In The American Legion Department of California Advocate Report, Reeb Government Relations, LLC, offers a summary for each of the 56 bills currently related to veterans in the state and the Legion’s position on them. The American Legion Department of California currently supports 27 of the 56 veteran-related bills in the California Legislature.
AB 160 (Voepel R) Employment policy: voluntary veterans’ preference.
Location: 7/10/2019-S. 2 YEAR
Summary: Would enact the Voluntary Veterans’ Preference Employment Policy Act to authorize a private employer to establish and maintain a written veterans’ preference employment policy, to be applied uniformly to hiring decisions, to give a voluntary preference for hiring or retaining a veteran over another qualified applicant or employee. The bill would provide that the granting of a veterans’ preference pursuant to the bill, in and of itself, shall be deemed not to violate any local or state equal employment opportunity law or regulation, including, but not limited to, the anti-discrimination provisions of California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA).
Position: Support
AB 232 (Cervantes D) Veteran suicides: report and recommendations.
Location: 7/10/2019-S. 2 YEAR
Summary: Current law requires the State Department of Public Health to implement an electronic death registration system and to access data within the system to compile a report on veteran suicide in California that includes information on the veterans’ ages, sexes, races or ethnicities, and methods of suicide. Current law requires the department to provide that report annually to the Legislature and the Department of Veterans Affairs. This bill would additionally require the report described above to include information on the veterans’ locations of residency and death, length and locations of service, branches of service, and occupations and industries or businesses.
Position: Support
AB 240 (Irwin D) Veterans’ homes: lease of property.
Location: 9/15/2019-S. 2 YEAR
Summary: Would prohibit a lease or let from exceeding 5 years, unless the lessee is a local government or a nonprofit organization that provides services exclusively for veterans of the Armed Forces of the United States and their families, or the contract for the lease was executed before January 1, 2020. The bill would require each use, other than an easement, of real property held by the department for a home by a person or entity, other than the home or a resident of the home, to be in writing and meet certain criteria, including that it provide substantial and direct benefits to the home and its members and be appropriate and compatible with the nature of the home. The bill would additionally authorize the Director of General Services to lease any real property held by the department for a home, and not needed for any immediate purpose of the home, to any party for the development of housing, as specified. The bill would require that a lease for that purpose be on terms and conditions that the director deems to be in the best interests of the state, including the state’s interest in developing housing.
Position: None
AB 345 (Muratsuchi D) Natural resources: environmental justice: oil and gas: regulation of operations.
Location: 1/28/2020-S. RLS.
Summary: Would require the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency to create an environmental justice program within the agency to identify and address any gaps in existing programs, policies, or activities that may impede the achievement of environmental justice. The bill, contingent upon funding for this purpose, would require the secretary to establish a grant-based reimbursement program to enable environmental justice and community groups to meaningfully participate in rulemaking and other regulatory processes at departments and entities within the agency.
Position: —
AB 408 (Frazier D) Vehicles: disabled veterans.
Location: 1/28/2020-S. RLS.
Summary: Would require the Department of Motor Vehicles to accept a certificate from a county veterans service officer or the Department of Veterans Affairs that certifies that the applicant for a special license plate or placard is a disabled veteran.
Position: Support
AB 581 (Levine D) Sentencing: members of military: trauma.
Location: 8/30/2019-S. 2 YEAR
Summary: Current law requires a court, if it concludes that a defendant convicted of a felony offense is or was a member of the United States military who may be suffering from sexual trauma, traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse, or mental health problems as a result of the defendant’s military service, to consider that circumstance as a factor in mitigation when imposing a sentence. Current law allows a defendant who is currently serving a felony sentence and meets these criteria to petition for resentencing if those criteria were not considered at the time of sentencing and the person was sentenced prior to January 1, 2015. This bill would allow a defendant meeting these criteria to petition for recall of sentence and resentencing without regard to whether the defendant was sentenced prior to January 1, 2015.
