Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

General Assembly                       Raised Bill No. 355
       February Session, 2020                LCO No. 2207
     Referred to Committee on VETERANS' AFFAIRS
     Introduced by:
       (VA)
 AN ACT CONCERNING HMONG LAOTIAN SPECIAL GUERILLA UNITS
 SERVING IN THE KINGDOM OF LAOS.
 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
 Assembly convened:
       Section 1. Section 14-20b of the general statutes is repealed and the
    following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2020):
      (a) [The Commissioner of Motor Vehicles, at] (1) At the request of any
   (A) veteran or member of the armed forces or the surviving spouse of
   such veteran or member, or (B) member of the Hmong Laotian special
   guerilla units, which units served in the United States secret war in the
   Kingdom of Laos during the Vietnam War, the Commissioner of Motor
   Vehicles shall register any motor vehicle owned or leased for a period
   of at least one year by such [person] veteran, member, surviving spouse
   or member of the Hmong Laotian special guerilla units and shall issue
   a special certificate of registration and a set of number plates for each
   such motor vehicle, including a special certificate of registration and a
   set of number plates for any motor vehicle used exclusively for farming
   purposes by any such veteran, [or] member, [of the armed forces, or the]
   surviving spouse [of such veteran or member,] or member of the Hmong
   Laotian special guerilla units, who is engaged in agricultural production
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 as a trade or business. The plates shall expire and be renewed as
 provided in section 14-22. The commissioner shall charge a fee for such
 plates, which fee shall cover the entire cost of making such plates and
 shall be in addition to the fee for registration of such motor vehicle.
    (2) As used in this subsection, "member of the armed forces" has the
 same meaning as provided in section 27-103 and "veteran" means any
 person [(1)] (A) honorably discharged from, or released under
 honorable conditions from active service in, the armed forces, or [(2)] (B)
 with a qualifying condition, as defined in section 27-103, who has
 received a discharge other than bad conduct or dishonorable from active
 service in the armed forces.
    (b) Any such member of the armed forces who is dishonorably
 discharged shall return such plates to the commissioner not later than
 thirty days after such discharge. The commissioner shall not renew such
 plates for any motor vehicle owned or leased by any such member of
 the armed forces who is dishonorably discharged.
    Sec. 2. Section 14-36h of the general statutes is repealed and the
 following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2020):
    (a) Each motor vehicle operator's license issued by the Commissioner
 of Motor Vehicles in accordance with section 14-36 and each identity
 card issued by said commissioner in accordance with section 1-1h shall
 contain the following: (1) The person's full legal name; (2) the person's
 date of birth; (3) the person's gender; (4) the person's height and eye
 color; (5) the person's assigned operator's license or identity card
 number; (6) the person's address of principal residence in this state; (7)
 the person's signature; (8) the person's photograph or digital image; and
 (9) if applicable, the person's status as a veteran, as provided in
 subsection (e) or (f) of this section.
   (b) If any person does not reside in any state, territory or possession
 of the United States because such person is on active military duty with
 the United States Armed Forces, and such person's home state of record
 is Connecticut, as reflected in the records of the Department of Defense,
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 Department of Homeland Security or any department under which the
 United States Coast Guard operates, such person may obtain a
 Connecticut operator's license or identity card, provided such person:
 (1) Does not have an operator's license or identity card issued by another
 state, territory or possession of the United States, or surrenders any such
 license or identity card; (2) has a current APO or FPO mailing address;
 (3) designates such person's home address as 60 State Street,
 Wethersfield, CT 06161; and (4) meets all other requirements for
 obtaining an operator's license or identity card in this state.
    (c) The commissioner shall provide that each such license or identity
 card document contains physical security features designed to prevent
 tampering, counterfeiting or duplication of the document.
    (d) Each such document shall also contain one or more machine-
 readable technology feature or component, including, but not limited to,
 a bar code or magnetic strip.
    (e) Any person who is a veteran may submit a request to the
 Department of Veterans Affairs to have his or her status as a veteran
 contained on his or her motor vehicle operator's license or identity card.
 Said department shall, not later than thirty days after receipt of such
 request, verify whether such person is a veteran and, if so, notify the
 Commissioner of Motor Vehicles of such request and verification. The
 Commissioner of Motor Vehicles shall indicate such person's status as a
 veteran on any motor vehicle operator's license or identity card issued
 to such person upon original issuance or renewal of a motor vehicle
 operator's license or identity card or upon issuance of a duplicate motor
 vehicle operator's license or identity card.
