83,7
Section
7. 45.25 (2) (b) of the statutes is repealed.
45.25 (2) (c) The individual veteran applies for the tuition reimbursement program for courses begun within 10 years after separation from the service.
45.25 (2) (d) The individual veteran is a resident at the time of application for the tuition reimbursement program and was a Wisconsin resident at the time of entry or reentry into service or was a resident for any consecutive 12-month period after entry or reentry into service and before the date of his or her application. If a person applying for a benefit under this section meets the residency requirement of 12 consecutive months, the department may not require the person to reestablish that he or she meets that residency requirement when he or she later applies for any other benefit under this chapter that requires that residency.
83,10
Section
10. 45.25 (2) (e) of the statutes is amended to read:
45.25 (2) (e) The individual veteran is enrolled for at least 12 credits during the semester for which reimbursement is sought.
45.25 (3) (a) Except as provided in par. (am), an individual a veteran who meets the requirements under sub. (2), upon satisfactory completion of a full-time undergraduate semester in any institution of higher education, as defined in s. 45.396 (1) (a), in this state, any school that is approved under s. 45.35 (9m), any proprietary school that is approved under s. 45.54, or any institution from which the individual veteran receives a waiver of nonresident tuition under s. 39.47, may be reimbursed an amount not to exceed the total cost of the individual's veteran's tuition minus any grants or scholarships, including those made under s. 21.49, that the individual
veteran receives specifically for the payment of the tuition, or the standard cost of tuition for a state resident for an equivalent undergraduate semester at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, whichever is less. Reimbursement is available only for tuition that is part of a curriculum that is relevant to a degree in a particular course of study at the institution.
83,12
Section
12. 45.25 (3) (d) of the statutes is created to read:
45.25 (3) (d) Reimbursement of tuition and fees for a course may be provided at an institution or school under par. (a) other than the one from which the veteran is receiving his or her degree if all of the following apply:
1. The curriculum at the institution or school consists only of courses necessary to complete a degree in a particular course of study.
2. The course is accepted as transfer credits at the institution or school listed under par. (a) from which the veteran is receiving his or her degree but is not available at that institution or school.
83,13
Section
13. 45.25 (4) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:
45.25 (4) (a) An individual A veteran is not eligible for reimbursement under sub. (2) for more than 120 credits or 8 full semesters of full-time study at any institution of higher education, as defined in s. 45.396 (1) (a), in this state, 60 credits or 4 full semesters of full-time study at any institution of higher education, as defined in s. 45.396 (1) (a), in this state that offers a degree upon completion of 60 credits, or an equivalent amount of credits at a school that is approved under s. 45.35 (9m), at a proprietary school that is approved under s. 45.54, or at an institution where he or she is receiving a waiver of nonresident tuition under s. 39.47.
83,14
Section
14. 45.25 (4) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:
45.25 (4) (b) The department may provide reimbursement under sub. (2) to an individual a veteran who is delinquent in child support or maintenance payments or who owes past support, medical expenses or birth expenses, as established by appearance of the individual's veteran's name on the statewide support lien docket under s. 49.854 (2) (b), only if the individual veteran provides the department with one of the following:
1. A repayment agreement that the individual veteran has entered into, that has been accepted by the county child support agency under s. 59.53 (5) and that has been kept current for the 6-month period immediately preceding the date of the application.
2. A statement that the individual veteran is not delinquent in child support or maintenance payments and does not owe past support, medical expenses or birth expenses, signed by the department of workforce development or its designee within 7 working days before the date of the application.
83,15
Section
15. 45.25 (4) (c) of the statutes is amended to read:
45.25 (4) (c) An individual A veteran may not receive reimbursement under sub. (2) for any semester in which he or she received a grant under s. 21.49 or 45.396.
83,16
Section
16. 45.35 (20) of the statutes is created to read:
45.35 (20) Department headquarters and museum. The department may acquire by gift, purchase, or condemnation property for the purposes of providing a headquarters and museum building for the department.
83,17
Section
17. 45.35 (22) of the statutes is created to read:
45.35 (22) Fund transfer. The department may loan money from the veterans trust fund to the veterans mortgage loan repayment fund to fund loans under s. 45.79.
83,18
Section
18. 45.35 (23) of the statutes is created to read:
45.35 (23) Loan guarantee. The department may provide a loan guarantee for multifamily transitional housing for homeless veterans.
