1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to veterans; establishing a program to pay a 
  1.3             monetary bonus to members of the national guard or the 
  1.4             reserve components of the United States armed forces 
  1.5             ordered to active duty after July 1, 1990; imposing a 
  1.6             criminal penalty for false application; appropriating 
  1.7             money; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota 
  1.8             Statutes, chapter 197. 
  1.9   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.10     Section 1.  [197.795] [VETERANS' BONUS PROGRAM.] 
  1.11     Subdivision 1.  [DEFINITIONS.] (a) The definitions in this 
  1.12  subdivision apply to this section. 
  1.13     (b) "Applicant" means a veteran or a veteran's guardian, 
  1.14  conservator, or personal representative, or a beneficiary or a 
  1.15  beneficiary's guardian, conservator, or personal representative, 
  1.16  who has filed an application with the commissioner for a bonus 
  1.17  under this section. 
  1.18     (c) "Application" means a request for a bonus payment by an 
  1.19  applicant through submission of written information on a form 
  1.20  designed by the commissioner for this purpose. 
  1.21     (d) "Beneficiary" means, in relation to a deceased veteran, 
  1.22  and in the order named: 
  1.23     (1) the surviving spouse, if not remarried; 
  1.24     (2) the children of the veteran, if there is no surviving 
  1.25  spouse or the surviving spouse has remarried; 
  1.26     (3) the veteran's surviving parent or parents; 
  1.27     (4) the veteran's surviving sibling or siblings; or 
  2.1      (5) the veteran's estate. 
  2.2      (e) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of veterans 
  2.3   affairs. 
  2.4      (f) "Department" means the department of veterans affairs. 
  2.5      (g) "Eligibility period for the bonus" means the period 
  2.6   after July 31, 1990. 
  2.7      (h) "Guardian" or "conservator" means: 
  2.8      (1) the legally appointed representative of a minor 
  2.9   beneficiary or incompetent veteran; 
  2.10     (2) the chief officer of a hospital or institution in which 
  2.11  the incompetent veteran is placed if the officer is authorized 
  2.12  to accept money for the benefit of the minor beneficiary or 
  2.13  incompetent veteran; 
  2.14     (3) the person determined by the commissioner to be the 
  2.15  person who is legally charged with the responsibility for the 
  2.16  care of the minor beneficiary or incompetent veteran; or 
  2.17     (4) the person determined by the commissioner to be the 
  2.18  person who has assumed the responsibility for the care of the 
  2.19  minor beneficiary or incompetent veteran. 
  2.20     (i) "Honorable service" means honorable service in the 
  2.21  United States armed forces, as evidenced by: 
  2.22     (1) an honorable discharge; or 
  2.23     (2) in the case of an applicant who is currently serving in 
  2.24  active duty in the United States armed forces, a certificate 
  2.25  from an appropriate service authority that the applicant's 
  2.26  service to date has been honorable. 
  2.27     (j) "Resident veteran" means a veteran who served in active 
  2.28  duty in the United States armed forces at any time during the 
  2.29  eligibility period for the bonus, and who also: 
  2.30     (1) has been separated or discharged from the United States 
  2.31  armed forces, and whose home of record at the time of entry into 
  2.32  active duty in the United States armed forces, as indicated on 
  2.33  the person's form DD-214, is the state of Minnesota; or 
  2.34     (2) is currently serving in the United States armed forces, 
  2.35  and has a certificate from an appropriate service authority 
  2.36  stating that the person: 
  3.1      (i) served in active duty in the United States armed forces 
  3.2   at any time during the eligibility period for the bonus; and 
  3.3      (ii) declared Minnesota as the home of record at the time 
  3.4   of entry into active duty in the United States armed forces. 
  3.5      (k) "Veteran" means a member of a reserve component of the 
  3.6   armed forces of the United States, including the national guard, 
  3.7   who was ordered to active duty under United States Code, title 
  3.8   10, section 673b, during the eligibility period for the bonus.  
  3.9   "Veteran" does not include a member of the national guard or the 
  3.10  reserve components of the United States armed forces ordered to 
  3.11  active duty for the sole purpose of training. 
  3.12     Subd. 2.  [BONUS AMOUNT.] (a) The bonus amount is $600 for 
  3.13  a resident veteran who provided honorable service in the United 
  3.14  States armed forces at any time during the eligibility period 
  3.15  for the bonus. 
  3.16     (b) No payment may be made to a veteran or beneficiary who 
  3.17  has received a similar bonus payment from another state. 
