House File 2471 - Introduced HOUSE FILE 2471 BY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS (SUCCESSOR TO HF 2346) (SUCCESSOR TO HSB 538) A BILL FOR An Act concerning the department of veterans affairs relating 1 to membership on the commission of veterans affairs and 2 expenditures from the veterans trust fund. 3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 4 TLSB 5263HZ (1) 87 ec/rh

H.F. 2471 Section 1. Section 35A.2, subsections 1 and 2, Code 2018, 1 are amended to read as follows: 2 1. A commission of veterans affairs is created consisting 3 of nine eleven persons who shall be appointed by the governor, 4 subject to confirmation by the senate. Members shall be 5 appointed to staggered terms of four years beginning and 6 ending as provided in section 69.19 . The governor shall fill 7 a vacancy for the unexpired portion of the term. In addition 8 to the members appointed by the governor, the director of the 9 department and the commandant of the Iowa veterans home shall 10 serve as nonvoting, ex officio members of the commission. 11 2. Eight Ten commissioners shall be honorably discharged 12 members of the armed forces of the United States. The American 13 legion of Iowa, disabled American veterans department of Iowa, 14 veterans of foreign wars department of Iowa, American veterans 15 of World War II, Korea, and Vietnam, the Vietnam veterans 16 of America, and the military order of the purple heart, 17 the paralyzed veterans of America, and the Iowa association 18 of county commissioners and veteran service officers, 19 through their department commanders, shall submit two names 20 respectively from their organizations to the governor. The 21 adjutant general and the Iowa affiliate of the reserve officers 22 association shall submit names to the governor of persons to 23 represent the Iowa national guard and the association. The 24 governor shall appoint from the group of names submitted by 25 the adjutant general and reserve officers association two 26 representatives and from each of the other organizations 27 one representative to serve as a member of the commission, 28 unless the appointments would conflict with the bipartisan and 29 gender balance provisions of sections 69.16 and 69.16A . In 30 addition, the governor shall appoint one member of the public, 31 knowledgeable in the general field of veterans affairs, to 32 serve on the commission. 33 Sec. 2. Section 35A.13, subsection 3, Code 2018, is amended 34 to read as follows: 35 -1- LSB 5263HZ (1) 87 ec/rh 1/ 4

H.F. 2471 3. Moneys credited to the trust fund shall not be 1 transferred, used, obligated, appropriated, or otherwise 2 encumbered, except as provided in this section . Moneys in the 3 trust fund may be used for cash flow purposes during a fiscal 4 year provided that any moneys so allocated are returned to the 5 trust fund by the end of that fiscal year. Moneys in the trust 6 fund may also be used for cemetery grant development purposes 7 provided that any moneys so allocated , except for moneys used 8 for department of administrative services expenditures related 9 to the grant, are returned to the trust fund upon receipt of 10 federal funds received for such purposes. 11 Sec. 3. Section 35A.13, subsection 4, paragraph a, Code 12 2018, is amended to read as follows: 13 a. The minimum balance of the trust fund required prior 14 to expenditure of moneys from the trust fund is five million 15 dollars. Once the minimum balance is reached, the interest and 16 earnings on the fund and the first three five hundred thousand 17 dollars transferred each fiscal year pursuant to section 99G.39 18 from the lottery fund to the trust fund are appropriated to the 19 commission to be used to achieve the purposes of subsection 6 20 of this section . Moneys appropriated to the commission that 21 remain unobligated or unexpended at the end of each fiscal year 22 shall revert to the trust fund. It is the intent of the general 23 assembly that the balance in the trust fund reach fifty million 24 dollars. 25 Sec. 4. Section 35A.13, subsection 6, paragraph l, Code 26 2018, is amended by striking the paragraph. 27 Sec. 5. Section 35A.13, subsection 6, Code 2018, is amended 28 by adding the following new paragraphs: 29 NEW PARAGRAPH . o. Rental housing assistance for veterans 30 who meet the definition of homeless, as set out in 42 U.S.C. 31 §11302, for payment of rental application fees needed for 32 obtaining rental housing. 33 NEW PARAGRAPH . p. Monetary assistance on a one-time basis 34 per recipient to be used to prevent homelessness in an amount 35 -2- LSB 5263HZ (1) 87 ec/rh 2/ 4

H.F. 2471 not to exceed one thousand dollars per recipient. 1 EXPLANATION 2 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 3 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 4 This bill concerns the department of veterans affairs. 5 Code section 35A.2, concerning the commission of veterans 6 affairs, is amended to increase the membership on the 7 commission from 9 to 11 persons. The bill provides that 8 additional persons include a representative selected from names 9 submitted by the paralyzed veterans of America and by the 10 Iowa association of county commissioners and veteran service 11 officers. 12 Code section 35A.13, concerning the veterans trust fund, is 13 amended. 14 Code section 35A.13(3) is amended to provide that moneys 15 used by the department of administrative services for 16 expenditures related to cemetery grant development purposes 17 are not required to be returned to the veterans trust fund 18 upon receipt of federal funds received for cemetery grant 19 development purposes. 20 Code section 35A.13(4) is amended to provide that once the 21 minimum balance in the trust fund of $5 million is reached, 22 interest and earnings on the fund and the first $500,000, 23 instead of the first $300,000, transferred to the fund from 24 the Iowa lottery authority from lottery revenues may be used 25 each fiscal year by the commission of veterans affairs for the 26 purposes provided within the Code section. 27 Code section 35A.13(6), concerning permissible uses for 28 moneys in the veterans trust fund, is amended. The bill 29 strikes the provision authorizing moneys in the trust fund to 30 be expended for matching funds to veterans organizations to 31 provide for accredited veteran service officers. The bill 32 provides that moneys in the trust fund may be expended, upon a 33 majority vote of the state commission of veterans affairs, for 34 rental housing assistance for homeless veterans for the payment 35 -3- LSB 5263HZ (1) 87 ec/rh 3/ 4

H.F. 2471 of rental application fees needed to secure rental housing, and 1 for a one-time monetary assistance to prevent homelessness in 2 an amount not to exceed $1,000 per recipient. 3 -4- LSB 5263HZ (1) 87 ec/rh 4/ 4