Position: Support
AB 694 (Irwin D) Veterans Housing and Homeless Prevention Bond Act of 2020.
Location: 8/26/2019-S. APPR. SUSPENSE FILE
Summary: Would enact the Veterans Housing and Homeless Prevention Bond Act of 2020 to authorize the issuance of bonds in an amount not to exceed $600,000,000 to provide additional funding for the VHHPA. The bill would provide for the handling and disposition of the funds in the same manner as the 2014 bond act.
Position: Support
AB 1343 (Eggman D) Private postsecondary education: California Private Postsecondary Education Act of 2009.
Location: 7/10/2019-S. 2 YEAR
Summary: Would, beginning January 1, 2023, prohibit a private postsecondary educational institution from enrolling residents of California not already enrolled as of that date, unless the institution meets either the requirement that no more than 85% of the institution’s tuition revenue, determined as specified, is derived from student financial aid provided by a federal agency, or not less than 50% of the institution’s tuition revenue is dedicated to a combination of student instruction and student support, as defined in regulations adopted by the bureau no later than July 1, 2022, as specified.
Position: Support
AB 1376 (Ramos D) Civil service: veterans’ preference: background checks.
Location: 8/30/2019-S. 2 YEAR
Summary: Would amend veterans’ preference provisions to require the Department of Human Resources to collaborate with specified state entities to establish a veterans’ preference to be applied to employment opportunities within the field of cybersecurity that require a background check. The bill would require a state agency, as defined, that hires for a position in cybersecurity that requires a background check to apply the veterans’ preference and to establish a uniform hiring policy for veterans who have held a security clearance in the last year and have left the military in good standing or were honorably discharged. The bill would request the Regents of the University of California to enact for the University of California veterans’ preference provisions that are equivalent to the veterans’ preference provisions added by the bill.
Position: Support
AB 1808 (Cervantes D) Public contracts: goods and services: installation of carpet, resilient flooring, and synthetic turf.
Location: 7/10/2019-S. 2 YEAR
Summary: Current law establishes procedures for state agencies to enter into contracts for goods and services, including generally requiring that certain contracts by a state agency be approved by the Department of General Services. Current law authorizes the department to consolidate the needs of multiple state agencies for goods, information technology, and services and establish agreements that leverage the state’s buying power, as specified, for certain acquisitions. Current law authorizes state and local agencies to contract with suppliers awarded those contracts without further competitive bidding. This bill, notwithstanding any other law requiring bidding on public works contracts, would authorize a state or local agency to use the above-described procedures for the purchase, or purchase and installation, of carpet, resilient flooring, or synthetic turf if the installation work is not performed in connection with new construction and the contractor complies with specified requirements relating to wages and labor.
Position: Watch
Notes 1: This Bill was originally introduced as a veterans bill that was supported by several veterans organization
AB 1809 (Cervantes D) Disabled veteran business enterprises.
Location: 8/30/2019-S. 2 YEAR
Summary: Commencing March 1, 2020, and until March 1, 2024, would authorize a state agency to award a contract for services or information technology that has an estimated value of between $5,000 and $500,000 to a certified small business, including a microbusiness, or to a DVBE, as long as the agency obtains price quotations from 2 or more certified small businesses or 2 or more DVBEs. The bill would specify that a certified small business or DVBE that utilizes this process as an alternative to the competitive bidding requirements may not also receive the small business preference or the DVBE participation incentive, as specified.
Position: Support
AB 1911 (Maienschein D) State agencies: veterans.
Location: 1/17/2020-A. V. A.
Summary: Current law requires, as of July 1, 2014, every state agency that requests on any written form or written publication, or through its internet website, whether a person is a veteran, to request that information in a specified manner. This bill would delete the above-described provisions and instead would require each state agency, among other things, to include questions on its intake forms to determine whether an applicant is affiliated with the United States Armed Forces. The bill would require the state agency, through the intake form, to request permission from that person to transmit their contact information to the Department of Veterans Affairs so that the person may be notified of potential eligibility to receive state and federal veterans benefits.
