Bill Text: CA SB500 | 2019-2020 | Regular Session | Amended

California Senate Bill 500 (Prior Session Legislation)

Bill Title: Veterans: education.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 12-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2019-08-30 - August 30 hearing: Held in committee and under submission. [SB500 Detail]

Download: California-2019-SB500-Amended.html

Amended IN Assembly June 20, 2019

Amended IN Senate May 17, 2019

Amended IN Senate April 04, 2019

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill

No. 500

Introduced by Senator Morrell
(Coauthors: Senators Bates, Chang, Dahle, Nielsen, Stone, and Wilk)
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Choi, ~~Dahle,~~ Flora, Gallagher, Mathis, and Patterson)

February 21, 2019

An act to add Article 1 (commencing with Section 885) to Chapter 4 of Division 4 of the Military and Veterans Code, relating to veterans.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 500, as amended, Morrell. Veterans: education.

Existing law establishes the Department of Veterans Affairs within state government and sets forth its powers and duties, including, but not limited to, the administration of various programs providing benefits to veterans.

This bill would require the department 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. The bill would additionally require the department, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to provide a housing allowance to a disabled veteran in a graduate internship or fellowship program that earns credits toward a graduate degree.

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NO

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

Article 1 (commencing with Section 885) is added to Chapter 4 of Division 4 of the Military and Veterans Code, to read:

Article 1. Disabled Veterans Continuing Education Assistance

885.

(a) The Department of Veterans Affairs shall establish an education assistance program to provide housing and tuition assistance to disabled veterans attending graduate school in the State of California.

(b) Upon appropriation by the Legislature, the department shall provide both of the following:

(1) Tuition assistance and a housing allowance to disabled veterans while they attend, in the ~~state~~ State of California, any graduate school at the University of California, the California State University, or ~~a private college that is primarily based in the state.~~ an independent institution of higher education, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 66010 of the Education Code.

(2) A housing allowance to a disabled veteran in a graduate internship or fellowship program that earns credits toward a graduate degree.

(d) For the purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings:

(1) “Disabled veteran” means a veteran of the United States Armed Services who meets the requirements for benefits under Chapter 31 of Title 38 of the Code of Federal Regulations and who enlisted in California and returned to California after being honorably discharged from any branch of the military.

(2) “Housing allowance” means a monthly stipend equal to the monthly stipend described in Section 3313(c)(1)(B) of Title 38 of the United States Code.

(3) “Tuition assistance” means an amount equal to the amount described in Section 3313(c)(1)(A) of Title 38 of the United States Code.

(e) A veteran who is eligible for education assistance pursuant to Part III of Title 38 of the United States Code shall not be eligible for benefits pursuant to this section until the person’s eligibility for federal education assistance has expired.

(f) The department shall, no later than January 1, 2021, develop regulations for the implementation of this article. The regulations shall include, but not be limited to, the application criteria, application process, data collection, accountability for program expenditures, and metrics for evaluation of assistance provided.