Bill Text: CA AB75 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Veterans.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 2)
Status: (Failed) 2016-02-01 - From committee: Filed with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Joint Rule 56. [AB75 Detail]
Download: California-2015-AB75-Amended.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 75 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 23, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 13, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 26, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Mathis
( Coauthor: Assembly Member
Brough )
JANUARY 5, 2015
An act relating to veterans, and making an appropriation therefor.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 75, as amended, Mathis. Veterans.
Existing law, the Budget Act of 2014, appropriates $3,000,000 to
the Department of Veterans Affairs for the purpose of assisting the
United States Department of Veterans Affairs in processing veterans'
claims.
This bill would continuously appropriate $3,000,000
from the General Fund each fiscal year to the Department
of Veterans Affairs for the purpose of funding those Veteran
36 Veterans Claims Representative positions.
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:
(a) The Department of Veterans Affairs (CalVet) works to serve
California veterans and their families. With nearly two million
veterans living in the state, CalVet strives to ensure that its
veterans of every era and their families receive the state and
federal benefits and services they have earned and deserve as a
result of their selfless and honorable military service. CalVet
strives to serve veterans and their families with dignity and
compassion and to help them achieve their highest quality of life.
(b) In 2013, the Legislature and Governor Jerry Brown authorized
$3 million and 36 limited-term positions that allowed CalVet to
coordinate with the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
to assist in reducing its massive veterans' claims backlog in the
three California VA Regional Offices.
(c) The funds appropriated were used to hire three teams of 12
Veterans Claims Representatives (VCR), one team for each of the VA's
regional offices in the Cities of Los Angeles, Oakland, and San Diego
to focus on backlogged claims, ensuring they are properly developed
and have all necessary documentation needed for adjudication.
(d) At the time the CalVet Strike Teams were initially deployed in
the Fall of 2013, the national average wait time for benefits from
the federal government was 349.6 days. This meant the average veteran
waited nearly a year before receiving benefits that they had earned
through their honorable military service. The average wait times in
the Cities of Los Angeles and Oakland were significantly worse than
the national average, at 619.4 days and 617.8 days, respectively.
(e) As of January 29, 2015, CalVet Strike Team claims review
efforts in the Cities of Los Angeles, Oakland, and San Diego
Diego, including reviewing 44,921 claims,
resulting have resulted in one-time
lump sum payments to California veterans totaling $45,603,451,
and monthly award payments totaling $5,878,940, which result in
annualized award payments of $70,547,276 going to California
veterans every year for the rest of their lives.
(f) While the Strike Teams have done remarkable work, the mission
is still not complete as the VA is still not on pace to fully
eliminate its claims backlog by the end of next year, a goal long
promised by the VA officials.
(g) Whereas the Strike Teams have addressed the initial claims
backlog for the VA's three regional offices in California, the
appeals of claims decisions and the dependent claims have been pushed
back and will remain unresolved for many months, if not years,
should the Strike Team positions are not further funded.
(h) It is the intent of the Legislature to provide the CalVet with
the requisite staff to review and ensure quality, timeliness, and
accuracy of claims filed on behalf of the veterans of California and
their families.
(i) California veterans have served their country and their
communities with honor and distinction, and deserve the benefits that
have been promised to them.
SEC. 2. The sum of three million dollars
($3,000,000) is hereby appropriated to the Department of Veterans
Affairs for the purpose of permanently funding 36 full-time
equivalent Veterans Claims Representative positions in the Department
of Veterans Affairs' Veteran Services Division. These 36 Veterans
Claims Representatives shall have oversight by the California
Department of Veterans Affairs, and ensure the quality and timeliness
of claims filed through the federal Department of Veterans Affairs
on behalf of California veterans and their families.
SEC. 2. Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government
Code, the sum of three million dollars ($3,000,000) is hereby
continuously appropriated, without regard to fiscal years, from the
General Fund each fiscal year to the Department of Veterans Affairs,
exclusively for the purpose of funding 36 full-time equivalent
Veterans Claims Representative positions in the Department of
Veterans Affairs' Veteran Services Division. These 36 Veterans Claims
representatives shall have oversight by the California Department of
Veterans Affairs, and ensure the quality and timeliness of claims
filed through the federal Department of Veterans Affairs on behalf of
California veterans and their families.
