970. (a) The board of supervisors of each county may, but is not
required to, appoint, prescribe the qualifications of, and fix the
compensation of an officer to be titled "county veterans service
officer." The appointee shall be a veteran.
(b) It shall be the duty of the county veterans service officer to
administer the aid provided for in this chapter, to investigate all
claims, applications, or requests for aid made pursuant to the terms
of this chapter, and to perform any other veteran related services as
requested by the county board of supervisors.
(c) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), two or more counties may
jointly establish a single veterans service office which shall serve
all the counties that agree to the joint establishment of that
office.
(d) This section shall become operative January 1, 1995.
971. (a) The county veteran service officer shall assist every
veteran of any war of the United States and the dependents of every
deceased veteran in presenting and pursuing any claim the veteran may
have against the United States and in establishing the veteran's
right to any privilege, preference, care, or compensation provided
for by the laws of the United States or of this state.
(b) The county veteran service officer shall present and pursue
claims against the United States referred by any public agency
pursuant to Section 721.
972. (a) The board of supervisors may provide the county veterans
service office with any assistance and facilities that it determines
to be necessary.
(b) If the position of veterans service officer is created and
filled, the compensation and expenses of the county veterans service
office shall be a county charge, but the Department of Veterans
Affairs, out of state moneys available therefor, shall pay each
county a portion of those costs in an amount determined by the
department, conditioned upon the observance of standards and
regulations adopted by, and in compliance with the direction of, the
department and its authorized representatives.
(c) State money available for paying counties any portion of the
cost of the compensation and expenses of county veterans service
offices shall not include any funds of the Veterans' Farm and Home
Building Fund of 1943.
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 veteran 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 veteran
service officer in accordance with the staffing level and workload of
each county veteran service officer under a formula based upon
performance that shall be developed by the Department of Veterans
Affairs for these purposes.
(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 veteran service
officers. The department shall, on or before January 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 veteran 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 veteran
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 veteran 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 remain in effect only until January 1,
2016, and as of that date is repealed.
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 veteran 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 veteran
service officer in accordance with the staffing level and workload of
each county veteran 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 veteran 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 veteran service
officers. The department shall, on or before January 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 veteran 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 veteran
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 veteran 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.
972.2. (a) There is in the State Treasury the Veterans Service
Office Fund.
(b) Commencing January 1, 1995, the Veterans Service Office Fund
shall be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the
Department of Veterans Affairs for allocation and disbursement to
counties for the operation of county veterans service offices.
(c) It is the intent of the Legislature, in enacting this section,
that revenues from the special interest license plate fees for
license plates issued pursuant to Article 8.1 (commencing with
Section 5025) of Chapter 1 of Division 3 of the Vehicle Code, and
deposited in the Veterans Service Office Fund, shall be used to
expand the support of county veterans service offices.
972.5. (a) The Department of Veterans Affairs may enter into an
agreement with the State Department of Health Services and the State
Department of Social Services for purposes of obtaining federal
matching funds for the Department of Veterans Affairs to contribute
toward the salaries and expenses of county veteran service officers
for their activities which are reasonably related to the programs of
the State Department of Health Services and the State Department of
Social Services which are benefited, or realize cost avoidance, as a
result of the services of those officers.
(b) At such time as the United States Department of Health and
Human Services makes available additional federal financial
participation, the State Department of Social Services may enter into
an agreement with the Department of Veterans Affairs for those
county veteran service officers' activities specified in subdivision
(a). Such an agreement shall have no adverse impact on the General
Fund.
(c) The sums obtained each fiscal year pursuant to subdivision (a)
shall be disbursed by the Department of Veterans Affairs to counties
for payment of salaries and expenses of county veteran service
officers. The Department of Veterans Affairs shall make the
disbursement to a county on a pro rata basis in accordance with the
actual workload of each county veteran service officer under a
formula based on performance to be developed by the Department of
Veterans Affairs for these purposes.
973. The county veteran service officer shall have power to
administer and certify oaths and affirmations, take and certify
affidavits and acknowledgments, and exercise any other power of a
notary public, as a part of his duties under the provisions of this
chapter in assisting veterans with respect to their affairs. The
county veteran service officer shall not charge any fee for such
service.
974. (a) The Department of Veterans Affairs shall annually prepare
a report of the activities of county veteran service officers, and
may require each county veteran service officer to submit information
required to prepare the report. The report shall include, but not be
limited to, all of the following:
(1) The number of monthly federal benefit payments obtained on
behalf of veterans.
(2) The total value of those monthly benefit payments.
(3) The average value of those monthly benefit payments.
(4) The number of one-time benefit payments obtained, including
both single-payment benefits and retroactive payments.
(5) The total value of one-time benefit payments obtained.
(6) The average value of these one-time benefit payments obtained.
(b) The information required to be included in paragraphs (1) to
(6), inclusive, of subdivision (a) shall be set forth for each county
together with a statewide total.
(c) The department shall transmit a copy of the report to the
Department of Finance, the State Department of Health Services, the
California Veterans Board, and to each Member of the Legislature.
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.