Position: Support
AB 1935 (Voepel R) Veterans: mental health.
Location: 2/6/2020-A. V. A.
Summary: Current law establishes the Department of Veterans Affairs. The department, among other services, provides veterans and their dependents and survivors with assistance in processing service- related disability claims, assistance in obtaining affordable housing, and information about health ailments associated with military service.This bill would require the department to study suicide among women veterans and submit a report summarizing their findings and recommendations to the Legislature no later than January 1, 2022.
Position: Support
AB 2192 (Committee on Veterans Affairs) Governor’s Military Council.
Location: 2/20/2020-A. V. A.
Summary: Current law establishes the Governor’s Military Council that advises the Governor on efforts to retain military installations and operations within the state. Members of the council are appointed by the Governor and include bipartisan representatives from both houses of the Legislature, as specified. Current law repeals the law establishing the council on January 1, 2021.This bill would extend that repeal date to January 1, 2026.
Position: —
AB 2281 (Voepel R) State parks: veterans: free access.
Location: 2/27/2020-A. V. A.
Summary: Would require the Department of Parks and Recreation to grant free access to a unit of the state park system to a veteran of the Armed Forces of the United States who is a resident of this state and who, upon entrance to the unit, presents to department personnel government-issued proof of the veteran’s service in the Armed Forces of the United States.
Position: —
AB 2349 (Irwin D) Veterans’ homes: leases.
Location: 2/24/2020-A. V. A.
Summary: Would create the Veterans’ Home Fund. The bill would require moneys received in connection with the leasing or letting of a home to be deposited in the Veterans’ Home Fund. The bill would provide that money in the fund is available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for the maintenance of existing homes and for the acquisition or construction of new or replacement homes, as specified.
Position: —
AB 2380 (Choi R) Income taxation: exclusion: military survivor benefits.
Location: 2/27/2020-A. REV. & TAX
Summary: Would, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2020, and before January 1, 2025, provide an exclusion from gross income for all survivor benefits or payments received on or after January 1, 2020, and before January 1, 2025, under the federal Survivor Benefit Plan. The bill would require the Franchise Tax Board to submit a report to the Legislature on the income brackets of taxpayers who claimed this exclusion, and would provide findings and declarations relating to the goals, purposes, and objectives of this exclusion.
Position: Support
AB 2549 (Salas D) Department of Consumer Affairs: temporary licenses.
Location: 3/2/2020-A. B.&P.
Summary: Current law requires a board within the Department of Consumer Affairs to issue, after appropriate investigation, certain types of temporary licenses to an applicant if the applicant meets specified requirements, including that the applicant supplies evidence satisfactory to the board that the applicant is married to, or in a domestic partnership or other legal union with, an active duty member of the Armed Forces of the United States who is assigned to a duty station in this state under official active duty military orders and the applicant holds a current, active, and unrestricted license that confers upon the applicant the authority to practice, in another state, district, or territory of the United States, the profession or vocation for which the applicant seeks a temporary license from the board. Current law authorizes a board to adopt regulations necessary to administer these provisions. This bill would expand that requirement to issue temporary licenses to include licenses issued by the Veterinary Medical Board, the Dental Board of California, the Dental Hygiene Board of California, the California State Board of Pharmacy, the State Board of Barbering and Cosmetology, the Board of Psychology, the California Board of Occupational Therapy, the Physical Therapy Board of California, and the California Board of Accountancy.
Position: Support
AB 2613 (Obernolte R) Driver’s licenses: veteran designation.
Location: 3/2/2020-A. TRANS.
