45.41(3) (3) A state veterans organization shall file an application annually with the department for the previous 12-month period ending on March 31 of the year in which it is filed. The application shall contain a statement of salaries and travel expenses paid to employees of the organization engaged in veterans claims service activities at the regional office by the state veterans organization covering the period for which application for a payment is made. The statement shall be certified as correct by a certified public accountant licensed or certified under ch. 442 and sworn to as correct by the adjutant or principal officer of the state veterans organization. The application shall include the state organization's financial statement for its previous fiscal year and evidence of claims service activity that the department requires. The state veterans organization shall submit with its initial application sufficient evidence to establish that it or its national organization, or both, has maintained a full-time service office at the regional office for 5 consecutive years out of the 10-year period immediately preceding the application. Subsequent applications shall be accompanied by an affidavit by the adjutant or principal officer of the state veterans organization stating that the organization, on its own or with its national organization, maintained a full-time service office at the regional office for the entire 12-month period for which application for a payment is made.

45.41(4) (4) From the appropriation under s. 20.485 (2) (s), the department shall annually provide a payment of $100,000 to the Wisconsin department of the Disabled American Veterans for the provision of transportation services to veterans.

45.42(1) (1) It is determined that the loan program established under this section is a special purpose credit program for an economically disadvantaged class of persons for purposes of 15 USC 1691-1691f.

45.42(2) (2) The department may lend a veteran, a veteran's unremarried surviving spouse, or a deceased veteran's child not more than $25,000, or a lesser amount established by the department under sub. (9). The department may prescribe loan conditions, but the term of the loan may not exceed 10 years, or a shorter term established by the department under sub. (12). 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 owed by the person receiving the loan and then to pay any past support, medical expenses, or birth expenses owed by the person receiving the loan.

45.42(3) (3) The department may lend to the remarried surviving spouse of a deceased veteran or to the parent of a deceased veteran's child not more than $25,000, or a lesser amount established by the department under sub. (9), for the education of the deceased veteran's child.

45.42(4) (4) The department may execute necessary instruments, collect interest and principal, compromise indebtedness, sue and be sued, post bonds, and write off indebtedness that it considers uncollectible. If a loan under this section is secured by a real estate mortgage, the department may exercise the rights of owners and mortgagees generally and the rights and powers set forth in s. 45.32. The department shall pay all interest and principal repaid on the loan into the veterans trust fund.

45.42(5) (5) The department may charge loan expenses incurred under this section to the loan applicant. The department shall pay all expenses received under this subsection into the veterans trust fund.

45.42(6) (6) The department may provide a loan under this section to an applicant whose name appears on the statewide support lien docket under s. 49.854 (2) (b) only if the applicant does one of the following:

45.42(6)(b) (b) Provides to the department a statement that the applicant 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.

45.42(7) (7) 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 $25,000.

45.42(9) (9) Subject to the limits 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.

45.42(10) (10) 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.

45.42(11) (11) If an applicant's total indebtedness for loans made under this section is more than $5,000, the loan 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.

45.42(12) (12) Subject to the limit established in sub. (2), the department may periodically adjust the maximum term limits for loans based upon financial market conditions, funds available, needs of the veterans trust fund, or other factors that the department considers relevant.

45.43(1) (1) The department shall administer a program 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 to persons whose need for services is based upon homelessness, incarceration, or other circumstances designated by the department by rule. The department shall designate the assistance available under this section, which may include assistance in receiving medical care, dental care, education, employment, and transitional housing. The department may provide payments to facilitate the provision of services under this section.