  3.18     Subd. 3.  [APPLICATION PROCESS.] A veteran, or the 
  3.19  beneficiary of a veteran, entitled to a bonus may make 
  3.20  application for a bonus to the department on a form prescribed 
  3.21  by the commissioner and verified by the applicant.  If the 
  3.22  veteran is incompetent or the veteran's beneficiary is a minor 
  3.23  or incompetent, the application must be made by the person's 
  3.24  guardian or conservator.  An application must be accompanied by 
  3.25  evidence of residency, honorable service, active duty service 
  3.26  during the eligibility period for the bonus, and any other 
  3.27  information the commissioner requires.  
  3.28     If the information provided in the application is 
  3.29  incomplete, the department must notify the applicant in writing 
  3.30  of that fact and must identify the items of information needed 
  3.31  to make a determination.  After notifying an applicant that the 
  3.32  person's application is incomplete, the department shall hold 
  3.33  the application open while awaiting further information from the 
  3.34  applicant, and the applicant may submit that information without 
  3.35  filing an appeal and request for review. 
  3.36     Subd. 4.  [ELIGIBILITY DETERMINATION; APPEAL PROCESS; AND 
  4.1   PAYMENT.] (a) The commissioner shall make a bonus payment to an 
  4.2   applicant upon submission of proof to the department that an 
  4.3   applicant is entitled to payment under this section. 
  4.4      (b) Upon notification that the department has determined 
  4.5   that an applicant is not eligible for a bonus, the applicant may 
  4.6   appeal the department's determination and request a review by 
  4.7   the commissioner.  The appeal and request for review must be 
  4.8   made in writing within 60 days of the department's mailing of 
  4.9   its determination.  Following receipt by the department of an 
  4.10  applicant's appeal and request for review by the commissioner, 
  4.11  no payment may be made by the department to the applicant until 
  4.12  the review has been completed.  For the review, the applicant 
  4.13  may submit additional information to supplement the information 
  4.14  provided in the application, and may request that the review be 
  4.15  conducted through written correspondence, or in person with the 
  4.16  commissioner.  The commissioner shall act upon an appeal and 
  4.17  request for review within seven working days of its receipt by 
  4.18  the department.  Following review by the commissioner of the 
  4.19  application and any additional information submitted or 
  4.20  presented by the applicant, the commissioner's determination is 
  4.21  final.  Any expenses incurred by the applicant as the result of 
  4.22  the applicant's appeal and request for review are the obligation 
  4.23  of the applicant. 
  4.24     Subd. 5.  [NOTICES.] Notices and correspondence to an 
  4.25  applicant must be directed to the applicant by mail at the 
  4.26  address listed in the application.  Notices and correspondence 
  4.27  to the commissioner must be addressed to the commissioner's 
  4.28  office in St. Paul. 
  4.29     Subd. 6.  [POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE COMMISSIONER.] (a) The 
  4.30  commissioner shall determine who is the beneficiary of a 
  4.31  deceased veteran and determine who is the person who has assumed 
  4.32  the responsibility for the care of any minor or incompetent. 
  4.33     (b) The commissioner may employ persons and may incur other 
  4.34  expenses necessary to administer this section. 
  4.35     Subd. 7.  [TAX-EXEMPT GIFTS.] The bonus payments provided 
  4.36  for by this section are gifts or gratuities given as a token of 
  5.1   appreciation to eligible veterans and are not compensation for 
  5.2   services rendered.  The payments are exempt from state taxation. 
  5.3      Subd. 8.  [NONASSIGNABLE; EXCEPTED FROM PROCESS.] A claim 
  5.4   for payment under this section is not assignable or subject to 
  5.5   garnishment, attachment, or levy of execution. 
  5.6      Subd. 9.  [PENALTIES.] A person who knowingly makes a false 
  5.7   statement relating to a material fact in support of a claim for 
  5.8   a bonus under this section is guilty of a misdemeanor. 
  5.9      Subd. 10.  [DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS.] The application 
  5.10  period for the bonus program established in this section is 
  5.11  November 1, 1999, to June 30, 2001.  The department may not 
  5.12  receive or accept new applications after June 30, 2001. 
  5.13     Sec. 2.  [APPROPRIATIONS.] 
  5.14     $....... is appropriated from the general fund to the 
  5.15  commissioner of veterans affairs for the purpose of making bonus 
  5.16  payments authorized under section 1.  This appropriation may not 
  5.17  be used for administrative purposes by the department.  This 
  5.18  appropriation is available July 1, 1999, and does not expire 
  5.19  until all applications submitted in accordance with section 1 
  5.20  have been acted on by the commissioner. 
  5.21     $....... is appropriated from the general fund to the 
  5.22  commissioner of veterans affairs for the purpose of 
  5.23  administering the bonus program established in section 1.  This 
  5.24  appropriation is available July 1, 1999, and does not expire 
  5.25  until all applications submitted in accordance with section 1 
  5.26  have been acted upon by the commissioner.