1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to veterans; establishing a program to pay a 
  1.3             monetary bonus to veterans of the Persian Gulf War; 
  1.4             imposing a criminal penalty for false application; 
  1.5             appropriating money; proposing coding for new law in 
  1.6             Minnesota Statutes, chapter 197. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  [197.79] [VETERANS' BONUS PROGRAM.] 
  1.9      Subdivision 1.  [DEFINITIONS.] For purposes of this 
  1.10  section, the following terms have the meanings given them. 
  1.11     (a) "Applicant" means a veteran or a veteran's guardian, or 
  1.12  a beneficiary or a beneficiary's guardian, who has filed an 
  1.13  application with the commissioner for a bonus under this section.
  1.14     (b) "Application" means a request for a bonus payment by a 
  1.15  veteran, a veteran's beneficiary, or a veteran's guardian 
  1.16  through submission of written information on a form designed by 
  1.17  the commissioner for this purpose. 
  1.18     (c) "Beneficiary" means in relation to a deceased veteran 
  1.19  and in the order named; 
  1.20     (1) the surviving spouse, if not remarried; 
  1.21     (2) the children of the veteran, if there is no surviving 
  1.22  spouse or the surviving spouse has remarried; 
  1.23     (3) the veterans surviving mother; 
  1.24     (4) the veteran's surviving father; or 
  1.25     (5) a surviving person standing in loco parentis. 
  1.26     (d) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of the department 
  2.1   of veterans affairs. 
  2.2      (e) "Department" means the department of veterans affairs. 
  2.3      (f) "Eligibility period for the bonus" means the period 
  2.4   from August 2, 1990, to July 31, 1991. 
  2.5      (g) "Guardian" means the legally appointed representative 
  2.6   of a minor or incompetent, the chief officer of a hospital or 
  2.7   institution in which the minor or incompetent is placed if the 
  2.8   officer is authorized to accept money for the benefit of the 
  2.9   minor or incompetent, the person determined by the commissioner 
  2.10  to be the person who is legally charged with the responsibility 
  2.11  for the care of the minor or incompetent, or the person 
  2.12  determined by the commissioner to be the person who has assumed 
  2.13  the responsibility for the care of the minor or incompetent. 
  2.14     (h) "Honorable service" means honorable service in the 
  2.15  United States armed forces, as evidenced by; 
  2.16     (1) an honorable discharge; 
  2.17     (2) a general discharge under honorable conditions; 
  2.18     (3) in the case of an officer, a certificate of honorable 
  2.19  service; or 
  2.20     (4) in the case of an applicant who is currently serving in 
  2.21  active duty in the United States armed forces, a certificate 
  2.22  from an appropriate service authority that the applicant's 
  2.23  service to date has been honorable. 
  2.24     (i) "Resident veteran" means a veteran who served in active 
  2.25  duty in the United States armed forces at any time during the 
  2.26  eligibility period for the bonus, and who also: 
  2.27     (1) has been separated or discharged from the United States 
  2.28  armed forces, and whose home of record at the time of entry into 
  2.29  active duty in the United States armed forces, as indicated on 
  2.30  the person's form DD-214, is the state of Minnesota; or 
  2.31     (2) is currently serving in the United States armed forces, 
  2.32  and has a certificate from an appropriate service authority 
  2.33  stating that the person:  (i) served in active duty in the 
  2.34  United States armed forces at any time during the eligibility 
  2.35  period for the bonus; and (ii) had Minnesota as the home of 
  2.36  record at the time of entry into active duty in the United 
  3.1   States armed forces. 
  3.2      (j) "Service connected" means caused by an injury or 
  3.3   disease incurred or aggravated while on active duty, as 
  3.4   determined by the United States department of veterans affairs. 
  3.5      (k) "Veteran" has the meaning given in section 197.447, and 
  3.6   also includes any person who is providing honorable service on 
  3.7   active duty in the United States armed forces and has not been 
  3.8   separated or discharged.  "Veteran" includes any member of a 
  3.9   reserve component of the armed forces of the United States, 
  3.10  including the national guard, who was ordered to active duty 
  3.11  under United States Code, title 10, section 673b, during the 
  3.12  eligibility period for the bonus and who was deployed to a duty 
  3.13  station outside the state of Minnesota, as verified by the 
  3.14  appropriate service authority.  An applicant's DD-214 form 
  3.15  showing award of the Southwest Asia service medal during the 
  3.16  eligibility period for the bonus will suffice as verification. 
