SF 2483

as introduced - 83rd Legislature (2003 - 2004) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to the military; reserving a military 
  1.3             family's position under the child care assistance 
  1.4             fund; prohibiting potential employers from inquiring 
  1.5             about National Guard or reserve status; transferring 
  1.6             responsibility for the veterans training program and 
  1.7             general responsibility for veterans educational 
  1.8             benefits to the commissioner of veterans affairs; 
  1.9             requiring payment of a salary differential to school 
  1.10            district employees who have reported to active 
  1.11            military duty; requiring the commissioner of veterans 
  1.12            affairs to provide information needed to implement a 
  1.13            Persian Gulf war bonus to veterans; providing tuition 
  1.14            reimbursement to certain military veterans at public 
  1.15            colleges and universities; amending Minnesota Statutes 
  1.16            2002, section 119B.09, by adding a subdivision; 
  1.17            Minnesota Statutes 2003 Supplement, sections 197.78, 
  1.18            subdivision 1; 471.975; proposing coding for new law 
  1.19            in Minnesota Statutes, chapters 181; 197. 
  1.20  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.21     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 119B.09, is 
  1.22  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  1.23     Subd. 4a.  [TEMPORARY INELIGIBILITY OF MILITARY PERSONNEL.] 
  1.24  Counties must reserve a family's position under the child care 
  1.25  assistance fund if a family has been receiving child care 
  1.26  assistance but is temporarily ineligible for assistance due to 
  1.27  increased income from active military service.  Activated 
  1.28  military personnel may be temporarily ineligible until 
  1.29  deactivation.  A county must reserve a military family's 
  1.30  position on the basic sliding fee waiting list under the child 
  1.31  care assistance fund if a family is approved to receive child 
  1.32  care assistance and reaches the top of the waiting list but is 
  2.1   temporarily ineligible for assistance.  
  2.2      Sec. 2.  [181.535] [ARMED FORCES RESERVES OR NATIONAL GUARD 
  2.3   STATUS.] 
  2.4      (a) No person, whether acting directly or through an agent 
  2.5   or as the agent or employee of another may: 
  2.6      (1) ask a person seeking employment with that person or the 
  2.7   employer represented by that person whether the person seeking 
  2.8   employment is a member of the National Guard or a reserve 
  2.9   component of the United States Armed Forces; or 
  2.10     (2) require the person seeking employment to make any oral 
  2.11  or written statement concerning National Guard or reserve status 
  2.12  as a condition precedent to employment. 
  2.13     (b) The adjutant general and the commissioner of veterans 
  2.14  affairs shall use reasonable means to publicize this section.  
  2.15  This section does not apply to public employees asking a 
  2.16  question or requesting a statement for the purpose of 
  2.17  determining whether a veterans preference applies. 
  2.18     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 2003 Supplement, section 
  2.19  197.78, subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  2.20     Subdivision 1.  The commissioner of education veterans 
  2.21  affairs shall foster and support educational programs for the 
  2.22  benefit of veterans to assure that no Minnesotan shall be 
  2.23  deprived of earned veterans benefits by virtue of the 
  2.24  unavailability of programs for which the veteran is entitled to 
  2.25  enroll and receive subsistence, tuition, and other benefits 
  2.26  under federal programs.  It shall be the responsibility of the 
  2.27  commissioner to measure the demand for veterans service 
  2.28  educational programs based on the criteria mandated by federal 
  2.29  veterans benefits laws and to authorize, promote, and make 
  2.30  grants within appropriated amounts to assure such program 
  2.31  availability. 
  2.32     Sec. 4.  [197.781] [VETERANS TRAINING PROGRAM.] 
  2.33     The commissioner of veterans affairs shall administer the 
  2.34  veterans training program.  Money in the veterans training 
  2.35  revolving fund for the veterans training program is appropriated 
  2.36  to the commissioner to pay the necessary expenses of operating 
  3.1   the program.  The department must act as the state agency for 
  3.2   approving educational institutions for purposes of United States 
  3.3   Code, title 38, chapter 36, relating to educational benefits for 
  3.4   veterans and other persons and it may adopt rules to fulfill its 
  3.5   obligations as the state approving agency.  All federal money 
  3.6   received for purposes of the veterans training program must be 
  3.7   deposited in the veterans training revolving fund. 
