Veterans' Issues

Veterans' Legislation

Veterans' Legislation

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SB 75 (Dunn-D) Budget Act of 2005: contingencies and emergencies
Among other provisions, appropriates $1,310,000 to the Veterans Home at Barstow to cover the cost of increased workers' compensation settlement claims.
Chapter 39, Statutes of 2006

SB 181 (Migden-D) State militia: applicable law
Provides that specified provisions of the Uniform Code of Military Justice and the United States Manual for Courts-Martial do not apply to a qualified person, as defined.
(Died in Senate Veterans Affairs Committee)

SB 234 (Runner-R) Central Coast Veterans Cemetery: maintenance
Provides that all moneys received for the maintenance of the Central Coast Veterans Cemetery shall be deposited in the Central Coast Veterans Cemetery Maintenance Fund, which the bill creates. Requires the Director of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to make available inmate work crews from Salinas Valley State Prison to perform ongoing maintenance to the Central Coast Veterans Cemetery in Monterey County.
(Died in Assembly Veterans Affairs Committee)
A similar bill was SB 480 (Denham-R) which died in Senate Appropriations Committee.

SB 243* (Dutton-R) Personal income taxes: credits: property tax
Authorizes a tax credit against those taxes for each taxable and income year beginning on or after January 1, 2005, and before January 1, 2010, in an amount equal to the amount paid for property taxes during the taxable year on the primary residence of a person or spouse of a person who, during that taxable year, was deployed in a combat or war zone, as specified.
(Died in Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee)

SB 256 (Speier-D) National Guard: life insurance premium reimbursement
Reimburses members of the California National Guard who are called to active duty by the federal government for the cost of purchasing life insurance, up to an amount of $17 per month effective January 1, 2005. Continuously appropriates money from the General Fund to the Military Department.
(Died in Senate Appropriations Committee)

SB 320 (Machado-D) Disabled veteran business enterprises: certification
Delays recertification for three years for potentially fraudulent Disabled Veteran Business Enterprises. Also establishes a statement of compliance procedure for determining whether the existing three percent participation goals are actually being met by contractors.
(Died in Assembly Veterans Affairs Committee)

SB 612 (Dutton-R) Vehicle fees: deployed military personnel
Extends, to vehicles owned by members of the Armed Forces, Armed Forces Reserve, or National Guard who are temporarily deployed outside the state, the exemption from vehicle registration fees, weight fees, and vehicle license fees provided to disabled veterans, former American prisoners of war, and Congressional Medal of Honor recipients.
(Died in Assembly Appropriations Committee)

SB 693 (Morrow-R) State militia: border control assistance
Requires the Adjutant General, in conjunction with the appropriate state and federal authorities, to develop a plan to provide support for federal border control operations.
(Failed passage in Senate Veterans Affairs Committee)

SB 766 (Senate Veterans Affairs Committee) Veterans: insurance
Revises provisions of the Veterans' Farm and Home Purchase Act of 1974 to instead, for calendar years beginning on and after January 1, 2006, prohibit the reserves maintained under the master agreement between the Department of Veterans Affairs and one or more insurance companies from being more than 25 percent in excess of actuarial requirements plus the reasonable contingency reserve.
(Died in Senate Veterans Affairs Committee)

SB 997* (Soto-D) State military reservists: service awards
Establishes the State Military Reserve and Naval Militia Length of Service Award Act, and makes an appropriation of $100,000 from the General Fund to the Military Department to pay an award of $100 per month for life to a qualified person, which is defined as any person who has served in the State Military Reserve or the Naval Militia for 10 years on or after the operative date of the bill.
(Died in Assembly Appropriations Committee)

SB 1005* (Florez-D) Property tax exemption: spouses of deceased veterans
Provides, beginning with the lien date for the 2006-07 fiscal year, fully exempt from property taxation the principal residence of the unmarried surviving spouse of a person that died as a result of a service-connected disease or injury, as specified. Also provides, beginning with the lien date for the 2006-07 fiscal year, fully exempt from property taxation the principal residence of the unmarried surviving spouse of a qualified public safety officer that dies in the line of duty, as specified.
(Died in Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee)

SB 1244 (Soto-D) National Guard: volunteers: travel and uniform allowance
Authorizes a uniform and travel allowance of $125 annually to volunteer members of the State Military Reserve or Naval Militia and appropriates $75,000 from the General Fund to the Military Department for that purpose.
Chapter 597, Statutes of 2006

