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SB-1284 Military reserves: benefits: Operation Enduring Freedom.(2001-2002)

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SB1284:v98#DOCUMENT

Amended  IN  Senate  April 08, 2002

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2001–2002 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill
No. 1284

Introduced  by  Senator Battin
 (Coauthor(s): Senator Alarcon, Costa, Karnette, Knight, Margett, Romero)
 (Coauthor(s): Assembly Member Alquist, Ashburn, Bates, Briggs, Cardenas, Cedillo, Cogdill, Cox, Dickerson, Harman, Hollingsworth, La Suer, Leach, Longville, Maddox, Maldonado, Robert Pacheco, Pescetti, Runner, Strickland)

January 16, 2002

An act to amend Sections 801, 803, and 810 of, to amend the heading of Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 800) of Division 4 of, and to repeal and add Section 800 of, the Military and Veterans Code, relating to military reserves and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 1284, as amended, Battin. Military reserves: benefits: Operation Enduring Freedom.
Existing law authorizes any member of the United States Military Reserve of this state, who is called into active duty as a result of the Iraq-Kuwait crisis, to delay payments on specified obligations while serving on active duty, for a period from the order to active duty to 30 days after release, not to exceed 180 days.
Existing law also prohibited prohibits eviction or distress, except upon leave of court, with respect to premises occupied by the spouse, children, or other dependents of the same reservists, and required the court to issue stay for a specified period or make other prescribed orders, unless the court found that the ability to pay the rent was affected by that military service. Existing law made makes knowing eviction or distress, except as otherwise provided in the bill, a misdemeanor.
This bill would provide the same relief, provided to reservists called to serve on active duty during the Iraq-Kuwait Crisis, to those reservists called to active duty for national emergencies caused by the terrorist attacks on New York City and the Pentagon resulting in Operation Enduring Freedom.
The bill would impose a state-mandated local program by applying the existing misdemeanor provisions relating to rent relief to the additional reservists. 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
The bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Vote: 2/3   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: YES  

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


SECTION 1.

 The heading of Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 800) of Division 4 of the Military and Veterans Code is amended to read:
CHAPTER  3. United States Military Reserve: Operation Enduring Freedom

SEC. 2.

 Section 800 of the Military and Veterans Code is repealed.

SEC. 3.

 Section 800 is added to the Military and Veterans Code, to read:

800.
 The Legislature finds and declares that, due to national emergencies declared by the President or otherwise authorized by law, pursuant to Operation Enduring Freedom, members of the United States Military Reserve who are residents of California have been and will be called to active duty to serve their country. This sudden and unexpected call to arms has caused unavoidable financial and emotional hardship for those reservists, their families, and their dependents. Many of these reservists have suffered directly from substantial personal income reductions. It is the intent of the Legislature, in enacting this chapter, to provide for emergency economic relief to the reservists of this state who have been called to active duty during the crisis resulting from the sudden, unexpected, and vicious attacks on the United States in New York City and the Pentagon, and the threat of further attacks on the United States, known as Operation Enduring Freedom.

SEC. 4.

 Section 801 of the Military and Veterans Code is amended to read:

801.
 In addition to any other benefits provided by law and to the extent permitted by federal law, any member of the United States Military Reserve of this state who is called into active duty as a result of Operation Enduring Freedom may delay payments on any of the following obligations while serving on active duty, if the reservist or the reservist’s dependent or designee delivers to the lender or company servicing the obligation a letter or other comparable evidence from the reservist’s employer showing that the employer’s compensation policy does not provide continuing income to the reservist, including the reservist’s military pay, of more than 90 percent of the reservist’s monthly salary and wage income earned before the call to active duty, until 30 days after the reservist is released from active duty, not to exceed 180 days:
(a) (1) Principal and interest payments on a mortgage, as defined in Section 2920 of the Civil Code.
(2) Credit card as defined in Section 1747.02 of the Civil Code.
(3) Retail installment contract as defined in Section 1802.6 of the Civil Code.
(4) Retail installment account, installment account, or revolving account as defined in Section 1802.7 of the Civil Code.
(5) Any loan subject to the Automobile Sales Finance Act (Chapter 2b (commencing with Section 2981) of Part 4 of Division 3 of Title 14 of the Civil Code).
(6) Any payment of property tax or any special assessment of in-lieu property tax imposed on real property that is assessed on residential property owned by the reservist and used as that reservist’s primary place of residence on the date the reservist was ordered to active duty.
(b) Upon request of the reservist or the reservist’s dependent or designee and within five working days of that request, the employer of a reservist shall furnish the letter or other comparable evidence showing that the employer’s compensation policy does not provide continuing income to the reservist, including the reservist’s military pay, of more than 90 percent of the reservist’s monthly salary and wage income earned before the call to active duty.

SEC. 5.

 Section 803 of the Military and Veterans Code is amended to read:

803.
 For purposes of this chapter, “reservist” means a member of the United States Military Reserve who has been called to active duty as a result of Operation Enduring Freedom.

SEC. 6.

 Section 810 of the Military and Veterans Code is amended to read:

810.
 This chapter shall not apply to any active duty voluntarily served after the close of Operation Enduring Freedom.

SEC. 7.

 No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.

SEC. 8.

 This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
In order to provide economic relief to members of the United States Military Reserve of this state who were and will be called into active duty as a result of Operation Enduring Freedom, the crisis caused by the September 11, 2001, attack upon the United States, it is necessary for this act to take effect immediately.