    (f) Any person who was a member of the Hmong Laotian special
 guerilla units may submit a request to the Department of Veterans
 Affairs to be listed as a veteran, based on such service, on his or her
 motor vehicle operator's license or identity card. Such person shall
 provide to said department (1) an affidavit stating (A) when such person
 served, (B) where such person served, (C) the unit in which such person
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 served, and (D) the capacity in which such person served; (2)
 corroborating witness affidavits, if available; (3) any available official
 documentation of service; and (4) any other documents supporting such
 person's affidavit. Said department shall, not later than thirty days after
 receipt of such request, verify whether such person was a member of the
 Hmong Laotian special guerilla units and, if so, notify the
 Commissioner of Motor Vehicles of such request and verification. The
 Commissioner of Motor Vehicles shall indicate veteran status on any
 motor vehicle operator's license or identity card issued to such person
 upon original issuance or renewal of a motor vehicle operator's license
 or identity card or upon issuance of a duplicate motor vehicle operator's
 license or identity card.
    [(f)] (g) As used in this section: (1) "Full legal name" means the most
 complete version of the name that appears on a person's certificate of
 birth, official passport or other document or documents accepted by the
 Commissioner of Motor Vehicles to verify the person's identity, unless
 the person presents a marriage license or certificate, a certificate of civil
 union, a divorce decree or an order of a court of competent jurisdiction
 pertaining to a permanent change of the person's name; and (2)
 "veteran" means (A) any person honorably discharged from, or released
 under honorable conditions from active service in, the armed forces, as
 defined in section 27-103, (B) any former member of the armed forces
 who is entitled to retirement pay under 10 USC Chapter 1223, as
 amended from time to time, or, but for age, would be so entitled, [or]
 (C) any person with a qualifying condition, as defined in section 27-103,
 who has received a discharge other than bad conduct or dishonorable
 from active service in the armed forces, or (D) any member of the
 Hmong Laotian special guerilla units, which units served in the United
 States secret war in the Kingdom of Laos during the Vietnam War.
    Sec. 3. Section 27-118 of the general statutes is repealed and the
 following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2020):
   (a) When any veteran or member of the Hmong Laotian special
 guerilla units, as defined in subsection (e) of this section, dies, not
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 having sufficient estate to pay the necessary expenses of the veteran's or
 member's last sickness and burial, as determined by the commissioner
 after consultation with the probate court for the district in which the
 veteran or member resided, the state shall pay the sum of one thousand
 eight hundred dollars toward such funeral expenses, and the burial
 shall be in some cemetery or plot not used exclusively for the burial of
 the pauper dead, and the same amount shall be paid if the body is
 cremated, but no amount shall be paid for the expenses for burial or
 cremation unless claim therefor is made within one year from the date
 of death, except that in cases of death occurring abroad, such claim may
 be made within one year after the remains of such veteran or member
 have been interred in this country. No provision of this section shall
 prevent the payment of the sum above named for the burial of any
 person, otherwise entitled to the same, on account of such burial being
 made outside the limits of this state.
    (b) Upon satisfactory proof by the person who has paid or provided
 for the funeral or burial expense to the commissioner of the identity of
 the deceased veteran, the time and place of the deceased's death and
 burial and the approval thereof by the commissioner, said sum of one
 thousand eight hundred dollars shall be paid by the Comptroller to the
 person who has paid the funeral or burial expense or, upon assignment
 by such person, to the funeral director who has provided the funeral.
    (c) Upon satisfactory proof by the person who has paid or provided
 for the funeral or burial expense to the commissioner of (1) the identity
 of the deceased member, (2) the time and place of the deceased
 member's death and burial, (3) an affidavit stating (A) when the
 deceased member served, (B) where the deceased member served, (C)
 the unit in which the deceased member served, and (D) the capacity in
 which the deceased member served, (4) corroborating witness
 affidavits, if available, (5) any available official documentation of
 service, and (6) any other documents supporting the affidavit by the
 person who has paid or provided for the funeral or burial expense, and
 the approval thereof by the commissioner, said sum of one thousand
 eight hundred dollars shall be paid by the Comptroller to the person
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 who has paid the funeral or burial expense or, upon assignment by such
 person, to the funeral director who has provided the funeral.
