Section 972.1 Of Article 4. Administration From California Military And Veterans Code >> Division 4. >> Chapter 5. >> Article 4.
972.1
. (a) The sum of five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) is
hereby appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of
Veterans Affairs for allocation, during the 1989-90 fiscal year, for
purposes of funding the activities of county veterans service
officers pursuant to this section. Funds for allocation in future
years shall be as provided in the annual Budget Act.
(b) Funds shall be disbursed each fiscal year on a pro rata basis
to counties that have established and maintain a county veterans
service officer in accordance with the staffing level and workload of
each county veterans service officer under a formula based upon
performance that shall be developed by the Department of Veterans
Affairs for these purposes, and that shall allocate county funds in
any fiscal year for county veterans service officers in an amount not
less than the amount allocated in the 1988-89 fiscal year.
(c) The department shall annually determine the amount of new or
increased monetary benefits paid to eligible veterans by the federal
government attributable to the assistance of county veterans service
officers. The department shall, on or before October 1 of each year,
prepare and transmit its determination for the preceding fiscal year
to the Department of Finance and the Legislature. The Department of
Finance shall review the department's determination in time to use
the information in the annual Budget Act for the budget of the
department for the next fiscal year.
(d) (1) The Legislature finds and declares that 50 percent of the
amount annually budgeted for county veterans service officers is
approximately eleven million dollars ($11,000,000). The Legislature
further finds and declares that it is an efficient and reasonable use
of state funds to increase the annual budget for county veterans
service officers in an amount not to exceed eleven million dollars
($11,000,000) if it is justified by the monetary benefits to the
state's veterans attributable to the effort of these officers.
(2) It is the intent of the Legislature, after reviewing the
department's determination in subdivision (c), to consider an
increase in the annual budget for county veterans service officers in
an amount not to exceed five million dollars ($5,000,000), if the
monetary benefits to the state's veterans attributable to the
assistance of county veteran service officers justify that increase
in the budget.
(e) This section shall become operative January 1, 2016.