BILL NUMBER: AB 171	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 17, 2015

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Irwin
   (Coauthors: Assembly Members  Achadjian,   Alejo,
  Bloom,   Bonilla,   Brough,  
Brown,   Chávez,   Cooley,   Cooper, 
 Dahle,   Daly,   Dodd,  Frazier, 
Gallagher,   Gonzalez,   Gray,   Holden,
  Lackey,   Linder,   Low,  
Maienschein,  Mathis,  and Salas   Mayes,
  McCarty,   Salas,   Steinorth, 
 Mark Stone,   and Wood  )
    (   Coauthors:   Senators  
Anderson,   Bates,   Berryhill,   Fuller,
  Hueso,   Huff,   McGuire,  
Morrell,   Nguyen,   Pan,   and Vidak
  ) 

                        JANUARY 22, 2015

   An act to amend Section 972.1 of, and to add Section 972.3 to, the
Military and Veterans Code, relating to veterans, making an
appropriation therefor, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take
effect immediately.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 171, as amended, Irwin. Department of Veterans Affairs:
veterans' services.
   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.
   This bill would continuously appropriate the sum of $5,600,000
from the General Fund to the Department of Veterans Affairs to be
available for allocation to counties to fund the activities of county
veterans service officers, as specified. The bill would require the
department, no later than July 1, 2016, to develop an allocation
formula based upon performance standards that encourage innovation
and reward outstanding service by county veterans service officers,
and would require those continuously appropriated moneys to be
allocated in accordance with that formula, as specified. The bill
would also delete obsolete provisions and would make conforming
changes.
   This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as
an urgency statute.
   Vote: 2/3. Appropriation: yes. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
   (a) The recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan are creating an
entirely new generation of veterans who may be eligible for federal
veterans benefits because of their war service and their physical and
mental conditions.
   (b) Californians make up to 10 percent of the federal military
forces used in these conflicts. Furthermore, the California National
Guard and California-based reserve units have contributed
significantly to these current conflicts.
   (c) Many of these returning California veterans are not aware of
the federal and state benefits that are available to them.
   (d) Additionally, it is estimated that in California there may be
over two million veterans, and their widows or widowers, who are
unaware that they may be eligible for pensions from the federal
government based upon their, or their spouses', past military service
in World War II, Korea, Vietnam, or the Gulf War.
   (e) California's county veterans service officers are the initial
local point of contact for claimants accessing the United States
Department of Veterans Affairs.
   (f) The costs of maintaining county veterans service officers are
shared from county general funds and state reimbursement to the
counties. In 1997, in order to track performance, the Legislature
enacted and the Governor signed into law Senate Bill 608, enacted as
Chapter 318 of the Statutes of 1997, which required the California
Department of Veterans Affairs to annually report the amount of
monetary benefits paid to veterans by the federal government that
were attributable to the assistance of county veterans service
officers. Senate Bill 608 also required the Department of Finance to
consider an increase in the annual budget for county veterans service
officers of up to $5 million, if approved in the annual budget
process. In 2009, the Legislature enacted and the Governor signed
into law Senate Bill 419 enacted as Chapter 183 of the Statutes of
2009, which raised this amount to $11 million, if approved in the
annual budget process.
   (g) As a result of this annual reporting, by the end of 2013, it
had been determined that from 1995 to 2013, inclusive, the state had
cumulatively budgeted $41.4 million for its share of the cost of the
county veterans service officers. As a result of this investment,
county veteran service officers were able to assist local veterans in
obtaining $4.1 billion, in new federal moneys. This is a return of
about $98 for every $1 the state allocates to county veterans service
officers. Furthermore, the $4.1 billion only reflects the actual
monetary benefits qualified for in a given year. The monetary
benefits qualified for in prior years are not tracked, yet the
veterans and their dependents may continue to receive those benefits
for the rest of their lives. Added to this stellar return on the
state's investment, but not counted in the annual reporting, are the
Medi-Cal cost avoidance savings incurred as a result of county
veterans service officers qualifying and shifting veterans away from
Medi-Cal and into the appropriate federal veterans program.
   (h) The county veterans service officers had accomplished all of
this without ever reaching the allowable state budget allocation of
$11 million, set in 2009. To date, the county veterans service
officers have not received more than $5.6 million per year from the
state.
   (i) It is critical that the county veterans service officers
