An Act To Amend Various Department of Defense, Veterans and Emergency Management Laws
Maine Legislature, Session 123, LD 1088
Committee: Legal and Veterans Affairs
Sponsors: PATRICK, MARRACHE, FISHER, HOLMAN, PLOWMAN
Amends: 37-B MRSA §264, 37-B MRSA §504

Legislative Document 
No. 1088 
H.P.806 
House of Representatives, March 6, 2007 
An Act To Amend Various Department of Defense, Veterans and 
Emergency Management Laws 
Submitted by the Department of Defense, Veterans and Emergency Management pursuant 
to Joint Rule 204. 
Reference to the Committee on Legal and Veterans Affairs suggested and ordered printed. 
Presented by Representative PATRICK of Rumford. 
Cosponsored by Senator MARRACHE of Kennebec and 
'7J1~1I7.-m~ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Representatives: FISHER of Brewer, HOLMAN of Fayette, Senator: PLOWMAN of 
Penobscot. 
Printed on recycled paper 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 37-B MRSA §264, sub-§3, as amended by PL 2003, c. 688, Pt. A, §42, is 
further amended to read: 
3. Exceptions; authorization to sell. Notwithstanding subsection 2, paragraph B, 
the Adjutant General is authorized to sell the following armories and parcel of land: 
A. 
The Brunswick Armory or tae Rata l\rmory, eNt not eota; 
B. 
The Newport Armory; 
C. 
The Rumford Armory; 
E. 
The South Portland Armory; 
F. 
The Millinocket Armory; 
G. 
A 6 112-acre parcel of land located on the northeasterly side of U.S. Route One 
across from the Belfast Armory and part of the parcel of land described in the Waldo 
County Registry of Deeds, Book 411, Page 446; 
H. 
The Caribou Armory, located at 55 Bennett Drive, Caribou, for market value but 
not including the organizational maintenance shop, known as OMS5, nor the metal 
storage building; 
I. 
The Fort Fairfield Armory located at 25 Columbia Street, Fort Fairfield by means 
of a quitclaim deed, subject to all easements of record, to the inhabitants of the Town 
of Fort Fairfield for the sum of $1 as long as the inhabitants of the Town of Fort 
Fairfield agree to indemnify and hold harmless the State from all claims, including 
any environmental clean-up costs that may arise from the land or buildings 
constituting the Fort Fairfield Armory and this transfer is determined to be a transfer 
for not less than appraised value as specified in subsection 1 in view of the economic 
conditions of northern Aroostook County, the financial contributions made by the 
Town of Fort Fairfield to the armory and the environmental conditions existing at the 
site; and 
J. 
The Saco Armory located at 75 Franklin Street, Saco, Maine, by means of a 
quitclaim deed as long as the purchaser agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the 
State from all claims, including any environmental clean-up costs that may arise in 
connection with the land or the buildings constituting the armory~ ~ 
K. The Bath Armory located on Lincoln Street, Bath, by means of a quitclaim deed 
as long as the purchaser agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the State from all 
claims, including any environmental clean-up costs that may arise in connection with 
the land or the buildings constituting the armory; 
L. 
The Portland Armory located on Stevens Avenue, Portland, by means of a 
quitclaim deed as long as the purchaser agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the 
State from all claims, including any environinental clean-up costs that may arise in 
connection with the land or the buildings constituting the armory; 
M. The Westbrook Armory located on Stroudwater Street, Westbrook, by means of a 
quitclaim deed as long as the purchaser agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the 
State from all claims, including any environmental clean-up costs that may arise in 
connection with the land or the buildings constituting the armory; 
N. The Presque Isle Armory located on North Main Street, Presque Isle, by means of 
a quitclaim deed as long as the purchaser agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the 
State from all claims, including any environmental clean-up costs that may arise in 
connection with the land or the buildings constituting the armory; 
O. The Caribou Armory, also known as the "Solman Armory," located on York 
Street, Caribou, by means of a quitclaim deed as long as the purchaser agrees to 
indemnify and hold harmless the State from all claims, including any environmental 
clean-up costs that may arise in connection with the land or the buildings constituting 
the armory; and 
P. The Brewer Armory located on Elm Street, Brewer, by means of a quitclaim deed 
as long as the purchaser agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the State from all 
claims, including any environmental clean-up costs that may arise in connection with 
the land or the buildings constituting the armory. 