  3.8      Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 2003 Supplement, section 
  3.9   471.975, is amended to read: 
  3.10     471.975 [MAY PAY SALARY DIFFERENTIAL OF NATIONAL GUARD OR 
  3.11  OTHER RESERVE COMPONENT ON ACTIVE DUTY.] 
  3.12     (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b), a statutory or 
  3.13  home rule charter city, county, town, school district, or other 
  3.14  political subdivision may pay to each eligible member of the 
  3.15  National Guard or other reserve component of the armed forces of 
  3.16  the United States an amount equal to the difference between the 
  3.17  member's basic active duty military salary and the salary the 
  3.18  member would be paid as an active political subdivision 
  3.19  employee, including any adjustments the member would have 
  3.20  received if not on leave of absence.  This payment may be made 
  3.21  only to a person whose basic active duty military salary is less 
  3.22  than the salary the person would be paid as an active political 
  3.23  subdivision employee.  Back pay authorized by this section may 
  3.24  be paid in a lump sum.  Payment under this section must not 
  3.25  extend beyond four years from the date the employee reported for 
  3.26  active service, plus any additional time the employee may be 
  3.27  legally required to serve. 
  3.28     (b) Each school district shall pay to each eligible member 
  3.29  of the National Guard or other reserve component of the armed 
  3.30  forces of the United States an amount equal to the difference 
  3.31  between the member's basic active duty military salary and the 
  3.32  salary the member would be paid as an active school district 
  3.33  employee, including any adjustments the member would have 
  3.34  received if not on leave of absence.  This payment may be made 
  3.35  only to a person whose basic active duty military salary is less 
  3.36  than the salary the person would be paid as an active school 
  4.1   district employee.  Payments must be made at the intervals at 
  4.2   which the member received pay as a school district employee.  
  4.3   Payment under this section must not extend beyond four years 
  4.4   from the date the employee reported for active service, plus any 
  4.5   additional time the employee may be legally required to serve. 
  4.6      (c) An eligible member of the reserve components of the 
  4.7   armed forces of the United States is a reservist or National 
  4.8   Guard member who was an employee of a political subdivision at 
  4.9   the time the member reported for active service on or after May 
  4.10  29, 2003, or who is on active service on May 29, 2003. 
  4.11     (c) (d) Notwithstanding other obligations under law and 
  4.12  except as provided in paragraph (e), a statutory or home rule 
  4.13  charter city, county, town, or other political subdivision has 
  4.14  total discretion regarding employee benefit continuation for a 
  4.15  member who reports for active service and the terms and 
  4.16  conditions of any benefit. 
  4.17     (e) A school district must continue the employee's 
  4.18  enrollment in health and dental coverage, and the employer 
  4.19  contribution toward that coverage, until the employee is covered 
  4.20  by health and dental coverage provided by the armed forces.  If 
  4.21  the employee had elected dependent coverage for health or dental 
  4.22  coverage as of the time that the employee reported for active 
  4.23  service, a school district must offer the employee the option to 
  4.24  continue the dependent coverage at the employee's own expense.  
  4.25  A school district must permit the employee to continue 
  4.26  participating in any pretax account in which the employee 
  4.27  participated when the employee reported for active service, to 
  4.28  the extent of employee pay available for that purpose. 
  4.29     (d) (f) For purposes of this section, "active service" has 
  4.30  the meaning given in section 190.05, subdivision 5, but excludes 
  4.31  service performed exclusively for purposes of: 
  4.32     (1) basic combat training, advanced individual training, 
  4.33  annual training, and periodic inactive duty training; 
  4.34     (2) special training periodically made available to reserve 
  4.35  members; and 
  4.36     (3) service performed in accordance with section 190.08, 
  5.1   subdivision 3. 
  5.2      (g) A school district making payments under paragraph (b) 
  5.3   shall place a sum equal to any difference between the amount of 
  5.4   salary that would have been paid to the teacher who is receiving 
  5.5   the payments and the amount of salary being paid to substitutes 
  5.6   for that teacher into a special fund that must be used to pay or 
  5.7   partially pay the deployed teacher's payments under paragraph 
  5.8   (b). 
  5.9      Sec. 6.  [PERSIAN GULF WAR BONUS.] 
  5.10     By January 15, 2005, the commissioner of veterans affairs 
  5.11  shall provide to legislative committees with jurisdiction over 
  5.12  veterans affairs the information needed to implement a Persian 
  5.13  Gulf war bonus to veterans, including service eligibility dates, 
  5.14  service medals, and a fiscal note. 
  5.15     Sec. 7.  [VETERANS; NO TUITION.] 
  5.16     Any person who as a member of the United States armed 
  5.17  forces has served honorably in active military service in 
  5.18  Operation Iraqi Freedom, whether in a combat or support role, 
  5.19  and who was a Minnesota resident at the time of entry into 
  5.20  active military service, is eligible to receive reimbursement of 
  5.21  up to 100 percent of tuition while attending any Minnesota 
  5.22  public college or university.  The term "active military 
  5.23  service" has the meaning given in Minnesota Statutes, section 
  5.24  190.05, subdivision 5c.