SB 1445 (Alquist-D) Military benefits: health care benefits
Provides health and dental care benefits for all members of the California National Guard that meet specified criteria through the Public Employees' Medical and Hospital Act, administered by the Public Employees' Retirement System.
(Died in Senate Appropriations Committee)

SB 1637 (Assembly Veterans Affairs Committee) Property taxation
Makes several small, technical changes to the disabled veterans' exemption. More specifically, it provides some small enhancements that could be of significant benefit to disabled veterans. Increases taxpayer privacy by providing that documents that contain an applicant's name, address, and social security number are not accessible to the public.
Chapter 677, Statutes of 2006

SB 1697 (Soto-D) Military service: benefits
Requires the Military Department to comply with the provisions of Section 4302 of Title 38 of the United States Code, the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act and provides that Military Department personnel, as specified, shall be considered employees and provided the same federal reemployment protections and benefits given to other employees under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act.
Chapter 680, Statutes of 2006

SB 1720 (Chesbro-D) Armed Forces: uranium screening
Requires the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, or their designees, to assist any veterans returning to California in obtaining a best practice health screening for exposure to depleted uranium, and to develop a plan for outreach to eligible members and veterans, regarding depleted uranium.
Chapter 686, Statutes of 2006

SB 1848* (Figueroa-D) Consumer warranties: members of the armed forces
Permits a member of the armed forces who is stationed in or a resident of this state at the time he/she purchased a motor vehicle from a manufacturer who sells consumer goods in this state or when he/she filed an action under the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act, to exercise his/her rights under that act, regardless of in which state the vehicle is purchased or registered. Requires that a reasonable number of attempts to conform a motor vehicle to an applicable express warranty include service performed in another state by a manufacturer who sells motor vehicles in this state.
(Died in Assembly Rules Committee)

SCA 14 (Morrow-R) Property tax
Creates a new Military and Veterans' Homeowners' Exemption, equal to 110 percent of the existing homeowners' exemption (or $7,700). Provides that the exemption be available, without wealth limit, to "qualified persons," defined as a resident of California who is serving in, or who has served in and has been honorably discharged from service in, the active or reserve forces of the California National Guard or the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard, or the surviving spouse of a deceased veteran meeting the above requirements.
(Died in Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee)

SCR 68 (Florez-D) The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Highway
Designates the portion of State Highway Route 119 between State Highway Route 184 and Enos Lane, in the County of Kern, as the Vietnam Veterans' Memorial Highway. Requests the Department of Transportation to determine the cost of appropriate signs showing this special designation and, upon receiving donations from non-state sources covering that cost, to erect those signs.
Resolution Chapter 95, Statutes of 2006

SJR 18 (Denham-R) Veterans' cemetery: Fort Ord
Memorializes the President and Congress of the United States to approve construction of a state veterans' cemetery at Fort Ord in Monterey County when the state applies to the federal State Cemetery Grants Program.
Resolution Chapter 98, Statutes of 2006

SJR 23 (Chesbro-D) Veterans' Right to Know Act
Urges the House of Representatives to support and pass the Veterans' Right to Know Act (H.R. 4259), which creates a commission to bring relief to veterans involved in Project 112 and the Shipboard Hazard and Defense Project (Project SHAD) and other instances of chemical or biological testing.
Resolution Chapter 94, Statutes of 2006

AB 30 (Negrete McLeod-D) Retirement: military service
Allows members of the California National Guard to qualify for membership in the Public Employees' Retirement System and to purchase past service credit for service performed prior to membership.
(Died in Assembly Appropriations Committee)

AB 255 (Chavez-D) California Military Families Support Program: life insurance
Requires the Military Department to pay for life insurance, in a policy amount of $250,000, for every member of the California National Guard called to federal active duty. Continuously appropriates General Fund monies to the Military Department to pay for the insurance.
(Died in Assembly Appropriations Committee)

AB 265 (Haynes-R) Child custody: parents on active military duty
Prohibits a court from modifying an order granting custody of a child if the party who was granted custody of the child is a member of the California National Guard and he/she has been called to active duty, unless the court determines that modifying the order is in the best interest of the child and the party has either died while on active duty or is no longer able to provide adequate care for the child.
(Died in Assembly Judiciary Committee)

AB 294* (Blakeslee-R) Tax credit: qualified life insurance premiums
Provides a refundable tax credit of up to $200 to members of the California National Guard on active duty for the amount paid by the member for life insurance premiums. The credit will be available for tax years 2005 through 2008.
(Died on Assembly Floor)

