Amended in Senate August 21, 2014

Amended in Senate July 2, 2014

Amended in Assembly March 19, 2014

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1580

Introduced by Assembly Member Yamada

January 30, 2014

An act to amend Sections 1047, 1048, and 1049 of the Military and Veterans Code, relating to veterans, and making an appropriation therefor.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1580, as amended, Yamada. Veterans’ homes: Morale, Welfare, and Recreation Fund.

Existing law provides for the establishment of veterans’ homes and requires the administrator of a veterans’ home to maintain a Morale, Welfare, and Recreation Fund to be used, subject to the approval of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, to provide certain operations and activities relating to the general welfare of the veterans.

These funds include proceeds from the California Veterans Homes Fund, operations of the Veterans’ Home Exchange, specified revenue derived from the issuance of prisoner-of-war special license plates, funds derived from golf course green fees and range ball fees, donations, interest earned on invested funds, funds derived from the estates of deceased members, and any other moneys or property described under existing law, including, but not limited to, moneys and properties received by the home from estate assets located outside the home. begin insert Existing law requires the administrator to prepare and submit itemized reports organized by category and accounts for all funds deposited into, and expenditures made from, the Morale, Welfare, and Recreation Fund during the previous fiscal year, as specified. end insert

This bill would create the Veterans’ begin insert Home end insert Morale, Welfare, and Recreation Fund in the State Treasury, to replace the existing individual funds. The bill would require all moneys in each existing veterans’ home fund to be deposited into the Veterans’ Morale, Welfare, and Recreation Fund. The bill would continuously appropriate these moneys to the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide for the general welfare of the begin delete veterans end delete begin insert residents end insert living in state begin delete veterans ’ end delete begin insert veterans’ end insert homes. Moneys in the fund would be exempt from specified provisions relating to the determination of administrative costs owed by each state agency to the state. The bill would require the department to develop standardized expenditure procedures begin insert and regulations end insert for the fund, as specified, and to provide residents with a quarterly report on the expenditures made from the fund on behalf of each home. begin insert The bill would also require the department to prepare and submit the itemized reports, as specified. end insert The bill also would make technical and conforming changes.

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

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

begin insert

begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

end insert

begin insert It is the intent of the Legislature that the
Department of Veterans Affairs promulgate rules and regulations
related to the administration of the Veterans’ Home Morale,
Welfare, and Recreation Fund through a stakeholder process which
includes residents residing within the Veterans’ Homes of
California. It is the intent of the Legislature that these regulations
include a yearly budgeting process for moneys to be expended at
each home. end insert

begin delete SECTION 1. end delete
begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

Section 1047 of the Military and Veterans Code is
amended to read:

1047.  

(a) (1) The Veterans’ begin insert Home end insert Morale, Welfare, and
Recreation Fund is hereby created in the State Treasury. All
moneys in each Morale, Welfare, and Recreation Fund maintained
by the eight California state veterans’ homes shall be deposited
into the Veterans’ begin insert Home end insert Morale, Welfare, and Recreation Fund
and the individual home funds shall be abolished. All references
to the “Morale, Welfare, and Recreation Fund” shall be deemed
to refer to the fund created by this subdivision.

(2) Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code,
all moneys deposited into the Veterans’ begin insert Home end insert Morale, Welfare,
and Recreation Fund are continuously appropriated to the
department to provide for the general welfare of the begin delete veterans end delete
begin insert residents end insert living in the veterans’ begin delete home end delete begin insert homes end insert of California.

(3) Moneys deposited in the fund are exempt from the
requirements of Article 2 (commencing with Section 11270) of
Chapter 3 of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government
Code.

(4) (A) Moneys in the Veterans’ begin insert Home end insert Morale, Welfare, and
Recreation Fund may be distributed to the homes at the discretion,
and subject to the approval, of the secretary, to provide for the
general welfare of the begin delete veterans end delete begin insert residents end insert living in state veterans’
homes.

(B) For purposes of this section, “general welfare” includes,
but is not limited to, providing for operations of a canteen, hobby
shop, motion picture theater, library, band, and any other function
that is operated for the morale, welfare, and recreation of the
begin delete veterans end delete begin insert residents end insert , and to pay for newspapers, chapel expenses,
welfare and entertainment expenses, sport activities, celebrations,
and any other activity that is for the morale, welfare, and recreation
of the begin delete veterans end delete begin insert residents end insert .

