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COUNCIL LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM 2008
The 2008 session of the California Legislature began on January 7. The process of introducing new bills in the legislative process will continue through February 22.
CALIFORNIA STATE BUDGET:
The legislative process will have a special feature this year – related to the fiscal problems of the State government. The severity of the fiscal crisis has made it necessary that the Governor acknowledge the situation and call a Special Session of the Legislature to deal with it. The Special Session will proceed concurrently with the business of the Regular Session. However, the Legislature will have only 45 days to take some form of action to address the fiscal crisis. This means, basically, to develop additional income sources which would normally mean some form of tax increase, and/or to reduce expenditures. Any such actions must be adopted by a 2/3 vote of the Legislature. If no action is taken during these first 45 days of the Special Session, then all other activities of the Regular Session must halt until an agreement is reached. No committee hearings would be conducted, and no votes taken on any other bills. The end of the 45-day period will be about the third week of February. The political analysts, and Members of the Legislature, are expecting that the Assembly will be able to propose some action, and to obtain the necessary 2/3 votes of approval. However, a similar agreement will probably not be possible in the Senate. The prediction is that the normal process of handling legislation this year will be stymied by the fiscal problems.
Since the fiscal problems are expected to carry over to the legislative action on the Budget for Fiscal Year 2008-2009 and, in fact, may be even more difficult to resolve, a very similar process may well occur later in the year.
The Governor has also proposed that a 10 percent reduction be made in state spending. The proposed reduction would apply to all departments and all programs. Secretary Johnson has stated that the reductions would have the following impacts on his department:
Veterans Homes: Construction of the new veterans homes would continue on schedule. However, admissions at the current homes would be delayed, and there would be no expansion in admissions at Yountville.
Veterans Benefits and Services: There would be a reduction of $250,000 in budget for administrative functions at the Sacramento office, which would impact on outreach services. Subvention funding to the County Veterans Service Offices, which is currently at $2.6 million, would be cut by $260,000.
Adjutant General Wade, California National Guard, stated that the Guard would be able to continue emergency services at the current levels. He did note that the Guard would have to reduce the services provided for burial of veterans.
If we assume that the Legislature will eventually be able to get down to their normal business, the following are some of the issues that are expected to come up during this session for which the Council should take official positions.
1. State Funding for Veterans Services and Benefits.
Issue: Current state law authorizes Counties to establish a veterans service office. The functions of such offices are to assist every veteran of any war of the United States, and the dependents of every deceased veteran, in presenting and pursuing any claim the veteran may have against the United States and in establishing the veteran's right to any privilege, preference, care, or compensation provided for by the laws of the United States or of the state. The Legislature has declared that the State Budget should provide $5 million in subvention funding to be divided among the Counties that have established such offices. However, the State Budget has never provided more than $2.6 million for this purpose. Current plans to address the state budget crisis may include a reduction of this funding by $260,000. California veterans currently receive, on the average, less dollar benefits from the federal government than veterans residing in over half of the other states. The California Department of Veterans Affairs has reported that the single most prominent difference between California and other states in which veterans receive proportionately more federal dollars in benefits is the number of professional veteran service representatives, at the state and/or county levels, that are available to assist veterans.
Recommendations:
a. The Council will oppose the proposed budget cuts to the Department of Veterans Affairs for veterans benefits and services on the basis that such reductions would have the effect of further reducing the outreach services to veterans and would certainly have an adverse impact on recent efforts to increase outreach services to veterans.
b. The Council will issue a public resolution which would be sent to the Governor, the Secretary, and all Members of the Legislature, to oppose the concept of across-the-board budget reductions.
c. As the opportunity permits, the Council will support legislative and administrative efforts which are intended to increase the funding provided in the State Budget for support of the County Veteran Service Offices, and which would provide a capability to the Department to contract for services with the Veteran Service Organizations. The specific goal is to provide the full subvention funding to the County governments for the support of the Veteran Service Offices of $5 million, and to provide $1 million for the Department to contract with the Veterans Service Organizations.
