H. B. 2310
(By Mr. Speaker, Mr. Chambers, and Delegates Martin
and Mezzatesta)
[Introduced March 1, 1993; referred to the
Committee on Finance.]
A BILL providing for the payment of the veterans bonus to
veterans of the Persian Gulf, Panama, Grenada and Lebanon
conflicts and for the administration thereof, prohibiting
certain acts with respect thereto, and prescribing penalties
for the violation of such provisions.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
Payment of Veterans Bonus.
§1.Division of veterans affairs to administer act; veterans
advisory committee.
§2.Veterans entitled to bonus.
§3.Payment of bonus to relatives of deceased veterans.
§4.Amount of bonus.
§5.Limitation on time of filing application.
§6.Determination by director of the validity of claims.
§7.Review board hearing.
§8.Court review of final orders of review board.
§9.Payments from veterans bonus fund; balance to veterans
bonus sinking fund.
§10.Penalty for making false statements.
§11.Penalty for filing more than one application.
§12.Bonus payment not subject to taxation or legal process;
claim therefor not assignable.
§13.Collection of fees or charges; penalty.
§1. Division of veterans affairs to administer act; veterans
advisory committee.
The West Virginia division of veterans affairs is herebydesignated as the state agency to administer the provisions of
this bill. The director of the division of veterans affairs
shall do all things necessary for the proper administration
thereof. The director, with the advice and consent of the
veterans council, may adopt and promulgate such reasonable rules
and regulations, not inconsistent herewith, as may be necessary
to effect the purposes of this bill, including regulations
concerning evidence or other data required to establish
eligibility and qualifications for the bonus as herein provided.
The director shall prepare and furnish all necessary forms which
shall be distributed by him through such veterans and other
organizations as he may deem most practicable.
The division of veterans affairs shall, insofar as possible,
utilize the personnel, supplies and equipment of the division in
the administration of this bill. The division may employ such
additional personnel as may be necessary for the proper
administration of this bill, subject, however, to the approval of
the secretary of the department of military affairs and public
safety who must also approve the salaries and other compensation
for such personnel.
The governor may appoint a veterans advisory committee,
consisting of representatives of veterans organizations chartered
under acts of Congress and operating in this state, to advise and
counsel with the director in the administration of this bill.
Such committee shall meet on the call of the director at such
times and places as he may specify.
§2. Veterans entitled to bonus.
In grateful recognition of their services in time of gravenational emergency, a cash bonus as herein provided shall be paid
to veterans of the Persian Gulf, Panama, Grenada and Lebanon
conflicts. Such bonus shall be paid to (l) all persons who
served on active duty in the armed forces of the United States or
who were members of reserve components called to active duty in
the armed forces of the United States by the President of the
United States under Title 10, United States Code section 782(D),
783, or 783(B), during the Persian Gulf conflict, Operation
Desert Shield/Desert Storm, between the first day of August, one
thousand nine hundred ninety and the eleventh day of April, one
thousand nine hundred ninety-one, both dates inclusive, and (2)
all veterans, active service members, or members of reserve
components, of the armed forces of the United States, who served
on active duty in one of the military operations for which he or
she received a campaign badge or expeditionary medal during the
periods hereinafter described. For purposes of this bill,
periods of active duty in a campaign or expedition are designated
as: The conflict in Panama, between the twentieth day of
December, one thousand nine hundred eighty-nine, through the
thirty-first day of January, one thousand nine hundred ninety,
both dates inclusive; the conflict in Grenada, between the
twenty-third day of October, one thousand nine hundred
eighty-three, and the twenty-first day of November, one thousand
nine hundred eighty-three, both dates inclusive; and the conflict
in Lebanon, between the twenty-fifth day of August, one thousand
nine hundred eighty-two, and the twenty-sixth day of February,
one thousand nine hundred eighty-four, both dates inclusive:
Provided,
That said bonus shall only be paid to the veterans asdescribed herein who were bona fide residents of the state of
West Virginia at the time of their entry into such service and
for a period of at least six months immediately prior thereto,
who have not been separated from such armed forces under
conditions other than honorable and who within the periods
specified above, actively served in such armed forces for a
period of at least ninety days.
Such cash bonus shall also be paid to any disabled veteran
otherwise qualified, who was discharged within ninety days after
entering the armed forces because of a service-connected
disability.
As used in this bill, "armed forces" means the army, navy,
air force, marine corps and coast guard of the United States.
