BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2664
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Date of Hearing: May 7, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS APPROPRIATIONS
Mike GattoMike Gatto, Chair
AB 2664 (Quirk-Silva) - As Amended: April 1, 2014
Policy Committee: Veterans
AffairsVote: 8-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill re-creates the California National Guard Military
Family Relief Fund within the existing California Military
Department Support Fund, for the purpose of providing financial
aid grants to California National Guard members who are called
to active duty.
This bill transfers the current balance from the repealed
California Military Family Relief Fund to the new Relief Fund,
and deletes the requirement that a service member demonstrate a
loss of 10% of his or her income as a result of federal
deployment. In addition, this bill:
1)Requires the Military Department to establish eligibility
criteria for the grants by January 1, 2015, including a
demonstration of financial need.
2)Requires grants be used for food, housing, childcare,
utilities, medical services, medical prescriptions, insurance,
and vehicle payments.
3)Requires the Adjutant General to conduct annual audits of the
California Military Department Support Fund and the Relief
Fund and report findings to the Department of Finance.
FISCAL EFFECT
Absent this bill, $1.2 million would revert to the GF from the
Military Family Relief Fund January 1, 2015. These funds are the
proceeds of a state income tax check-off that was operative from
2005 through 2009, inclusive. The check-off was repealed after
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2009 for failing to reach the $250,000 minimum contribution
level in that year.
The new Family Relief Fund has no funding source. It could,
however, receive fund transfers from the California Military
Department Support Fund.
COMMENTS
1)Rationale . These funds were post-tax contributions from
California taxpayers. The author asserts these funds should be
reserved for the purpose for which they were donated -
financial aid to struggling military families - and that grant
eligibility be updated to meet the needs of returning service
members.
2)Background. Since 2005, 54 Family Relief applications have
been received and 37 have been approved. To date, the fund
has provided about $364,000 in financial aid to Guard members
in need.
The primary reason more service members have not qualified for
Family Relief Fund grants is the requirement a member's income
must decrease by at least 10% as the result of a federal
deployment.
According to the California Military Department, during the
early stages of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan service
members were leaving their civilian jobs as the result of
federal military deployment and earning less money as a
full-time soldier.
This situation changed in 2007 with the economic downturn. No
longer were service members leaving high paying civilian jobs
to deploy overseas. Many had lost their jobs and were
volunteering to deploy, in part, for the income. This resulted
in fewer service members who qualified for help under the
Family Relief Fund.
Analysis Prepared by : Geoff Long / APPR. / (916) 319-2081
AB 2664
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