83,19
Section
19. 45.351 (1j) of the statutes is amended to read:
45.351 (1j) Health care aid grants. The department may grant to any veteran or dependents such temporary health care aid as the department considers advisable to prevent want or distress. Health care aid to meet medical or hospital bills under this subsection is limited to a payment of up to $5,000 per veteran or dependent for a 12-month period beginning with the first day of care for which the person seeks reimbursement under this subsection. The department may not give prior authorization for the payment of health care aid under this subsection but may issue a certificate of entitlement stating that a veteran or dependent is eligible for a health care aid grant under this subsection if the treatment is received within a time period that the department promulgates by rule. The department may not grant health care aid to pay for care provided to the veteran or dependent before the time period identified in the certificate of entitlement, except for emergency care as determined by the department if the application for the health care aid is submitted within 90 days after the emergency care ends. Health care aid may be used to provide payment for the treatment of alcoholism or other drug addiction or to provide payment for health care required because of alcoholism or other drug addiction or alcohol or other drug abuse. The department may not grant health care aid under this subsection unless the aid recipient's health care provider agrees to accept, as full payment for the medical treatment for which the aid is to be granted, the amount of the grant, the amount of the recipient's health insurance or other 3rd-party payments, if any, and the amount that the department determines the aid recipient is capable of paying. The department may not grant health care aid under this subsection if the combined liquid assets of the applicant for aid, and of the veteran and veteran's dependents who are living in the same household with the applicant, are in excess of $1,000.
83,20
Section
20. 45.356 (2) of the statutes is amended to read:
45.356 (2) The department may lend a veteran, a veteran's unremarried surviving spouse, or a deceased veteran's child not more than $15,000 $25,000, or a lesser amount established by the department by rule, for the purchase of a mobile home, business, or business property, the education of the veteran or the veteran's spouse or children, the payment of medical or funeral expenses, the payment under sub. (6) (c), or the consolidation of debt under sub. (10). The department may prescribe loan conditions, but the term of the loan may not exceed 10 years. The department shall ensure that the proceeds of any loan made under this section shall first be applied to pay any delinquent child support or maintenance payments and then to pay any past support, medical expenses, or birth expenses.
83,21
Section
21. 45.356 (3) of the statutes is amended to read:
45.356 (3) The department may lend not more than $15,000 $25,000, or a lesser amount established by the department by rule under sub. (10), to a veteran's remarried surviving spouse or to the parent of a deceased veteran's child for the education of a child.
83,22
Section
22. 45.356 (8) of the statutes is amended to read:
45.356 (8) No person may receive a loan under this section in an amount that, when added to the balance outstanding on the person's existing loans under s. 45.351 (2), 1995 stats., and s. 45.356, 1995 stats., would result in a total indebtedness to the department of more than $15,000, or a lesser amount as established by the department by rule $25,000.
83,23
Section
23. 45.356 (10) of the statutes is created to read:
45.356 (10) Subject to the limit established in subs. (2) and (3), the department may periodically adjust the maximum loan amount based upon financial market conditions, funds available, needs of the veterans trust funds, or other factors that the department considers relevant.
83,24
Section
24. 45.356 (11) of the statutes is created to read:
45.356 (11) The department may periodically adjust the interest rates for loans made under this section, which may vary based upon the term of the loan, the type of security offered, the method of payment, or other factors that the department considers relevant.
83,25
Section
25. 45.356 (12) of the statutes is created to read:
45.356 (12) Each loan made under this section, except a loan of $5,000 or less made to an applicant whose total indebtedness for loans made under this section is $5,000 or less, shall be evidenced by a promissory note and secured by a mortgage on real estate located in this state. A loan of $5,000 or less made to an applicant whose total indebtedness for loans made under this section is $5,000 or less shall be evidenced by a promissory note and secured by a guarantor or by a mortgage on real estate located in this state. A mortgage securing a loan made under this section is acceptable if the applicant has equity in the property subject to the mortgage equal to or exceeding a minimum amount that the department establishes by rule.
83,26
Section
26. 45.358 (1) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:
45.358 (1) (b) "Veteran" means a person who has served on active duty, except service on active duty for training purposes, in the U.S. armed forces.
