Bill Text: IA HF259 | 2023-2024 | 90th General Assembly | Enrolled
Bill Title: A bill for an act relating to matters under the purview of the department of veterans affairs, including county commissions of veteran affairs and cemetery expenditures. (Formerly HSB 103.) Effective date: 07/01/2024.
Spectrum: Committee Bill
Status: (Passed) 2024-04-18 - Signed by Governor. H.J. 870. [HF259 Detail]
Download: Iowa-2023-HF259-Enrolled.html
House
File
259
-
Enrolled
House
File
259
AN
ACT
RELATING
TO
MATTERS
UNDER
THE
PURVIEW
OF
THE
DEPARTMENT
OF
VETERANS
AFFAIRS,
INCLUDING
COUNTY
COMMISSIONS
OF
VETERAN
AFFAIRS
AND
CEMETERY
EXPENDITURES.
BE
IT
ENACTED
BY
THE
GENERAL
ASSEMBLY
OF
THE
STATE
OF
IOWA:
Section
1.
Section
35.1,
subsection
2,
Code
2024,
is
amended
by
adding
the
following
new
paragraph:
NEW
PARAGRAPH
.
d.
A
resident
of
this
state
who
served
in
any
component
of
the
armed
forces
of
the
United
States,
who
is
in
receipt
of
service-connected
disability
from
the
United
States
department
of
veterans
affairs,
and
who
was
discharged
under
honorable
conditions.
Sec.
2.
Section
35A.3,
subsection
7,
Code
2024,
is
amended
by
striking
the
subsection.
Sec.
3.
Section
35A.5,
subsection
6,
Code
2024,
is
amended
to
read
as
follows:
6.
a.
Conduct
Administer
or
conduct
one
service
school
each
year
for
county
commissioners
and
one
service
school
for
executive
directors
and
administrators.
The
service
school
for
executive
directors
and
administrators
shall
provide
at
least
sixteen
continuing
education
units.
b.
(1)
The
department
may
receive
and
accept
donations,
grants,
gifts,
and
contributions
from
any
public
or
private
source
to
be
used
for
any
of
the
following
purposes:
(a)
Providing
payment
for
training
opportunities
under
paragraph
“a”
.
House
File
259,
p.
2
(b)
Organizing
training
relating
to
state
programs
for
county
commission
of
veteran
affairs
executive
directors,
administrators,
and
commissioners.
(c)
Hiring
an
agency,
organization,
or
other
entity
to
provide
training
or
educational
programming.
(d)
Reimbursing
county
commission
of
veteran
affairs
executive
directors,
administrators,
and
commissioners
for
transportation
costs
related
to
a
conference,
program,
or
both.
(e)
Verifying
a
person’s
qualifications
pursuant
to
subsection
9.
(2)
All
funds
received
by
the
department
for
the
purposes
established
in
subparagraph
(1)
shall
be
deposited
in
the
county
commission
of
veteran
affairs
training
program
account
established
in
section
35A.16,
subsection
4.
Sec.
4.
Section
35A.5,
subsection
9,
Code
2024,
is
amended
by
striking
the
subsection
and
inserting
in
lieu
thereof
the
following:
9.
Verify
each
executive
director
and
administrator
of
a
county
commission
of
veteran
affairs
is
fully
qualified
to
work
in
the
person’s
position.
Qualifications
include
but
are
not
limited
to
all
of
the
following:
a.
The
person
has
obtained
certification
that
is
federally
required
for
the
executive
director’s
or
administrator’s
position
within
twelve
months
of
beginning
the
person’s
employment.
b.
The
person
has
obtained
a
personal
identification
verification
card
necessary
to
access
the
veterans
benefits
management
system
within
twelve
months
of
beginning
the
person’s
employment.
c.
The
person
maintains
certification
that
is
federally
required
for
the
executive
director’s
or
administrator’s
position.
d.
The
person
maintains
an
active
personal
identification
verification
card
and
has
access
to
the
veterans
benefits
management
system.
e.
The
person
is
proficient
in
the
use
of
electronic
mail,
general
computer
use,
and
use
of
the
internet
to
access
information
regarding
facilities,
benefits,
and
services
available
to
veterans
and
their
families.
House
File
259,
p.
3
Sec.
5.
Section
35A.13,
subsection
3,
Code
2024,
is
amended
to
read
as
follows:
3.
Moneys
credited
to
the
trust
fund
shall
not
be
transferred,
used,
obligated,
appropriated,
or
otherwise
encumbered,
except
as
provided
in
this
section
.
Moneys
in
the
trust
fund
may
also
be
used
for
cemetery
grant
development
purposes
provided
that
any
moneys
so
allocated,
except
for
moneys
used
for
department
of
administrative
services
expenditures
related
to
the
grant,
are
returned
to
the
trust
fund
upon
receipt
of
federal
funds
received
for
such
purposes.
Sec.
6.
Section
35A.16,
subsection
3,
paragraph
a,
Code
2024,
is
amended
to
read
as
follows:
a.
