1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to veterans; authorizing payment of veterans' 
  1.3             bonuses for service in Southwest Asia to veterans of 
  1.4             the merchant marine who served on active duty during 
  1.5             the period of eligibility; amending Minnesota Statutes 
  1.6             1997 Supplement, section 197.79, subdivisions 1 and 2. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1997 Supplement, section 
  1.9   197.79, subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  1.10     Subdivision 1.  [DEFINITIONS.] For purposes of this 
  1.11  section, the following terms have the meanings given them. 
  1.12     (a) "Applicant" means a veteran or a veteran's guardian, 
  1.13  conservator, or personal representative or a beneficiary or a 
  1.14  beneficiary's guardian, conservator, or personal representative 
  1.15  who has filed an application with the commissioner for a bonus 
  1.16  under this section. 
  1.17     (b) "Application" means a request for a bonus payment by a 
  1.18  veteran, a veteran's beneficiary, or a veteran's guardian, 
  1.19  conservator, or personal representative through submission of 
  1.20  written information on a form designed by the commissioner for 
  1.21  this purpose. 
  1.22     (c) "Beneficiary" means in relation to a deceased veteran 
  1.23  and in the order named: 
  1.24     (1) the surviving spouse, if not remarried; 
  1.25     (2) the children of the veteran, if there is no surviving 
  1.26  spouse or the surviving spouse has remarried; 
  2.1      (3) the veteran's surviving parent or parents; 
  2.2      (4) the veteran's surviving sibling or siblings; or 
  2.3      (5) the veteran's estate. 
  2.4      (d) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of the department 
  2.5   of veterans affairs. 
  2.6      (e) "Department" means the department of veterans affairs. 
  2.7      (f) "Eligibility period for the bonus" means the period 
  2.8   from August 2, 1990, to July 31, 1991. 
  2.9      (g) "Guardian" or "conservator" means the legally appointed 
  2.10  representative of a minor beneficiary or incompetent veteran, 
  2.11  the chief officer of a hospital or institution in which the 
  2.12  incompetent veteran is placed if the officer is authorized to 
  2.13  accept money for the benefit of the minor or incompetent, the 
  2.14  person determined by the commissioner to be the person who is 
  2.15  legally charged with the responsibility for the care of the 
  2.16  minor beneficiary or incompetent veteran, or the person 
  2.17  determined by the commissioner to be the person who has assumed 
  2.18  the responsibility for the care of the minor beneficiary or 
  2.19  incompetent veteran. 
  2.20     (h) "Honorable service" means honorable service in the 
  2.21  United States armed forces or merchant marine, as evidenced by: 
  2.22     (1) an honorable discharge or certificate of release or 
  2.23  discharge from active duty in the merchant marine; 
  2.24     (2) a general discharge under honorable conditions; 
  2.25     (3) in the case of an officer, a certificate of honorable 
  2.26  service; or 
  2.27     (4) in the case of an applicant who is currently serving in 
  2.28  active duty in the United States armed forces or merchant 
  2.29  marine, a certificate from an appropriate service authority that 
  2.30  the applicant's service to date has been honorable. 
  2.31     (i) "Resident veteran" means a veteran who served in active 
  2.32  duty in the United States armed forces or merchant marine at any 
  2.33  time during the eligibility period for the bonus, and who also: 
  2.34     (1) has been separated or discharged from the United States 
  2.35  armed forces or merchant marine, and whose home of record at the 
  2.36  time of entry into active duty in the United States armed forces 
  3.1   or merchant marine, as indicated on the person's form DD-214, is 
  3.2   the state of Minnesota; or 
  3.3      (2) is currently serving in the United States armed 
  3.4   forces or merchant marine, and has a certificate from an 
  3.5   appropriate service authority stating that the person:  (i) 
  3.6   served in active duty in the United States armed forces or 
  3.7   merchant marine at any time during the eligibility period for 
  3.8   the bonus; and (ii) had Minnesota as the home of record at the 
  3.9   time of entry into active duty in the United States armed forces 
  3.10  or merchant marine. 
  3.11     (j) "Service connected" means caused by an injury or 
  3.12  disease incurred or aggravated while on active duty, as 
  3.13  determined by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. 
  3.14     (k) "Veteran" has the meaning given in section 197.447, and 
  3.15  also includes: 
  3.16     (1) a person who is providing honorable service on active 
  3.17  duty in the United States armed forces or merchant marine and 
  3.18  has not been separated, released, or discharged; or 
  3.19     (2) a member of a reserve component of the armed forces of 
  3.20  the United States, including the national guard, who was ordered 
  3.21  to active duty under United States Code, title 10, section 673b, 
  3.22  during the eligibility period for the bonus and who was deployed 
  3.23  to a duty station outside the state of Minnesota, as verified by 
  3.24  the appropriate service authority.  An applicant's DD-214 form 
  3.25  showing award of the Southwest Asia service medal during the 
  3.26  eligibility period for the bonus will suffice as verification. 
  3.27     "Veteran" does not include a member of the national guard 
  3.28  or the reserve components of the United States armed forces or 
  3.29  merchant marine ordered to active duty for the sole purpose of 
  3.30  training. 
  3.31     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1997 Supplement, section 
  3.32  197.79, subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  3.33     Subd. 2.  [BONUS AMOUNT.] (a) For a resident veteran who 
  3.34  provided honorable service in the United States armed forces or 
  3.35  merchant marine at any time during the eligibility period for 
  3.36  the bonus, the bonus amount is: 
  4.1      (1) $300, if the veteran did not receive the Southwest Asia 
  4.2   service medal during the eligibility period for the bonus; 
  4.3      (2) $600, if the veteran received the Southwest Asia 
  4.4   service medal during the eligibility period for the bonus or, if 
  4.5   the veteran served in the merchant marine, the veteran performed 
  4.6   service for which the veteran would have received the Southwest 
  4.7   Asia service medal had the veteran served in the armed forces; 
  4.8   or 
  4.9      (3) $2,000, if the veteran was eligible for the Southwest 
  4.10  Asia service medal during the eligibility period for the bonus, 
  4.11  and died during that time period as a direct result of a service 
  4.12  connected injury, disease, or condition. 
  4.13     (b) In the case of a deceased veteran, the commissioner 
  4.14  shall pay the bonus to the veteran's beneficiary. 
  4.15     (c) No payment may be made to a veteran or beneficiary who 
  4.16  has received a similar bonus payment from another state. 
  4.17     Sec. 3.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  4.18     Sections 1 and 2 are effective the day following final 
  4.19  enactment.