AB 410 (Yee-D) Disabled veteran business enterprises
Creates a 10 percent bidding preference for certified disabled veteran business enterprises in bids for contracts for specified goods and services.
(Died in Assembly Appropriations Committee)

AB 475 (Baca-D) Local agency military base recovery area
Revises the conditions by which the designation of a local agency military base recovery area expires and extends, beginning January 1, 2005, the initial designation period from eight to 14 years, if a specified condition applies.
(Died in Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee)

AB 922 (Salinas-D) Central Coast Veterans Cemetery
Requires the Department of Veteran Affairs, in cooperation with the Monterey County Board of Supervisors, to develop, design and construct a state owned and state operated Central Coast Veterans Cemetery to be located at the former Fort Ord, located in Monterey County. Also repeals the provisions under existing law relating to the creation of and duties imposed on the Governor's Commission on State Veterans Cemeteries.
(Died in Assembly Appropriations Committee)

AB 1436* (Baca-D) Cal Grant Program: military veterans
Expands eligibility for Cal Grants to include military veterans meeting certain criteria and eligibility requirements.
(Died in Assembly Appropriations Committee)

AB 1445 (Umberg-D) Military Department: Office of Inspector General
Establishes the Office of the Inspector General (IG) for the Military Department appointed by the Governor and subject to Senate confirmation. Specifies that the IG is independent of the chain of command of the Military Department and serves at the discretion of the Governor. Requires the IG to investigate complaints and allegations of wrongdoing by military personnel and requires the IG to establish a toll-free public telephone number to receive these complaints and allegations, as specified.
(Died in Assembly Appropriations Committee)

AB 1477 (DeVore-R) Vehicles: state militia exemptions
Exempts active members of the California National Guard, State Military Reserve, or State Naval Militia from the imposition of the vehicle registration fee and vehicle weight fee.
(Died in Assembly Appropriations Committee)

AB 1806* (Assembly Budget Committee) Veterans programs and benefits
General government trailer bill to the 2006 Budget, which among other provisions, requires an annual report from the Employment Development Department with performance measures for the Veterans Employment Training Program and requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to consult with the Legislature, victim's service organizations, and Department of Finance to prepare and submit a report to the Legislature outlining strategies for increasing the number of California veterans receiving federal benefits.
Chapter 69, Statutes of 2006

AB 1843 (Leslie-R) The California State Military Museum and Resource Center
Increases the annual statutory General Fund appropriation, from $100,000 to $250,000, for operation by a non-profit foundation of the California State Military Museum and Resource Center, and makes it a continuous appropriation. Requires the Adjutant General and the museum foundation to enter into an operating agreement prior to allocation of these funds.
(Died in Assembly Appropriations Committee)

AB 1905 (Villines-R) Disabled Veterans Business Enterprises: contract preference
Lowers the requirement for a limited liability company to be certified as a Disabled Veterans Business Enterprise from wholly owned by one or more disabled veterans to having at least 51 percent disabled veteran ownership.
(Failed passage in Assembly Veterans Affairs Committee)

AB 1910 (Aghazarian-R) Disabled person and disabled veteran license plates
Allows the Department of Motor Vehicles to issue disabled license plates to agencies and organizations that transport disabled persons of disabled veterans for vehicles they use solely for transporting the disabled. Includes provisions to avoid chaptering out AB 2120 (Liu), Chapter 116, Statutes of 2006.
Chapter 203, Statutes of 2006

AB 1923 (Nation-D) Military and veterans: educational benefits
Requires the California State University and the California Community Colleges, and requests the University of California, provide tuition and fee waivers to qualified members of the California National Guard.
(Died in Senate Education Committee)

AB 1931 (Saldana-D) County veteran service officers: funding
Appropriates $5 million from the General Fund to the Department of Veterans Affairs as an augmentation to funding for county veterans service officers.
(Died in Assembly Appropriations Committee)

AB 1965* (Lieu-D) Deferred deposit transactions: military borrowers
Revises the California Deferred Deposit Transaction Law and authorizes a military borrower to defer payments and with respect to deferred deposit transactions, as provided. Prohibits licensees making deferred deposit transactions from engaging in specified practices with respect to military borrowers, including imposing fees, interest, and charges that exceed a specified amount and requires those licensees, before entering into such a transaction with a military borrower, to provide a statement to the borrower explaining his or her rights, as specified. Requires the Commissioner of the Department of Corporations to enact regulations to implement these provisions and to give notice to licensees, as specified. Provides that a licensee who does not enter into deferred deposit transactions with service members shall not be guilty of or liable for discrimination, as specified. Contains a severability clause. Sunsets on January 1, 2009.
(Failed passage on Senate Floor)

