House File 2390 - Introduced HOUSE FILE BY DANDEKAR, STRUYK, HUSER, and KAUFMANN Passed House, Date Passed Senate, Date Vote: Ayes Nays Vote: Ayes Nays Approved A BILL FOR 1 An Act creating a veterans appreciation program to award hardship 2 grants on behalf of veterans seriously injured in a combat 3 zone, providing an income tax exclusion, and including an 4 effective date and retroactive applicability provision. 5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 6 TLSB 6075HH 81 7 ec/je/5 PAG LIN 1 1 Section 1. NEW SECTION. 35A.14 VETERANS APPRECIATION 1 2 PROGRAM == GRANTS. 1 3 1. For the purposes of this section, "veteran" means a 1 4 resident of this state who is or was a member of the national 1 5 guard, reserve, or regular component of the armed forces of 1 6 the United States who has served at least ninety days of 1 7 active duty at any time after September 11, 2001, and, if 1 8 discharged, was discharged under honorable conditions. 1 9 2. A veterans appreciation program is created under the 1 10 control of the department for the purpose of providing 1 11 hardship grants to eligible veterans. 1 12 3. Moneys appropriated to the department for providing 1 13 veterans appreciation grants under this section may be 1 14 expended for one=time hardship grants of up to ten thousand 1 15 dollars to a seriously injured veteran who received a combat= 1 16 related injury while serving in a combat zone or in a zone 1 17 where the veteran was receiving hazardous duty pay since 1 18 September 11, 2001. 1 19 4. The commission shall adopt rules governing the 1 20 distribution of hardship grants under this section. 1 21 Sec. 2. Section 422.7, Code Supplement 2005, is amended by 1 22 adding the following new subsection: 1 23 NEW SUBSECTION. 45. Subtract, to the extent included, the 1 24 amount of any grant provided pursuant to the veterans 1 25 appreciation program pursuant to section 35A.14. 1 26 Sec. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE == RETROACTIVE APPLICABILITY. 1 27 1. The section of this Act creating section 35A.14, being 1 28 deemed of immediate importance, takes effect upon enactment 1 29 and is retroactively applicable to veterans seriously injured 1 30 after September 11, 2001, and is applicable on and after that 1 31 date. 1 32 2. The section of this Act amending section 422.7, being 1 33 deemed of immediate importance, takes effect upon enactment 1 34 and is retroactively applicable to January 1, 2006, and is 1 35 applicable for tax years beginning on and after that date. 2 1 EXPLANATION 2 2 This bill establishes a veterans appreciation program under 2 3 the control of the department of veterans affairs. 2 4 New Code section 35A.14 establishes the veterans 2 5 appreciation program. Moneys appropriated to the department 2 6 for this program may be expended by the department of veterans 2 7 affairs for one=time hardship grants of up to $10,000 for 2 8 seriously injured veterans sustaining a combat=related injury 2 9 while serving in a combat zone or hazardous duty pay zone 2 10 since September 11, 2001. The bill also requires that the 2 11 commission of veterans affairs adopt rules governing the 2 12 distribution of these grants. The new section takes effect 2 13 upon enactment and applies retroactively to veterans seriously 2 14 injured after September 11, 2001. 2 15 The bill also amends Code section 422.7 to provide that 2 16 grants received under this program are subtracted from net 2 17 income for purposes of taxation. This provision takes effect 2 18 upon enactment and is applicable to tax years beginning on or 2 19 after January 1, 2006. 2 20 LSB 6075HH 81 2 21 ec:rj/je/5