Minnesota Session Laws - 1983, Regular Session

  

                         Laws of Minnesota 1983 

                        CHAPTER 335--H.F.No. 858
           An act relating to veterans; clarifying eligibility 
          for certain educational programs; standardize the 
          definition of "veteran"; improve management of grant 
          program; coordinate program with federal law; amending 
          Minnesota Statutes 1982, section 197.75; proposing new 
          law coded in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 197; 
          repealing Minnesota Statutes 1982, sections 197.09; 
          197.10; and 197.11. 
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
    Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1982, section 197.75, is 
amended to read: 
    197.75 [EXPENDITURES, LIMITATION EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE, 
WAR ORPHANS AND VETERANS.] 
    Subdivision 1.  [BENEFITS; ELIGIBILITY.] The commissioner 
of veterans affairs shall spend a biennial appropriation for 
tuition of soldiers veterans, and for tuition, fees, board, 
room, books and supplies of the children of soldiers veterans 
who have died as a result of their service in the military or 
naval forces armed forces of the United States as determined by 
the United States Veterans Administration or other 
instrumentality of the United States, in the University of 
Minnesota, a state university, a community college, an area 
vocational technical institute, or any other university of 
higher learning within the state accredited by the North Central 
Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools, a law college 
approved by the supreme court, a nursing school approved by the 
state nurses examining board of nursing, or in a trade, 
business, or vocational school in the state which may be 
approved by the state department of education, or in a 
theological seminary, for any course which such soldier veteran 
or child may elect.  Not more than $350 shall be expended for 
the benefit of any individual soldier veteran, and not more than 
$350 in any calendar fiscal year shall be expended for the 
benefit of any child under this section, and that the need 
therefor for the benefit shall be established and determined by 
the commissioner of veterans affairs.  No child of any soldier 
veteran shall make application for the benefits provided herein 
in this section unless such the child shall have resided in 
Minnesota for at least two years immediately prior to the date 
of said the application.  Children of soldiers veterans eligible 
for benefits hereunder according to this section shall be 
admitted to state institutions of university grade free of 
tuition until they receive a bachelors or equivalent degree.  
Payments of tuition as provided for herein benefits shall be 
made by the commissioner of veterans affairs directly to the 
institution in which the course of instruction is given upon 
such conditions as shall be imposed by the commissioner of 
veterans affairs or to the individual on forms prescribed by the 
commissioner. 
    Subd. 2.  [LIMITATIONS.] None of the provisions of 
subdivision 1, shall be made available to any soldier veteran 
who is entitled to the same or similar benefits under any law or 
regulation of the United States, rule or regulation of any 
department thereof, now in force or hereafter created, unless 
said soldier the veteran shall have been eligible for and 
exhausted the benefits he the veteran is entitled to under the 
laws of the United States, through use thereof, in which event 
he the veteran shall be entitled to the benefits provided for by 
subdivision 1.  
    Subd. 3.  [PROOF OF ELIGIBILITY.] Each such institution 
shall certify to the commissioner of veterans affairs of the 
state the names of all applicants for benefits under this 
section who have presented to such institution an honorable 
discharge from the armed forces of the United States or proof of 
the service of the parent of such applicant Approval for 
benefits under this section shall require submission of the 
following evidence:  application, financial statement, proof of 
military service, proof of residency and where applicable, a 
statement from the U.S. Veterans Administration that the veteran 
has exhausted entitlement to federal educational benefits 
through use thereof or that the veteran died of service 
connected disabilities.  Upon submission of satisfactory proof 
of eligibility, benefits shall be provided from the date of 
application and notification of approval shall be sent to the 
educational institution and applicant. 
    Subd. 4.  [REIMBURSEMENT FORM.] Each such institution shall 
make triplicate lists of such applicants, showing the name of 
each applicant, the course selected, and the charge for tuition 
for such course which shall be not more than the regular charge, 