Summary: Current law allows an in-person applicant for a driver’s license or identification card to request the word “VETERAN” be printed on the face of the driver’s license or identification card, subject to certain requirements, including, among others, verification of veteran status, as specified, and payment of a $5 fee, which the department is authorized to increase by regulation, in an amount not to exceed $15, as specified. Current law prohibits a fee from being charged for that request if made by (1) a person who has been determined to have a current income level that meets the eligibility requirements for specified assistance programs, or (2) a person who can verify their status as a homeless person, in accordance with specified provisions. This bill would make the payment of a fee by any veteran inoperative no later than July 1, 2021, and repeal the law on January 1, 2022, thereby indefinitely requiring the department to make a veteran designation on a verified applicant’s license, without charge.
Position: Support
AB 2688 (Cervantes D) Veterans: veterans service officers.
Location: 3/2/2020-A. V. A.
Summary: Would appropriate $11,000,000 on July 1, 2020, and annually thereafter, from the General Fund to the Department of Veterans Affairs for allocation to counties for county veterans service officers based upon a workload unit performance formula to be developed by the department. This bill would also require the department to develop performance metrics to demonstrate the effective use of appropriated funds. Finally, this bill would require the department to submit the annual report of county veterans service officer activities by November 15 of each year, and to include the new performance metrics within the report.
Position: Support
AB 2732 (Rubio, Blanca D) Collection of tax: deployed military personnel.
Location: 3/12/2020-A. REV. & TAX
Summary: Current law requires the Franchise Tax Board to administer the levy and collection of taxes pursuant to the Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law, and establishes procedures for the collection of delinquent taxes.This bill would prohibit the board from imposing a levy on salary or wages payable to or received by, or place a lien on a bank account of, a member of the Armed Forces of the United States on active duty while deployed away from the individual’s permanent duty station.
Position: —
AB 2816 (Irwin D) Veterans’ homes. Location: 2/20/2020-A. PRINT
Summary: Current law establishes veterans’ homes in the State of California, under the jurisdiction of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Current law requires the department to submit to the Legislature and post on its internet website a financial report that provides specified information regarding the established veterans’ homes, including the amount of state funds budgeted to, and the amount of revenue collected from, each home.This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to those provisions.
Position: —
AB 2918 (Salas D) Suicide prevention: military.
Location: 3/12/2020-A. HEALTH
Summary: Would direct the State Department of Public Health to establish an Ending Military Suicide Task Force to systematically reduce military suicides and to develop a plan to eliminate all military suicides in the state, as specified.
Position: Support
AB 2994 (Gloria D) Veterans: discharge upgrades.
Location: 3/5/2020-A. V. A.
Summary: Would establish a grant program to be administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs that will fund service providers to educate veterans about discharge upgrades and help veterans file discharge upgrade applications. The bill would specify that funding for the grant program is subject to appropriation by the Legislature.
Position: —
AB 3025 (Irwin D) Veterans: probation: restorative relief.
Location: 3/12/2020-A. PUB. S.
Summary: Current law requires a criminal court to make a determination as to whether a defendant who was a member of the United States military may be suffering from sexual trauma, traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse, or mental health problems as a result of the person’s service. Current law allows the court to consider these circumstances in granting probation, referring the defendant to mental health treatment, and granting restorative relief, as provided.This bill would additionally require the court to make a determination as to whether a defendant who was a member of the United States military may be suffering from severe depression as a result of the person’s service for these purposes.
Position: —
AB 3045 (Gray D) Department of Consumer Affairs: boards: veterans: military spouses: licenses.
Location: 2/21/2020-A. PRINT
Summary: Current law requires a board within the Department of Consumer Affairs to issue, after appropriate investigation, certain types of temporary licenses to an applicant if the applicant meets specified requirements, including that the applicant supplies evidence satisfactory to the board that the applicant is married to, or in a domestic partnership or other legal union with, an active duty member of the Armed Forces of the United States who is assigned to a duty station in this state under official active duty military orders and the applicant holds a current, active, and unrestricted license that confers upon the applicant the authority to practice, in another state, district, or territory of the United States, the profession or vocation for which the applicant seeks a temporary license from the board. This bill would require boards not subject to the temporary licensing provisions described above to issue licenses to an applicant if the applicant meets specified requirements, including that the applicant supplies evidence satisfactory to the board that the applicant is an honorably discharged veteran of the Armed Forces of the United States or is married to, or in a domestic partnership or other legal union with, an active duty member of the Armed Forces of the United States, as provided.
