Sponsored by:
Senator JOSEPH P. CRYAN
District 20 (Union)
Senator JEAN STANFIELD
District 8 (Atlantic, Burlington and Camden)
Co-Sponsored by:
Senators Durr and Cruz-Perez
SYNOPSIS
Requires DMVA establish process to qualify veteran as discharged veteran with qualifying condition to receive certain veterans’ benefits.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As reported by the Senate Military and Veterans' Affairs Committee on October 6, 2022, with amendments.
An Act establishing a process for a veteran to qualify for certain veterans’ benefits, and supplementing chapter 3 of Title 38A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. As used in this section:
“Discharged veteran with a qualifying condition” means a veteran who was discharged 1[less] or released under conditions other1 than 1[honorably] honorable1 from the Armed Forces of the United States, or of a Reserve component thereof, and has a qualifying condition.
“Qualifying condition” means (1) a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injury made by, or 1[(2)]1 an experience of military sexual trauma as described in 38 U.S.C. s.1720D disclosed to1[, an individual licensed to provide health care services at a United States Department of Veterans Affairs facility] a licensed health care provider or physician, or (2) a condition as determined by the Adjutant General1.
b. All veterans who were separated from military service with 1[a less] an other1 than honorable discharge and who have a qualifying condition may submit a request, on a form established pursuant to subsection c. of this section, to the Department of Military and Veterans’ Affairs, to be considered for eligibility as a discharged veteran with a qualifying condition.
At no time shall a fee be charged to a veteran for seeking assistance with obtaining, completing, or submitting the form established by subsection c. of this section.
c. The Department of Military and Veterans’ Affairs shall:
(1) create an eligibility form, available in both paper and electronic versions, for veterans seeking to become qualified as a discharged veteran with a qualifying condition;
(2) conspicuously display the form created in paragraph (1) of this subsection on the home page of the department’s website;
(3) create, publish, and distribute material to all public agencies of the availability of the form and resources on how to complete the form;
(4) establish a consistent and uniform process to determine whether a veteran qualifies as a discharged veteran with a qualifying condition which shall include, at a minimum, standards for verifying a veteran's status as a discharged veteran with a qualifying condition and a method of demonstrating eligibility as a discharged veteran with a qualifying condition; and
(5) create and maintain a database for all submitted eligibility forms which shall include, at a minimum, the status of the veteran’s form, the final determination of the submitted veteran’s form, and the reason for such determination.
d. The 1[Adjutant General] Director of the Division of Veterans Services1 shall make a final determination on whether a veteran meets the qualifications of a discharged veteran with a qualifying condition. The Adjutant General shall adjudicate an appeal from any veteran disputing the decision 1[of the Adjutant General]1 as to whether such veteran meets the qualifications of a discharged veteran with a qualifying condition. The determination of the Adjutant General shall be binding on all parties.
e. A veteran who is deemed eligible 1[by the Adjutant General]1 as a discharged veteran with a qualifying condition shall be afforded the same rights, privileges, and benefits authorized by State law, rules, and regulations to veterans who were discharged or released under conditions other than dishonorable, provided all other requirements for such rights, privileges, and benefits are met.
f. Information related to the form established in this section shall be confidential and not accessible to the public as a government record pursuant to P.L.1963, c.73 (C.47:1A-1 et seq.), except that the number of forms submitted, the number of veterans whose submissions have been approved, and the branch of the United States Armed Forces, or of the Reserve component thereof, of the veteran shall be accessible as a government record.
g. The Adjutant General shall, in accordance with the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), adopt any rules and regulations as the Adjutant General deems necessary to carry out the provisions of this section.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.