Cal. Educ. Code § 69999.14
California Military Department GI Bill Award Program
Redline — January 1, 2011 → current.View current text →
Current — January 1, 2021
As of January 1, 2011
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (1) The California National Guard exists to provide a military organization in California with the capability to protect the lives and property of the people of the state during periods of natural disaster and civil disturbances, and to perform other functions required by the Military and Veterans Code or as directed by the Governor. (2) The California National Guard performs an essential public purpose in protecting the health, safety, and property of California’s citizens and, in order to fulfill its objectives, it is necessary for the California National Guard to have sufficient human resources to deal with natural or human-caused disasters and emergencies. (3) An educational assistance award program for members of the California National Guard would enhance retention rates within the California National Guard. Similar educational assistance programs have been highly successful in other states and have resulted in substantially higher retention rates.
(a) The California Military Department exists to provide a military organization in California with the capability to protect the lives and property of the people of the state during periods of natural disaster and civil disturbances, and to perform other functions required by the Military and Veterans Code or as directed by the Governor.
(b) (1) As citizen soldiers, members of the California National Guard represent California’s labor force, which is a diverse workforce comprised of skilled and talented workers from all regions of the state. Education assistance awards have the added benefit of improving the skills, competencies, and abilities of the servicemen and servicewomen in the California National Guard who make significant contributions to our economy and are a vital component of the civilian workforce. It is the intent of the Legislature that members of the California National Guard use this education assistance program to enhance the state’s highly skilled and highly trained civilian labor force.
(2) It is the intent of the Legislature to ensure that the California National Guard has the ability to retain its most competent and capable members, both in the present and in the future. The Legislature recognizes that every member of the California National Guard represents additional federal funding to the State of California annually. Increasing the strength of the California National Guard through higher retention rates would augment the total federal revenue to the state, leading to additional money flowing into the General Fund as tax revenue.
(c) It is, therefore, the intent of the Legislature that, in order to fulfill the public program of maintaining required strength in the California National Guard, an inducement be provided to members of the California National Guard by making education assistance awards available to California National Guard members seeking to improve themselves through higher education. It is the intent of the Legislature that these assistance awards be available to California National Guard members who serve the state faithfully.
(b) The California Military Department performs an essential public purpose in protecting the health, safety, and property of California’s citizens and, in order to fulfill its objectives, it is necessary for the California Military Department to have sufficient service members to deal with natural or human-caused disasters and emergencies.
(c) The state-sponsored education benefit is an important tool used to ensure that the California Military Department attracts and retains highly competent and capable service members who stand ready to immediately respond to the state’s call.
(d) The California Military Department GI Bill is an investment in the men and women who serve California faithfully. This incentive ensures that members of the California National Guard and the California State Guard are not placed at an educational disadvantage when compared to their active duty or reserve component counterparts.
(e) The Legislature and the California Military Department believe that every service member who takes the oath to serve this great state needs to be afforded the best opportunity to achieve a higher education.
Official source: California Legislative Information. Reproduced from public-domain California statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.