STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2024 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator JOSEPH PENNACCHIO
District 26 (Morris and Passaic)
Senator JOSEPH P. CRYAN
District 20 (Union)
Co-Sponsored by:
Senators Cruz-Perez and Amato
SYNOPSIS
Creates permanent commission to study various statutory definitions of veteran, disabled veteran, and service-disabled veteran.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act creating a permanent commission to study the various statutory definitions of veteran, disabled veteran, and service-disabled veteran, and supplementing chapter 3 of Title 38A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. The Legislature finds and declares that:
a. Over 330,000 veterans of the United States military call the State of New Jersey home.
b. In New Jersey, veterans receive numerous benefits for their service and sacrifice, including property tax deductions, educational benefits, and business incentives.
c. In addition, New Jersey offers several perks for veterans, including special license plates, free or reduced fee beach access, and financial assistance.
d. The State has traditionally taken steps to protect veterans and their families as a form of gratitude for protecting the people of the United States and this State.
e. However, for every benefit and perk awarded to veterans of this State, numerous definitions of veteran, disabled veteran, and service-disabled veteran exist in the statutes.
f. The various definitions, which include over 20 definitions of the meaning of veteran alone, make it difficult for veterans to understand if they are eligible for the benefits.
g. Some of the definitions include requiring active service in specific wars and conflicts, requiring that a veteran must have served at least 90 days on active duty in the Armed Forces, or simply requiring that a veteran served in the Armed Forces.
h. The confusion is even more profound for disabled veterans and service-disabled veterans, as the definitions occasionally blend together and can lead to many disabled or service-disabled veterans being denied or ruled ineligible for certain benefits.
i. There is a critical need for the State to study how all veterans are defined to better serve all veterans of this State.
j. The establishment of a study commission of both executive and legislative appointees, along with the expertise of the military community, would fulfill such a need and lead to an enhancement of the services offered to all veterans of the State.
2. a. There is hereby created, in but not of the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, a permanent study commission consisting of five members as follows:
(1) one member, appointed by the Governor who shall be an employee of the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs;
(2) two members, of whom one shall be appointed by the President of the Senate and one shall be appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate; and
(3) two members, of whom one shall be appointed by the Speaker of the General Assembly and one shall be appointed by the Minority Leader of the General Assembly.
b. Any vacancy in the membership of the commission shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment.
c. Members of the commission shall be appointed within 30 days after the effective date of this act, and shall hold their initial organizational meeting as soon as practicable, but no later than 30 days following appointment of a majority of its authorized membership. At the initial organizational meeting, the members shall elect a chairperson and vice-chairperson from among the members of the study commission by a majority vote of the members present. The chairperson may appoint a secretary, who need not be a member of the commission.
d. Members of the study commission shall serve without compensation, but shall be eligible for reimbursement for necessary and reasonable expenses incurred in the performance of their official duties within the limits of funds appropriated or otherwise made available to the commission.
e. A majority of all the authorized members of the study commission shall constitute a quorum, and three members of the commission shall constitute a majority. No action of the study commission shall be taken without the affirmative vote of a majority of all the authorized members of the study commission, except for the election of the chairperson and vice-chairperson at the initial organizational meeting pursuant to subsection c. of this section.
f. The Department of Military and Veterans Affairs shall provide primary staff support to the study commission. The commission shall also be entitled to call to its assistance and avail itself of the services of the employees of any State, county, or municipal department, board, bureau, commission, or agency as it may require and as may be available for its purposes.
3. a. The purpose of the study commission shall be to (1) determine the various definitions of veteran, disabled veteran, service-disabled veteran, and any other definition of veteran in the statutes, and (2) recommend changes to such definitions in the statutes that may provide greater uniformity and be less restrictive.
b. The study commission shall:
(1) compile and analyze the various definitions of veteran, disabled veteran, service-disabled veteran, and any other definition of veteran in the statutes;
(2) identify statutes with unique and restrictive requirements for the various definitions and determine if the requirements may be revised for the benefit of more uniform definitions;
(3) identify potential revisions to be made to the statutes to provide for a clearer understanding of the requirements for qualification under the various definitions;
(4) consult with the military community for expertise and input concerning paragraphs (1) through (3) of this subsection; and
(5) utilize the findings of the study commission, and the expertise from the military community, to recommend changes to the various definitions and submit the findings and recommendations in the initial report and all subsequent reports, pursuant to subsection c. of this section.
c. The study commission
shall prepare and issue an annual report on its findings, conclusions, and
recommendations and shall submit the report to the Governor, the Legislature in
accordance with the requirements of section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164
(C.52:14-19.1), the Senate Military and Veterans Affairs Committee, or its successor,
and the General Assembly Military and Veterans Affairs Committee, or its
successor. The first annual report shall be issued no later than 12 months
after the commission organizes, and each subsequent annual report shall be
issued no later than 12 months from the date of the last report.
4. This act shall take effect immediately.