BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1565
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CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 1565 (V. Manuel Pérez)
As Amended August 4, 2014
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: | |(May 19, 2014) |SENATE: |26-9 |(August 20, |
| | | | | |2014) |
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(vote not relevant)
Original Committee Reference: V.A.
SUMMARY : Authorizes the Director of the California Department
of Aging to provide grants, to the extent appropriations are
made for this purpose, to nonprofit organizations with
experience providing services and training that are culturally
competent and sensitive to issues relating to the lesbian, gay,
bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. Requires nonprofit
organizations receiving those grant funds to, among other
things, provide training, outreach, and education to agencies,
individuals, and other appropriate entities that provide
services to veterans who are elder and LGBT.
The Senate Amendments delete the Assembly version of this bill,
and instead:
1)Authorize the Director of the California Department of Aging
to the extent appropriations are made for this purpose, to
provide grants to nonprofit organizations with experience
providing services and training that are culturally competent
and sensitive to issues relating to the lesbian, gay,
bisexual, and transgender community.
2)Mandate that nonprofit organizations receiving grants must use
grant funds to do all of the following:
a) Provide outreach to elder veterans who are LGBT.
b) Refer, as appropriate, elder, LGBT veterans to agencies,
individuals, and other appropriate entities that provide
services to elder, LGBT veterans.
c) Provide training, outreach, and education to, and
coordinate with, agencies, individuals, and other
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appropriate entities that provide services to elder, LGBT
veterans.
3)Clarify that an appropriate entity that provides services to
elder, LGBT veterans includes, but is not limited to,
organizations authorized to prepare, present, and prosecute a
claim before the United States Department of Veterans Affairs,
such as county veterans' service offices and congressionally
chartered veterans service organizations.
4)Mandate that grants made pursuant to this section shall be
awarded through a request for proposal process.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee:
1)Annual administrative expenses of $63,603 (General Fund).
2)Unknown appropriation for future grant funding (General Fund).
The Department of Aging estimates the need for 0.6 personal
year. First year costs result in startup activities including
developing contracts, requesting proposals, and posting award
notices. Ongoing costs include contract oversight activities
and administering the grants.
COMMENTS : This bill is permissive in nature and contingent upon
grant funding being available. According to the author:
California is the state with the largest LGBT veteran
population, yet these veterans do not access their
earned benefits and health care at the same rate as
heterosexual vets. There are lots of reasons for why
this happens - but fundamentally it's the legacy of
discriminatory policies within the military. For one,
our older veterans served prior to Don't Ask Don't
Tell and its later repeal. They internalized a lot of
pain and discrimination, and they feel some trauma and
fear - even decades later - when it comes to accessing
military services and benefits. Second, it's also
about cultural competency - which we know is so
important in the delivery of health care and other
services. Trust is a big issue.
The result of this gap is that LGBT veterans go
without adequate care, which has serious health
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implications for the identification and treatment of
disease, particularly as the population ages. So we
have people with chronic conditions, service-related
injuries, and age-related diseases going untreated.
And it's important to note that though the entire
veteran population experiences higher rates of trauma
than the general population, LGBT veterans have even
higher rates of mental health issues, substance abuse,
and suicide compared to their heterosexual peers.
So AB 1565 seeks to facilitate access, through
outreach and training, so that these older veterans
who have served their country are not disenfranchised
by the system developed to serve them.
Federal policies regarding LGBT servicemembers and veterans have
evolved swiftly in recent years. Federal and state law and
policy has been changing rapidly with regard to same-sex
marriage and same-sex marriage issues can impact benefit
eligibility. In a policy/legal environment in this much flux,
outreach to elderly LGBT veterans in particular, would be
beneficial.
Analysis Prepared by : John Spangler /V.A. / (916) 319-3550
FN: 0005024