Sec. 2. 37-B MRSA §504, sub-§3, ~C, as amended by PL 2001, c. 662, §64, is 
repealed and the following enacted in its place: 
C. All grave markers must be flat-type granite or 42-inch upright white marble grave 
markers as furnished by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, National 
Cemetery Administration. 
All boxes used for burial must be protected with 
permanent vaults. 
Permanent vaults must be reinforced and properly cured and 
match pounds per square inch specifications imposed by the National Cemetery 
Administration. Vaults may be either water-resistant or waterproof or have drain 
holes in their liner boxes as long as they meet the stated specifications. Headstones 
and vaults are not provided at state expense. 
Sec. 3. 37-B MRSA §504, sub-§4, ~C, as amended by PL 1999, c. 401, Pt. II, 
§ 1, is further amended to read: 
C. 
At the dependent's request, the director must allow an eligible dependent of a 
veteran to be buried in one of the cemeteries if, at the date of the dependent's death, 
the veteran would be eligible for burial. Dependents may be buried in the earth or 
plaeed in a erypt same grave as the veteran or adjacent to the veteran, in accordance 
with regional state veterans' cemetery procedures, without charge, so long as: 
(1) If the veteran dies first, the dependents specify in writing their intention to be 
so buried; 
(2) If the dependent dies first, the veteran specifies in writing the intention to be 
buried in one of the eemeteries the same grave as the dependent or adjacent to the 
dependent; or 
(3) Eligible family members of members of the armed services or veterans who 
are permanently buried overseas, buried at sea, missing in action and declared 
dead, or whose bodies are inaccessible for other reasons, may be buried in one of 
the cemeteries if the deceased member of the armed services or veteran was 
eligible for the burial at the time of death. 
Sec. 4. 37-B MRSA §504, sub-§4, ~E, as amended by PL 1999, c. 401, Pt. II, 
§ 1, is further amended to read: 
E. 
Remains of eligible veterans or eligible dependents previously buried in other 
loeatioBs cemeteries may be reinterred in one of the cemeteries upon request, 
proYiaea that as long as no cost other than that which would be incurred in an 
original burial is borne by the State. 
Sec. S. 37-B MRSA §S04, sub-§S, as amended by PL 1999, c. 401, Pt. II, §1, is 
repealed and the following enacted in its place: 
5. Weekend visitation. The superintendent shall arrange for public access during 
weekend daylight hours and regularly scheduled weekday visiting hours unless closure of 
the cemetery is considered necessary by the superintendent for security or public safety 
purposes. 
Sec. 6. 37-B MRS A §SOS, sub-§2, ~A, as amended by PL 2005, c. 273, §2, is 
further amended to read: 
A. 
As used in this subsection, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following 
terms have the following meanings. 
(1) "Child" means a child whose mother or father is or was a veteran and the 
child: 
(a) Is at least 16 years of age; 
(b) Has graduated from high school; and 
(c) Enrolled in a degree program prior to turning 22 years of age and is not 
over 25 years of age at the time of application for a benefit under this 
subsection. If the child is unable to enroll in a degree program prior to 
turning 22 years of age due to service in the United States Armed Forces, 
then the child may apply to begin this benefit until reaching 26 years of age. 
Other requirements must be met as described in paragraph F. 
"Child" also means a stepchild who is a member of a veteran's household either at 
the time of application or, in the event of the veteran's death, at the time of death, 
and who continues as a member of the household after the death of the veteran. 
At least 5 years must have elapsed since the veteran married the parent of the 
stepchild before the stepchild is eligible for educational benefits, and the 
biological parent of the stepchild must reside in the veteran's household while the 
stepchild receives educational benefits. 
