California Assembly Bill AB882 Amended / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: AB 882AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 27, 2011 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 25, 2011 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Cook FEBRUARY 17, 2011  An act to add and repeal Section 700.5 of, and to add and repeal Chapter 2.5 (commencing with Section 775) of Division 4 of,   An act to repeal, add, and repeal Section 974.5 of  the Military and Veterans Code, relating to veterans. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 882, as amended, Cook. Veterans: benefits and services. Existing law establishes the Department of Veterans Affairs within state government and sets forth its powers and duties, including, but not limited to, administration of veterans benefits programs. Existing law establishes the California Veterans Board within the department and sets forth its powers and duties, including, but not limited to, its power to determine operational policy for the department.  This bill would, until January 1, 2016, establish the California Veterans Services and Workforce Development Division within the Department of Veterans Affairs for the purpose of coordinating and administering veterans assistance programs in the state, and would require the division to perform various functions and duties relating to the coordination and administration of veterans assistance programs, as specified. The bill would require the administrative and support staff responsible for the administration of the specified programs to be transferred from the Employment Development Department (EDD) to the division, and would require the costs of the transfer to utilize existing resources of the Department of Veterans Affairs.  The federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998 provides for workforce investment activities, including activities in which states may participate. Existing law contains various programs for job training and employment investment, including work incentive and employment training outreach programs. Existing law, the California Workforce Investment Act, requires each local workforce investment board to establish at least one full service one-stop career center in the local workforce investment area and to provide specified job placement services.  Existing law authorize   d   the department and the Employment Development Department (EDD) to enter into interagency agreements with counties that elect   ed   to participate in a specified program.  This bill would,  by January 1, 2013, and  until January 1, 2016,  establish the One-Stop Center Pilot Program For Veterans' Compensation and Benefits Assistance in the Counties of Los Angeles and San Diego and in the city and county of San Francisco for the purpose of providing collaboration between the EDD and county veteran service officers in order to more effectively achieve increased compensation and pension benefit claims for California veterans through the established one-stop career centers, as specified. As part of the pilot program, the bill would  require the department  and EDD  to enter into agreements with  the   no more than 4  counties  and city and county in which the program is established in order to combine the resources and personnel of the county veteran service officers, the department, and the EDD   that elect to participate in the County Veterans Service Center Pilot Program   , which this bill would establish  .  By imposing new duties on local government with respect to the implementation of these local programs, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.   The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.   This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.   This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Counties of Los Angeles and San Diego and the City and County of San Francisco.  Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program:  yes   no  . THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:  SECTION 1.   Section 974.5 of the   Military and Veterans Code   is repealed.   974.5. (a) The purpose of this section is to provide a mechanism to facilitate the delivery of complete, efficient, information and other services to veterans in a convenient setting. (b) By July 1, 1999, the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Employment Development may enter into interagency agreements with individual counties that elect to participate in the program pursuant to this section, after a determination that services to be provided pursuant to this section are not otherwise being provided and would, thus, not be duplicated. Services provided pursuant to this section shall not be contrary to the purposes of, nor shall they be in conflict with, any one-stop service program provided under federal guidelines. Pursuant to the agreements the departments may agree to provide resources and staff, or both, as necessary to locate within a single facility owned by the participating county, under the coordination of the county veteran service director, a more complete and convenient local service program for veterans. (c) The veteran service center shall be staffed with persons knowledgeable in employment and veterans benefits issues, and shall contain all necessary resources, information, forms, and other materials necessary for a veteran to receive full employment assistance and a complete assessment of veterans benefits to which he or she is entitled. (d) The Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Employment Development, after consulting with participating counties, shall jointly report to the Legislature by January 1, 2002, regarding the progress of the program.   SEC. 2.   Section 974.5 is added to the   Military and Veterans Code   , to read:   974.5. (a) The purpose of this section is to establish the County Veterans Service Center Pilot Program to provide a mechanism to facilitate the delivery of complete, efficient, information and other services to veterans in a convenient setting. (b) By January 1, 2013, the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Employment Development shall enter into interagency agreements with no more than four individual counties that elect to participate in the program pursuant to this section, after a determination that services to be provided pursuant to this section could improve the state's delivery of services and benefits to veterans and aid veterans in obtaining services and benefits to which veterans are entitled. Services provided pursuant to this section shall not be contrary to the purposes of, nor shall they be in conflict with, any one-stop service program provided under federal guidelines. Pursuant to the agreements, the departments may agree to provide resources and staff, or both, as necessary to locate within a single facility owned by the participating county, the state, or both. (c) The veteran service center shall be staffed with persons knowledgeable in employment and veterans benefits issues, including, but not limited to, workforce development, job training, educational benefits, compensation and pension benefits, and low-interest financing offered through CalVet for home loans and farm purchases, and shall contain all necessary resources, information, forms, and other materials necessary for a veteran to receive full employment assistance and a complete assessment of veterans benefits to which he or she is entitled. (d) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2016, and as of that date is repealed.   