970. (a) The board of supervisors of each county may, but is not
required to, appoint, prescribe the qualifications of, and fix the
compensation of an officer to be titled "county veterans service
officer." The appointee shall be a veteran.
(b) It shall be the duty of the county veterans service officer to
administer the aid provided for in this chapter, to investigate all
claims, applications, or requests for aid made pursuant to the terms
of this chapter, and to perform any other veteran related services as
requested by the county board of supervisors.
(c) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), two or more counties may
jointly establish a single veterans service office which shall serve
all the counties that agree to the joint establishment of that
office.
(d) This section shall become operative January 1, 1995.
971. (a) The county veteran service officer shall assist every
veteran of any war of the United States and the dependents of every
deceased veteran in presenting and pursuing any claim the veteran may
have against the United States and in establishing the veteran's
right to any privilege, preference, care, or compensation provided
for by the laws of the United States or of this state.
(b) The county veteran service officer shall present and pursue
claims against the United States referred by any public agency
pursuant to Section 721.
972. (a) The board of supervisors may provide the county veterans
service office with any assistance and facilities that it determines
to be necessary.
(b) If the position of veterans service officer is created and
filled, the compensation and expenses of the county veterans service
office shall be a county charge, but the Department of Veterans
Affairs, out of state moneys available therefor, shall pay each
county a portion of those costs in an amount determined by the
department, conditioned upon the observance of standards and
regulations adopted by, and in compliance with the direction of, the
department and its authorized representatives.
(c) State money available for paying counties any portion of the
cost of the compensation and expenses of county veterans service
offices shall not include any funds of the Veterans' Farm and Home
Building Fund of 1943.
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 veteran 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 veteran
service officer in accordance with the staffing level and workload of
each county veteran service officer under a formula based upon
performance that shall be developed by the Department of Veterans
Affairs for these purposes.
(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 veteran service
officers. The department shall, on or before January 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 veteran 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 veteran
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 veteran 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 remain in effect only until January 1,
2016, and as of that date is repealed.
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 veteran 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 veteran
service officer in accordance with the staffing level and workload of
each county veteran 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 veteran 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 veteran service
officers. The department shall, on or before January 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 veteran 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 veteran
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 veteran 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.
972.2. (a) There is in the State Treasury the Veterans Service
Office Fund.
(b) Commencing January 1, 1995, the Veterans Service Office Fund
shall be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the
Department of Veterans Affairs for allocation and disbursement to
counties for the operation of county veterans service offices.
(c) It is the intent of the Legislature, in enacting this section,
that revenues from the special interest license plate fees for
license plates issued pursuant to Article 8.1 (commencing with
Section 5025) of Chapter 1 of Division 3 of the Vehicle Code, and
deposited in the Veterans Service Office Fund, shall be used to
expand the support of county veterans service offices.
972.5. (a) The Department of Veterans Affairs may enter into an
agreement with the State Department of Health Services and the State
Department of Social Services for purposes of obtaining federal
matching funds for the Department of Veterans Affairs to contribute
toward the salaries and expenses of county veteran service officers
for their activities which are reasonably related to the programs of
the State Department of Health Services and the State Department of
Social Services which are benefited, or realize cost avoidance, as a
result of the services of those officers.
(b) At such time as the United States Department of Health and
Human Services makes available additional federal financial
participation, the State Department of Social Services may enter into
an agreement with the Department of Veterans Affairs for those
county veteran service officers' activities specified in subdivision
(a). Such an agreement shall have no adverse impact on the General
Fund.
(c) The sums obtained each fiscal year pursuant to subdivision (a)
shall be disbursed by the Department of Veterans Affairs to counties
for payment of salaries and expenses of county veteran service
officers. The Department of Veterans Affairs shall make the
disbursement to a county on a pro rata basis in accordance with the
actual workload of each county veteran service officer under a
formula based on performance to be developed by the Department of
Veterans Affairs for these purposes.
973. The county veteran service officer shall have power to
administer and certify oaths and affirmations, take and certify
affidavits and acknowledgments, and exercise any other power of a
notary public, as a part of his duties under the provisions of this
chapter in assisting veterans with respect to their affairs. The
county veteran service officer shall not charge any fee for such
service.
974. (a) The Department of Veterans Affairs shall annually prepare
a report of the activities of county veteran service officers, and
may require each county veteran service officer to submit information
required to prepare the report. The report shall include, but not be
limited to, all of the following:
(1) The number of monthly federal benefit payments obtained on
behalf of veterans.
(2) The total value of those monthly benefit payments.
(3) The average value of those monthly benefit payments.
(4) The number of one-time benefit payments obtained, including
both single-payment benefits and retroactive payments.
(5) The total value of one-time benefit payments obtained.
(6) The average value of these one-time benefit payments obtained.
(b) The information required to be included in paragraphs (1) to
(6), inclusive, of subdivision (a) shall be set forth for each county
together with a statewide total.
(c) The department shall transmit a copy of the report to the
Department of Finance, the State Department of Health Services, the
California Veterans Board, and to each Member of the Legislature.
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.