    (d) Whenever the Comptroller has lawfully paid any sum toward the
 expenses of the burial of any deceased veteran or member and it
 afterwards appears that the deceased left any estate, the Comptroller
 may present a claim on behalf of the state against the estate of such
 deceased veteran or member for the sum so paid, and the claim shall be
 a preferred claim against such estate and shall be paid to the Treasurer
 of the state. The commissioner, upon the advice of the Attorney General,
 may make application for administration upon the estate of any such
 deceased veteran or member if no other person authorized by law
 makes such application within sixty days after such payment has been
 made by the Comptroller.
    (e) As used in this section, (1) "veteran" means any person [(1)] (A)
 honorably discharged from, or released under honorable conditions
 from active service in, the armed forces, as defined in section 27-103, or
 [(2)] (B) with a qualifying condition, as defined in said section, who has
 received a discharge other than bad conduct or dishonorable from active
 service in the armed forces, and (2) "member" means any person who
 served in the Hmong Laotian special guerilla units, which units served
 in the United States secret war in the Kingdom of Laos during the
 Vietnam War.
    Sec. 4. Section 27-122b of the general statutes is repealed and the
 following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2020):
     (a) As used in this section, (1) "veteran" means any person [(1)] (A)
 honorably discharged from, or released under honorable conditions
 from, active service in the United States Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air
 Force or Coast Guard or any women's auxiliary branch thereof,
 organized pursuant to an Act of Congress, [; (2)] (B) who has completed
 at least twenty years of qualifying service, as described in and computed
 under 10 USC Chapter 1223, as amended from time to time, in the
 Connecticut National Guard, [;] or [(3)] (C) who was killed in action, or
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 who died as a result of accident or illness sustained while performing
 active service, in the United States Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force
 or Coast Guard or any women's auxiliary branch thereof, organized
 pursuant to an Act of Congress, or in the Connecticut National Guard,
 and (2) "member" means any person who served in the Hmong Laotian
 special guerilla units, which units served in the United States secret war
 in the Kingdom of Laos during the Vietnam War.
    (b) (1) Any veteran or member may, by letter or other communication
 addressed to the commissioner, or by will, request that upon his or her
 death his or her body be buried in a veterans' cemetery established
 pursuant to section 27-122a, or (2) the spouse or other next of kin may
 apply to the commissioner to have the body of such veteran or member
 buried in said veterans' cemetery, and in either case such request shall
 be granted.
    (c) (1) Any member or former member of the armed forces, as defined
 in subsection (a) of section 27-103, who is a resident of this state and is
 entitled to retirement pay under 10 USC Chapter 1223, as amended from
 time to time, or would have been entitled to retirement pay under said
 chapter, but for the fact that the person is under sixty years of age, may
 by letter or other communication addressed to the commissioner, or by
 will, request that his or her body will be buried in said veterans'
 cemetery, or (2) the spouse or other next of kin may apply to the
 commissioner to have the body of such member or former member
 buried in said veterans' cemetery, and, in either case, such request shall
 be granted.
    (d) The spouse of any veteran or member shall, upon similar request
 or application made to the commissioner, be buried in said veterans'
 cemetery provided only one such request or application shall be
 granted.
   (e) The commissioner shall designate an area in said veterans'
 cemetery for veterans and members who, for religious reasons, require
 burial in a consecrated area.
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    Sec. 5. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2020) (a) The Commissioner of
 Veterans Affairs, in consultation with the Adjutant General, shall award
 a ribbon and medal to each member, as defined in subsection (b) of this
 section, who is a resident of this state. The commissioner, in consultation
 with the Adjutant General, shall adopt regulations, in accordance with
 the provisions of chapter 54 of the general statutes, setting forth the
 process for designing the ribbon and medal, identifying such members
 who are eligible for the ribbon and medal under this section and
 establishing procedures for distributing the ribbon and medal to each
 such eligible member. The cost of the ribbons and medals shall be paid
 from the funds appropriated to the military assistance account within
 the Military Department. Within existing budgetary resources, awards
 under this section may be made posthumously to any deceased
 member.
    (b) As used in this section, "member" means any person who served
 in the Hmong Laotian special guerilla units, which units served in the
 United States secret war in the Kingdom of Laos during the Vietnam
 War.
       This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
       sections:
       Section 1           October 1, 2020                        14-20b
       Sec. 2              October 1, 2020                        14-36h
       Sec. 3              Oc