BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE COMMITTEE ON VETERANS AFFAIRS
Senator Ben Hueso, Chair
BILL NO: AB 2664 HEARING DATE: 6/24/14
AUTHOR: Quirk-Silva
VERSION: 4/1/14
FISCAL: Yes
VOTE: Majority
SUBJECT
California National Guard: California Military Family Relief
Fund
DESCRIPTION
Existing law:
1.Authorizes the Adjutant General and the California Military
Department (CMD) to solicit and accept funds or other
donations for deposit in the California Military Department
Support Fund.
2.Provides that money in the fund is available, upon
appropriation, for specified purposes relating to the programs
of the CMD.
3.Former law, repealed by its own provisions, allowed taxpayers
to designate on their tax returns that a specified amount in
excess of their tax liability be transferred to the California
Military Family Relief Fund, established to accept
contributions from taxpayers and from other sources. Money in
that fund, upon appropriation, was required to be allocated to
the Military Department to provide financial aid grants to
eligible members of the California National Guard. The former
law provided that, notwithstanding repeal, any contribution
amounts designated prior to repeal would continue to be
transferred and disbursed in accordance with those repealed
provisions.
4.The State Treasury's Special Fund 8022, containing
approximately $1.2 million in donations to the Old Fund, will
be abolished in January 2015 and the moneys will revert to the
General Fund.
This bill:
1.Establishes a California National Guard Military Family Relief
Fund (the New Fund) within the existing California Military
Department Support Fund.
2.Transfers money from the California Military Family Relief
Fund (the Old Fund) to the New Fund.
Specifically, this bill :
1.Requires that the California Military Department Support Fund
include the New Fund a special fund as established within the
California Military Department Support Fund.
2.Specifies that for accounting and recordkeeping purposes, the
California Military Department Support Fund shall be deemed to
be a single special fund, and any special funds therein shall
constitute and be deemed to be a separate account in the
California Military Department Support Fund.
3.Mandates that each account or fund shall be available for
expenditure only for the purposes as are now or may hereafter
be provided by law.
4.Establishes the New Fund as an account within the California
Military Department Support Fund for the purpose of providing
financial aid grants to members of the California National
Guard who are California residents and who have been called to
active duty.
5.Requires the CMD to establish eligibility criteria for the
grants by January 1, 2015.
6.Directs that the grant criteria shall include, but not be
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limited to, a demonstration of financial need.
7.Requires that, in addition to grant criteria established by
the CMD, members of the California National Guard must show
proof of all of the following to be eligible to receive a
grant:
a. Current membership in the California National Guard.
b. Residency in California.
c. Deployment to active duty for at least 60 consecutive
days.
8.Mandates that grants awarded may be used only for food,
housing, childcare, utilities, medical services, medical
prescriptions, insurance, and vehicle payments.
9.Directs that California National Guard members shall not be
eligible to receive a grant if the member receives a punitive
discharge or an administrative discharge with service
characterized as under other than honorable conditions.
10.Requires the Adjutant General to conduct annual audits of the
California Military Department Support Fund and the New Fund
and to report findings to the Department of Finance.
11.Transfers on January 1, 2015, any and all moneys remaining in
the Old Fund to the New Fund.
12.Directs that the moneys transferred shall continue to be
disbursed in accordance with the original intent of the
contributions made by taxpayers to the Old Fund.
COMMENT
Committee Staff Comments :
Rather than revert to the General Fund, this bill extends the
time for disbursement of relief funds to National Guard families
in crisis arising out of active duty service. Though
deployments are generally decreasing, National Guard members are
still called to active duty for overseas deployment and for
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other purposes. Unfortunately these periods of active duty too
often result in a net income loss to the Guard member's family.
In short, there is still a need for the money in the Old Fund.
Finally, the continued availability of this relief money, with
the eligibility criteria specified, is in accord with the
donors' intent, as opposed to reversion of the funds to the
General Fund.
POSITIONS
Sponsor: Author.
Support: None on file.
Oppose: None on file.
Analysis by: Wade Cooper Teasdale
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