If
sufficient
moneys
are
available,
the
department
shall
annually
allocate
ten
thousand
dollars
to
each
county
commission
of
veteran
affairs,
or
to
each
county
sharing
the
services
of
an
executive
director
or
administrator
pursuant
to
chapter
28E
,
to
be
used
to
provide
services
to
veterans
pursuant
to
section
35B.6
and
provide
for
and
maintain
accreditation
in
accordance
with
the
policies
and
procedures
of
the
United
States
department
of
veterans
affairs
.
Each
county
receiving
an
allocation
shall
annually
report
on
expenditure
of
the
allocation
in
a
form
agreed
to
by
the
department
and
county
representatives.
Sec.
7.
Section
35A.16,
subsection
4,
Code
2024,
is
amended
to
read
as
follows:
4.
A
county
commission
of
veteran
affairs
training
program
account
shall
be
established
within
the
county
commissions
of
veteran
affairs
fund.
Any
moneys
remaining
in
the
fund
after
the
allocations
under
subsection
3
shall
be
credited
to
the
account
and
used
by
the
department
to
fund
the
county
commission
of
veteran
affairs
training
program
under
section
35A.17
35A.5,
subsection
6,
and
training
for
department
personnel.
Sec.
8.
Section
35B.3,
Code
2024,
is
amended
to
read
as
follows:
35B.3
County
commission
of
veteran
affairs.
The
county
commission
of
veteran
affairs
shall
consist
of
either
three
or
five
persons,
as
determined
by
the
board
of
supervisors,
all
of
whom
shall
be
veterans
as
defined
in
House
File
259,
p.
4
section
35.1
.
If
possible,
each
member
of
the
commission
shall
be
a
veteran
of
a
different
military
action
branch
.
However,
this
qualification
does
not
preclude
membership
to
a
veteran
who
served
in
more
than
one
branch
of
the
military
actions
.
Sec.
9.
Section
35B.6,
subsection
1,
paragraph
c,
Code
2024,
is
amended
to
read
as
follows:
c.
(1)
Upon
the
employment
of
an
executive
director
or
administrator,
the
executive
director
or
administrator
shall
complete
a
course
of
for
the
purpose
of
obtaining
certification
training
provided
by
the
department
of
veterans
affairs
pursuant
to
section
35A.5
federally
required
for
the
person’s
position
and
a
personal
identification
verification
card
necessary
to
access
the
veterans
benefits
management
system
.
If
an
executive
director
or
administrator
fails
to
obtain
certification
or
a
personal
identification
verification
card
within
one
year
of
being
employed,
the
executive
director
or
administrator
shall
be
removed
from
office.
The
department
shall
issue
the
executive
director
or
administrator
a
certificate
of
training
after
completion
of
the
certification
training
course.
To
maintain
certification,
the
Upon
a
request
from
a
county
commission
of
veteran
affairs
and
based
on
extenuating
circumstances,
the
commandant
of
the
Iowa
department
of
veterans
affairs
may
extend
the
time
frame
for
an
executive
director
or
administrator
to
obtain
a
personal
identification
verification
card.
(2)
An
executive
director
or
administrator
shall
satisfy
the
continuing
education
requirements
established
by
the
national
association
of
county
veterans
service
officers
and
the
United
States
department
of
veterans
affairs
.
Failure
of
an
executive
director
or
administrator
to
maintain
certification
shall
be
cause
for
removal
from
office.
The
expenses
of
training
the
executive
director
or
administrator
shall
be
paid
from
the
appropriation
authorized
in
section
35B.14
.
(3)
An
executive
director
or
administrator
shall
satisfy
the
continuing
education
requirements
necessary
to
maintain
an
active
personal
identification
verification
card
and
access
to
the
veterans
benefits
management
system.
Failure
of
an
executive
director
or
administrator
to
maintain
certification
House
File
259,
p.
5
and
access
to
the
veterans
benefits
management
system
shall
be
cause
for
removal
from
office.
Sec.
10.
Section
35B.14,
subsection
4,
Code
2024,
is
amended
to
read
as
follows:
4.
Burial
expenses
shall
be
paid
by
the
county
in
which
the
person
died
resided
.
If
the
person
is
a
resident
of
a
different
county
at
the
time
of
death,
the
county
of
residence
shall
reimburse
the
county
where
the
person
died
for
the
cost
of
burial.
In
either
case,
the
The
county
board
of
supervisors
of
the
respective
counties
shall
audit
and
pay
the
account
from
the
funds
provided
for
in
this
chapter
in
the
manner
as
other
claims
are
audited
and
paid.
Sec.
11.
REPEAL.
Sections
35A.17
and
35B.17,
Code
2024,
are
repealed.
Sec.
12.
TRANSITION.
A
person
employed
in
the
position
of
a
county
veteran
service
officer
on
the
effective
date
of
this
Act
must
obtain
a
personal
identification
verification
card
under
section
35A.5,
subsection
9,
as
amended
by
this
Act,
within
one
year
of
the
effective
date
of
this
Act
or
be
removed
from
office.
______________________________
PAT
GRASSLEY
Speaker
of
the
House
______________________________
AMY
SINCLAIR
President
of
the
Senate
I
hereby
certify
that
this
bill
originated
in
the
House
and
is
known
as
House
File
259,
Ninetieth
General
Assembly.
______________________________
MEGHAN
NELSON
Chief
Clerk
of
the
House
Approved
_______________,
2024
______________________________
KIM
REYNOLDS
Governor
