Veterans' Issues

Veterans' Legislation

Veterans' Legislation

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SB 15 (Cedillo-D) Veterans: student financial aid
Entitles a student, commencing with the 2010-11 academic year, who is a member or former member of the Armed Forces of the United States and is enrolled in a qualifying undergraduate certificate or degree program, to receive a Cal Grant A or B award, provided they enroll within two years of leaving active duty and meet other specified criteria. Requires the California Student Aid Commission (CSAC) to make preliminary awards to all eligible applicants and to annually audit 10% of the new and renewal awards for compliance. Requires CSAC to submit an annual report to the Legislature.
(Died in Senate Appropriations Committee)

SB 553 (Wiggins-D) Veterans' Home of California
Revises specified definitions referenced to the Veterans' Home of California located in Chula Vista.
(Died in Senate Veterans Affairs Committee)

SB 595* (Cedillo-D) Homeless Veterans Housing and Supportive Services Act
Enacts the Homeless Veterans Housing and Supportive Services Act of 2010, authorizing the issuance of $1.5 billion in general obligation bonds to provide funds for supportive housing projects for homeless veterans or veterans at risk of homelessness.
(Died in Senate Appropriations Committee)

SB 611 (Correa-D) Veterans: Cal Grant A Entitlement Awards: access costs
Authorizes a student whose tuition and/or fees are paid in full by a grant-in-aid, including education benefits received through federal programs for veterans, to use a Cal Grant A Entitlement Award for costs other than tuition or fees, but not to exceed $1,551.
(Died in Senate Appropriations Committee)

SB 643 (Denham-R) Disabled veterans business
Includes a "disabled veteran business enterprise", as defined under the California Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise Program, among the entities to whom higher penalties are payable under the California Prompt Payment Act.
(Died in Senate Appropriations Committee)

SB 646 (Denham-R) Veterans and dependents: student financial aid
Prohibits campuses of the University of California, the California State University, and the California Community Colleges from charging any mandatory system fees to California members of the Armed Forces who were honorably discharged and have no more remaining months of eligibility from the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 (GI Bill). Provides that these fee waivers will be operative only in those fiscal years in which funds are appropriated for the purpose.
(Died in Senate Appropriations Committee)

SB 815 (Cogdill-R) California National Guard Education Assistance Award Program
Creates the National Guard Education Assistance Award Program to provide financial support for qualifying active members of the California National Guard, the State Military Reserve, or the Naval Militia attending a qualifying postsecondary institution.
(Died in Assembly Higher Education Committee)

SB 854* (Senate Budget And Fiscal Review Committee) Veterans: Department of Motor Vehicles
Requires the Department of Motor Vehicles to update application forms to provide a space for an applicant to indicate whether they served in the Armed Forces of the United States and the data collected from willing veterans will be shared with Department of Veterans Affairs in order to identify if they are eligible for federal benefits.
(Failed passage on Senate Third Reading File)
A similar bill was AB 1614 (Assembly Budget Committee) which failed passage on Senate Third Reading File.

SB 950 (Wiggins-D) Veterans' homes: accounting for charges
Requires the written notice given to a resident of a California veterans' home to also include the terms and conditions upon which the member fees and costs can be changed, and requires a signature of the veteran to acknowledge that he/she has read and understands the notice. Requires the notice to be written in plain, straightforward language, and to be posted in each veterans' home.
Chapter 509, Statutes of 2010

SB 1002 (Wiggins-D) Veterans' Home of California
Updates a section of the Military and Veterans Code which places within the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) a Veterans' Home of California, Yountville. Declares that, additionally, there are in the DVA a Veterans' Home of California, Barstow, a Veterans' Home of California, Chula Vista, a Veterans' Home of California, Lancaster, and a Veterans' Home of California, Ventura. Requires the Veterans' Home of California, Lancaster, to also be known as the "William J. 'Pete' Knight Veterans' Home of California, Lancaster." Makes other conforming changes.
(Died on Senate Inactive File)

SB 1003 (Wiggins-D) Veterans' Home of California
Updates a section of the Military and Veterans Code relating to the Veterans' Home of California to include all of the homes which are now completed and operational.
(Died on Assembly Inactive File)

SB 1056* (Denham-R) Veterans: income taxes: hiring credit
Provides a tax credit of 25% of the qualified wages, not to exceed $6,000, paid to employees who are qualified veterans beginning on or after 1/1/10. Specifies that this credit will be reduced by any other credit or deduction claimed with respect to qualified wages or qualified employees. Allows any unused credits to be carried forward to future taxable years until the credit is exhausted.
(Died in Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee)

