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Senate File 256 - IntroducedA Bill ForAn Act 1relating to the national guard of the state concerning
2armory board leases, persons subject to the code of military
3justice, criminal justice reporting, and scholarship and
4loan repayment programs.
5BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
1 Section 1. Section 29A.58, subsection 1, Code 2021, is
2amended to read as follows:
31. The armory board as lessee may lease property to be
4used for armory purposes and other training of the national
5guard. Leases may be made for any term not to exceed twenty
6 thirty years. Rents under such leases shall be paid from funds
7appropriated for the support and maintenance of the national
8guard.
9 Sec. 2. Section 29B.1, subsection 1, Code 2021, is amended
10by striking the subsection and inserting in lieu thereof the
11following:
121. A person shall not be punished for an offense under this
13chapter unless the person is a member of the military forces of
14the state and any of the following applies:
15a. The person is on national guard duty or state active
16duty, including between consecutive drill periods which are
17less than twenty-four hours apart. For purposes of this
18paragraph, a member of the state military forces is on national
19guard duty or state active duty during travel to or from the
20member’s duty location.
21b. (1) The person is not on national guard duty or
22state active duty but a nexus exists between the offense
23and the military forces of the state. Only a commanding
24officer holding a position in the grade of 0-6 and above may
25impose nonjudicial punishment for an offense subject to this
26paragraph.
27(2) For purposes of this paragraph, the military forces
28of the state shall have the burden to show the existence of a
29nexus by a preponderance of the evidence and the term nexus
30shall be liberally construed in favor of finding the existence
31of a nexus.
32 Sec. 3. Section 29B.116B, Code 2021, is amended to read as
33follows:
3429B.116B Adjutant general report.
351. The adjutant general shall report annually, by January
-1-115, to the governor and to the chairpersons and ranking
2members of the general assembly’s standing committees on
3veterans affairs on the number of offenses described in section
429B.116A, subsection 1, which have been reported to civilian
5law enforcement authorities in the prior year, if such offenses
6were committed by a member of the state military forces against
7another member of the state military forces while both are
8subject to this code. The report shall provide such numbers
9by type of offense.
102. The adjutant general may include in the annual report
11described in subsection 1 the number of sexual abuse cases
12reported to the United States department of defense that are
13not otherwise required to be included in the annual report
14pursuant to subsection 1.
15 Sec. 4. Section 261.86, subsection 6, Code 2021, is amended
16to read as follows:
176. a. Notwithstanding section 8.33, funds appropriated
18for purposes of this section which remain unencumbered or
19unobligated at the close of the fiscal year for which the funds
20were appropriated shall not revert but shall be available for
21expenditure for the following fiscal year upon the authority of
22the adjutant general for purposes of this section and section
23261.86A.
24b. The adjutant general shall submit a report to the
25governor and the general assembly by December 31 of each
26year listing the science, technology, engineering, and
27mathematics-related career fields the adjutant general plans to
28focus on in providing educational incentives under this section
29and section 261.86A using funds available under this subsection
30for that fiscal year.
31 Sec. 5. NEW SECTION. 261.86A National guard STEM-related
32recruitment and retention incentive programs.
331. a. The adjutant general has the authority under this
34section to authorize the expenditure of unencumbered or
35unobligated funds as described in section 261.86, subsection
-2-16, to recruit or retain individuals who have completed or are
2pursuing training in science, technology, engineering, and
3mathematics-related military occupational specialties or air
4force specialty codes by issuing awards through a national
5guard student loan repayment program in accordance with
6subsection 2 or by providing a scholarship award to an eligible
7member of the national guard who is enrolled at an institution
8defined in section 261.86, subsection 1, paragraph “d”, in a
9master’s degree program that is in compliance with the federal
10Edith Nourse Rogers STEM scholarship program established
11under 38 U.S.C.§3320 in accordance with the requirements of
12subsection 3.
13b. The adjutant general can offer a recruitment or retention
14incentive as authorized by this section in either the military
15entrance process or within the final year of the service
16member’s initial contract obligation pending the service member
17signing a six-year extension.
182. a. A national guard student loan repayment program
19is established to be administered by the college student aid
20commission. Funds for loan repayment awards under the program
21shall be expended upon the authority of the adjutant general.
22b. An individual is eligible for a loan repayment award
23under this subsection if the individual meets all of the
24following conditions:
25(1) Is a resident of the state and a member of an Iowa
26army or air national guard unit while receiving loan repayment
27awards issued pursuant to this subsection.
