The dome of the Capitol building in Sacramento – Photo: Alex Wild, via Wikimedia.
December 31, 2023 - By Jeff Jardine - New Year’s Day 2024 will institute several new laws intended to benefit veterans of the United States Armed Forces.
On the federal side, military retirees and disabled veterans will receive a 3.2 percent raise in 2024, mirroring the cost-of-living increase for Social Security benefits.
Meanwhile, state laws signed by California Governor Gavin Newsom will streamline claims processes, demand improved data collection by agencies and organizations, and involve memorials and monuments at the State Capitol in Sacramento.
New California laws will:
- Require county assessors to accept electronically generated letters of service-connected disabilities for verifying eligibility for disabled veterans’ property tax exemptions.
- Include a change in determining Plan B eligibility for the College Fee Waiver for Veterans Dependents benefit, which waives mandatory systemwide tuition and fees at any State of California Community College, California State University, or University of California campus. Plan B covers the child of a veteran who has a service-connected disability, or had a service-connected disability at the time of death, or died of service-related causes. Eligibility factors include the student’s adjusted gross income from the previous year plus the value of any support received from parents, which will now be measured against the significantly higher state poverty threshold ($20,913 in 2023). Previously, it was measured against the federal limit ($15,225 in 2023). Learn more about the College Fee Waiver at https://www.calvet.ca.gov/VetServices/Pages/College-Fee-Waiver.aspx.
- Improve the availability of information about policies, resources, and services for students who are veterans as well as members of the California State Guard and the California National Guard, along with their dependents.
- Require the California Department of Public Health to compile data regarding drug overdoses involving veterans, and provide that information to the Legislature and CalVet by mid-March annually.
- Instruct CalVet and the state Department of Housing and Community Development to collaborate on creating a petition to be used in the tenant referral process for veterans housing. An approved petition would enable a property manager who cannot find a veteran at the lowest end of the income scale to allow instead a veteran who is over that income threshold into that unit.
- Call for the annual report on County Veterans Services Offices (CVSOs) to include the staff composition at each of the CVSOs statewide, along with the funding each county provides and information regarding workloads, claims, and other elements.
- Require venture capital firms in California to disclose demographic information regarding their founding teams, including veterans and disabled veterans, LGBTQ, gender identity, and race.
- Create an account to be managed by CalVet that will contain private-sector donations earmarked to pay for the maintenance and repairs of existing memorials in Sacramento’s Capitol Park. Other laws pave the way for groups to someday build monuments honoring veterans of the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, and blind veterans.
For an overview of new California 2024 laws, please visit the website of California Governor Gavin Newsom at www.gov.ca.gov/2023/12/29/new-laws-going-into-effect-on-january-1st/.
Source: CalVet
