Action Now

 Write the Governor. Five bills in this report are sitting on the Governor’s desk right now, and he has until September  30 to sign or veto. A short letter in your own words reaches his office while that decision is being made. There are  five ways to send one, and they all count.  

1. Bear Flag Veterans, the easiest. Go to bearflagveterans.com, pick the bill, and it writes and sends the letter with  you.  

2. Email the Governor’s Legislative Unit. Send your letter to Leg.Unit@gov.ca.gov with the bill number in the  subject line. This is the office that logs bill positions for the Governor.  

3. The Governor’s own website. Use the contact form at gov.ca.gov/contact. Name the bill number and say whether  you support it or oppose it.  

4. By phone. Call (916) 445-2841. Give the staff the bill number and your position. It takes about a minute.  

5. A handwritten letter in the mail. A handwritten note stands out in a pile of email. Address it to Governor Gavin  Newsom, 1021 O Street, Suite 9000, Sacramento, CA 95814.  

TAX RELIEF 

•SB 296 (Archuleta) - Property taxation: exemption: disabled veteran homeowners. Creates a new property tax exemption for the principal residence of a totally disabled veteran, with a full exemption for qualifying low-income households and a partial exemption for others, beginning in 2027 and ending in 2032.  

COUNTY VETERANS SERVICE OFFICERS 

•AB 2219 (Schiavo) - Veterans. The bill would strengthen county veterans service offices by requiring faster filling of vacancies, accreditation and training standards for officers, and new statewide systems for service coordination, data collection, and veteran feedback.  

EDUCATION 

•AB 1346 (DeMaio) - Public postsecondary education: residency: dependents of members of the Armed Forces: reenrollments. The existing laws in California require California State University campuses and encourage University of California campuses to allow students to reenroll in their degree programs if they were in good academic standing before withdrawing. Additionally, these laws establish rules for determining tuition and fees based on student residency. Students who are members or dependents of U.S. Armed Forces personnel stationed in California can qualify for resident tuition rates. They do not lose this resident status if they remain continuously enrolled, even if their military sponsor is transferred out of state or retires. A new bill aims to extend this protection so that students who have the right to reenroll will also retain their resident status under these conditions.  

•AB 2203 (Tangipa) - Public postsecondary education: priority registration: veterans and dependents of veterans: federal GI Bill. The bill would require California State University and community college districts, and request the University of California, to give priority registration beginning in the 2028, 29 academic year to students who receive certain fee waivers or use federal GI Bill benefits.  

OTHER VETERAN BILLS 

•SB 1340 (Richardson) - Small business liaison: contract information: small business procurement participation. This bill would strengthen state oversight of small business contracting by requiring additional contractor certifications, reporting, and use of proposed small business subcontractors.  

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