SB 1057 (Denham-R) Veterans Day: state office closure
Requires that public offices of the state and state institutions including, but not limited to, all state agencies and the Legislature, be closed on November 11 for Veterans Day, except as specified. States the Legislature's intent that the University of California also be closed on November 11, Veterans Day.
Chapter 511, Statutes of 2010

SB 1075 (Correa-D) Military service: benefits
Requires academic institutions to reasonably accommodate and assist students who are called to active military duty so they can meet any and all coursework requirements missed due to military service. Clarifies that "institution" includes any "public or private postsecondary institution", as defined under current law.
Chapter 284, Statutes of 2010

SB 1127 (Oropeza-D) Veterans and their family members: internet resources
Requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to (1) make specific Internet and printed material related to veteran ailments available to family members of veterans returning from active duty, and (2) update its Internet Web site to prominently display a link to the Network of Care for Veterans and Service Members site.
Chapter 515, Statutes of 2010

SB 1250 (Ducheny-D) Military housing: property tax exemption
Expands the property tax exemption currently provided to private operators of family housing on military bases to include non-family housing. Clarifies that the safe harbor provisions of Section 107.4 of the Revenue and Taxation Code do not apply to a military housing unit managed by a private contractor that is rented to a tenant who is an unaffiliated member of the general public. Requires private contractors to be responsible for any property taxes on housing units rented to unaffiliated members of the general public.
Chapter 327, Statutes of 2010
A similar bill was AB 1332 (Salas-D) which died in Assembly Appropriations Committee.

SB 1295 (Dutton-R) Purple Heart recipients: license plates
Allows the family of a deceased Purple Heart recipient or recipient of one of the nation's highest military decorations to keep one of the special interest license plates issued to that recipient as a remembrance.
Chapter 181, Statutes of 2010

SB 1384 (Senate Veterans Affairs Committee) State Military Reserve: arms and equipment
Requires the Governor to provide arms and equipment to the State Military Reserve in the absence of federal support.
(Died in Senate Veterans Affairs Committee)

SB 1386 (Senate Veterans Affairs Committee) Department of Veterans Affairs: inventory of resources
Requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to conduct an inventory of its existing military resources by 1/1/12, and report to the Legislature by 6/30/12.
(Died in Senate Appropriations Committee)

SB 1387 (Senate Veterans Affairs Committee) Department of Veterans Affairs: administration
Requires one member of the California Veterans Board to have a degree in health care administration or experience in the financial management of health care facilities, and requires the member of the Board who is a resident of a veterans' home to be appointed for a term expiring January 15 of odd-numbered years.
Chapter 183, Statutes of 2010

SB 1388 (Senate Veterans Affairs Committee) County veteran service officers: funding
Appropriates the sum of $5 million from the General Fund to the Department of Veterans Affairs for allocation during the 2010-11 fiscal year for county veteran service officers.
(Died in Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee)

SB 1481 (Senate Governmental Organization Committee) State militia: armories: leases and sales
Specifies that the proceeds from the sale of armories must be deposited in the Armory Fund and are not required to be used to retire bond debt resulting from the Economic Recovery Bond Act of 2004. Provides that the proceeds from the sale of armories are not subject to the Economic Recovery Bond Act of 2004.
Chapter 528, Statutes of 2010

SCR 105 (Florez-D) National Purple Heart Trail
Designates a portion of State Highway Route 223 in Kern County for inclusion in the National Purple Heart Trail.
Resolution Chapter 95, Statutes of 2010

SJR 16 (Denham-R) Veterans: educational benefits
Requests that the President and the Congress of the United States pass H.R. 2474 that restores funding for California veterans pursuing higher education.
(Died in Assembly Veterans Affairs Committee)

SJR 25 (Yee-D) Filipino Veterans Equity Compensation Fund
Urges the Congress and the President of the United States and the United States Department of Veterans Affairs to expedite funding, and lessen the amount of required documentation necessary to allow eligible Filipino and Filipino American veterans to receive payments provided under the Filipino Veterans Equity Compensation Fund.
Resolution Chapter 98, Statutes of 2010

AB 177 (Ruskin-D) Disabled veteran business enterprises
Increases and conforms penalties for persons who falsely engage in activities relating to the Small Business Procurement and Contract Act, including small businesses, microbusinesses, and disabled veteran-owned business enterprises.
Chapter 342, Statutes of 2010