28(2) Satisfactorily completed required initial active duty
29training.
30(3) Maintains satisfactory performance of duty upon return
31from initial active duty training, including attending a
32minimum ninety percent of scheduled drill dates and attending
33annual training.
34c. An applicant for an award under this subsection shall, in
35accordance with the rules promulgated by the college student
-3-1aid commission, do all of the following:
2(1) Complete and file an application for national guard
3student loan repayment. The individual shall be responsible
4for the prompt submission of any information required by the
5national guard and the college student aid commission.
6(2) File a new application and submit information as
7required by the national guard and the college student aid
8commission annually on the basis of which the applicant’s
9eligibility for the renewed loan repayment will be evaluated
10and determined.
11d. The annual amount of an award to an applicant under
12this subsection shall not exceed five thousand dollars or one
13hundred percent of the applicant’s total federally guaranteed
14Stafford loan amount under the federal family education loan
15program or the federal direct loan program, the applicant’s
16federal grad plus loans, or the applicant’s federal Perkins
17loans, including principal and interest, whichever is less. An
18applicant shall be eligible for a loan repayment award under
19this subsection for not more than six consecutive years.
203. An applicant for a master’s degree scholarship award as
21described in subsection 1 shall meet the criteria as provided
22in section 261.86, subsection 1, except that the applicant can
23be enrolled in a master’s degree program. The provisions of
24section 261.86, subsections 2, 4, and 5, shall also apply to
25scholarship awards made under this subsection. A scholarship
26award provided to a recipient enrolled in a master’s degree
27program under this subsection shall be limited to thirty-six,
28or equivalent, credit hours of graduate study.
29EXPLANATION
30The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
31the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
32This bill concerns the national guard of the state.
33Code section 29A.58, concerning the leasing of armories, is
34amended to provide that property may be leased to be used for
35armory purposes for any term not to exceed 30 instead of 20
-4-1years.
2Code section 29B.1, concerning persons subject to the Iowa
3code of military justice, is amended to provide that a person
4shall not be punished for an offense under the code unless the
5person is a member of the military forces of the state and
6the person is on national guard duty or state active duty,
7including between consecutive drill periods which are less than
824 hours apart, or the person is not on national guard duty or
9state active duty but a nexus exists between the offense and
10the military forces of the state. Current law provides that
11the code applies to all members of the state military forces
12performing national guard duty or state active duty and to all
13members of the state military forces who commit an offense
14during travel to or from the member’s duty location or during
15intervals between consecutive periods of duty on the same day
16or on consecutive days in which the victim of the offense is
17another member of the state military forces. For purposes of
18applying the code based on a nexus between the offense and the
19military forces of the state, the bill provides that only a
20commanding officer holding a position in the grade of 0-6 and
21above may impose nonjudicial punishment for an offense and the
22military forces of the state shall have the burden to show the
23existence of a nexus by a preponderance of the evidence.
24Code section 29B.116B, concerning an annual adjutant general
25report on certain offenses, is amended to provide that the
26adjutant general may also include in the report the number of
27sexual abuse cases reported to the United States department of
28defense that are not otherwise required to be reported.
29Code section 261.86, concerning national guard service
30scholarship programs, is amended. The bill authorizes the
31adjutant general to expend appropriated funds which remain
32unencumbered or unobligated at the close of a fiscal year in
33the following fiscal year for purposes of Code section 261.86
34and for purposes of recruitment and retention programs as
35provided in new Code section 261.86A, created in the bill. The
-5-1Code section is further amended to require the adjutant general
2to submit a report to the governor and the general assembly
3by December 31 of each year listing the science, technology,
4engineering, and mathematics-related career fields the adjutant
5general plans to focus on in providing educational incentives
6using funds available for that fiscal year.
7New Code section 261.86A establishes two recruitment
8and incentive programs to recruit or retain individuals
9who have completed or are pursuing training in science,
10technology, engineering, and mathematics-related military
11occupational specialties or air force specialty codes. The
12bill authorizes the adjutant general to expend unencumbered
13or unobligated funds as described in Code section 261.86,
14subsection 6, to recruit or retain individuals by offering
15either a student loan repayment program or a master’s degree
16scholarship award program that is in compliance with the
17federal Edith Nourse Rogers STEM scholarship program. The bill
18establishes a national guard student loan repayment program
19to be administered by the college student aid commission and
20establishes requirements for applicants and for loan repayment
21awards. The bill also establishes requirements for the
22master’s degree scholarship program.