970. (a) The board of supervisors of each county may, but is not
required to, appoint, prescribe the qualifications of, and fix the
compensation of an officer to be titled "county veterans service
officer." The appointee shall be a veteran.
(b) It shall be the duty of the county veterans service officer to
administer the aid provided for in this chapter, to investigate all
claims, applications, or requests for aid made pursuant to the terms
of this chapter, and to perform any other veteran related services as
requested by the county board of supervisors.
(c) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), two or more counties may
jointly establish a single veterans service office which shall serve
all the counties that agree to the joint establishment of that
office.
(d) This section shall become operative January 1, 1995.
971. (a) The county veteran service officer shall assist every
veteran of any war of the United States and the dependents of every
deceased veteran in presenting and pursuing any claim the veteran may
have against the United States and in establishing the veteran's
right to any privilege, preference, care, or compensation provided
for by the laws of the United States or of this state.
(b) The county veteran service officer shall present and pursue
claims against the United States referred by any public agency
pursuant to Section 721.
972. (a) The board of supervisors may provide the county veterans
service office with any assistance and facilities that it determines
to be necessary.
(b) If the position of veterans service officer is created and
filled, the compensation and expenses of the county veterans service
office shall be a county charge, but the Department of Veterans
Affairs, out of state moneys available therefor, shall pay each
county a portion of those costs in an amount determined by the
department, conditioned upon the observance of standards and
regulations adopted by, and in compliance with the direction of, the
department and its authorized representatives.
(c) State money available for paying counties any portion of the
cost of the compensation and expenses of county veterans service
offices shall not include any funds of the Veterans' Farm and Home
Building Fund of 1943.
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 veteran 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 veteran
service officer in accordance with the staffing level and workload of
each county veteran service officer under a formula based upon
performance that shall be developed by the Department of Veterans
Affairs for these purposes.
(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 veteran service
officers. The department shall, on or before January 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 veteran 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 veteran
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 veteran 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 remain in effect only until January 1,
2016, and as of that date is repealed.
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 veteran 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 veteran
service officer in accordance with the staffing level and workload of
each county veteran 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 veteran 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 veteran service
officers. The department shall, on or before January 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 veteran 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 veteran
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 veteran 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.
972.2. (a) There is in the State Treasury the Veterans Service
Office Fund.
(b) Commencing January 1, 1995, the Veterans Service Office Fund
shall be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the
Department of Veterans Affairs for allocation and disbursement to
counties for the operation of county veterans service offices.
(c) It is the intent of the Legislature, in enacting this section,
that revenues from the special interest license plate fees for
license plates issued pursuant to Article 8.1 (commencing with
Section 5025) of Chapter 1 of Division 3 of the Vehicle Code, and
deposited in the Veterans Service Office Fund, shall be used to
expand the support of county veterans service offices.
972.5. (a) The Department of Veterans Affairs may enter into an
agreement with the State Department of Health Services and the State
Department of Social Services for purposes of obtaining federal
matching funds for the Department of Veterans Affairs to contribute
toward the salaries and expenses of county veteran service officers
for their activities which are reasonably related to the programs of
the State Department of Health Services and the State Department of
Social Services which are benefited, or realize cost avoidance, as a
result of the services of those officers.
(b) At such time as the United States Department of Health and
Human Services makes available additional federal financial
participation, the State Department of Social Services may enter into
an agreement with the Department of Veterans Affairs for those
county veteran service officers' activities specified in subdivision
(a). Such an agreement shall have no adverse impact on the General
Fund.
(c) The sums obtained each fiscal year pursuant to subdivision (a)
shall be disbursed by the Department of Veterans Affairs to counties
for payment of salaries and expenses of county veteran service
officers. The Department of Veterans Affairs shall make the
disbursement to a county on a pro rata basis in accordance with the
actual workload of each county veteran service officer under a
formula based on performance to be developed by the Department of
Veterans Affairs for these purposes.
973. The county veteran service officer shall have power to
administer and certify oaths and affirmations, take and certify
affidavits and acknowledgments, and exercise any other power of a
notary public, as a part of his duties under the provisions of this
chapter in assisting veterans with respect to their affairs. The
county veteran service officer shall not charge any fee for such
service.
974. (a) The Department of Veterans Affairs shall annually prepare
a report of the activities of county veteran service officers, and
may require each county veteran service officer to submit information
required to prepare the report. The report shall include, but not be
limited to, all of the following:
(1) The number of monthly federal benefit payments obtained on
behalf of veterans.
(2) The total value of those monthly benefit payments.
(3) The average value of those monthly benefit payments.
(4) The number of one-time benefit payments obtained, including
both single-payment benefits and retroactive payments.
(5) The total value of one-time benefit payments obtained.
(6) The average value of these one-time benefit payments obtained.
(b) The information required to be included in paragraphs (1) to
(6), inclusive, of subdivision (a) shall be set forth for each county
together with a statewide total.
(c) The department shall transmit a copy of the report to the
Department of Finance, the State Department of Health Services, the
California Veterans Board, and to each Member of the Legislature.
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.
