Brewer Announces Veterans Bill to Secure Benefits for Military Personnel and Families

(Boston) – Senator Stephen M. Brewer (D-Barre) announced today the release of an omnibus Veterans bill that will be taken up in the Senate at a formal session this Thursday.  The legislation will increase access to a range of services for veterans, active duty military and their families in Massachusetts.

“Massachusetts is number one in the Nation for helping our Veterans,” said Brewer.  “These brave men and women who serve our country have made immeasurable sacrifices, as have their families.  This bill will secure benefits that will make them feel welcome in the Commonwealth and help them as they transition back home.”

Highlights of the bill include:

Direct state officials to study the fiscal impact of designating a non-profit organization as a state soldiers' home;

Require a supplier diversity office to provide additional assistance to veteran-owned businesses, including working with banks and insurance companies to encourage seed money for veteran-owned business startups and requires the state to reach out to service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses to facilitate their participation in public projects;

Expand eligibility for food, housing, utilities and medical service supports paid for through a fund financed by voluntary contributions made on income tax returns;

Enter Massachusetts into a multi-state compact to help school-aged children of military personnel transfer between school districts and states;

Ban local hiring authorities from requesting military medical records not requested by the human resources department;

Eliminate a $2,500 property tax exemption cap that applies to years six and beyond for surviving spouses of military members whose deaths occurred due to injuries or diseases stemming from combat;

Require that the Department of Veterans' Services commissioner be a veteran;

Give service members at least 90 days after returning from active duty to renew certain license certificates, including licenses for engineers, boiler inspectors and pipefitters;

Create a special commission to make recommendations regarding training, licensure and accreditation of veterans' service officers.

The bill also requires the Board of Higher Education to adopt a written policy requiring each public higher education institution to develop policies governing evaluation of student military experience and whether credits should be awarded;

With an influx of veterans returning from war, many that are suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) and remaining in line with the Commonwealth’s goal of increasing Veterans access to services, the bill directs court administrators to make training program recommendations to help court personnel recognize veterans’ issues.  Additionally, the bill requires a probation officer in a district court to determine whether a defendant is a veteran, on active duty, or a person with a history of military services.  A defendant that has no prior convictions may be granted a 14-day continuance in order to determine whether he/she is eligible for a diversion to treatment services.  Furthermore, under the bill court administrators would be required to study the intake and review process, including treatment options, of veterans and service members facing criminal charges.

Despite the National recession, Massachusetts has remained a leader in Veterans’ services.  Last year’s fiscal year 2012 budget reinstated $25,000 for maintenance of the Worcester Vietnam Veterans Memorial, preserving the memory of the service men and woman from Massachusetts who lost their lives in Vietnam or died as a result of wounds received during their service.  The spending plan also included $150,000 for Train Vets to Treat Vets, a new program run in conjunction with the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology, to train veterans as counselors to treat returning veterans for PTSD and other combat-related mental health issues; a 15% increase in funding for the Veterans Outreach Centers & Homeless Shelters; and 12 new beds at the Holyoke Soldiers Home.

Posted: Wed, May 2, 2012
Updated Wed, May 2, 2012