Amendment ASA1-AB821

AB821-ASA1,75 Section 75. 45.82 (1) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB821-ASA1,18,24 45.82 (1) Each county may annually apply to the department for a grant for the improvement of service to former military personnel of the county through the county veterans service office. A county may not allocate any portion of a grant for use by another county department nor may the county reduce funding to a county veterans service office based upon receipt of a grant. The county veterans service officer of any county applying for the grant shall enter into an agreement with the department. The agreement shall state the goals and objectives to be attained by the county veterans service office during the remainder of the year covered by the grant application. The department shall prepare the basic form of this agreement in consultation with the county veterans service officers association and provide a copy and an explanation of that agreement to each county veterans service officer. The department shall develop reasonable budget and operating standards to assure improved services, but full operating control of the county office shall be left to each county.

AB821-ASA1,76 Section 76. 851.09 of the statutes is amended to read:

AB821-ASA1,19,6 851.09 Heir. "Heir" means any person, including the surviving spouse, who is entitled under the statutes of intestate succession to an interest in property of a decedent. The state is an heir of the decedent and a person interested under s. 45.51 (10) 45.50 (14) and (11) (15) when the decedent was a member of a Wisconsin veterans home operated by the department of veterans affairs under s. 45.50 at the time of the decedent's death.

AB821-ASA1,77 Section 77. Nonstatutory provisions.

AB821-ASA1,19,10 (1) In this section, "task force" means the task force on planning for the future statewide delivery of programs, benefits, and services to Wisconsin veterans created in subsection (2).

AB821-ASA1,19,16 (2) There is created a task force on planning for the future statewide delivery of programs, benefits, and services to Wisconsin veterans to study factors that may affect future operations of veterans benefits service organizations at the state, county, and municipal level and to develop a 20-year operational plan that would include recommendations to improve coordination between organizations at all levels in order to deliver services in the most cost-effective manner.

AB821-ASA1,19,20 (3) The task force shall be co-chaired by a member of the assembly, appointed by the speaker of the assembly, and a member of the senate, appointed by the senate majority leader, and shall be comprised of one representative from each of the following:

AB821-ASA1,19,21 (a) The senate committee on transportation and veterans affairs.

AB821-ASA1,19,22 (b) The assembly committee on veterans and military affairs.

AB821-ASA1,19,23 (c) The department of veterans affairs.

AB821-ASA1,19,24 (d) Wisconsin Counties Association.

AB821-ASA1,19,25 (e) Wisconsin County Veterans Service Officer Association.

AB821-ASA1,20,1 (f) Wisconsin Veterans of Foreign Wars.

AB821-ASA1,20,2 (g) American Legion Department of Wisconsin.

AB821-ASA1,20,3 (h) Military Order of the Purple Heart of Wisconsin.

AB821-ASA1,20,4 (i) Disabled American Veterans of Wisconsin.

AB821-ASA1,20,5 (j) Vietnam Veterans of America, Wisconsin State Council.

AB821-ASA1,20,6 (k) Wisconsin Council of the Military Officers Association of America.

AB821-ASA1,20,7 (l) Board of veterans affairs.

AB821-ASA1,20,9 (4) In conducting the study under subsection (2), the task force shall consider all of the following:

AB821-ASA1,20,11 (a) The changing population and demographics of the veterans population and changing factors in rural, suburban, and urban areas of Wisconsin.

AB821-ASA1,20,13 (b) Advancement of technology and its ability to improve and impact the delivery of services to veterans in Wisconsin.

AB821-ASA1,20,16 (c) The different types of benefits available to veterans and their families and the extent to which Wisconsin veterans participate in major state and federal benefit programs.

AB821-ASA1,20,19 (d) County differences in funding, staffing, and supervision of offices, including how those differences may affect veterans receiving benefits and the amounts veterans receive.

AB821-ASA1,20,20 (e) State oversight of the grantees.

AB821-ASA1,20,23 (5) The task force shall summarize its findings and make recommendations to the governor and the legislature in a report to be submitted within 6 months of the effective date of this subsection .... [LRB inserts date].

AB821-ASA1,78 Section 78. Effective dates. This act takes effect on the day after publication, except as follows:

AB821-ASA1,21,2 (1) The repeal and recreation of section 20.485 (1) (gk) of the statutes takes effect on July 1, 2017.

AB821-ASA1,21,3 (End)