Three veterans-related bills were recently introduced to the California Assembly earlier this month.

On Jan. 11, California State Assemblymember Kelly Seyarto (R-Murrieta) introduced three bills as part of a 2022 Veterans Bill Package.

The first bill, AB 1629, which was coauthored by Assemblymembers Steven Choi (R-Irvine) and Devon J. Mathis (R-Visalia), would prevent the state of California from taxing the first $20,000 of Survivor Benefit Plan payments each year.

The Survivor Benefit Plan is an optional benefit for servicemembers and their families. When a servicemember or veteran dies, their family may receive up to 55% of the servicemember’s active duty pay per month. According to Assemblymember Seyarto, “48 states partially or fully exempt SBP payments, and California is one of only two states in the country that fully taxes these benefits.”

Also included in the Veterans Bill Package is AB 1633, which allows University of California and California State University schools to share, with permission, the contact information of student veterans with the California Department of Veterans Affairs “to help further connect them with their well-deserved benefits.” 

Currently, CalVet may only contact student veterans who have previously and directly reached out to the department for this service. In essence, this would allow CalVet to initiate that contact, which may be beneficial for veterans who are unaware of their service benefits.

Lastly, ACR 121, which was coauthored by Assemblymember Mathis, would make August 7th, 2022 Purple Heart Day in California. Current versions of the bill’s text do not specify whether this would be an annually recognized date.

Author: Christian Southards

Coming from a family with a proud military background and wanting to contribute his writing skills to a worthy cause, Christian began writing for the California American Legion in August of 2020. His father is a 25-year Army Veteran and his grandfather served in the Navy during Vietnam.