receive a steady stream of funding because there continues to be a
large number of underserved veterans and their dependents who are not
aware of the federal benefits available to them as a result of their
military service. Studies from other states have shown that
increases in county veterans service officers have resulted in larger
amounts of federal moneys to veterans. These new federal moneys and
benefits are paid directly from the United States Department of
Veterans Affairs to the qualifying veteran or their dependent and are
used in the local economy.
  SEC. 2.  Section 972.1 of the Military and Veterans Code, as
amended by Section 3 of Chapter 401 of the Statutes of 2012, is
amended to read:
   972.1.  (a) Funds shall be disbursed each fiscal year on a pro
rata basis to counties that have established and maintain a county
veterans service officer in accordance with the staffing level and
workload of each county veterans service officer under a formula
based upon performance that shall be developed by the Department of
Veterans Affairs for these purposes.
   (1) For the purposes of this section, "workload unit" means a
specific claim activity that is used to allocate subvention funds to
counties, which is approved by the department, and performed by
county veterans service officers.
   (2) For the purposes of this subdivision, the department, by June
30, 2013, shall develop a performance-based formula that will
incentivize county veterans service officers to perform workload
units that help veterans access federal compensation and pension
benefits and other benefits, in order to maximize the amount of
federal money received by California veterans.
   (b) The department shall 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. The department shall, on or before October 1 of each year,
prepare and transmit its determination for the preceding fiscal year
to the Department of Finance and the Legislature. The Department of
Finance shall review the department's determination in time to use
the information in the annual Budget Act for the budget of the
department for the next fiscal year.
   (c) The department shall conduct a review of the high-performing
and low-performing county veterans service  officers
  officers,  and based on this review, shall
produce a best-practices manual for county veterans service officers
by June 30, 2013.
   (d) The Legislature finds and declares that it is an efficient and
reasonable use of state funds to increase the annual budget for
county veterans service officers up to a total of eleven million
dollars ($11,000,000) if it is justified by the monetary benefits to
the state's veterans attributable to the effort of these officers.
   (e) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2016, and as of that date is repealed.
  SEC. 3.  Section 972.1 of the Military and Veterans Code, as
amended by Section 2 of Chapter 401 of the Statutes of 2012, is
amended to read:
   972.1.  (a) Funds shall be disbursed each fiscal year on a pro
rata basis to counties that have established and maintain a county
veterans service officer in accordance with the staffing level and
workload of each county veterans service officer under a formula
based upon performance that shall be developed by the Department of
Veterans Affairs for these purposes, and that shall allocate county
funds in any fiscal year for county veterans service officers in an
amount not less than five million six hundred thousand dollars
($5,600,000).
   (b) The department shall 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. The department shall, on or before October 1 of each year,
prepare and transmit its determination for the preceding fiscal year
to the Department of Finance and the Legislature. The Department of
Finance shall review the department's determination in time to use
the information in the annual Budget Act for the budget of the
department for the next fiscal year.
   (c) The Legislature finds and declares that it is an efficient and
reasonable use of state funds to increase the annual budget for
county veterans service officers up to a total of eleven million
dollars ($11,000,000) if it is justified by the monetary benefits to
the state's veterans attributable to the effort of these officers.
   (d) This section shall become operative January 1, 2016.
  SEC. 4.  Section 972.3 is added to the Military and Veterans Code,
to read:
   972.3.  (a) Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code,
the sum of five million six hundred thousand dollars ($5,600,000) is
hereby continuously appropriated from the General Fund each fiscal
year commencing July 1, 2015, to the Department of Veterans Affairs
to be available for allocation to counties to fund the activities of
county veterans service officers pursuant to subdivision (a) of
Section 972.1.
   (b) The Department of Veterans Affairs shall, no later than July
1, 2016, develop an allocation formula based upon performance
standards that encourage innovation and reward outstanding service by
county veterans service officers. Moneys appropriated for this
purpose shall be allocated each fiscal year in accordance with that
formula among those counties that have established and maintained a
county veterans service officer pursuant to Section 970.
  SEC. 5.  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, 2015. 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.