Position: Support
AB 3104 (Kiley R) Civil service: veterans’ preference.
Location: 3/9/2020-A. V. A.
Summary: The State Civil Service Act prescribes a comprehensive civil service personnel system for the state and specifically provides certain preferences for veterans. The act provides that a department or designated appointing authority may use a document signed by the applicant’s commanding officer of the military to facilitate a request for Veterans’ preference by a currently serving active duty member of the United States Armed Forces in order to verify that applicant’s military service. This bill would instead require that a department or designated appointing authority use the above-described document to facilitate the request.
Position
AB 3183 (Irwin D) Veterans: education.
Location: 3/9/2020-A. V. A.
Summary: Current law allows qualifying veterans who desire to continue their education to apply for admission to the California Veterans’ Educational Institute and, if the Department of Veterans Affairs determines the educational needs of the veteran will be met, directs the department to assume state wardship over the education of the veteran. Current law permits the department to provide for a veteran’s education in California, in other states, and in other countries. This bill would limit the department’s ability to provide for a veteran’s education to educational institutions in California. This bill would make other technical, nonsubstantive changes to the provision.
Position
AB 3288 (Patterson R) State government: excess state property: Department of Veterans Affairs.
Location: 2/21/2020-A. PRINT
Summary: Current law requires that jurisdiction of all land reported as excess be transferred to the Department of General Services, when requested by the director of that department, for sale or disposition. Current law requires the Department of General Services to then determine whether the land is needed by any other state agency, and authorizes the department to transfer the jurisdiction of this land to the state agency that needs it upon the terms and conditions as it may deem in the best interests of the state. This bill would expressly identify the Department of Veterans Affairs as a state agency that the Department of General Services shall consider when it determines whether or not use of the land is needed by another state agency, and expressly authorize the Department of General Services to transfer the land to the Department of Veterans Affairs if it determines that the land is needed by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Position
ACA 9 (Voepel R) Veterans Support Stabilization Account.
Location: 2/19/2019-A. PRINT
Summary: Would create the Veterans Support Stabilization Account in the General Fund, and require the annual budget to allocate 0.5% of the funding allocated for the purpose of services for veterans to be allocated to the Veterans Support Stabilization Account. The measure would prohibit funds transferred to the Veterans Support Stabilization Account from being appropriated unless the Governor issues a proclamation declaring a budget emergency and the funds are used to provide for the support of services for veterans.
Position: Support
ACR 26 (Mathis R) Legislature: Wounded Warrior Program.
Location: 2/11/2019-A. PRINT
Summary: Current law authorizes certain internship and fellowship programs, as specified.This measure would honor the achievements of the United States House of Representatives’ Wounded Warrior Program and would encourage the Assembly Committee on Rules to study the potential of implementing similar programs in the Legislature.
Position
ACR 150 (Salas D) Gold Star Mothers’ and Families’ Day.
Location: 1/30/2020-A. RLS.
Summary: This measure would proclaim September 27, 2020, as Gold Star Mothers’ and Families’ Day in California.
Position: —
ACR 151 (Salas D) Blue Star Mothers of America Month.
Location: 1/30/2020-A. RLS.
Summary: This measure would recognize May 2020 as Blue Star Mothers of America Month in California, as specified.
Position: —
ACR 152 (Gallagher R) National Purple Heart Trail.
Location: 1/30/2020-A. TRANS.