-6-dg/rn
2armory board leases, persons subject to the code of military
3justice, criminal justice reporting, and scholarship and
4loan repayment programs.
5BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
1 Section 1. Section 29A.58, subsection 1, Code 2021, is
2amended to read as follows:
31. The armory board as lessee may lease property to be
4used for armory purposes and other training of the national
5guard. Leases may be made for any term not to exceed twenty
6 thirty years. Rents under such leases shall be paid from funds
7appropriated for the support and maintenance of the national
8guard.
9 Sec. 2. Section 29B.1, subsection 1, Code 2021, is amended
10by striking the subsection and inserting in lieu thereof the
11following:
121. A person shall not be punished for an offense under this
13chapter unless the person is a member of the military forces of
14the state and any of the following applies:
15a. The person is on national guard duty or state active
16duty, including between consecutive drill periods which are
17less than twenty-four hours apart. For purposes of this
18paragraph, a member of the state military forces is on national
19guard duty or state active duty during travel to or from the
20member’s duty location.
21b. (1) The person is not on national guard duty or
22state active duty but a nexus exists between the offense
23and the military forces of the state. Only a commanding
24officer holding a position in the grade of 0-6 and above may
25impose nonjudicial punishment for an offense subject to this
26paragraph.
27(2) For purposes of this paragraph, the military forces
28of the state shall have the burden to show the existence of a
29nexus by a preponderance of the evidence and the term nexus
30shall be liberally construed in favor of finding the existence
31of a nexus.
32 Sec. 3. Section 29B.116B, Code 2021, is amended to read as
33follows:
3429B.116B Adjutant general report.
351. The adjutant general shall report annually, by January
-1-115, to the governor and to the chairpersons and ranking
2members of the general assembly’s standing committees on
3veterans affairs on the number of offenses described in section
429B.116A, subsection 1, which have been reported to civilian
5law enforcement authorities in the prior year, if such offenses
6were committed by a member of the state military forces against
7another member of the state military forces while both are
8subject to this code. The report shall provide such numbers
9by type of offense.
102. The adjutant general may include in the annual report
11described in subsection 1 the number of sexual abuse cases
12reported to the United States department of defense that are
13not otherwise required to be included in the annual report
14pursuant to subsection 1.
15 Sec. 4. Section 261.86, subsection 6, Code 2021, is amended
16to read as follows:
176. a. Notwithstanding section 8.33, funds appropriated
18for purposes of this section which remain unencumbered or
19unobligated at the close of the fiscal year for which the funds
20were appropriated shall not revert but shall be available for
21expenditure for the following fiscal year upon the authority of
22the adjutant general for purposes of this section and section
23261.86A.
24b. The adjutant general shall submit a report to the
25governor and the general assembly by December 31 of each
26year listing the science, technology, engineering, and
27mathematics-related career fields the adjutant general plans to
28focus on in providing educational incentives under this section
29and section 261.86A using funds available under this subsection
30for that fiscal year.
31 Sec. 5. NEW SECTION. 261.86A National guard STEM-related
32recruitment and retention incentive programs.
331. a. The adjutant general has the authority under this
34section to authorize the expenditure of unencumbered or
35unobligated funds as described in section 261.86, subsection
-2-16, to recruit or retain individuals who have completed or are
2pursuing training in science, technology, engineering, and
3mathematics-related military occupational specialties or air
4force specialty codes by issuing awards through a national
5guard student loan repayment program in accordance with
6subsection 2 or by providing a scholarship award to an eligible
7member of the national guard who is enrolled at an institution
8defined in section 261.86, subsection 1, paragraph “d”, in a
9master’s degree program that is in compliance with the federal
10Edith Nourse Rogers STEM scholarship program established
11under 38 U.S.C.§3320 in accordance with the requirements of
12subsection 3.
13b. The adjutant general can offer a recruitment or retention
14incentive as authorized by this section in either the military
15entrance process or within the final year of the service
16member’s initial contract obligation pending the service member
17signing a six-year extension.
182. a. A national guard student loan repayment program
19is established to be administered by the college student aid
20commission. Funds for loan repayment awards under the program
21shall be expended upon the authority of the adjutant general.
22b. An individual is eligible for a loan repayment award
23under this subsection if the individual meets all of the
24following conditions:
25(1) Is a resident of the state and a member of an Iowa
26army or air national guard unit while receiving loan repayment
27awards issued pursuant to this subsection.