AB 498 (Hayashi-D) Former POWs: special interest license plates and decals
Requires the development of a special license plate for former prisoners of war (POWs) that does not identify the status of the plate holders as former POWs.
Chapter 345, Statutes of 2010

AB 565 (Yamada-D) Department of Veterans Affairs: study: veterans benefits
Requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA), on or before 5/1/10, to conduct an internal study to evaluate the process by which active duty service men and women receive information regarding veterans benefits, as specified. Requires DVA to submit a report to the Legislature.
(Died in Assembly Veterans Affairs Committee)

AB 638 (Knight-R) Veterans: CalVet Home Loan program: credit report check
Requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to waive any requirement to run a credit report check for honorably discharged veterans applying for a loan under the Veterans' Farm and Home Purchase Act of 1974.
(Died in Assembly Veterans Affairs Committee)

AB 670 (Bill Berryhill-R) Veterans: vehicles: high-occupancy vehicle lanes
Permits a veteran or active duty member of the United States Armed Forces to use high-occupancy vehicle lanes, regardless of occupancy level.
(Died in Assembly Transportation Committee)

AB 674 (Salas-D) Veterans: criminal procedure
Allows a court to order a defendant who suffers from sexual trauma, traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse, or mental health problems as a result of military service, into a treatment program or veteran's court for a period not to exceed that which the defendant would have served in state prison or jail.
Chapter 347, Statutes of 2010

AB 710 (Yamada-D) Veterans: mental health
Requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) to consult with the Department of Mental Health (DMH) and the Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs (DADP) to identify federal funds available for funding community-based organizations that provide substance abuse and mental health services to veterans, as specified. Requires, if identified, DVA to apply for federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration funds through DMH or DADP. Requires DVA to establish a certification process to certify the eligibility of community-based organizations and to establish criteria for determining renewal of funding for recipient organizations.
(Died in Senate Appropriations Committee)

AB 748 (Gilmore-R) Consolidation of services to veterans
Establishes the California Veterans Services and Workforce Development Division within the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) for the purpose of coordinating and administering veterans' assistance programs in the state, and requires the Division to perform various functions and duties relating to the coordination and administration of veterans assistance programs, as specified. Requires the administrative and support staff responsible for the administration of specified programs to be transferred from the Employment Development Department to the Division, and requires the costs of the transfer to utilize existing resources of DVA.
(Died in Senate Rules Committee)

AB 776 (Salas-D) Veterans
Requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to urge the Congress of the United States to act immediately to remove a requirement from federal law which requires the proceeds from certain tax-exempt bonds to be used for the acquisition of a single-family residence so that the proceeds from the bonds can be used for other types of housing.
(Failed passage in Assembly Veterans Affairs Committee)

AB 1013 (Block-D) Veteran inmates
Requires the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, by 7/1/10, to conduct interdisciplinary assessments of new inmates who are veterans with combat experience and develop a specialized treatment protocol for these offenders.
(Died in Assembly Appropriations Committee)

AB 1077* (Anderson-R) Military retirement benefits: income tax exclusion
Provides an exclusion from gross income for retired pay and survivor annuities received as a result of active service in the military.
(Died in Assembly Revenue and Taxation Committee)

AB 1088 (Fletcher-R) California Veterans Homes Fund: income tax checkoff
Authorizes the addition of the California Veterans Homes Fund checkoff to the personal income tax form upon the removal of another voluntary contribution fund from the form.
Chapter 355, Statutes of 2010

AB 1344 (Fletcher-R) Military housing: taxation
Modifies the criteria that must be met for a private contractor's long-term lease of military housing to be excluded from classification as a possessory interest subject to property taxation.
(Died in Assembly Revenue and Taxation Committee)

AB 1378* (V. Manuel Perez-D) Veterans services: Federal Workforce Investment Act
Requires an entity or its subcontractors that receives specified funding from the federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998, as provided in the Budget Act of 2009, to demonstrate the ability to create, utilize, and participate in local partnerships, including those with local workforce investment boards, educational agencies, training organizations, and other key stakeholders to leverage resources and provide a full array of workforce services for serving the needs of veterans and their families.
(Died in Senate Rules Committee)

AB 1569 (Assembly Veterans Affairs Committee) CA Interagency Council on Veteran Services and Programs
Conforms state law to federal law by granting a member of the Armed Forces or his/her dependents entitlement to resident classification for so long as he/she is continuously enrolled.
(Died in Senate Veterans Affairs Committee)

AB 1644 (Nielsen-R) Veterans' remains
Allows prescribed entities in possession of the cremated remains of a veteran, upon the request of a veterans' service organization to release specified information and remains to a veterans' service organization if certain conditions are met.
Chapter 189, Statutes of 2010

