Bill Text: CA AB2261 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: California Veterans Services and Workforce Development
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-05-23 - In committee: Set, second hearing. Held under submission. [AB2261 Detail]
Download: California-2013-AB2261-Amended.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 2261 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 22, 2014
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Gorell
FEBRUARY 21, 2014
An act to add Section 81 to the Military and Veterans Code,
relating to veterans.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2261, as amended, Gorell. California Veterans
Services and Workforce Division: veterans' benefits.
Development Division.
Existing law establishes the Department of Veterans
Affairs, which administers Affairs to administer
various benefits for veterans.
This bill would create a establish the
California Veterans Services and Workforce Development Division
within the Department of Veterans Affairs to develop a
Transitional Assistance Program and to oversee the Local Veterans
Employment Representatives and Disabled Veterans Outreach Program.
This bill would require specified staff to be transferred from
various departments and agencies to the Veterans Services and
Workforce Division. This bill would require a head of a state agency
or department to report to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs when a
new program is established that may assist veterans.
department to administer veterans assistance programs provided by the
state, and to coordinate with other state entities regarding
informing veterans of benefits and assistance programs and changes in
existing veterans programs or new veterans programs. This bill would
on or before July 1, 2015, require the division to administer the
programs and services described in the federal Jobs for Veterans
State Grant Program, as specified. This bill would require the
division to coordinate with the Employment Development Department
(EDD) for the transfer of the existing administration of these
programs and services from the ED D to the division,
including, but not limited to, coordinating the transfer of state
civil service employees, records, and appropriated funds related to
the administration of these programs. This bill would require the
department to utilize its existing resources to pay any
costs incurred by the department in implementing the transfer. This
bill would also make legislative findings and declarations relating
to the need for, and provision of, services for veterans.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. 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 the following:
(a) California has the largest veteran population in the nation,
comprised of an estimated 2 million veterans.
(b) Each month, thousands of military personnel are released from
active service and face tremendous challenges transitioning back into
civilian life.
(c) The challenges veterans face are compounded by a system,
intended to help them, that is generally recognized as being
difficult and complex to navigate.
(d) Increasing disability benefit participation to the national
average could lead to a distribution of an additional $330,000,000 in
annual payments to California veterans.
(e) The Bureau of Labor Statistics has indicated that California's
unemployment rate for veterans is 7.9 percent, with Post-9/11
veterans' unemployment rate at 10.6 percent.
(f) According to the 2013 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to
Congress, California has an estimated 15,179 homeless veterans -
three times more than the next highest state of Florida.
(g) Other states have addressed their deficiencies towards
veterans service by consolidating or combining the efforts of state
agencies and departments that provide services for their veterans.
(h) The Department of Veterans Affairs established a veterans
services division as a resource for veterans to obtain benefits and
information on services.
(i) The California State Auditor, the Little Hoover Commission,
the California Research Bureau, the Legislative Analyst, and several
legislative hearings of the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs, the
Assembly Committee on Veterans Affairs, and the Assembly Committee
on Jobs, Economic Development, and the Economy have indicated that
the current delivery system for veterans services is failing
California's veterans.
SEC. 2. Section 81 is added to the Military and Veterans Code, to
read:
81. (a) A The California Veterans
Services and Workforce Development Division shall be
is hereby established in the
department. department for the purpose of coordinating
and administering veterans assistance programs provided by the
state. The secretary shall have authority over the
division.
(b) The Veterans Services and Workforce Division shall develop a
Transitional Assistance Program and oversee the following programs:
(1) The Local Veterans Employment Representatives.
(2) Disabled Veterans Outreach Program.
(c) Staff with specified knowledge and information from the
following departments and agencies shall be transferred to the
Veterans Service and Workforce Division to facilitate a one-stop shop
for veterans by utilizing other workforce investment programs:
(1) Employment Training Panel.
(2) Labor and Workforce Development Agency.
(3) California Workforce Investment Board.
(4) State Department of Mental Health.
(5) Department of General Services.
(6) State Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs.
(7) California State University.
(8) University of California.
(9) California Community Colleges.
(10) Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
(d) The secretary shall have authority over the Veterans Services
and Workforce Division.
(e) A head of a state agency or department shall report to the
secretary when a new program is established that may assist veterans.
(b) The division shall do all of the following:
(1) Coordinate with state entities that provide a benefit or
assistance to veterans to ensure both of the following:
(A) State entities provide information to veterans regarding all
other assistance programs and benefits provided by the state.
(B) State entities are aware of changes in existing veterans
programs or the establishment of new veterans programs provided by
the state.
(2) Collaborate with the California Interagency Council on
Veterans to implement further strategic changes to the delivery of
veterans services.
(c) (1) Beginning on or before July 1, 2015, the division shall
administer the programs and services described in the federal Jobs
for Veterans State Grant Program, including, but not limited to,
overseeing the federal Local Veterans' Employment Representatives
program (LVER), the Transition Assistance Program (TAP), and the
Disabled Veterans' Outreach Program (DVOP).
(2) The division shall coordinate with the Employment Development
Department for the transfer of the administration of the programs in
paragraph (1) from the Employment Development Department to the
division, including, but not limited to, all of the following:
(A) Transferring to the division employees serving in state civil
service, other than temporary employees, who are engaged in the
performance of the administration of programs in paragraph (1). The
status, positions, and rights of those persons shall not be affected
by their transfer and shall continue to be retained by those persons
pursuant to the State Civil Service Act (Part 2 (commencing with
Section 18500) of Division 5 of Title 2 of the Government Code),
except as to positions the duties of which are vested in a position
exempt from civil service. The personnel records of all transferred
employees shall be transferred to the division.
(B) Transferring to the division all records of the Employment
Development Department related to the administration of the programs
described in paragraph (1). The Department of General Services shall
resolve any questions of which records should be transferred under
this subparagraph.
(C) Transferring to the division all unexpended balances of
appropriations and other funds available for use for the
administration of the programs described in paragraph (1) for
expenditure for the purpose for which the appropriation was
originally made or the funds were originally available. The
Department of Finance shall resolve any questions of where the
balances and funds should be transferred.
(3) Any costs incurred by the department in implementing the
transfer required by this subdivision shall be paid utilizing
existing resources of the department.
