BILL NUMBER: S8055
SPONSOR: HARCKHAM
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the public health law, in relation to eligibility for
admission to New York state veterans' homes
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
The purpose of this legislation is to slightly expand the eligibility
for admission to a New York State Veterans' Home.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:z
Section 1. Paragraph (h) of subdivision 1 of section 2632 of the
Public Health Law, as amended by section 3 of part E of chapter 57 of
the laws of 2024 by expanding the eligibility requirements for admission
to a New York State Veterans' Home. To meet eligibility, you must have
been a resident of NYS at the time of entry upon active duty or had been
a resident of NYS for six months preceding the application for admission
or have an immediate family member who has ben a resident of NYS for one
year to date of application for admission. For purposes of this legis-
lation, 'immediate family member' includes a spouse, birth parent, adop-
tive parent, child, sibling, stepparent, stepchild, stepsibling, grand-
parent or grandchild.
Section 2. Establishes the effective date.
 
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ORIGINAL AND AMENDED VERSION (IF APPLICABLE):
Not applicable at this time.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
While changes were recently made to this section of law (2024), there is
still a slight change that needs to be made. Throughout an individual's
life, they may have enlisted in one state, moved to another state when
they came home, and their family may have relocated to yet another
state.
A veteran living in another state may have a family member residing in
New York. Their independence could be declining a bit, and before that
happened, they may have been able to live and flourish on their own with
no help or additional support. However, once that independence is gone,
having family close by could benefit the veterans the rest of their
lives. Once this starts to happen, it is important they can be near
their New York family by living in a New York State Veterans Home. With
the six-month residence requirement, it would be difficult for the
veteran to obtain residency in our state, without first being a six-
month resident. By allowing an immediate family member to be a resident
of New York State, a family would be able to assist in filling out the
forms necessary for the veteran to be accepted into a home, with the
ability to move in directly upon acceptance. Often, the veteran is
unable to live on their own for six months to establish residency, and
their family is unable take them in and care for them for those six
months either.
We know that veterans, and our elderly in general, benefit greatly from
having family nearby. By adding a family member who has been a resident
of New York State for a minimum of a year as an additional eligibility
option, the veteran will clearly benefit having the support of their
family living in the vicinity.
This legislation is needed to keep veterans near their families. They
have served our country, and it should not matter which state they lived
in when they joined our military or where they resided when it becomes
evident that they can no longer live on their own. We should bend over
backwards to serve those who have served us so admirably.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
This is new legislation.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
There are no fiscal implications associated with the passage of this
legislation.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

Statutes affected:
S8055: 2632 public health law, 2632(1) public health law