Amendment ASA1-AB821

AB821-ASA1,15,9 45.43 (title) Veterans assistance program housing and recovery programs; aid to indigent veterans. (1) The department shall administer a program programs to provide assistance to persons who served in the U.S. armed forces or in forces incorporated as part of the U.S. armed forces and who were discharged under conditions other than dishonorable. The department shall provide assistance under this section to persons whose need for services is based upon homelessness, incarceration, or other circumstances designated by the department by rule. The eligibility requirements under s. 45.02 (2) do not apply to a person applying for assistance under this section. The department shall designate the assistance available under this section, which may include assistance in receiving medical care, dental care, education, employment, single room occupancy housing, and transitional housing, and, notwithstanding s. 45.51 (14), housing in an assisted living facility. The department may provide payments to facilitate the provision of services under this section.

AB821-ASA1,59 Section 59. 45.50 (4) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB821-ASA1,15,15 45.50 (4) (a) The department may use moneys appropriated under s. 20.485 (1) (h) to purchase, erect, construct, or remodel buildings, to provide additions and improvements, to provide equipment, materials, supplies, and services necessary for the purposes of veterans homes, and for expenses that are necessary and incidental to acquisition of property under s. 45.51 (10) 45.50 (14) and (11) (15).

AB821-ASA1,60 Section 60. 45.51 (3) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB821-ASA1,15,22 45.51 (3) (b) Spouses, surviving spouses, and parents derive their eligibility from the eligibility of the person under sub. (2) (a) 1. or 2. Surviving spouses and parents of eligible persons under sub. (2) (a) 1. or 2. shall not be eligible for admission to the Wisconsin Veterans Home at Union Grove, the Wisconsin Veterans Home at King, or the Wisconsin Veterans Home at Chippewa Falls unless a home's overall occupancy level is below an optimal level as determined by the board department.

AB821-ASA1,61 Section 61. 45.51 (3) (c) 1. d. of the statutes is amended to read:

AB821-ASA1,15,25 45.51 (3) (c) 1. d. Parents of eligible persons under sub. (2) (a) 1. or 2. to 3. have 4th priority for admission.

AB821-ASA1,62 Section 62. 45.51 (3) (c) 1m. c. of the statutes is amended to read:

AB821-ASA1,16,4 45.51 (3) (c) 1m. c. A person who is not a resident of the state on the date of application for membership in a veterans home eligible under sub. (1m) has 3rd priority for admission.

AB821-ASA1,63 Section 63. 45.51 (3) (c) 2. of the statutes is amended to read:

AB821-ASA1,16,7 45.51 (3) (c) 2. The department may deviate from this sequence upon order of the board to prevent the separation of a husband and wife.

AB821-ASA1,64 Section 64. 45.51 (6m) of the statutes is renumbered 45.51 (1m) and amended to read:

AB821-ASA1,16,13 45.51 (1m) Residency. In Notwithstanding s. 45.02 (2) and subject to sub. (3), in order to be eligible for benefits under this subchapter, a person specified under sub. (2) (a) 1., 2., or 3. does not have to be a resident of this state on the date of application for membership.

AB821-ASA1,65 Section 65. 45.51 (7) of the statutes is renumbered 45.50 (12), and 45.50 (12) (a), as renumbered, is amended to read:

AB821-ASA1,16,18 45.50 (12) (a) The board department shall establish a pay plan for compensation of members for services rendered to a veterans home under its work therapy program.

AB821-ASA1,66 Section 66. 45.51 (8) of the statutes is renumbered 45.50 (13).

AB821-ASA1,67 Section 67. 45.51 (10) of the statutes is renumbered 45.50 (14), and 45.50 (14) (a) and (b), as renumbered, are amended to read:

AB821-ASA1,17,7 45.50 (14) (a) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, the application and admission of any applicant admitted under this section s. 45.51 shall constitute a valid and binding contract between a member and the department. If a member dies leaving a relative that is entitled to an interest in the property of the member under the rules of intestate succession or a will the existence of which is made known to the commandant of the veterans home within 60 days of the member's death, the member's property shall constitute a part of the member's estate, except the commandant may distribute personal effects of nominal monetary value of a deceased member who is not survived by a member spouse to surviving relatives of the member who request the personal effects within a reasonable time after the member's death.

AB821-ASA1,17,13 (b) The department may manage, sell, lease, or transfer property passing to the state pursuant to this section s. 45.51 or conveyed to it by members, defend and prosecute all actions concerning it, pay all just claims against it, and do all other things necessary for the protection, preservation, and management of the property. All expenditures necessary for the execution of functions under this paragraph or sub. s. 45.51 (14) shall be made from the appropriation in s. 20.485 (1) (h).

AB821-ASA1,68 Section 68. 45.51 (11) of the statutes is renumbered 45.50 (15).

AB821-ASA1,69 Section 69. 45.51 (12) of the statutes is renumbered 45.50 (16).

AB821-ASA1,70 Section 70. 45.57 (1) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB821-ASA1,17,19 45.57 (1) The department may transfer all or part of the unencumbered balance of any of the appropriations under s. 20.485 (1) (g), (gd), (gk), or (i) to the veterans trust fund or to the veterans mortgage loan repayment fund.

AB821-ASA1,71 Section 71. 45.70 (1b) (a) of the statutes is renumbered 45.70 (1b) and amended to read:

AB821-ASA1,17,25 45.70 (1b) The board department may approve, recommend, and veto any proposed plans, modifications, and changes or policies with respect to established state memorials and any future veterans state memorials, and may recommend the creation and establishment of future veterans state memorials.

AB821-ASA1,72 Section 72. 45.70 (1b) (b) of the statutes is repealed.

AB821-ASA1,73 Section 73. 45.70 (1m) of the statutes is repealed.

AB821-ASA1,74 Section 74. 45.70 (2) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB821-ASA1,18,9 45.70 (2) (b) No structures, other than memorials approved by the board department, and no walks, roads, or subterranean footings may be placed or erected upon Camp Randall Memorial Park, Madison, Wisconsin, as described in par. (c), unless authorized by the legislature;, nor shall the park be used for any permanent purpose other than a memorial park and no event may be held within the park unless approved by the department.

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)