AB 2085 (Parra-D) Income tax designations: California Military Family Relief
Modifies one of the eligibility requirements for receiving aid from the California Military Family Relief Fund: a recipient's salary will only have to be decreased by 10 percent or more, not 30 percent or more, in order to be eligible for receiving financial aid grants.
Chapter 607, Statutes of 2006

AB 2120 (Liu-D) Disabled veterans: parking placards
Allows, under certain circumstances, nurse practitioners, certified nurse midwives, and physician assistants to sign a certification that qualifies a person to obtain a disabled person or disabled veteran license plate, parking placard or temporary parking placard.
Chapter 116, Statutes of 2006

AB 2124 (Umberg-D) Active militia: drilling: election day
Provides that the active militia shall not be ordered to parade or drill in time of peace on any established election day, as specified.
(Died in Senate Veterans Affairs Committee)

AB 2234 (Strickland-R) Highway signs: World War II Aviation Museum
Requires the Department of Transportation to erect signs on north and southbound Highway 101 in the City of Camarillo that indicates the directional exit to the World War II Aviation Museum at Camarillo Airport.
Vetoed by the Governor

AB 2245* (La Suer-R) Taxes: credits: qualified disabled veterans
Authorizes a credit against that tax for each taxable year beginning on or after January 1, 2006, and before January 1, 2016, in the amount of $100 for a qualified disabled veteran, as defined.
(Died in Assembly Revenue and Taxation Committee)

AB 2268 (Saldana-D) Sport fishing: licenses: fees: exceptions
Authorizes the Department of Fish and Game to issue a sport fishing license free of charge to an eligible nonprofit organization for day-fishing trips that provide recreational rehabilitation therapy for active duty members of the United States military who are currently receiving inpatient care in a military or Veterans Administration hospital, and veterans with service-connected disabilities.
Chapter 769, Statutes of 2006

AB 2433* (Negrete McLeod-D) National Guard Family Resource Center Act
Appropriates $99,000 from the General Fund to the Military Department for fiscal year 2006-07 to provide upgraded armory facilities and access at specified battalion headquarters armory locations to support the creation of Family Resource Centers.
Chapter 613, Statutes of 2006

AB 2474 (Villines-R) National Guard
Continuously appropriates $100,000 from the General Fund to the Military Department for the purpose of funding the youth program under the Operation Ready Families Program.
(Died in Assembly Veterans Affairs Committee)

AB 2550 (Blakeslee-R) National Guard: benefits
Provides qualified members of the California National Guard, or a widow, widower, or spouse of a qualified member, preference points for any civil service employment.
Chapter 494, Statutes of 2006

AB 2551 (Blakeslee-R) Military benefits: National Guard Assumption Program
Extends from July 1, 2007, to July 1, 2011, the inoperative date for the National Guard Assumption Program of Loans for Education. Deletes a condition for eligibility for loan assumption that the applicant be enrolled in an institution of higher education or a vocational diploma program that participates in the loan assumption program. Provides that applicants who are financially needy by that individual rather than as indicated by the household income and asset level of that individual have priority for participation in the program in a fiscal year when the Student Aid Commission determines that funding is insufficient to support the program.
(Died in Senate Appropriations Committee)

AB 2579 (Sharon Runner-R) Military courts-martial
Updates California military law, in the area of punishments available for state courts-martial, by applying the same standards as the federal Uniform Code of Military Justice.
Chapter 358, Statutes of 2006

AB 2586 (Parra-D) Sentencing: veterans: treatment programs
Allows the court to consider a treatment program, in lieu of incarceration, as a condition of probation in cases involving military veterans who suffer from post traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse, or psychological problems stemming from their military service.
Chapter 788, Statutes of 2006

AB 2632 (Negrete McLeod-D) Retirement: military service
Allows members of the California National Guard to qualify for membership in the Public Employees' Retirement System.
(Died in Senate Appropriations Committee)