(2) "Spouse" means the person currently legally married to a living veteran or 
the widow or widower of a deceased veteran, not previously divorced from that 
veteran. 
(3) "Veteran" means any person who served in the military or naval forces of the 
United States and entered the service from this State or resided in this State for 5 
years immediately preceding application for aid and, if living, continues to reside 
in this State and who: 
(a) 
Has a total pennanent disability resulting from a service-connected 
disability as a result of service; 
(b) Was killed in action; 
(c) Died from a service-connected disability as a result of service; 
(d) At the time of death was totally and pennanently disabled due to service-
connected disability, but whose death was not related to the service-
connected disability; or 
(e) Is a member of the Anned Forces on active duty who has been listed for 
more than 90 days as missing in action, captured or forcibly detained or 
interned in the line of duty by a foreign government or power. 
The continuous residency requirement of this subparagraph does not apply to a 
person who is receiving educational benefits under this chapter on or before 
January 1,2006. 
Sec. 7. 37-B MRSA §SOS, sub-§2, ~E, as enacted by PL 2001, c. 662, §66, is 
amended to read: 
E. 
Spouses of veterans who are attending state-supported postsecondary vocational 
schools or institutions of collegiate grade must be admitted free of tuition including 
mandatory fees and lab fees for a certificate program or an associate's, bachelor's aHd 
or master's degree programs program. Room and board may not be waived. Spouses 
are entitled to receive up to 8 semesters of educational benefits and have 10 years 
from the date of first entrance to complete the program. 
Sec. 8. 37-B MRSA §SOS, sub-§2, ~F, as enacted by PL 2001, c. 662, §66, is 
amended to read: 
F. 
A child of a veteran who is attending state-supported postsecondary vocational 
schools or institutions of collegiate grade must be admitted free of tuition including 
mandatory fees and lab fees for associate's and bachelor's programs. The tuition 
waiver provided under this paragraph may be reduced by an amount necessary to 
ensure that the value of this waiver, combined with all other grants and benefits 
received by the student, does not exceed the total cost of education. Room and board 
may not be waived. A child of a veteran has 6 academic years from the date of first 
entrance to complete 8 semesters. The director may waive the limit of 6 consecutive 
academic years when the recipient's education has been interrupted by severe medical 
disability or illness making continued attendance impossible. Students must maintain 
at least a 2.0 or "C" grade point average to continue receiving educational benefits. If 
a student's grade point average falls below 2.0 or a "C," then the student has one 
semester to bring the grade point average up to at least 2.0 or a "c." If after that 
semester the student's grade point average is below 2.0 or a "C," the student loses 
educational benefits under this paragraph until the student achieves a grade point 
average of at least 2.0 or a "C." 
Sec. 9. 37-B MRS A §1130, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 2001, c. 460, §3, IS 
amended to read: 
Fage 4 - lZ3LR!l99U(111)-1 
2. Purposes. The department may use the fund provides to provide low-interest 
loans to municipalities for engineering, legal and construction costs involved in acquiring 
title to, establishing a long-term management plan for, repairs to, reconstruction of, 
breaching of or removal of a dam or to pay emergency costs incurred for actions taken 
pursuant to section 1114. 
SUMMARY 
This bill makes the following changes to the laws governmg the Department of 
Defense, Veterans and Emergency Management: 
1. It allows the Commissioner of Defense, Veterans and Emergency Management to 
sell additional armories; 
2. It implements the recommendations of the Governor's Maine Veterans' Memorial 
Cemetery Working Group; 
3. It expands the use of the Dam Repair and Reconstruction Fund to pay for 
emergency costs incurred for actions taken to protect life and property in emergency 
situations; and 
4. It affects the tuition waiver benefit for spouses and dependents of veterans by: 
A. Requiring at least 5 years of marriage by a veteran to the parent of a 
veteran's stepchild before the stepchild is eligible for education benefits; 
B. Limiting to 8 semesters, which must be completed within 10 years, the 
benefit provided to spouses of veterans; and 
C. Requiring the child of a veteran to maintain a "c" or better average to 
continue to receive benefits.