SECTION 1.   The Legislature hereby finds and declares the following: (a) California has the largest veteran population in the nation, comprised of an estimated 2 million veterans. Each month, thousands of military personnel are released from active service and face tremendous challenges transitioning back into civilian life. (b) The challenges military veterans face are compounded by a complex system of veteran assistance programs that is difficult to navigate. (c) The United States Department of Veterans Affairs expended approximately $6 billion in California in the 2005 federal fiscal year. Of that amount, $2.66 billion dollars was in disability payments (compensation and benefits) to veterans. The states that have the largest veteran populations in the nation are California, Florida, and Texas. Texas veterans have collected 44 percent more disability benefits than the amount collected by California veterans. (d) Increasing disability benefit participation in California in an amount that would approach the national average could generate an additional $330 million in annual payments to California veterans. (e) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this act to consolidate the veterans assistance programs and their dedicated staff as identified in Section 64.5 of the Military and Veterans Code, as added by this act, within the California Veterans Services and Workforce Development Division of the Department of Veterans Affairs.   SEC. 2.   Section 700.5 is added to the Military and Veterans Code, to read: 700.5. (a) The California Veterans Services and Workforce Development Division is hereby established within the department for the purpose of coordinating and administering veterans assistance programs in the state. The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall have authority over the division. (b) The division shall do all of the following: (1) Coordinate with other state agencies that provide benefits and assistance to veterans to ensure that information about veterans assistance programs and benefits is made available to all state agencies that serve veterans in the state. (2) Administer the Transition Assistance Program (TAP) as prescribed under the federal Jobs for Veterans State Grants program, in cooperation with the Employment Development Department (EDD). The division shall work with staff from the EDD to develop a plan whereby responsibility for the administration of the TAP shall be transferred from the EDD to the division. The development of the plan shall be completed on or before April 1, 2012. (c) (1) In complying with this section, all administrative and support staff responsible for the administration of the TAP shall be transferred from the EDD to the division. (2) Any costs associated with the implementation of these transfers shall utilize existing resources of the Department of Veterans Affairs, as the operational cost of these programs utilizes funding from the Jobs for Veterans State Grant program, as prescribed within the United States Department of Labor. (d) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2016, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2016, deletes or extends that date.   SEC. 3.   Chapter 2.5 (commencing with Section 775) is added to Division 4 of the Military and Veterans Code, to read: CHAPTER 2.5. ONE-STOP CENTER PILOT PROGRAM FOR VETERANS' COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS ASSISTANCE 775. For purposes of this chapter, the following terms have the following meanings: (a) "Department" means the Department of Veterans Affairs. (b) "EDD" means the Employment Development Department. (c) "One-stop career center" means a one-stop career center established pursuant to Section 14230 of the Unemployment Insurance Code and located in the county of Los Angeles or San Diego or the city and county of San Francisco. (d) "Pilot project" means the One-Stop Center Pilot Program for Veterans' Compensation and Benefits Assistance established by this chapter. 776. The One-Stop Center Pilot Program For Veterans' Compensation and Benefits Assistance is hereby established in the counties of Los Angeles and San Diego and in the City and County of San Francisco for the purpose of collaboration between the department, the EDD, and the county veteran service officers of those respective counties and city and county in order to more effectively achieve increased compensation and pension benefit claims for California veterans through the established one-stop career centers as a part of the Local Veteran Employment Representative program, as prescribed by the United States Department of Labor. 777. For purposes of the pilot project, the department shall enter into agreements with the counties and city and county in which the program is established in order to combine the resources and personnel of the county veteran service officers, the department, and the EDD. 778. The sole purpose of the pilot project is to provide that the EDD and one-stop career centers share information with the county veterans service officers and collaborate in order to more effectively address the needs of our veterans. 779. This chapter shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2016, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2016, deletes or extends that date.   SEC. 4.  If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.   SEC. 5.   The Legislature finds and declares that a special law is necessary and that a general law cannot be made applicable within the meaning of Section 16 of Article IV of the California Constitution because of the unique need to assist the large populations of unemployed veterans in the counties of Los Angeles and San Diego and the city and county of San Francisco.