Bill Text: IA HF2346 | 2017-2018 | 87th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: A bill for an act concerning the department of veterans affairs relating to membership on the commission of veterans affairs and expenditures from the veterans trust fund. (Formerly HSB 538; See HF 2471.)

Spectrum: Committee Bill

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-03-19 - Withdrawn. H.J. 615. [HF2346 Detail]

Download: Iowa-2017-HF2346-Introduced.html

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House File 2346 - Introduced




                                 HOUSE FILE       
                                 BY  COMMITTEE ON VETERANS
                                     AFFAIRS

                                 (SUCCESSOR TO HSB 538)

                                      A BILL FOR

  1 An Act concerning the department of veterans affairs relating
  2    to membership on the commission of veterans affairs and
  3    expenditures from the veterans trust fund.
  4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
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PAG LIN



  1  1    Section 1.  Section 35A.2, subsections 1 and 2, Code 2018,
  1  2 are amended to read as follows:
  1  3    1.  A commission of veterans affairs is created consisting
  1  4 of nine eleven persons who shall be appointed by the governor,
  1  5 subject to confirmation by the senate. Members shall be
  1  6 appointed to staggered terms of four years beginning and
  1  7 ending as provided in section 69.19. The governor shall fill
  1  8 a vacancy for the unexpired portion of the term. In addition
  1  9 to the members appointed by the governor, the director of the
  1 10 department and the commandant of the Iowa veterans home shall
  1 11 serve as nonvoting, ex officio members of the commission.
  1 12    2.  Eight Ten commissioners shall be honorably discharged
  1 13 members of the armed forces of the United States. The American
  1 14 legion of Iowa, disabled American veterans department of Iowa,
  1 15 veterans of foreign wars department of Iowa, American veterans
  1 16 of World War II, Korea, and Vietnam, the Vietnam veterans
  1 17 of America, and the military order of the purple heart,
  1 18 the paralyzed veterans of America, and the Iowa association
  1 19 of county commissioners and veteran service officers,
  1 20  through their department commanders, shall submit two names
  1 21 respectively from their organizations to the governor. The
  1 22 adjutant general and the Iowa affiliate of the reserve officers
  1 23 association shall submit names to the governor of persons to
  1 24 represent the Iowa national guard and the association. The
  1 25 governor shall appoint from the group of names submitted by
  1 26 the adjutant general and reserve officers association two
  1 27 representatives and from each of the other organizations
  1 28 one representative to serve as a member of the commission,
  1 29 unless the appointments would conflict with the bipartisan and
  1 30 gender balance provisions of sections 69.16 and 69.16A. In
  1 31 addition, the governor shall appoint one member of the public,
  1 32 knowledgeable in the general field of veterans affairs, to
  1 33 serve on the commission.
  1 34    Sec. 2.  Section 35A.13, subsection 3, Code 2018, is amended
  1 35 to read as follows:
  2  1    3.  Moneys credited to the trust fund shall not be
  2  2 transferred, used, obligated, appropriated, or otherwise
  2  3 encumbered, except as provided in this section. Moneys in the
  2  4 trust fund may be used for cash flow purposes during a fiscal
  2  5 year provided that any moneys so allocated are returned to the
  2  6 trust fund by the end of that fiscal year. Moneys in the trust
  2  7 fund may also be used for cemetery grant development purposes
  2  8 provided that any moneys so allocated, except for moneys used
  2  9 for department of administrative services expenditures related
  2 10 to the grant, are returned to the trust fund upon receipt of
  2 11 federal funds received for such purposes.
  2 12    Sec. 3.  Section 35A.13, subsection 4, paragraph a, Code
  2 13 2018, is amended to read as follows:
  2 14    a.  The minimum balance of the trust fund required prior
  2 15 to expenditure of moneys from the trust fund is five million
  2 16 dollars. Once the minimum balance is reached, the interest and
  2 17 earnings on the fund and the first three five hundred thousand
  2 18 dollars transferred each fiscal year pursuant to section 99G.39
  2 19 from the lottery fund to the trust fund are appropriated to the
  2 20 commission to be used to achieve the purposes of subsection 6
  2 21 of this section. Moneys appropriated to the commission that
  2 22 remain unobligated or unexpended at the end of each fiscal year
  2 23 shall revert to the trust fund. It is the intent of the general
  2 24 assembly that the balance in the trust fund reach fifty million
  2 25 dollars.
  2 26    Sec. 4.  Section 35A.13, subsection 6, paragraph l, Code
  2 27 2018, is amended by striking the paragraph.
  2 28    Sec. 5.  Section 35A.13, subsection 6, Code 2018, is amended
  2 29 by adding the following new paragraphs:
  2 30    NEW PARAGRAPH.  o.  Rental housing assistance for veterans
  2 31 who meet the definition of homeless, as set out in 42 U.S.C.
  2 32 {11302, for payment of rental application fees needed for
  2 33 obtaining rental housing.
  2 34    NEW PARAGRAPH.  p.  Monetary assistance on a one=time basis
  2 35 per recipient to be used to prevent homelessness in an amount
  3  1 not to exceed one thousand dollars per recipient.
  3  2                           EXPLANATION
  3  3 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
  3  4 the explanation's substance by the members of the general assembly.
  3  5    This bill concerns the department of veterans affairs.
  3  6    Code section 35A.2, concerning the commission of veterans
  3  7 affairs, is amended to increase the membership on the
  3  8 commission from 9 to 11 persons.  The bill provides that
  3  9 additional persons include a representative selected from names
  3 10 submitted by the paralyzed veterans of America and by the
  3 11 Iowa association of county commissioners and veteran service
  3 12 officers.
  3 13    Code section 35A.13, concerning the veterans trust fund, is
  3 14 amended.
  3 15    Code section 35A.13(3) is amended to provide that moneys
  3 16 used by the department of administrative services for
  3 17 expenditures related to cemetery grant development purposes
  3 18 are not required to be returned to the veterans trust fund
  3 19 upon receipt of federal funds received for cemetery grant
  3 20 development purposes.
  3 21    Code section 35A.13(4) is amended to provide that once the
  3 22 minimum balance in the trust fund of $5 million is reached,
  3 23 interest and earnings on the fund and the first $500,000,
  3 24 instead of the first $300,000, transferred to the fund from
  3 25 the Iowa lottery authority from lottery revenues may be used
  3 26 each fiscal year by the commission of veterans affairs for the
  3 27 purposes provided within the Code section.
  3 28    Code section 35A.13(6), concerning permissible uses for
  3 29 moneys in the veterans trust fund, is amended.  The bill
  3 30 strikes the provision authorizing moneys in the trust fund to
  3 31 be expended for matching funds to veterans organizations to
  3 32 provide for accredited veteran service officers.  The bill
  3 33 provides that moneys in the trust fund may be expended, upon a
  3 34 majority vote of the state commission of veterans affairs,  for
  3 35 rental housing assistance for homeless veterans for the payment
  4  1 of rental application fees needed to secure rental housing, and
  4  2 for a one=time monetary assistance to prevent homelessness in
  4  3 an amount not to exceed $1,000 per recipient.
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