Summary: This measure would designate the portions of State Highway Routes 20 and 70 in the City of Marysville in the County of Yuba for inclusion in the National Purple Heart Trail. The measure would also request that the Department of Transportation determine the cost for the installation and maintenance of appropriate signs showing this special designation and, upon receiving donations from non-state sources covering that cost, erect those signs.
Position: —
ACR 174 (Choi R) Purple Heart Day.
Location: 3/2/2020-A. RLS.
Summary: This measure would declare August 7, 2020, as Purple Heart Day in California.
Position: —
AJR 3 (Choi R) Korean War: 69th anniversary: peace talks.
Location: 1/28/2019-A. RLS.
Summary: This measure would, among other things, mark June 25, 2019, as the 69th anniversary of the Korean War and encourage participants in specified discussions regarding North and South Korea to have a sincere intention of achieving peace in the region and to take appropriate measures.
Position: —
AJR 29 (Choi R) Military: survivor benefits.
Location: 2/18/2020-A. PRINT
Summary: This measure would respectfully urge the United States Congress to pass, and the President of the United States to sign, legislation that would immediately end the military survivor’s compensation offset known as the Widow’s Tax.
Position: —
HR 81 (Voepel R) Relative to Military and Veteran Appreciation Month.
Location: 2/14/2020-A. RLS.
Summary: This measure would resolve that the Assembly designates the month of November 2020 as Military and Veteran Appreciation Month to honor the sacrifices that have been made by honorable men and women in our nation through their service to this great nation and our great state.
Position: —
SB 364 (Stone R) Property taxation: senior and disabled veterans.
Location: 6/6/2019-A. REV. & TAX
Summary: The California Constitution generally limits ad valorem taxes on real property to 1% of the full cash value, as defined, of that property, and provides that the full cash value base may be adjusted each year by the inflationary rate not to exceed 2% for any given year. Current property tax law implementing this constitutional authority provides that the taxable value of real property is the lesser of its base year value compounded annually by an inflation factor not to exceed 2%, as provided, or its full cash value. Current property tax law also provides that the taxable value of a manufactured home is the lesser of its base year value compounded annually by an inflation factor not to exceed 2% or its full cash value. This bill, for any assessment year commencing on or after January 1, 2020, and before January 1, 2030, would provide that the inflation factor shall not apply to the principal place of residence, including a manufactured home, of a qualified veteran, as defined, who is 65 years of age or older on the lien date, was honorably discharged from military service, and meets specified requirements.
Position: Support
SB 500 (Morrell R) Veterans: education.
Location: 8/30/2019-A. 2 YEAR
Summary: This bill would require the Department of Veterans Affairs to establish an education assistance program to provide housing and tuition assistance to disabled veterans attending graduate school in the State of California if their eligibility for federal education assistance has expired. The bill would, upon appropriation by the Legislature, require the department to provide tuition assistance and a housing allowance to disabled veterans while they attend specified graduate schools in the State of California, as specified.
Position: None
SB 562 (Morrell R) Property taxation: exemption: principal residence: veterans and their unmarried surviving spouses.
Location: 6/6/2019-A. REV. & TAX
Summary: Current property tax law, pursuant to the authorization of the California Constitution, provides a disabled veteran’s property tax exemption for the principal place of residence of a veteran, the veteran’s spouse, or the veteran and veteran’s spouse jointly, and the unmarried surviving spouse of a veteran, as provided, if the veteran is blind in both eyes, has lost the use of 2 or more limbs, or is totally disabled as a result of injury or disease incurred in military service, or if the veteran has, as a result of a service-connected injury or disease, died while on active duty in military service. This bill, for the 2020–21 fiscal year to the 2029–30 fiscal year, inclusive, would increase these exemption amounts to $200,000, or $250,000 if the household income of the claimant does not exceed $65,000, as adjusted for inflation.
Position: Support
SB 573 (Chang R) Dogs and cats: microchip implants.
Location: 2/24/2020-A. RLS.