28(2) Satisfactorily completed required initial active duty
29training.
30(3) Maintains satisfactory performance of duty upon return
31from initial active duty training, including attending a
32minimum ninety percent of scheduled drill dates and attending
33annual training.
34c. An applicant for an award under this subsection shall, in
35accordance with the rules promulgated by the college student
-3-1aid commission, do all of the following:
2(1) Complete and file an application for national guard
3student loan repayment. The individual shall be responsible
4for the prompt submission of any information required by the
5national guard and the college student aid commission.
6(2) File a new application and submit information as
7required by the national guard and the college student aid
8commission annually on the basis of which the applicant’s
9eligibility for the renewed loan repayment will be evaluated
10and determined.
11d. The annual amount of an award to an applicant under
12this subsection shall not exceed five thousand dollars or one
13hundred percent of the applicant’s total federally guaranteed
14Stafford loan amount under the federal family education loan
15program or the federal direct loan program, the applicant’s
16federal grad plus loans, or the applicant’s federal Perkins
17loans, including principal and interest, whichever is less. An
18applicant shall be eligible for a loan repayment award under
19this subsection for not more than six consecutive years.
203. An applicant for a master’s degree scholarship award as
21described in subsection 1 shall meet the criteria as provided
22in section 261.86, subsection 1, except that the applicant can
23be enrolled in a master’s degree program. The provisions of
24section 261.86, subsections 2, 4, and 5, shall also apply to
25scholarship awards made under this subsection. A scholarship
26award provided to a recipient enrolled in a master’s degree
27program under this subsection shall be limited to thirty-six,
28or equivalent, credit hours of graduate study.
29EXPLANATION
30The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
31the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
32This bill concerns the national guard of the state.
33Code section 29A.58, concerning the leasing of armories, is
34amended to provide that property may be leased to be used for
35armory purposes for any term not to exceed 30 instead of 20
-4-1years.
2Code section 29B.1, concerning persons subject to the Iowa
3code of military justice, is amended to provide that a person
4shall not be punished for an offense under the code unless the
5person is a member of the military forces of the state and
6the person is on national guard duty or state active duty,
7including between consecutive drill periods which are less than
824 hours apart, or the person is not on national guard duty or
9state active duty but a nexus exists between the offense and
10the military forces of the state. Current law provides that
11the code applies to all members of the state military forces
12performing national guard duty or state active duty and to all
13members of the state military forces who commit an offense
14during travel to or from the member’s duty location or during
15intervals between consecutive periods of duty on the same day
16or on consecutive days in which the victim of the offense is
17another member of the state military forces. For purposes of
18applying the code based on a nexus between the offense and the
19military forces of the state, the bill provides that only a
20commanding officer holding a position in the grade of 0-6 and
21above may impose nonjudicial punishment for an offense and the
22military forces of the state shall have the burden to show the
23existence of a nexus by a preponderance of the evidence.
24Code section 29B.116B, concerning an annual adjutant general
25report on certain offenses, is amended to provide that the
26adjutant general may also include in the report the number of
27sexual abuse cases reported to the United States department of
28defense that are not otherwise required to be reported.
29Code section 261.86, concerning national guard service
30scholarship programs, is amended. The bill authorizes the
31adjutant general to expend appropriated funds which remain
32unencumbered or unobligated at the close of a fiscal year in
33the following fiscal year for purposes of Code section 261.86
34and for purposes of recruitment and retention programs as
35provided in new Code section 261.86A, created in the bill. The
-5-1Code section is further amended to require the adjutant general
2to submit a report to the governor and the general assembly
3by December 31 of each year listing the science, technology,
4engineering, and mathematics-related career fields the adjutant
5general plans to focus on in providing educational incentives
6using funds available for that fiscal year.
7New Code section 261.86A establishes two recruitment
8and incentive programs to recruit or retain individuals
9who have completed or are pursuing training in science,
10technology, engineering, and mathematics-related military
11occupational specialties or air force specialty codes. The
12bill authorizes the adjutant general to expend unencumbered
13or unobligated funds as described in Code section 261.86,
14subsection 6, to recruit or retain individuals by offering
15either a student loan repayment program or a master’s degree
16scholarship award program that is in compliance with the
17federal Edith Nourse Rogers STEM scholarship program. The bill
18establishes a national guard student loan repayment program
19to be administered by the college student aid commission and
20establishes requirements for applicants and for loan repayment
21awards. The bill also establishes requirements for the
22master’s degree scholarship program.
-6-dg/rn