AB 1703 (Knight-R) Veterans' homes: State Nursing Assumption Program of Loans
Increases the maximum loan assumption payment for registered nurses participating in the State Nursing Assumption Program of Loans for Education -- Nurses in State Facilities who become employed full-time in a state-operated veterans' home from $20,000 for four-years of service to $40,000. Expands the conditions under which a participant may receive a one-year extension for completing the required four years of service to include military service.
(Died in Senate Appropriations Committee)

AB 1729 (Yamada-D) Veterans' preference: civil service examinations
Extends, from six months to 12 months, the amount of time a veteran may receive preference points on employment lists resulting from open, nonpromotional civil service examinations.
Chapter 237, Statutes of 2010

AB 1757 (Monning-D) Veterans cemetery
Authorizes the design and construction of a state-owned veterans' cemetery to be located on the site of the former Fort Ord in Monterey County.
Chapter 450, Statutes of 2010

AB 1829 (Cook-R) Military decorations: fraud
Increases the penalty from an infraction to a misdemeanor for civilians who, orally, in writing, or by wearing any military decoration, falsely represents himself/herself to have been awarded any military decorations, with the intent to defraud.
Chapter 366, Statutes of 2010

AB 1855 (Yamada-D) Disabled veteran placards
Requires the Department of Motor Vehicles to advise applicants for disabled placards on how to apply for disabled license plates.
Chapter 196, Statutes of 2010

AB 1908 (Cook-R) Veterans' organizations: specialized license plates
Allows the Department of Veterans Affairs to redesign the veterans' organizations license plates.
Chapter 166, Statutes of 2010

AB 1925 (Salas-D) Veterans courts
Authorizes superior courts to develop and implement veterans courts for eligible veterans of the United States military with the objective of, among other things, creation of a dedicated calendar or a locally developed collaborative court-supervised veterans mental health program or system that leads to the placement of as many mentally ill offenders who are veterans of the United States military, including those with post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, military sexual trauma, substance abuse, or any mental health problem stemming from military service, in community treatment as is feasible and consistent with public safety.
Vetoed

AB 1944 (Fletcher-R) Disabled veterans: special license plates
Requires the Department of Motor Vehicles, when evaluating applications for a disabled veteran license plate or placard, to accept a certificate from the United States Department of Veterans Administration certifying that the applicant is a disabled veteran in lieu of a certificate signed by a private physician.
Chapter 421, Statutes of 2010

AB 1948 (Knight-R) Disabled veterans' exemption: property tax
Extends the time period the claimant has to subsequently file an appropriate claim from 30 days to 90 days of receipt of the disability rating from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.
(Died in Assembly Revenue and Taxation Committee)

AB 1984 (Nielsen-R) Veterans: highway signage
Includes "In Honor of Our Vietnam Veterans" as an alternative or additional statement for highway signs.
(Died in Assembly Transportation Committee)

AB 2087 (Torres-D) Veterans' farm and home purchases: definition: home
Expands the definition of "home", for purposes of the CalVet Home Loan Program, to include a residence of two to four units that otherwise meets specified requirements of the federal Internal Revenue Code.
Chapter 542, Statutes of 2010

AB 2115 (Knight-R) Veterans: firearms license
Requires the sheriff of a county or the chief of a municipal police department to issue a license to carry a concealed weapon if the person seeking the license is a veteran without a showing of "good cause" for the issuance of the license.
(Died in Assembly Public Safety Committee)

AB 2143* (Gilmore-R) Military and veterans: benefits programs
Requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) to consult with other state agencies and departments, as specified, for the purpose of coordinating and administering veterans assistance programs in the state. Requires the Employment Development Department, in coordination with the DVA, to conduct a study and report to the Legislature on or before 3/1/11, concerning veteran employment and job training programs.
(Died in Senate Veterans Affairs Committee)

AB 2156 (Evans-D) Military and veterans: Veterans' Home Allied Council
Provides for the establishment of a Veterans' Home Allied Council for each veterans home, and additionally permits each Council to represent veterans who reside in the veterans' home for which the Council was established in matters before the Legislature if each Council, in the course of providing that representation, complies with specified requirements.
Vetoed

AB 2309 (Fletcher-R) Veterans Home of California
Updates the Military and Veterans Code to rename various veterans' homes operated by the Department of Veterans Affairs, miscellaneous provisions pertaining to regulatory boards of the Department of Consumer Affairs, and professions regulated under the Business and Professions Code.
(Died on Assembly Inactive file)

