Amended in Senate August 4, 2014

Amended in Assembly May 23, 2014

Amended in Assembly May 1, 2014

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 2703

Introduced by Assembly Member Quirk-Silva

(Principal coauthors: Assembly Members begin insert Gorell, end insert V. Manuel Pérez begin insert , end insert and Salas)

(Principal coauthor: Senator Correa)

(Coauthors: Assembly Members Achadjian, Brown, Chávez, Chesbro, Donnelly, Fox, Frazier, Grove, Hagman, Logue, Muratsuchi, Nestande, Pan, and Wagner)

(Coauthors: Senators Anderson, Berryhill, Block, Corbett, Hueso, Huff, Knight, Nielsen, and Vidak)

February 21, 2014

An act to add Section 972.3 to the Military and Veterans Code, relating to begin delete veterans, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately. end delete begin insert veterans. end insert

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2703, as amended, Quirk-Silva. County veterans service officers.

Existing law requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to disburse funds, appropriated to the department for the purpose of supporting county veterans service officers pursuant to the annual Budget Act, on a pro rata basis, to counties that comply with certain conditions. begin delete Existing law requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to annually determine the amount of new or increased monetary benefits paid to eligible veterans by the federal government attributable to the assistance of county veterans service officers, and requires the department to prepare and transmit its determination for the preceding fiscal year to the Department of Finance and the Legislature on or before October 1 of each year. end delete

This bill would begin delete require end delete begin insert authorize end insert the department begin insert , in conjunction with the California Association of County Veterans Service Officers end insert , no later than begin delete January end delete begin insert July end insert 1, 2015, to develop an allocation formula based upon performance standards that encourage innovation and reward outstanding service by county veterans service officers begin insert , and, if that allocation formula is developed, the bill would require those moneys appropriated for support of county veterans service offices in the annual Budget Act to be allocated in accordance with that formula, as specified end insert . begin delete The bill would also declare the intent of the Legislature to fund the activities of county veterans service officers, as specified, and to provide an additional $400,000 for disbursement to the counties to encourage innovation and reward outstanding service by these officers. end delete

begin delete

This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

end delete

Vote:  begin delete ²⁄₃ end delete begin insert majority end insert . Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

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

begin delete

SECTION 1.  

It is the intent of the Legislature to fund the
activities of county veterans service officers at the amount provided
in the 2013-14 Budget Act and to provide an additional $400,000
for disbursement to the counties to encourage innovation and
reward outstanding service by county veterans service officers
pursuant to the allocation formula developed pursuant to Section
972.3 of the Military and Veterans Code.

end delete

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

Section 972.3 is added to the Military and
Veterans Code, to read:

972.3.  

The Department of Veterans Affairs begin delete shall, end delete begin insert may, in
conjunction with the California Association of County Veterans
Service Officers, end insert no later than begin delete January end delete begin insert July end insert 1, 2015, begin insert and in addition
to any other distribution formula required under this article, end insert
develop an allocation formula based upon performance standards
that encourage innovation and reward outstanding service by
county veterans service officers. begin delete Moneys end delete begin insert If that allocation formula
is developed, moneys end insert appropriated for begin delete this purpose end delete begin insert support of
county veterans service offices in the annual Budget Act end insert shall be
allocated begin delete each fiscal year end delete in accordance with that formula among
those counties that have established and maintain a county veterans
service officer pursuant to Section 970 begin insert and any other formula
required under this article end insert .

begin delete

SEC. 3.  

This act is an urgency statute necessary for the
immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within
the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into
immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:

Approximately 50 percent of the current General Fund
appropriation in support of county veteran service offices
operations expires on June 30, 2014. In order to provide for
continuity of services critical to the successful reintegration of
California’s veterans, to increase California’s utilization of veteran
benefits, and to ensure veteran’s claims for benefits are processed
in a timely manner, it is necessary that this act take effect
immediately.

end delete