As used in this bill, "active duty" means full-time active
service in the armed forces with full duty pay status, but shall
not include time absent from leave, absent over leave, while in
confinement or any other time classified by the respective
branches of the armed forces as "bad" or "lost" time.
§3. Payment of bonus to relatives of deceased veterans.
The bonus to which any deceased veteran would have been
entitled, had he lived, shall be paid only to the following
surviving relatives of such veteran, provided that such relatives
are residents of this state when application for payment is made
and if such relatives are living at the time payment is made:
Any unremarried widow or widower, or, if none, all children,
stepchildren and adopted children under the age of eighteen, or
if none, any parent, stepparent, adoptive parent or person
standing in loco parentis. The categories of persons listedshall be treated as separate categories listed in order of
entitlement and where there be more than one member of a class,
the bonus shall be paid to each member according to his
proportional share. Where a deceased veteran's death was
connected with such service and resulted from such service during
the time period specified, however, the surviving relatives shall
be paid, in accordance with the same order of entitlement, the
sum of one thousand dollars in lieu of any bonus to which the
deceased might have been entitled if living.
As used in this bill, "unremarried widow" or "unremarried
widower" means the spouse of a deceased veteran, legally married
to the veteran at the time of his death, who has not remarried at
the time of making application.
As used in this bill, "child" means the natural child,
adopted child or stepchild of the deceased veteran upon whose
service eligibility is derived and who has not attained the age
of eighteen years at the time of making application.
As used in this bill, "parent" means either of the natural,
step, or adoptive father or mother of, or person standing in loco
parentis to, the deceased veteran upon whose service eligibility
is derived.
§4. Amount of bonus.
The amount of bonus shall be five hundred dollars per
eligible person who was in active service, inside the combat zone
designated by the President or Congress of the United States at
anytime during the dates specified herein. In the case of the
Persian Gulf conflict, the amount of bonus shall be three hundred
dollars per eligible person who was in active service outside thecombat zone designated by the President or Congress of the United
States during the dates specified herein. For purposes of this
bill not more than one bonus shall be paid to or on behalf of the
service of any one veteran. In the event any veteran is eligible
to receive more than one bonus, said veteran shall receive the
greater bonus.
§5. Limitation on time of filing application.
No bonus shall be paid to any person, otherwise entitled
thereto, unless application therefor shall be filed with the
division of veterans affairs on or before the thirtieth day of
June, one thousand nine hundred ninety-four. Warrants for the
payment of any bonus shall be issued or reissued to any applicant
on or before the thirtieth day of June, one thousand nine hundred
ninety-five.
§6. Determination of director of the validity of claims.
Upon receipt of an application for benefits hereunder, the
director shall, as soon as may be practicable, determine the
validity of the claim. As soon as such determination has been
made, the director shall mail to the applicant a warrant in the
amount of the bonus payment he finds to be due. If the
determination is made that no benefits hereunder are payable then
the director shall mail to the applicant a notification denying
benefits and citing the reason or reasons for such denial.
Any applicant who is aggrieved by any such determination of
the director may demand that his claim be reviewed as hereinafter
provided. Such demand for review shall be filed with the
director, in writing, within sixty days after the date on which
the warrant of award or notice of denial was mailed to theapplicant. Upon receipt of such demand for review the director
shall certify the demand, together with all files and records
relating to the application, to a board of review. Unless such
demand for review is duly filed with the director, all
findings and orders of the director with reference to such claim
shall be final and conclusive upon the applicant.
§7. Review of board hearing.
For the purposes of this bill, the veterans council of the
division of veterans affairs is hereby designated as the
"Veterans Bonus Board of Review." Under rules and regulations
adopted by the veterans council, any one or more members of the
board of review may conduct hearings on a demand by an applicant
for review of the determination of the director, and may report
his or their findings thereon, together with the entire record of
the case, to the board of review for its final determination and
decision.
If the number of demands for review hereunder shall become
too numerous to be handled expeditiously by the veterans council,
the governor, upon the recommendation of the council, may appoint
one or more additional boards of review. Additional boards shall
consist of not more than three members, one of whom shall be a
lawyer, who shall have the same qualifications as the members of
the veterans council, and who shall serve at the will and
pleasure of the governor for such time as may be necessary for
the purposes of this bill. Each such additional board of review
shall have the same authority and its final decision shall have
the same force and effect as that of the veterans council under
the provisions of this bill.
