BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 778
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 22, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
AB
778 (Maienschein) - As Amended April 13, 2015
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Policy |Local Government |Vote:|9 - 0 |
|Committee: | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------|
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------|
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: YesReimbursable:
Yes
SUMMARY: This bill allows county recorders to provide certified
copies of military discharge documents when those documents are
requested in writing or via fax or digitized image if the
request is accompanied by a notarized statement sworn under
penalty of perjury, or a legible faxed copy or digitized image
of a notarized statement sworn under penalty of perjury that the
AB 778
Page 2
requestor is an authorized person, as defined.
FISCAL EFFECT:
Minor and absorbable costs to county recorders. County
recorders currently accept vital records requests in this
manner.
Unknown, but likely negligible cost to the state GF of any
potentially reimbursable mandate.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. According to the author, "AB 778 will grant veterans
and their families' greater access to certified copies of
their military service records by allowing military service
records to be requested in the same manner as vital records."
2)Background. U.S. veterans are issued a certificate of release
or discharge from active duty by the U.S. Department of
Defense when a military service member retires, separates from
service, or is discharged from active-duty military service.
This "Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty" is
commonly referred to as a "DD214." The DD214 contains
information needed to verify military service for benefits,
employment, retirements, funeral honors, and membership in
veterans' organizations.
California law allows veterans and other specified persons to
record their DD214s at the local county recorder's office.
AB 778
Page 3
Before recording, the veteran must sign a statement
acknowledging that, by recording the document, the DD214 will
become a public document. Recording a DD214 is generally done
to prevent the loss of the document and to provide easy access
to certified copies as necessary. It also allows family
members to preserve a loved one's military service history.
AB 464 (Daly), Chapter 78, Statutes of 2013, allowed requests
for vital records (birth, death and marriage certificates) to
be made using digitized images, among other provisions. The
digitized request must be accompanied by a notarized
statement, sworn under penalty of perjury, that the requester
is a person authorized to receive the document(s). The bill
also deleted, inadvertently, provisions allowing county
recorders to issue certified copies of military discharge
documents when requested in writing or via fax. This bill
reinstates that prior law authorization, and provides a new
authorization to issue certified copies of military discharge
documents when requested via digitized image.
3)Prior Legislation.
a) AB 2215 (Maienschein), Chapter 651, Statutes of 2014,
allowed a family member or a legal representative of a
military veteran to request county recordation of that
veteran's military discharge document, and required such
persons to sign a specified statement when doing so.
b) AB 464 (Daly), Chapter 78, Statutes of 2013, allowed
AB 778
Page 4
requests for vital records (birth, death and marriage
certificates) to be made using digitized images, among
other provisions.
c) AB 1179 (Parra), Chapter 6, Statutes of 2004, prohibited
county recorders from providing certified copies of
military discharge documents except to specified persons,
and allowed county recorders to issue certified copies of
military discharge documents when requested in writing or
via fax, as specified.
Analysis Prepared by:Jennifer Swenson / APPR. / (916)
319-2081