SSB 3013 (LSB 5675SC (2) 83)

SENATE FILE _____

BY  (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON VETERANS AFFAIRS BILL BY CHAIRPERSON BEALL)

A BILL FOR

An Act creating a veterans combat bonus for active duty military service during certain military conflicts, making an appropriation, and providing a penalty and tax exemption.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  NEW SECTION.  35A.8B  Veterans combat bonus —— penalty —— fund.  
   1.  For purposes of this section, “eligible military service” means any of the following:
   a.  Active duty military service at any time from August 24, 1982, through July 31, 1984, in which the veteran can establish service in the conflict in Lebanon or Grenada.
   b.  Active duty military service at any time from December 20, 1989, through January 31, 1990, in which the veteran can establish service in the conflict in Panama.
   c.  Active duty military service at any time between August 2, 1990, and November 30, 1995, both dates inclusive, in the Persian Gulf Conflict, if the veteran earned a national defense service medal for service in the Persian Gulf Conflict or can otherwise establish service in the Persian Gulf Conflict during that period.
   d.  Active duty military service at any time between October 24, 2001, and ending on the date the president or the Congress of the United States declares a cessation of hostilities, both dates inclusive, in the Afghanistan Conflict, if the veteran earned an Afghanistan Campaign medal for service in the Afghanistan Conflict or can otherwise establish service in the Afghanistan Conflict during that period.
   e.  Active duty military service at any time between March 19, 2003, and ending on the date the president or the Congress of the United States declares a cessation of hostilities, both dates inclusive, in the Iraqi Conflict, if the veteran earned an Iraq Campaign medal for service in the Iraqi Conflict or can otherwise establish service in the Iraqi Conflict during that period.
   2.  The executive director shall provide for the administration of the bonus authorized in this section. The department shall adopt rules, pursuant to chapter 17A, as necessary to administer this section including but not limited to application procedures and procedures for the investigation, approval or disapproval, and payment of claims.
   3.  a.  A person who served on active duty for not less than one hundred twenty days in the armed forces of the United States in eligible military service, and who at the time of entering into active duty service was a legal resident of the state of Iowa, and who had maintained the person’s residence in this state for a period of at least six months immediately before entering into active duty service, and was honorably discharged or separated from active duty service, or is still in active service in an honorable status, or has been retired, or has been furloughed to a reserve, or has been placed on inactive status, is entitled to receive from moneys appropriated for that purpose the sum of seventeen dollars and fifty cents for each month that the person was in eligible military service. Maximum compensation for all periods of eligible military service shall not exceed a total sum of five hundred dollars. Compensation for a fraction of a month shall not be considered unless the fraction is sixteen days or more, in which case the fraction shall be computed as a full month.
   b.  A person is not entitled to compensation pursuant to this section for a period of eligible military service if the person received a bonus or compensation similar to that provided in this section from another state for that period of service.
   c.  The surviving unremarried widow or widower, child or children, mother, father, or person standing in loco parentis, in the order named and none other, of any deceased person, shall be paid the compensation that the deceased person would be entitled to pursuant to this section, if living. However, if any person has died or shall die, or is disabled, from service-connected causes incurred during eligible military service and in the area from which the person is entitled to receive compensation pursuant to this section, the person or the first survivor as designated by this paragraph, and in the order named, shall be paid five hundred dollars, regardless of the length of service.
   4.  A person who knowingly makes a false statement relating to a material fact in supporting an application under this section is guilty of a serious misdemeanor. A person convicted pursuant to this subsection shall forfeit all benefits to which the person may have been entitled under this section.
   5.  All payments and allowances made under this section shall be exempt from taxation, levy, and sale on execution.
   6.  The bonus compensation authorized under this section shall be paid from moneys appropriated for that purpose.
   7.  A veterans combat bonus fund is created in the state treasury under the control of the department. The veterans combat bonus fund shall consist of all moneys appropriated to the fund to pay the bonus compensation authorized in this section. Notwithstanding section 12C.7, interest or earnings on investments or time deposits of the moneys in the veterans combat bonus fund shall be credited to the bonus fund. Section 8.33 does not apply to moneys appropriated to the veterans combat bonus fund.
    Sec. 2.  VETERANS COMBAT BONUS FUND APPROPRIATION.  There is appropriated from the general fund of the state to the department of veterans affairs for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2010, and ending June 30, 2011, the following amount, or so much thereof as is necessary, to be used for the purpose designated:

   For deposit in the veterans combat bonus fund:

.................................................. $    500,000
EXPLANATION
   This bill creates a veterans combat bonus for persons who served on active duty in the United States armed forces during the Lebanon or Grenada Conflict, the Panama Conflict, the Persian Gulf Conflict, the Afghanistan Conflict, or the Iraqi Conflict. Eligible persons may receive $17.50 for each month that the person was on active duty during any of the conflicts up to a maximum bonus of $500. The bonus payments are exempt from taxation, levy, and execution. A criminal penalty is provided for submission of a fraudulent application for the bonus. The bill also appropriates $500,000 from the general fund of the state for deposit in the veterans combat bonus fund for payment of bonuses.