AB 2314 (Block-D) Disabled veterans: property tax exemption
Extends the time period for a disabled veteran, who has not yet received a disability rating from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (USDVA), to file a property tax exemption claim, and deletes a requirement for the disabled veteran to have a "pending" application with the USDVA.
Chapter 150, Statutes of 2010

AB 2365 (Lieu-D) Veterans affairs: administration
Renders a person who has violated the rights of a service member under existing law liable for attorney's fees, court costs, and damages.
Chapter 385, Statutes of 2010

AB 2455 (Nava-D) Military service: benefits
Authorizes members of the military to defer payment on up to two loans on vehicles. Provides that a spouse or legal dependent, or both, of a member of the military is entitled to the deferral of payment benefits accorded to a member, if the member is eligible for those benefits.
Chapter 124, Statutes of 2010

AB 2500 (Hagman-R) Military service: professions and vocations: licenses
Clarifies that any licensee of any board, commission or bureau under the Department of Consumer Affairs may have their license reinstated if it expired while they were serving on active duty as a member of the National Guard or the United States Armed Forces rather than just during a period of war, and allows the licensing entity to determine, however, whether the applicant for reinstatement was actively engaged in their practice while on active duty, and if not, then an examination may be required.
Chapter 389, Statutes of 2010

AB 2627 (Nielsen-R) Disabled veteran business enterprise: state contracts
Restructures the criteria for businesses to qualify as a disabled veteran business enterprise.
(Died in Senate Appropriations Committee)

AB 2661 (Salas-D) California National Guard: mental health assessments
Requires the California National Guard to develop and implement a mental health assessment program for every National Guard soldier who has been deployed to a combat zone.
(Died in Assembly Appropriations Committee)

AB 2784 (Assembly Veterans Affairs Committee) California Veterans Board: membership
Increases the size of the California Veterans Board from seven to nine members. Requires that one member have substantial training or professional expertise in mental health counseling and one member have a degree in health care administration or experience in the financial management of health care facilities. Requires that two members be women.
Vetoed

AB 2785 (Assembly Veterans Affairs Committee) Department of Veterans Affairs: administration
Requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to identify other state agencies and departments that offer or provide services to veterans, every year beginning 6/30/11, for the purpose of entering into formal agreements that specify the roles and activities of the entities.
(Died in Senate Appropriations Committee)

ACR 158 (Yamada-D) Women Veterans Recognition Month
Proclaims the month of May to be Women Veterans Recognition Month.
(Died in Senate Rules Committee)

ACR 166 (Fletcher-R) World War II: Spirit of '45 Day
Declares the Legislatures support for the observance of "Spirit of '45 Day" on the second Sunday in August to commemorate the anniversary of the end of World War II on 8/14/1945.
Resolution Chapter 76, Statutes of 2010

ACR 171 (Gaines-R) Yellow Ribbon Week
Declares the week of 6/28/10 through 7/4/10 as Yellow Ribbon Week to show support for military families and for troops fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Resolution Chapter 40, Statutes of 2010

AJR 25 (Furutani-D) Veterans: Filipino family reunification
Memorializes the Legislature to join the Congress of the United States in further acknowledging the service of Filipino World War II veterans in the Armed Forces of the United States by recognizing that these veterans should be reunited with their children during their golden years, and requests that the President and the Congress of the United States pass S. 1337 and H.R. 2412, which exempts children of certain Filipino World War II veterans from the numerical limitations on immigrant visas, thus allowing for family reunification.
Resolution Chapter 113, Statutes of 2010

AJR 46 (Harkey-R) Autism in military families
Urges the Congress of the United States to pass legislation that will fully fund Intensive Behavioral Interventions (IBI) services through TRICARE for all military families with children with autism, to designate IBI services as a medical necessity to make coverage of IBI services available for the children with autism of retired military personnel, and to ensure parental choice of treatment by fully funding all IBI services, including Applied Behavioral Analysis, DIR (Developmental, Individual-Difference, Relationship-Based mode)/Floortime, Relationship Development Intervention, and other forms of intervention therapy demonstrated to be clinically effective.
Resolution Chapter 173, Statutes of 2010

HR 33 (Jones-D) Vietnam War era Hmong soldiers
Requests the Congress of the United States to pass, and the President to sign, House Resolution 5879, which would authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to inter in national cemeteries individuals who served in combat support of the Armed Services of the United States in the Kingdom of Laos from 1961 to 1975.
Adopted by the Assembly

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