Upon receipt from the director of the files and records
relating to any claim, the board, or a member or members thereof
as the case may be, shall fix a time and place for a hearing
thereon. The applicant shall be notified of the time and place
fixed and shall be informed of his right to demand a public
hearing if he so desires. At the hearing the claim shall be
reexamined de novo and the submission of additional evidence may
be required or permitted. Upon the conclusion of such hearing
the board of review, on the basis of the record and the
recommendations, if any, made by the member or members who
conducted the hearing, shall enter its order reversing, affirming
or modifying the determination made by the director.
Any order so entered by the board shall be final and
conclusive upon the applicant and the director unless an
application is made for review to the West Virginia supreme court
of appeals as hereinafter provided. The board shall mail to the
applicant and to the director a copy of the order entered by it
in each case.
All notices and correspondence shall be directed to the
applicant at the address listed on his application and all
notices and correspondence to the director shall be addressed to
him at his office in the city of Charleston.
The director shall provide for each board of review such
clerical and stenographic assistants and such supplies as may be
necessary for the performance of its duties.
Each member of a board of review shall receive as
compensation fifty dollars per day for each day actually spent in
the performance of his duties under the provisions of this bill,and shall be reimbursed for all reasonable and necessary expenses
actually incurred by him in the performance of such duties.
§8. Court review of final orders of review board.
Within thirty days after notification of the entry of any
final order of a board of review, the director or the applicant
affected may petition for review of such order by the West
Virginia supreme court of appeals in the same manner and within
the same period of time as is provided by section four, article
five, chapter twenty-three of the code, for judicial review of
final decisions by the workers' compensation appeal board.
§9. Payments from veterans bonus fund; balance to veterans bonus
sinking fund.
All bonus payments and other expenses and costs of
administering this bill shall be paid from the veterans bonus
fund, otherwise established by law. Any unexpended balance
remaining in the fund after all such bonus payments and other
expenses and costs have been made shall be available for
appropriation by the Legislature, unless bonds have been issued,
in which case such unexpended balance shall be transferred to the
veterans bonus sinking fund and used solely for the payment of
the bonus bonds.
§10. Penalty for making false statements.
Any person who shall knowingly make any false or misleading
statement or representation, oral or written, in support of any
claim for a bonus under the provisions of this bill, shall be
guilty of a felony, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be
punished by imprisonment in the penitentiary for not less than
one nor more than five years.
§11. Penalty for filing more than one application.
Only one application shall be filed by any veteran or by any
person who claims to be entitled to a share of the bonus payable
in the case of any deceased veteran. Any person who, with intent
to defraud, violates the provisions of this section shall be
guilty of a felony, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be
punished by a fine of not less than five hundred dollars nor more
than one thousand dollars, or by imprisonment in the penitentiary
for not less than one nor more than two years, or by both such
fine and imprisonment.
§12. Bonus payment not subject to taxation or legal process;
claim therefor not assignable.
The bonus provided by this bill is hereby declared to be a
gift or gratuity made as a token of appreciation for the service
rendered by the veteran to the people of West Virginia in time of
grave national emergency and is in no sense compensation for such
services. The money received as such bonus shall be exempt from
taxation and such money, or any claim therefor, shall not be
subject to garnishment, attachment or levy of execution. A claim
for payment of a bonus under the provisions of this bill shall
not be assignable for any purpose whatsoever.
§13. Collection of fees or charges; penalty.
No fee or charge shall be made by any person, attorney,
agent or representative for any service in connection with the
filing of an application for payment of a bonus hereunder, except
such fees as are provided by law for the performance of official
duties by a duly elected or appointed officer of this state or a
political subdivision thereof. No person shall, for aconsideration, discount or attempt to discount or advance money
upon any warrant issued for payment of any bonus provided for in
this bill.
If an applicant shall employ an attorney to represent him in
connection with the prosecution of his claim before a board of
review, or before the supreme court of appeals, the attorney
shall file with the director an executed copy of his contract of
employment, and the total amount of the fee therein provided
shall not exceed twenty-five percent of the amount under dispute.
Any person who violates any provision of this section shall
be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall
be punished by fine of not less than twenty-five dollars nor more
than five hundred dollars, or by imprisonment in the county jail
for not less than ten days nor more than twelve months, or by
both such fine and imprisonment.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to give partial effect to
the veterans bonus amendment of 1992 by providing for the payment
and administration of the veterans bonus provided for therein,
including prohibitions and penalties. This bill's compliment is
the "Veterans Bonus Bond" bill.
This bill is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.