Summary: Would prohibit a public animal control agency or shelter, society for the prevention of cruelty to animals shelter, humane society shelter, or rescue group from releasing a dog or cat to an owner seeking to reclaim it, or adopting out, selling, or giving away a dog or cat to a new owner, unless the dog or cat is or will be microchipped, as specified. If the agency, shelter, or group does not have microchipping capability on location, the bill would require that the agency, shelter, or group make a good faith effort to locate available free or discounted regional microchipping services and provide that information to the owner or new owner.
Position
SB 588 (Archuleta D) Public contracts: Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise Program.
Location: 3/4/2020-A. THIRD READING
Summary: Under current law, the Department of General Services, except in the case of contracts for professional bond services, is the administering agency of the California Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise Program, which requires state agencies and all other state entities contracting for materials, supplies, equipment, alteration, repair, or improvement to have at least 3% participation goals for disabled veteran business enterprises (DVBEs), as defined. Current law requires an awarding department, upon completion of an awarded contract for which a commitment to achieve a DVBE goal was made, to require the prime contractor that entered into a subcontract with a DVBE to certify to the awarding department specified information relating to amounts paid under the contract, as specified. This bill would require an awarding department, on a contract entered into on or after January 1 2021, to withhold $10,000, or the full payment if it is less than $10,000, from the final payment on a contract until that certification is received by the awarding department.
Position: Support
SB 663 (Jones R) Property taxation: exemptions: veterans’ organizations.
Location: 8/14/2019-A. APPR. SUSPENSE FILE
Summary: Current property tax law establishes a veterans’ organization exemption under which property is exempt from taxation if, among other things, that property is used exclusively for charitable purposes and is owned by a veterans’ organization. This bill would provide that the veterans’ organization exemption shall not be denied to a property on the basis that the property is used for fraternal, lodge, or social club purposes, and would make specific findings and declarations in that regard. The bill would also provide that the exemption shall not apply to any portion of a property that consists of a bar where alcoholic beverages are served.
Position: Support/Sponsor
SB 725 (Rubio D) Veterans rental housing.
Location: 6/6/2019-A. V. A.
Summary: Current law creates the Veterans Housing and Homeless Prevention Act of 2014, to provide for the acquisition, construction, rehabilitation, and preservation of affordable multifamily supportive housing, affordable transitional housing, affordable rental housing, or related facilities for veterans and their families to allow veterans to access and maintain housing stability. This bill would require the department to establish a rental housing assistance program to provide financial assistance to veterans seeking rental housing, based on the needs of the veterans.
Position: Support
SB 907 (Archuleta D) Child abuse or neglect investigation: military notification.
Location: 2/12/2020-S. HUM. S.
Summary: Would require a county child welfare department investigating a case of child abuse or neglect to determine if the parent or guardian is an active duty member of the Armed Forces of the United States. The bill would authorize the county child welfare department to develop and adopt memoranda of understanding with military installations that would govern the investigation of allegations of child abuse or neglect against active duty service members, as specified.
Position: Support
SB 1007 (Hueso D) Personal income taxes: exclusion: uniformed services: retirement pay.
Location: 3/5/2020-S. GOV. & F.
Summary: The Personal Income Tax Law imposes a tax on individual taxpayers measured by the taxpayer’s taxable income for the taxable year, but excludes certain items of income from the computation of tax, including an exclusion for combat-related special compensation. This bill, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2021, and before January 1, 2031, would exclude from gross income retirement pay received by a taxpayer from the federal government for service performed in the uniformed services, as defined, during the taxable year.
Position: Support
SB 1018 (Chang R) Veterans: Governor’s Memorial Certificate.
Location: 2/27/2020-S. V. A.
Summary: Would require the Department of Veterans Affairs, in consultation with the Governor, to establish a Governor’s Memorial Certificate Program to honor the memory of deceased veterans. The bill would require the program to send a Governor’s Memorial Certificate to the survivors of any deceased veteran eligible for burial in a national or state veterans’ cemetery, and would require that certificate to be accompanied by information directing survivors to county veteran service offices.