(5) For proposed expenditures of Veterans’ begin insert Home end insert Morale,
Welfare, and Recreation Fund moneys, the department shall
begin insert develop regulations and end insert maintain guidelines whereby the
administrator for each home, in consultation with the begin delete Veterans' end delete
begin insert Veterans’ end insert Home Allied Council begin delete or another body representing the
residents of the home, end delete begin insert and residents, end insert shall submit proposed
expenditures begin insert or a proposed budget end insert to the secretary for approval.
Moneys from the fund shall be allocated proportionally to each
home, based upon the census of the homes on July 1 of each year.
Allocations from the fund may be augmented by the secretary to
meet specified begin insert budget and end insert identified needs.

(6) The department shall develop standardized expenditure
procedures begin insert and regulations end insert for the Veterans’ begin insert Home end insert Morale,
Welfare, and Recreation Fund in all homes, which shall be in
accordance with standard state contract and procurement practices
and rules. The department shall provide the residents, through the
administrator of each home, with a quarterly report on the
expenditures made from the fund on behalf of each home.

(b) Money in the Veterans’ begin insert Home end insert Morale, Welfare, and
Recreation Fund may not be expended for any of the following:

(1) Medical treatments or any other related treatment.

(2) Maintenance of the physical plant of begin delete the home, except for
capital improvements that directly enhance the quality of life of
the veterans living in end delete the home.

(3) Any function, operation, or activity that is not directly related
to the morale, welfare, or recreation of the begin delete veterans end delete begin insert residents end insert .

(c) Appropriations from the General Fund for the purposes
described in paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) may not be reduced
for the purpose of, or to have the effect of, requiring increased
expenditures from the Veterans’ begin insert Home end insert Morale, Welfare, and
Recreation Fund for those described purposes.

(d) The department shall prepare an itemized report that is
organized by category and accounts for all expenditures made from
the Veterans’ begin insert Home end insert Morale, Welfare, and Recreation Fund during
the previous fiscal year and shall submit the report on or before
August 20 of each year to all of the following:

(1) The secretary.

(2) The fiscal committees of the Assembly and the Senate.

(3) The committees of the Assembly and the Senate that have
subject matter jurisdiction over veterans’ affairs.

(4) The Veterans’ Home Allied Council.

(e) The department shall maintain a reserve in the Veterans’
begin insert Home end insert Morale, Welfare, and Recreation Fund in the amount of two
million dollars ($2,000,000).

(f) The administrator may enter into an agreement with an allied
council that authorizes that council to operate facilities and
activities authorized pursuant to this section. The agreement shall
be in the form and manner as specified by the administrator.

begin delete SEC. 2. end delete
begin insert SEC. 3. end insert   

Section 1048 of the Military and Veterans Code is
amended to read:

1048.  

(a) The begin insert Veterans’ Home end insert Morale, Welfare, and
Recreation Fund shall include proceeds from the California
Veterans Homes Fund, operations of a canteen, revenue derived
from the issuance of prisoner-of-war special license plates pursuant
to Section 5101.5 of the Vehicle Code, all funds derived from golf
course green fees and range ball fees, all donations to the fund,
interest earned on invested funds, funds derived from the estates
of deceased members, and any other moneys or property described
in this chapter, including, but not limited to, moneys and properties
received by the home from estate assets located outside the home,
regardless of amount.

(b) The begin delete administrator end delete begin insert department end insert shall prepare an itemized
report that is organized by category and accounts for all funds
deposited into the begin insert Veterans’ Home end insert Morale, Welfare, and Recreation
Fund and transmitted to the Controller under Section 1047 during
the previous fiscal year and shall submit the report on or before
August 20 of each year to all of the following:

(1) The secretary.

(2) The fiscal committees of the Assembly and the Senate.

(3) The committees of the Assembly and the Senate that have
subject matter jurisdiction over veterans affairs.

(4) The Veterans’ Home Allied Council.

begin delete SEC. 3. end delete
begin insert SEC. 4. end insert   

Section 1049 of the Military and Veterans Code is
amended to read:

1049.  

Moneys in the begin insert Veterans’ Home end insert Morale, Welfare, and
Recreation Fund maintained under subdivision (a) of Section 1047
may be used to establish or operate a canteen that may conduct
any lawful endeavor which, in the judgment of the administrator,
will benefit the begin delete veterans end delete begin insert residents end insert , except as prohibited under
subdivision (b) of Section 1047. The administrator may begin insert , with the
approval of the Secretary, end insert establish the canteen to operate at a
profit.