2. California National Guard Tuition Assistance Program.
Issue: The California National Guard has been meeting heavy federal commitments for deployment of its members in support of the War on Terrorism and the federal Border Patrol, as well as its normal state functions. Enlistments and re-enlistments in the Guard have been declining with the result that the personnel levels in the Guard units are seriously diminished. Some federally funded Guard positions which have been filled in past years by California Guard personnel have been transferred to other states. California does not provide some of the incentives for service in the National Guard that are available to members of the Guard in other states. Specifically, California is the only state that does not provide any form of post-baccalaureate education program which is considered to be a valuable incentive for attracting high quality persons with college-level education to service in the Guard.
In the very early days of the 2008 Legislative Session, Assemblymember Chuck DeVore (Irvine) has already introduced a bill, AB 1758, to provide the California National Guard Education Assistance Program. To provide for the costs that would be incurred for this program, the bill also proposes to eliminate the current provision in the State Education Code that permits nonimmigrant aliens to attend the state universities and colleges and pay the state resident fees.
State Senator Lou Correa (Santa Ana) will also introduce a bill to provide an Education Assistance Program for members of the Guard. His bill is expected to be similar to DeVore’s bill except that it will not include the proposal to eliminate the authorization for nonimmigrant aliens to have residency status at the state universities and colleges.
Recommendations:
a. The Council will support legislation that would provide a tuition assistance program for members of the California National Guard.
b. The Council will specifically support the bill AB 1758 (DeVore) and the bill to be authored by Senator Correa on the same subject.
3. Vehicle License Registration Exemption, Members of the National Guard.
Issue: California provides no significant benefits to members of the National Guard for the purpose of promoting enlistment and re-enlistment. Potential programs that would provide visible benefits would be to provide for exemption of vehicle license registration fees, and to provide a distinctive license plate for members of the Guard.
Recommendations:
a. The Council will support legislation to allow for one vehicle license registration renewal exemption annually to current members of the California National Guard; or, in the case that the license fee is over $200, to reduce the license fee by $200.
b. The Council will support legislation to provide for the issuance of special license plates for active members of the California National Guard, and to waive the $40 application fee and the $30 transfer fee normally required for such plates.
4. Health Professions Planning and Development.
Issue: The State of California has been experiencing rapid increases in the salaries paid to health care professionals. This situation has been driven by a serious shortage of persons in this field, a decline in the numbers of students entering educational programs, and salary escalations started by federal judges who have taken control of the state prison system and who have been responsible for arbitrary salary increases given to health care professionals. The situation has impacted all public and private agencies that are responsible for managing health care systems, including the California State Veterans Homes. Currently, the Veterans Homes are in dire need of skilled nurses. With the five new veterans homes currently under development and construction, the need for nurses will greatly increase.
Recommendation: The Council will support legislation which will establish a scholarship or loan forgiveness program for nursing students who will commit to working in the State’s veterans homes skilled nursing facilities. This is a priority issue.
5. Tuition Assistance Program for Surviving Family Members.
Issue: Current state law provides for a waiver of mandatory systemwide tuition and fees at any State of California Community College, California State University or University of California campus for the child of a veteran who has a permanent service-connected disability. The child’s income and value of support provided by a parent cannot exceed the national poverty level. The means testing of this benefit makes many dependents ineligible for the fee waivers. This benefit is also available to the child of a member of the California National Guard, or a member of the military service Reserves, who has been called to federal service and has incurred a permanent service-connected disability. If such member of the Guard or Reserves is unable to take advantage of educational benefits because of the disability which was incurred during service in the War on Terrorism, the child of such a member should receive the benefit of the fee waiver program regardless of income level.
Recommendation: The Council will support legislation to remove the means testing requirement in the California College Fee Waiver program for the child of a member of the California National Guard, or a member of the Reserve component of a U.S. military service who was a resident of the state at the time of being called to active service, and who has a permanent service-connected disability incurred in combat action related to the War on Terrorism.
