Bill Text: MI HB4803 | 2019-2020 | 100th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Veterans; benefits; service bonus for certain Vietnam veterans; expand eligibility. Amends secs. 2, 7 & 11 of 1974 PA 370 (MCL 35.1022 et seq.).
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 9-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-07-02 - Bill Electronically Reproduced 07/02/2019 [HB4803 Detail]
Download: Michigan-2019-HB4803-Introduced.html
HOUSE BILL No. 4803
June 26, 2019, Introduced by Reps. Guerra, Tyrone Carter, Manoogian, Chirkun, Sabo, Kennedy, Gay-Dagnogo, Wittenberg and Jones and referred to the Committee on Military, Veterans and Homeland Security.
A bill to amend 1974 PA 370, entitled
"Vietnam veteran era bonus act,"
by amending sections 2, 7, and 11 (MCL 35.1022, 35.1027, and
35.1031), section 2 as amended by 2016 PA 201 and section 11 as
amended by 1980 PA 194.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 2. As used in this act:
(a)
"Period of service" means that includes both of the
following:
(i) That period of time between 12:01 a.m., January 1, 1961,
and 12:01 a.m., September 1, 1973.
(ii) That period of time between 12:01 a.m., September 1, 1973
and 12:01 a.m., May 7, 1975.
(b) "Veteran" means an individual who meets both of the
following:
(i) Is a veteran as that term is defined in section 1 of 1965
PA 190, MCL 35.61.
(ii) Has completed not less than 190 days of honorable service
or is listed as missing in action or died during the period of
service from service-connected causes in the army, air, naval,
marine, or coast guard forces of the United States including the
auxiliary branches, was a resident of this state for not less than
6 months before entering the service or, while on active duty, was
a resident of this state for not less than 6 months immediately
before January 1, 1961, and has not applied for and received
similar benefits from another state for the same period of service.
The
190 days required 190
days' active duty requirement does not
include a period when assigned full time by the armed forces to a
civilian institution for a course substantially the same as a
course offered to civilians; or a period served as a cadet or
midshipman
at a service academy, active duty for training in during
an enlistment in the Army or Air National Guard, or as a reserve
for service in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, or Coast
Guard
Reserve, with the exception of except
for those military
personnel who converted to active duty immediately upon completion
of the initial active duty for training as evidenced by
noninterruption in pay status from that of initial active duty for
training to that of active duty. The 190 days' active duty
requirement
shall does not apply to a person an individual who died
or who received a medical discharge from active military service
due
to injuries sustained or disease incurred contracted in the
line
of duty, as verified by the veterans' veteran's records or by
the Veterans' Administration.
(c) "Combat veteran" means a veteran listed as missing in
action, or a veteran eligible to wear the Vietnam Service Medal or
the
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal if eligibility the veteran
became
eligible for the award occurred during
the period of
service.
(d)
"Beneficiary" , subject to section 14(2), means in
relation
to a deceased veteran or a veteran listed as missing in
action,
the surviving spouse, child or
children, or the dependent
surviving mother or father of a deceased veteran or veteran listed
as missing in action, subject to section 14(2), in the order named,
which
the determination of which may be made by the
probate court
of the county of residence of the veteran at the time of death. A
surviving
parent of a veteran shall be is
eligible as a dependent
of
the veteran if that person the
surviving parent had a reasonable
expectation of support in whole or in part from the veteran and
that expectation is stated in the application.
(e)
"Honorable service" means that honorable service as
evidenced by either of the following:
(i) Honorable or general discharge, or separation under
honorable conditions.
(ii) In the case of a person an individual who has not been
discharged,
a certificate certification
from the an appropriate
service
authority that a person did the
individual would qualify
under
subparagraph (i) as if the
veteran was being if the
individual were discharged or separated.
(f) Time
Honorable service does not
include time lost while
absent without leave, in desertion, in confinement while undergoing
the sentence of a court-martial, or time lost while in a nonduty
status because of disease contracted through the veteran's own
misconduct. shall
not be construed as honorable service.
(g) (f)
"Adjutant general" means
the adjutant general of this
state.
(h) (g)
"Resident" means a
person an individual who has
acquired
a status as follows:meets any
of the following conditions:
(i) Was The individual was born in
and lived in this state
until
entrance into entering the armed forces Armed Forces of the
United States.
(ii) Was The individual was born in ,
but was this state and
did not abandon his or her residence in this state while
temporarily
living outside this the state , not having abandoned
residence
in this state before entrance
into entering the armed
forces
Armed Forces of the United States. Information appearing on
the discharge documents of a veteran that shows a permanent address
in another state for mailing purposes, an address in another state
from which employment will be sought, or a home address in another
state at the time the veteran entered service does not necessarily
mean for purposes of this act that the veteran intended to abandon
his or her residence in this state.