  3.17  "Veteran" does not include a member of the national guard or the 
  3.18  reserve components of the United States armed forces ordered to 
  3.19  active duty for the sole purpose of training. 
  3.20     Subd. 2.  [BONUS AMOUNT.] (a) For a resident veteran who 
  3.21  provided honorable service in the United States armed forces at 
  3.22  any time during the eligibility period for the bonus, the bonus 
  3.23  amount is; 
  3.24     (1) $300, if the veteran did not become eligible for the 
  3.25  Southwest Asia service medal during the eligibility period for 
  3.26  the bonus; 
  3.27     (2) $600, if the veteran became eligible for the Southwest 
  3.28  Asia service medal during the eligibility period for the bonus; 
  3.29  or 
  3.30     (3) $2,000, if the veteran became eligible for the 
  3.31  Southwest Asia service medal during the eligibility period for 
  3.32  the bonus, and died during that time period as a direct result 
  3.33  of a service connected injury, disease, or condition. 
  3.34     (b) In the case of a deceased veteran, the bonus must be 
  3.35  paid to the veteran's beneficiary. 
  3.36     (c) No payment may be made to a veteran or beneficiary who 
  4.1   has received a similar bonus payment from another state. 
  4.2      Subd. 3.  [APPLICATION PROCESS.] A veteran, or the 
  4.3   beneficiary of a veteran, entitled to a bonus may make 
  4.4   application for a bonus to the department on a form prescribed 
  4.5   by the commissioner and verified by the applicant.  If the 
  4.6   veteran is incompetent or the veteran's beneficiary is a minor 
  4.7   or incompetent, the application must be made by the person's 
  4.8   guardian.  An application must be accompanied by evidence of 
  4.9   residency, honorable service, active duty service during the 
  4.10  eligibility period for the bonus, and any other information the 
  4.11  commissioner requires.  The applicant must indicate on the 
  4.12  application form the bonus amount for which the applicant 
  4.13  expects to be eligible.  
  4.14     If the information provided in the application is 
  4.15  incomplete, the department must notify the applicant in writing 
  4.16  of that fact and must identify the items of information needed 
  4.17  to make a determination.  After notifying an applicant that the 
  4.18  person's application is incomplete, the department shall hold 
  4.19  the application open while awaiting further information from the 
  4.20  applicant, and the applicant may submit that information without 
  4.21  filing an appeal and request for review. 
  4.22     Subd. 4.  [BONUS DETERMINATION, APPEAL PROCESS, AND 
  4.23  PAYMENT.] (a) Except as provided in paragraphs (b) to (d), the 
  4.24  commissioner may not make a bonus payment to any applicant. 
  4.25     (b) Upon submission of proof to the department that an 
  4.26  applicant is entitled to payment under this section, the 
  4.27  department shall determine the amount of the bonus for which the 
  4.28  applicant is eligible.  If the department's determination of the 
  4.29  bonus amount is in agreement with, or is greater than, the 
  4.30  amount requested by the applicant in the application, the 
  4.31  commissioner shall pay to the applicant the bonus amount, as 
  4.32  determined by the department. 
  4.33     (c) If the department determines that the bonus amount for 
  4.34  an applicant is less than the amount requested in the 
  4.35  application, the department shall notify the applicant in 
  4.36  writing of its determination, and include with that notification 
  5.1   a form that the applicant may use to accept the department's 
  5.2   determination and thereby waive the right to review of that 
  5.3   determination.  A filing by the applicant of the acceptance and 
  5.4   waiver form with the department constitutes a waiver by the 
  5.5   applicant of the right to review.  Upon receipt of such 
  5.6   acceptance and waiver from the applicant, the department shall 
  5.7   pay to the applicant the bonus amount, as determined by the 
  5.8   department.  Unless an appeal is filed with the commissioner by 
  5.9   an applicant in accordance with paragraph (d), all orders, 
  5.10  decisions, and acts of the department with reference to the 
  5.11  claim of the applicant are final and conclusive upon the 
  5.12  applicant. 