AB 2739 (La Malfa-R) Veterans' memorials: veterans' cemeteries: vandalism
Expands the existing penalty for vandalism to a veterans' memorial to encompass vandalism to a veterans' cemetery. Changes the existing penalty from imprisonment in county jail or state prison for less than one year to a misdemeanor punishable by a fine equal to the cost to replace or repair the damage to a veterans' memorial or cemetery and/or imprisonment in county jail for less than one year.
(Died in Senate Public Safety Committee)

AB 2740 (La Malfa-R) School facilities: usage on Veterans Day
Permits veterans' organizations to have preference over other groups to conduct assemblies for educational purposes on school facilities or grounds on Veterans Day.
Chapter 205, Statutes of 2006

AB 2741 (La Malfa-R) Military status: impersonation of military member
Provides that any person who willfully wears, exhibits, or uses, as specified, the authorized badge, uniform, photographic identification card, or insignia of, or willfully presents himself or herself as a veteran or active duty or reserve member of, the Armed Forces of the United States, the National Guard, the State Military Reserve, or the Naval Militia, with the intent of fraudulently impersonating a veteran or active duty or reserve member of the aforementioned military branches, or of fraudulently inducing the belief that he/she is a veteran or active duty or reserve member of the Armed Forces of the United States, the National Guard, the State Military Reserve, or the Naval Militia, for the purpose of personal gain or to facilitate any unlawful activity, is guilty of misdemeanor.
(Died in Assembly Public Safety Committee)

AB 2750 (Nava-D) California Veteran and National Guard Benefit Commission
Creates the California Veteran and National Guard Benefit Commission to study and make recommendations to the Governor and the Legislature on National Guard and veterans issues, as specified, and requires a number of specified state agencies to provide staff assistance and services to the Commission upon its request. Requires the Commission to report findings and recommendations by January 1, 2008. Sunsets the Commission on January 1, 2011.
Vetoed by the Governor

AB 2777 (Huff-R) Military and veterans: veterans' organizations
Expands the list of veterans organizations protected under the Military and Veterans Code from false representation, such as falsely wearing badges or lapel buttons that represents such organizations.
Chapter 206, Statutes of 2006

AB 2844 (Nation-D) Mental health: veterans' eligibility for services
Establishes the California Veterans Mental Health Services Act of 2006, and makes changes relating to the provision of mental health services to California veterans.
Chapter 618, Statutes of 2006

AB 2884 (Baca-D) Military service: benefits
Expands the health care coverage protections for members of the United States Military Reserve and National Guard who are called to active duty, to include all health care providers rather than just those regulated by the Department of Insurance, and provides the Director of the Department of Health Services and the Insurance Commissioner authority to enforce those provisions.
Chapter 622, Statutes of 2006

AB 3035 (Laird-D) California Central Coast State Veterans' Cemetery
Creates the California Central Coast State Veterans Cemetery at Fort Ord Endowment Fund in the State Treasury and directs that moneys in the Endowment Fund shall be allocated, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the Department of Veterans Affairs for the annual administrative and oversight costs of the veterans' cemetery.
Chapter 291, Statutes of 2006

ACR 154 (Parra-D) Yellow Ribbon Day
Declares May 25, 2006, as Yellow Ribbon Day to show support for military families and for troops fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Resolution Chapter 66, Statutes of 2006

AJR 25 (Baca-D) Veterans benefits
Requests the President and the Congress of the United States to enact legislation to establish a federal-state partnership to use local county veterans' service officers to assist the United States Department of Veterans Affairs in eliminating the veterans claims processing backlog.
Resolution Chapter 89, Statutes of 2006

AJR 32 (Arambula-D) Qualified Veterans Mortgage Bonds
Memorializes the President and Congress of the United States to enact legislation that revises provisions of the Internal Revenue Code to authorize increased issuance of Qualified Veterans Mortgage Bonds by a state to fund home purchase and home improvement loans to specified veterans.
Resolution Chapter 109, Statutes of 2006

AJR 33 (Sharon Runner-R) Qualified Veterans Mortgage Bonds
Respectfully urges the President and the Congress of the United States to amend the Internal Revenue Code to change the definition of "qualified veteran" for purposes of providing financing for home loans to any veteran who meets the requirements as may be imposed by the state law pursuant to which qualified veterans' mortgage bonds are issued.
(Died in Assembly Veterans Affairs Committee)

AJR 48 (Nation-D) Veterans Remembered Flag
Requests that the President and Congress of the United States adopt a Veterans Remembered Flag, as specified.
Resolution Chapter 68, Statutes of 2006

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