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LEGISLATURE OF NEBRASKA
ONE HUNDRED EIGHTH LEGISLATURE
SECOND SESSION
LEGISLATIVE BILL 869
Introduced by Bostar, 29; Jacobson, 42.
Read first time January 03, 2024
Committee: Government, Military and Veterans Affairs
1 A BILL FOR AN ACT relating to county veterans service committees; to
2 amend section 80-102, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, and
3 section 80-104, Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement, 2022; to
4 change provisions relating to the provision of veterans aid and
5 burial services; and to repeal the original sections.
6 Be it enacted by the people of the State of Nebraska,
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1 Section 1. Section 80-102, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, is
2 amended to read:
3 80-102 (1)(a) The county veterans service committee shall meet at
4 least once each year or on call of the chairperson or of any three
5 members of the committee. It shall determine the amount it considers
6 necessary for providing aid, including food, shelter, fuel, wearing
7 apparel, medical or surgical aid, or funeral expenses, for the purposes
8 identified in subdivisions (b) and (c) of this subsection. The county
9 veterans service committee shall certify the amount so determined to the
10 county board, which amount shall be reviewed and considered by the county
11 board in making a levy for an aid fund.
12 (b) The county veterans service committee shall determine the amount
13 of aid described in subdivision (a) of this subsection for persons who
14 are in need of the aid and who:
15 (i) Served in the armed forces of the United States during a period
16 of war as defined in section 80-401.01 or during a period of actual
17 hostilities in any war or conflict in which the United States Government
18 was engaged prior to April 6, 1917;
19 (ii) Were discharged or otherwise separated with a characterization
20 of honorable or general (under honorable conditions) or died while in
21 service or as a direct result of that service; and
22 (iii) Have legal residence in the State of Nebraska for a period of
23 not less than one year and in the county in which application is made for
24 a period of not less than six months.
25 (c) The county veterans service committee shall determine the amount
26 of aid described in subdivision (a) of this subsection for:
27 (i) Husbands and wives, surviving spouses, and minor children under
28 eighteen years of age of veterans described in subdivision (b) of this
29 subsection; and
30 (ii) Payment of expenses of last illness and burial when a veteran
31 described in subdivision (b) of this subsection or a surviving spouse
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1 described in subdivision (c)(i) of this subsection passes away leaving no
2 next of kin.
3 (2) The county board of each county shall annually make such levy or
4 levies as needed to raise the required aid fund referred to in subsection
5 (1) of this section as the county board determines is necessary, not
6 exceeding one cent on each one hundred dollars upon the taxable value of
7 all the taxable property of such county. Any unexpended balance of the
8 aid fund at the end of any fiscal year shall remain in the fund, without
9 reappropriation, for future use. The committee or a majority thereof
10 shall fix the amount to be paid to each claimant, subject to any amounts
11 in the aid fund, and promptly disburse the same to or for the benefit of
12 the claimant. The county clerk shall issue a warrant to the committee or
13 to the county veterans service officer as directed by the committee upon
14 the county treasurer for such amount as the committee shall from time to
15 time request and as amounts in the aid fund permit. The committee shall
16 at the end of each year make a detailed report of its transactions to the
17 county board. Such reports shall be accompanied with vouchers for all
18 money disbursed.
19 Sec. 2. Section 80-104, Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement,
20 2022, is amended to read:
21 80-104 Except for cremated remains disposed of as provided in
22 section 71-1382.01, it shall be the duty of the county veterans service
23 committee to cause to be decently interred the body of any person who has
24 been discharged or otherwise separated with a characterization of
25 honorable or general (under honorable conditions) from any arm of the
26 military or naval service of the United States, has served during a
27 period of war, as defined in section 80-401.01, or during a period of
28 actual hostilities in any war or conflict in which the United States
29 Government was engaged prior to April 6, 1917, and who dies may hereafter
30 die without leaving sufficient means to defray such person's his or her
31 funeral expenses. Such burials should not be made in any cemetery or
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1 burial grounds used exclusively for the burial of pauper dead. The
2 committee shall permit the If surviving relatives of the deceased shall
3 desire to conduct the funeral if , they request shall be permitted to do
4 so.
5 Sec. 3. Original section 80-102, Reissue Revised Statutes of
6 Nebraska, and section 80-104, Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement,
7 2022, are repealed.
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Statutes affected: Introduced: 80-102, 80-104