.
2)Compile a list, by county, of veterans' transportation
providers.
3)Make the list available on its Internet Web site and on mobile
devices, as specified.
EXISTING LAW : Establishes the Department of Veterans Affairs,
which is responsible for administering various programs and
services for the benefit of veterans.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown at this time
COMMENTS : Today, America's military veterans have specific and
growing transportation needs that threaten to undermine their
quality of life if left unmet. Health care visits- both of
emergent and therapeutic nature- are the most obvious and
critical of these trips.
According to the author:
Two million veterans live in California, and many need
transportation services to access needed medical care and
related services, yet there exists no single information
source for veterans in California to find out about
affordable transportation services in their communities.
A common assumption is that veterans' transportation
AB 1565
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services are met through a network of federal and state
programs. In fact, veterans' transportation needs are
mostly delivered through locally-organized volunteer
programs. The decentralized nature of these programs means
that there is no consistent delivery system or information
access point to find out about them.
AB 1565 will add Section 713 to the Military and Veterans
code to create a centralized information point that
veterans can access for purposes of identifying service
providers in their county that can help them with their
transportation needs. Having direct access to information
about veteran transportation service providers in the
state, posted on one website and accessible through a
mobile application, will help veterans better identify and
coordinate their health-related trips.
According to "Transportation for America's Veterans and Their
Families" Report by the National Resource Center:
A pressing need which surfaced in the Washington State
Veterans Forum: A Symposium on Transportation Access for
Veterans, Military Personnel, and Their Families was the
need to improve communication to veterans, their families,
and their support networks about the transportation-related
options available to them and how they may be used.
According to the United States Department of Veterans Affairs:
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans Health
Administration (VHA) Healthcare System provides primary
care, specialized care, and related medical and social
support to serve America's Veterans' health and wellness
needs. ? To enhance the VHA system, the Central Business
Office is launching a new transportation program for
immobilized and remote VA patients to enhance existing
programs implemented by local VA Medical Centers. Veterans
Transportation Service (VTS) seeks to provide
transportation services to include vehicle
routing/scheduling software for VA Medical Facilities. The
ride scheduling and routing systems will include GPS
modules for VTS vehicles.
Thus the United States Department of Veterans Affairs is also
interested in the issue raised by this bill.
AB 1565
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Policy Questions for members :
Does this action, compiling a list of veteran transportation
providers, require legislation?
Does publicizing this list constitute an improper endorsement by
the state of providers?
Does publicizing this list create any potential liability for
the state should an accident occur?
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None.
Opposition
None.
Analysis Prepared by : Jenny Callison/John Spangler / V. A. /
(916) 319-3550