45.396 (5) (a) Except as provided in par. (b), the amount of the reimbursement may not exceed the total cost of the individual's veteran's tuition or the standard cost for a state resident for tuition for an equivalent undergraduate course at the University of Wisconsin-Madison per course, whichever is less, minus any grants or scholarships that the veteran receives specifically for the payment of tuition and may not be provided to an individual a veteran more than 4 times during any consecutive 12-month period.
83,28
Section
28. 45.396 (7) (a) (intro.) of the statutes is renumbered 45.396 (7) (a) and amended to read:
45.396 (7) (a) No veteran may receive a grant under this section if the department determines, after disregarding any payment described under s. 45.85, 1997 stats., that the income of the veteran and his or her spouse exceeds $500 $50,000 plus $1,000 for each dependent in excess of 2 dependents plus whichever of the following applies:.
83,29
Section
29. 45.396 (7) (a) 1. and 2. of the statutes are repealed.
83,31
Section
31. 45.71 (2) of the statutes is amended to read:
45.71 (2) "Authorized lender" means any lender
or servicer authorized under s. 45.79 (5) (a) 5. to make or service loans under s. 45.79.
83,32
Section
32. 45.71 (16) (a) 2m. (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:
45.71 (16) (a) 2m. (intro.) The person is either a resident of and living in this state at the time of making application, is serving on active duty in the U.S. armed forces at the time of making application, or is deceased, and meets one of the following conditions:
83,33
Section
33. 45.79 (2) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:
45.79 (2) (a) Application and content. Applications for loans under this section for a purpose specified in s. 45.76 (1) (a), (b), or (d) shall be made to an authorized lender and applications for loans under this section for a purpose specified under s. 45.76 (1) (c) shall may be made to the department or to a county veterans' service officer on forms approved by the department and signed by the applicant. If the applicant is married and not separated or in the process of obtaining a divorce, the applicant's spouse also shall sign the application.
83,34
Section
34. 45.79 (2) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:
45.79 (2) (b) Certification by department. The applicant shall may apply directly to the department or through a county veterans' service officer for certification of eligibility as a veteran.
83,35
Section
35. 45.79 (5) (a) 11. of the statutes is created to read:
45.79 (5) (a) 11. Enter into contracts with persons other than authorized lenders for the servicing of loans made under this section.
83,36
Section
36. 45.79 (7) (a) 12. of the statutes is created to read:
45.79 (7) (a) 12. To make payments of obligations arising from the acquisition of a headquarters and museum building for the department under s. 45.35 (20).
83,37
Section
37. 45.79 (13) of the statutes is created to read:
45.79 (13) Repayment of loan. Any money appropriated or transferred by law from the veterans mortgage loan repayment fund for purposes other than those listed in sub. (7), other than moneys made temporarily available to other funds under s. 20.002 (11), shall be repaid from the general fund with interest at a rate of 5% per year from the the date of the appropriation or transfer to the date of repayment.
83,38
Section
38. 71.03 (7) (d) of the statutes is created to read:
71.03
(7) (d) For taxable years beginning after December 31, 2002, and before January 1, 2005, for persons who served in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom or an operation that is a successor to Operation Iraqi Freedom in the United States, or for persons who qualify for a federal extension of time to file under
26 USC 7508, who served outside the United States because of their participation in Operation Iraqi Freedom or an operation that is a successor to Operation Iraqi Freedom in the Iraqi Freedom theater of operations.
83,39
Section
39. 230.36 (2m) (a) 19. of the statutes is repealed.
83,40
Section
40. 341.14 (6) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:
341.14 (6) (a) Upon application to register an automobile or a motor truck or dual purpose farm truck that has a gross weight of not more than 8,000 pounds by any person who was a member of any of the U.S. armed services and who was held as a prisoner of war during any of the conflicts described in s. 45.001 (5) (b) to (i) or in Bosnia, Grenada, Lebanon, Panama, Somalia, or a Middle East crisis under s. 45.34, and upon submission of a statement from the U.S. department of veterans affairs certifying that the person was a prisoner of war during one of the conflicts described in s. 45.001 (5) (b) to (i) or in Bosnia, Grenada, Lebanon, Panama, Somalia, or a Middle East crisis under s. 45.34, the department shall issue to the person a special plate that is colored red, white, and blue and that has the words "ex-prisoner of war" placed on the plate in the manner designated by the department.