  5.13     (d) Upon notification that the department's determination 
  5.14  of the bonus amount is less than the bonus amount requested by 
  5.15  the applicant in the application, the applicant may appeal the 
  5.16  department's determination and request a review by the 
  5.17  commissioner.  The appeal and request for review must be made in 
  5.18  writing within 60 days of the department's mailing of its 
  5.19  determination.  Following receipt by the department of an 
  5.20  applicant's appeal and request for review by the commissioner, 
  5.21  no payment shall be made by the department to the applicant 
  5.22  until the review has been completed.  For such review, the 
  5.23  applicant may submit additional information to supplement the 
  5.24  information provided in the application, and may request that 
  5.25  the review be conducted either:  (1) through written 
  5.26  correspondence; or (2) in person with the commissioner.  The 
  5.27  commissioner shall act upon an appeal and request for review 
  5.28  within seven working days of its receipt by the department.  
  5.29  Following review by the commissioner of the application and any 
  5.30  additional information submitted or presented by the applicant, 
  5.31  the commissioner's determination is final.  Any expenses 
  5.32  incurred by the applicant as the result of the applicant's 
  5.33  appeal and request for review are the obligation of the 
  5.34  applicant. 
  5.35     Subd. 5.  [NOTICES.] Notices and correspondence to an 
  5.36  applicant must be directed to the applicant by mail at the 
  6.1   address listed in the application.  Notices and correspondence 
  6.2   to the commissioner must be addressed to the commissioner's 
  6.3   office in St. Paul. 
  6.4      Subd. 6.  [POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE COMMISSIONER.] (a) The 
  6.5   commissioner shall administer this section. 
  6.6      (b) The commissioner shall determine who is the beneficiary 
  6.7   of a deceased veteran and determine who is the person who has 
  6.8   assumed the responsibility for the care of any minor or 
  6.9   incompetent. 
  6.10     (c) The commissioner may employ persons and may incur other 
  6.11  expenses necessary to administer this section. 
  6.12     Subd. 7.  [RULES.] The commissioner may adopt rules 
  6.13  necessary to administer this section. 
  6.14     Subd. 8.  [TAX EXEMPT GIFTS.] The bonus payments provided 
  6.15  for by this section are gifts or gratuities given as a token of 
  6.16  appreciation to eligible veterans and are not compensation for 
  6.17  services rendered.  The payments are exempt from taxation. 
  6.18     Subd. 9.  [NONASSIGNABLE; EXCEPTED FROM PROCESS.] A claim 
  6.19  for payment under this section is not assignable or subject to 
  6.20  garnishment, attachment, or levy of execution. 
  6.21     Subd. 10.  [PENALTIES.] A person who knowingly makes a 
  6.22  false statement relating to a material fact in support of a 
  6.23  claim for a bonus under this section is guilty of a misdemeanor. 
  6.24     Subd. 11.  [DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS.] The application 
  6.25  period for the bonus program established in this section shall 
  6.26  be November 1, 1997, to June 30, 1999.  The department may not 
  6.27  receive or accept new applications after June 30, 1999. 
  6.28     Sec. 2.  [APPROPRIATIONS.] 
  6.29     $17,090,000 is appropriated from the general fund to the 
  6.30  commissioner of veterans affairs for the purpose of making bonus 
  6.31  payments authorized under section 1.  This appropriation may not 
  6.32  be used for administrative purposes by the department.  This 
  6.33  appropriation is available July 1, 1997, and shall not expire 
  6.34  until all applications submitted in accordance with section 1 
  6.35  have been acted on by the commissioner. 
  6.36     $500,000 is appropriated from the general fund to the 
  7.1   commissioner of veterans affairs for the purpose of 
  7.2   administering the bonus program established in section 1.  This 
  7.3   appropriation is available July 1, 1997, and shall not expire 
  7.4   until all applications submitted in accordance with section 1 
  7.5   have been acted upon by the commissioner.