Bill Text: NY S00045 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Relates to discharged LGBT veterans; defines "LGBT veteran" and "qualifying condition"; adds veterans who have qualifying conditions or who are discharged as an LGBT veteran to certain provisions that apply to veterans who have been honorably discharged or released from military service.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 17-0)
Status: (Passed) 2019-11-12 - SIGNED CHAP.490 [S00045 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-S00045-Introduced.html
Bill Title: Relates to discharged LGBT veterans; defines "LGBT veteran" and "qualifying condition"; adds veterans who have qualifying conditions or who are discharged as an LGBT veteran to certain provisions that apply to veterans who have been honorably discharged or released from military service.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 17-0)
Status: (Passed) 2019-11-12 - SIGNED CHAP.490 [S00045 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-S00045-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 45 2019-2020 Regular Sessions IN SENATE (Prefiled) January 9, 2019 ___________ Introduced by Sens. HOYLMAN, ADDABBO, GIANARIS, KRUEGER, MAYER, MONTGOM- ERY, SERRANO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Veterans, Homeland Security and Military Affairs AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to enacting the "New York State Restoration of Honor Act" The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "New York 2 State Restoration of Honor Act". 3 § 2. The executive law is amended by adding a new article 17-C to read 4 as follows: 5 ARTICLE 17-C 6 NEW YORK STATE RESTORATION OF HONOR ACT 7 Section 369-l. Definitions. 8 369-m. Eligibility of discharged LGBT veterans for state bene- 9 fits. 10 369-n. Eligibility certification for discharged LGBT veterans. 11 369-o. Cooperation and facilities of other departments. 12 § 369-l. Definitions. As used in this article: 13 1. "Division" means the division of veterans' affairs. 14 2. "State director" means the New York state director of veterans' 15 affairs. 16 3. "Veteran" means a resident of this state who has served in the 17 active military or naval service of the United States during a war in 18 which the United States engaged and who has been released from such 19 service. 20 4. "Discharged LGBT veteran" shall mean a veteran who was discharged 21 less than honorably from military or naval service due to their sexual 22 orientation, gender identity or expression, or statements, consensual EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD00460-02-9S. 45 2 1 sexual conduct, or consensual acts relating to sexual orientation, 2 gender identity or expression, or the disclosure of such statements, 3 conduct, or acts, that were prohibited by the armed forces at the time 4 of discharge. 5 5. "Armed forces" means the military and naval forces of the United 6 States. 7 § 369-m. Eligibility of discharged LGBT veterans for state benefits. 8 1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no veteran shall be 9 denied eligibility for any program, service, benefit, or activity of 10 departments, divisions, boards, bureaus, commissions or agencies of the 11 state or of any political subdivision of the state that provides 12 services or facilities to veterans for which they would otherwise be 13 eligible, solely on the basis of the veteran's status as a discharged 14 LGBT veteran. 15 2. A certificate of eligibility issued by the division to a discharged 16 LGBT veteran pursuant to section three hundred sixty-nine-n of this 17 article shall be sufficient proof of eligibility for any such program, 18 service, benefit, or activity. 19 § 369-n. Eligibility certification for discharged LGBT veterans. 1. 20 To effectuate the purposes of section three hundred sixty-nine-m of this 21 article, the division shall establish a consistent and uniform process 22 for the issuance of certificates of eligibility for discharged LGBT 23 veterans to act as proof of eligibility for any program, service, bene- 24 fit, or activity of the state or any political subdivision of the state. 25 2. A discharged LGBT veteran seeking such a certificate of eligibility 26 shall be required to provide either: 27 (a) documents consisting of: (i) a copy of the veteran's discharge 28 papers; (ii) a personal affidavit of the circumstances surrounding the 29 discharge; and (iii) any relevant records pertaining to the discharge; 30 or 31 (b) a personal affidavit: (i) of the circumstances surrounding the 32 discharge; and (ii) certifying that the veteran does not have the docu- 33 ments specified in paragraph (a) of this subdivision. 34 3. If a discharged LGBT veteran provides the division with an affida- 35 vit described in paragraph (b) of subdivision two of this section, the 36 division may attempt to retrieve the documents specified in paragraph 37 (a) of subdivision two of this section from the United States department 38 of defense. In no case, however, shall the absence of such documents be 39 considered a reason to deny a veteran a certificate pursuant to subdivi- 40 sion one of this section. 41 4. A discharged LGBT veteran shall only receive such certification 42 from the division if, with respect to their original discharge, there 43 were no aggravating circumstances that would have independently led to a 44 discharge characterization that was less than honorable. 45 5. The division shall make available information about the process for 46 obtaining certificates of eligibility for discharged LGBT veterans on 47 the division's website. 48 6. The state director shall promulgate and adopt suitable rules and 49 regulations to carry out the provisions of this article. 50 § 369-o. Cooperation and facilities of other departments. To effectu- 51 ate the purposes of this article, the governor may direct any relevant 52 department, division, board, bureau, commission or agency of the state, 53 or of any political subdivision thereof, to cooperate with and assist 54 and advise the division in the performance of its duties and functions, 55 and to provide such facilities, including personnel, materials and other 56 assistance and data as will enable the division or any of its agenciesS. 45 3 1 to properly carry out its activities and effectuate its purposes under 2 this article. 3 § 3. Subdivision 14 of section 353 of the executive law, as added by 4 chapter 444 of the laws of 1988 and as renumbered by chapter 652 of the 5 laws of 2007, is amended to read as follows: 6 14. To establish, operate and maintain a toll-free telephone number, 7 under the supervision of the state director, for the purpose of provid- 8 ing callers thereof with information relating to services provided by 9 the division as well as services and programs provided to veterans by 10 other agencies, bureaus and organizations and by obtaining certificates 11 of eligibility for discharged LGBT veterans pursuant to section three 12 hundred sixty-nine-n of this chapter. Such services and programs shall 13 include, but not be limited to, educational and job benefits, tuition 14 assistance programs, survivor benefits, health and mental health refer- 15 rals and real property tax exemptions. 16 § 4. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall 17 have become a law. Effective immediately the addition, amendment and/or 18 repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of 19 this act on its effective date are authorized to be made on or before 20 such date.