(iii) Had The individual resided within
in this state for at
least
not less than 6 months immediately before entrance into
entering
military service or ,
while on active duty, was a resident
of
while on active duty resided
in this state for not less than 6
months
immediately before January 1, 1961, and had, before or
during
this 6 months' period:either
of the 6-month periods
described in this subparagraph met any of the following conditions:
(A)
Registered The individual
registered to vote in this
state.
(B)
Lived The individual lived
with a parent or person an
individual
standing in loco parentis who had
acquired a residence
as
set forth in was a resident
of this state under any of the
residency requirements of this subdivision, while an unemancipated
minor.
(C)
If not registered to vote in this state, was the
individual
did not registered register to
vote in another state, or
had
did not voted vote in another state within
6 months before
entering service or within 6 months before January 1, 1961.
(iv) Information appearing on the discharge documents
of the
veteran
that shows a permanent address for mailing purposes, an
address
from which employment will be sought, or a home address at
time
of entry into service in another state, shall not necessarily
be
construed to mean that the veteran intended to abandon his or
her
residence in this state for purposes of this act.
Sec.
7. (1) Upon Except as
otherwise provided in this
subsection, upon submission to the adjutant general of satisfactory
proof
that the an applicant is entitled to payment under this act,
the adjutant general shall compute the amount of payment due the
applicant,
make a record thereof, of
that amount, and transmit the
claim for payment directly to the department of treasury for
payment. Payment shall be made from the Vietnam veteran era bonus
fund. Payment to an applicant based on an application filed under
section 11(b) or (c) is subject to an appropriation of funds for
that
payment. A claim for payment under this
act shall is not be
assignable , or subject to garnishment, attachment, or levy of
execution.
(2)
If the proof as to of eligibility for payment submitted by
an applicant either with or as a part of the applicant's initial
application,
or pursuant to upon a request of the adjutant general
after submission of the application, is not satisfactory to the
adjutant general, the adjutant general shall reject the claim.
(3)
Upon rejection of If a claim is
rejected, the adjutant
general
shall mail to the claimant a notice of the rejection. ;
the
The notice shall inform the claimant of the claimant's right to
file with the adjutant general a request for appeal to the state
court
of claims within 6 months after the mailing of the notice by
the
adjutant general mails the notice.
(4)
The notice shall also inform the
claimant that a failure
to
file a request for appeal to the court of claims within the
stipulated
time shall this 6-month
period will render the
determination of the adjutant general final without any further
right
of claimant to appeal. from same.
(4) (5)
The claimant shall have has 6
months from the mailing
by
after the adjutant general of a mails the notice of rejection in
which
to appeal to the court of claims. ,
and upon failure by If
the claimant fails to file with the adjutant general a request for
appeal
to the court of claims within this 6 months' 6-month period,
the
determination by the adjutant general in the claim shall be is
final.
(5) (6)
Upon the filing of the If a
claimant files a request
for appeal to the court of claims, the adjutant general shall
immediately certify the entire record of the claim to the court of
claims and shall furnish to the court of claims any additional
information
in , or which
may thereafter come that
comes into the
adjutant
general's possession , or which
may be that is requested
by the court of claims.
(6) (7)
Upon receipt of an order by from the
court of claims
that
a claimant whose claim has been so certified as in this act
provided
is entitled to payment, and upon
the order becoming final,
the
adjutant general shall pay the claim shall
be paid in the same
manner
as provided in this act.
(7) (8)
In each case in which the court of
claims enters its
order allowing or denying a claim, and upon the order becoming
final,
the files and records on the for
that claim shall be
returned
by the court of claims to the adjutant general. , to be
retained
by the The adjutant general shall retain the files and
records as permanent records.
(8) (9)
A person who filed a claim under
this act and whose
claim was rejected by either the adjutant general or the court of
claims
solely because of a discharge which that was less than
honorable , may file a reapplication for benefits if the
discharge
which
that caused the disqualification for benefits has
subsequently been upgraded to a discharge indicating honorable
service. The reapplication shall be submitted and processed in the
same manner as an initial application.
Sec.
11. An application for benefits under this act shall not
be
filed or received, except Except
for applications under section
5(2),
after June 30, 1980.an
application for a service bonus under
this act must be filed before the following dates:
(a) For a veteran or combat veteran, July 1, 1980 if the
veteran or combat veteran met the requirements to receive a service
bonus under this act before July 1, 1980.
(b) For a veteran or combat veteran, January 1, 2020 if the
veteran or combat veteran did not meet the requirements to receive
a service bonus under this act before July 1, 1980, but after the
effective date of the amendatory act that added section 2(a)(ii),
meets the requirements to receive a service bonus under this act.
(c) For a veteran, January 1, 2020 if all of the following
conditions are met:
(i) Before July 1, 1980, the veteran applied for and received
a service bonus under section 3(2) that was less than the maximum
amount of $450.00 because the number of months served was
originally calculated based on the period of service under section
2(a)(i).
(ii) The veteran had completed additional months of service
during the period of service described under section 2(a)(ii) for
which the veteran did not receive a service bonus under section
3(2).
Enacting section 1. This amendatory act takes effect 90 days
after the date it is enacted into law.