Issue: National Guard units have taken on a new role in recent years that exposes members to combat in much the same way as the regular military services. As medical advances have translated to a greater number of battlefield survivors, and the urban warfare being experienced by units in combat has become more intense, the number of cases of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) has shown a dramatic increase. Current statistics indicate that the major cause of death of persons who have returned to civilian life from combat service is now suicide. Fire Departments, Police Departments, and even school districts have mental health professionals on staff to monitor and deal with personnel who have been affected by traumatic events. The California Military Department has no such program for its personnel who are combat veterans.
Recommendation: The Council will support legislation to authorize the California National Guard to establish Combat Stress Support Teams which would have the capability to assist members who have returned from combat and who are facing PTSD.
Issue: Historically, veterans have been advised to record their military discharge documents, such as a veteran's service form DD 214, with the county recorder in the county of their residence. The purpose of this recordation was to enable veterans to easily obtain a copy the record in the event that the original was misplaced. These documents may contain, at the very least, the veteran's name, birth date, current address, and Social Security number. In certain cases, they may even contain detailed military history or medication information. Because publicly recorded military service records are currently accessible by any member of the public, they are a potential source of identity theft.
Recommendation: The Council will support legislation which would require the county recorder, when furnishing an informational copy of a military service record under specified circumstances, to alter that record by obliterating the service member's personal information.
8. Re-employment issues for members of the National Guard and military reserves.
Issue: Both federal and state laws are supposed to ensure that members of the National Guard and the military reserves are able to return to their civilian employment after being mobilized and deployed for federal service in the GWOT. However, fully 60 percent of the ESGR complaints which are received from returning service members are from federal, state and county employees.
Recommendation: The Council will support legislation and/or administrative actions to create a position of ombudsman in the Office of the Governor, and in each department of the state government, to address complaints or questions from returning National Guard and military reserve members who are state employees, and to mediate any employment issues between state agencies and state employees
9. California Military Museum.
Issue: The Adjutant General is authorized under the Military and Veterans Code to establish a California military museum and resource center as a repository for military artifacts, memorabilia, equipment, documents and other items related to the military history of the State. The museum was authorized in 1981 and was established in 1983. From time to time, the Legislature has approved funding for the museum but not on a regular basis. The nature of a military museum, and the present location in Old Town Sacramento, make it almost impossible to operate based only on income from museum admissions and donations.
The Adjutant General has been reported as favoring a wider operation of the museum by extending some of the displays to other Guard bases across the state. Such expansion would be expected to increase the operating costs of the museum.
Recommendation: The Council will support proposals by the Adjutant General for the authorization to expand the operations of the museum and to provide for renewed financial support from State funds.
10. Housing Development, Veterans’ Preference.
Issue: California law provides restrictions against discrimination in the sale or rental of housing accommodations on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, ancestry, familial status, source of income, or disability. Specific exemptions are granted to religious or related society or organization for such entities to give preference to persons of the same religion.
Assemblymember Fuentes (San Fernando) has introduced a bill, AB 1818, which would authorize a housing developer, or a provider of rental housing, who has received a loan or grant from the Department of Housing and Community Development, or the California Housing and Finance Agency, to limit in whole or in part the sale or rental of the housing to veterans, or to grant a preference to veterans.
For purposes of this bill, veteran is defined as a person who has served for 90 consecutive days, or more, in the Armed Forces of the United States and has been discharged under other than dishonorable conditions for that service.
Recommendation: The Council will support the bill AB 1818.
Issue: Each year, Members of the State Legislature conduct a recognition program for women and for small businesses in their districts. The selectees for the recognition in each district go to the State Capitol and take part in a luncheon program for the award presentations.
Assemblymember Mary Salas, Chair of the Assembly Committee on Veterans Affairs, wants to institute a similar program to recognize veterans. The Committee staff will do the work to contact other Members to obtain their participation. They want the veteran organizations to assist in setting up this program. Specifically, the veterans would be expected to:
a. Publicize the program within their organizations and encourage veterans to submit recommendations to their Assemblymembers and Senators.
b. Help to determine the date for the recognition program at the Capitol.
c. Arrange a venue to hold the luncheon event and make the financial arrangements at that venue.
Recommendation: The Council will serve as the coordinator of this program for the veteran organizations and work with the Committee staff to make the arrangements as listed above.
William Manes, Legislative Officer
Last modified: 04/17/08