Position: Support
SB 1038 (Grove R) Veterans: institutions.
Location: 2/14/2020-S. RLS.
Summary: Current law establishes the Veteran’s Home of California system within the Department of Veterans Affairs. Veterans who are residents of a veterans’ home are called “members.” Under current law, members may voluntarily deposit funds with a home and may withdraw those funds at will, and the funds are credited with interest that is to be paid to the member or to the member’s estate.This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to this provision.
Position: —
SB 1071 (Wilk R) Personal income taxes: exclusion: uniformed services: retirement pay.
Location: 2/27/2020-S. GOV. & F.
Summary: Would, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2021, and before January 1, 2031, exclude from gross income specified amounts of retirement pay received by a taxpayer from the federal government for service performed in the uniformed services, as defined, during the taxable year.
Position: Support
SB 1177 (Jones R) Veterans’ Home of California system.
Location: 3/5/2020-S. V. A.
Summary: Would require the Department of Veterans Affairs to promulgate regulations that define the types of short-term uses of Veterans’ home property that are in the best interests of the homes, including the residents. The bill would prohibit the department from approving short-term use agreements that do not meet that definition. The bill would require all short-term use agreements to include conditions that protect the state’s best interests. Finally, the bill would also require the department to develop and implement a fee schedule for short-term third-party uses of veterans’ home property.
Position: —
SB 1196 (Umberg D) Highway Users Tax Account: payments.
Location: 2/20/2020-S. RLS.
Summary: Current law requires the Controller, after certain transfers are made or actions are taken, to apportion or transfer, as applicable, at least 90% of the balance deposited to the credit of the Highway Users Tax Account by the 28th day of each month by the 2nd working day thereafter, except for June, in which case the apportionment or transfer is required to be made the same day, to, among others, cities and counties and the State Highway Account. This bill instead would require the Controller, after certain transfers are made or actions are taken, to apportion or transfer, as applicable, at least 90% of the balance deposited in that account by the 28th day of each month by the 7th working day thereafter.
Position: —
SB 1324 (Allen D) Professional licenses.
Location: 3/12/2020-S. B., P. & E.D.
Summary: Would require the Department of Consumer Affairs, the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, the Department of Real Estate, and the State Department of Public Health to each place a prominently displayed military licensure icon or hyperlink on the home page of its internet website that is linked to information about each occupational board or program for licensure or certification that it administers along with additional information relating to the professional licensure of veterans, service members, and their spouses, as specified. The bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to have a prominently displayed military licensure icon or hyperlink at an appropriate location on its internet website that links to those websites. The bill would require an annual report to the Legislature based on information collected to satisfy this requirement.
Position: Support
SCR 80 (Archuleta D) Latino Veterans Day.
Location: 2/6/2020-S. THIRD READING
Summary: This measure would proclaim September 20, 2020, as Latino Veterans Day.
Position: —
SCR 82 (Grove R) Women’s Military History Week.
Location: 2/19/2020-S. THIRD READING
Summary: This measure would recognize “Women Warriors” by proclaiming the week of March 16, 2020, to March 22, 2020, inclusive, as Women’s Military History Week in California, and would encourage Californians to recognize, among other things, the hard-fought contributions of women to our military and our freedom, and the courageous sacrifices that women have made while serving our country.
Position
SJR 9 (Archuleta D) Military and veterans.
Location: 6/19/2019-S. V. A.
Summary: This measure would urge the United States Congress to act favorably in regard to legislation to award the Congressional Gold Medal to the 201st Fighter Squadron of the Mexican Expeditionary Air Force.
Position: —
Author: Seth Reeb
Seth Reeb of Reeb Government Relations is veterans legislative advocate for the American Legion Department of California and a member of El Dorado Post 119.