and file the same with the commissioner of veterans affairs, who 
shall check such lists with such records as are on file in his 
office or as can be procured from reliable sources; the 
commissioner of veterans affairs shall thereupon certify to such 
institution the names of the applicants on such lists who are 
eligible for the benefits provided for in this section.  At the 
end of each semester or term, each institution shall certify one 
of such lists certified to such institution by the commissioner 
of veterans affairs, showing the period each student listed 
thereon has attended and the proportion and amount of tuition 
applicable to such semester or term, and file the same with the 
commissioner of veterans affairs, who shall check such list and, 
if correct, authorize payment of the amounts due thereon in the 
manner provided by law Reimbursement to such institution or 
eligible individual authorized under subdivision 1 shall be on 
forms prescribed by the commissioner. 
    Subd. 5.  [DEFINITION OF VETERAN.] The word "soldier" as 
used in this section means any person honorably discharged from 
the armed forces of the United States who served in the Civil 
War, Spanish American War, Philippine Insurrection, China Relief 
Expedition, World War I between April 6, 1917 and November 11, 
1918, both dates inclusive, on or after December 7, 1941 until 
final cessation of all hostilities as determined by the proper 
state authorities in order to give recognition for service 
performed in the following hostile actions:  World War II, 
Korean conflict, Lebanon crisis, Berlin crisis, Quemoy and 
Matsu, Taiwan Straits, Cuban crisis, the Congo, Laos, the 
Dominican Republic and Vietnam, and to include service therein 
but not to exclude persons who did not have service in those 
areas.  Such soldier shall have been a resident of the state of 
Minnesota at the time he was commissioned, enlisted, inducted, 
appointed, or mustered into the military or naval service.  The 
word "soldier" includes a person having continuous service for 
not less than 90 days unless terminated sooner by disability due 
to service in the military or naval forces, but does not include 
a person enlisted and accepted for active training only for a 
period of six months or less The word "veteran" as used in this 
section shall have the same meaning as defined in section 
197.447 except that it shall include service persons that died 
while on active duty.  
    Subd. 6.  [RESIDENCE REQUIRED.] Veterans under this section 
shall have been a resident of the state of Minnesota at the time 
of induction into the armed forces and six months immediately 
preceding the induction.  
    Sec. 2.  [197.752] [EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE-POW/MIA 
DEPENDENTS.] 
    Any dependent of a prisoner of war or a person missing in 
action, upon being duly accepted for enrollment in any Minnesota 
public post-secondary institution, shall be allowed to attend 
the institution to obtain a bachelors degree or certificate of 
completion, for so long as he is eligible, free of tuition or 
charge.  A dependent who enrolls as an undergraduate in any 
private Minnesota post-secondary institution shall be entitled 
to payment by the state of tuition and fees at a rate not to 
exceed $250 per year for so long as the dependent is eligible to 
attend the institution and is working toward a bachelors degree 
or certificate of completion.  
    "Prisoner of war" and "persons missing in action" for 
purposes of this section mean any person who was a resident of 
the state at the time the person entered service of the United 
States Armed Forces, or whose official residence is within the 
state, and who, while serving in the United States Armed Forces 
has been declared to be a prisoner of war, or to be a person 
missing in action as established by the Secretary of Defense 
after August 1, 1958.  
    "Dependent" for purposes of this section means the spouse 
of a prisoner of war or person missing in action, or any child 
born before or during the period of time his parent served as a 
prisoner of war or was declared a person missing in action, or 
any child legally adopted or in the legal custody of the parent 
prior to and during the time the parent served as a prisoner of 
war or was declared to be a person missing in action.  Once a 
person qualifies as a dependent under the terms and provisions 
of this section there shall be no situation such as the return 
of the spouse or parent or the reported death of the spouse or 
parent that will remove the dependent from provisions or 
benefits of this section.  
    Sec. 3.  [REPEALER.] 
    Minnesota Statutes 1982, sections 197.09, 197.10, and 
197.11 are repealed.  
    Sec. 4.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
    Sections 1 to 4 are effective the day following final 
enactment. 
    Approved June 14, 1983