An Act To
Maine Legislature, Session 126, LD 1612
Committee Amendment CA_A_H694 (House)
Amends: 37-B MRSA §3, 37-B MRSA §505, 37-B MRSA §514

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A " to H.P. 1184, L.D. 1612, Bill, "An Act To 
Amend the Veterans' Services Laws" 
Amend the bill by inserting after section 1 the following: 
'Sec. 2. 37-B MRSA §3, sub-§l, ~D, as amended by PL 2013, c. 251, §1, is 
further amended to read: 
D. Have the following powers and duties. 
(1) The Adjutant General shall administer the department subordinate only to the 
Governor. 
(2) The Adjutant General shall establish methods of administration consistent 
with the law necessary for the efficient operation of the department. 
(3) The Adjutant General may prepare a budget for the department. 
(4) The Adjutant General may transfer personnel from one bureau to another 
within the department. 
(5) 
The Adjutant General shall supervise the preparation of all state 
infonnational reports required by the federal military establishment. 
(6) The Adjutant General shall keep an accurate account of expenses incurred 
and, in accordance with Title 5, sections 43 to 46, make a full report to the 
Governor as to the condition of the military forces, and as to all business 
transactions of the Military Bureau, including detailed statements of expenditures 
for military purposes. 
(7) The Adjutant General is responsible for the custody, care and repair of all 
military property belonging to or issued to the State for the military forces and 
shall dispose of military property belonging to the State that is unserviceable. 
The Adjutant General shall account for and deposit the proceeds from that 
disposal with the Treasurer of State who shall credit them to the Construction and 
Capital Repair Account of the Military Bureau. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to H.P. 1184, L.D. 1612 
(8) The Adjutant General may sell for cash to officers of the state military forces, 
for their official use, and to organizations of the state military forces, any military 
or naval property that is the property of the State. The Adjutant General shall, 
with an annual report, render to the Governor an accurate account of the sales and 
deposit the proceeds of the sales with the Treasurer of State who shall credit them 
to the General Fund. 
(9) The Adjutant General shall represent the state military forces for the purpose 
of establishing the relationship between the federal military establishment and the 
various state military staff departments. 
(10) The Adjutant General shall accept, receive and administer federal funds for 
and on behalf of the State that are available for military purposes or that would 
further the intent and specific purposes of this chapter and chapter 3. 
(11) The Adjutant General shall acquire, construct, operate and maintain military 
facilities necessary to comply with this Title and Title 32 of the United States 
Code and shall operate and maintain facilities now within or hereafter coming 
within the jurisdiction of the Military Bureau. 
(12) The Adjutant General may adopt rules pertaining to compliance with state 
and federal contracting requirements, subject to Title 5, chapter 375. Those rules 
must provide for approval of contracts by the appropriate state agency. 
(13) The Adjutant General shall allocate and supervise any funds made available 
by the Legislature to the Civil Air Patrol. 
(14) The Adjutant General shall report at the beginning of each biennium to the 
joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over veterans' 
affairs on any recommended changes or modifications to the laws governing 
veterans' affairs, particularly as those changes or modifications relate to changes 
in federal veterans' laws. The report must include information on the status of 
communications with the United States Department of Veterans Affairs regarding 
the potential health risks to and the potential disabilities of veterans who as 
members of the Maine National Guard were exposed to environmental hazards at 
the Canadian military support base in Gagetown, New Brunswick, Canada. 
(15) The Adjutant General may receive personal property from the United States 
Department of Defense that the Secretary of Defense has determined is suitable 
for use by agencies in law enforcement activities, including counter-drug 
activities, and in excess of the needs of the Department of Defense pursuant to 10 
United States Code, Section 2576a, and transfer ownership of that personal 
property 
to 
state, 
county 
and 
municipal 
law 
enforcement 
agencies 
notwithstanding any other provision of law. The Adjutant General may receive 
excess personal property from the United States Department of Defense for use 
by the department, notwithstanding any other provision oflaw. 
(16) The Adjutant General may establish a science, mathematics and-technology 
education improvement program for schoolchildren known as the ST ARBASE 
Program. 
The Adjutant General may accept financial assistance and in-kind 
assistance, advances, grants, gifts, contributions and other forms of financial 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" A" to H.P. 1184, L.D. 1612 
assistance from the Federal Government or other public body or from other 
sources, public or private, to implement the ST ARBASE Program. The Adjutant 
General may employ a director and other employees, permanent or temporary, to 
operate the ST ARBASE Program. 
(17) The Adjutant General shall establish a system, to be administered by the 
Director of the Bureau of Maine Veterans' Services, to express formally 
condolence and appreciation to the closest surviving family members of members 
of the United States Armed Forces who, since September 11, 2001, are killed in 
action or die as a consequence of injuries that result in the award of a Purple 
Heart medal. In accordance with the existing criteria of the department for the 
awarding of gold star medals, this system must provide for the Adjutant General 
to issue up to 3 gold star medals to family members who reside in the State, one 
to the spouse of the deceased service member and one to the parents of the 
service member. If the parents of the service member are divorced, the Adjutant 
General may issue one medal to each parent. If the service member has no 
surviving spouse or parents or if they live outside of the State, the Adjutant 
General may issue a gold star medal to the service member's next of kin, as 
reported to the department, who resides in the State. 
(18) The Adjutant General may establish a National Guard Youth Challenge 
Program consistent with 32 United States Code, Section 509 (1990). 
The 
Adjutant General may accept financial assistance from the Federal Government 
or other public body or from other sources, public and private, to implement the 
National Guard Youth Challenge Program. The Adjutant General may employ a 
director and other employees, pennanent or temporary, to operate the program. 
(19) The Adjutant General may execute cooperative agreements for purposes 
described or defined by this Title and other anangements necessary to operate the 
department. 
(20) The Adjutant General shall act as the Governor's homeland security advisor. 
Sec. 3. 37-B MRSA §505, sub-§2, ~F, as amended by PL 2013, c. 365, §l, is 
further 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 associate 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 120 credit hours. For degree programs that require more than 
credit hours, the state-supported postsecondary vocational school or institution of 
collegiate grade may grant a tuition waiver beyond 120 credit hours. If such a waiver 
is granted, the state-supported postsecondary vocational school or institution of 
collegiate grade shall notify the director. The director may waive the limit of 6 
consecutive academic years when the recipient's education has been intenupted by 
severe medical disability, learning disability, illness or other hardship, making 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" ~"to H.P. 1184, L.D. 1612 
continued attendance impossible, however, the extension may not exceed 2 academic 
years. 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 "e. '" 
Amend the bill by inserting after section 3 the following: 
'Sec. 4. 
37-B MRSA §514, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 2013, c. 128, §3, is 
amended to read: 
2. Veteran service officers at veterans hospital. Sixty-four thousand five hundred 
dollars annually to each veterans' service organization that has funded and maintained a 
veteran service officer at the Veterans Administration Hospital at Togus for at least one 
year as of January 1, 2013. If revenues in the fund are insufficient to make the full 
amount of the distributions required by this subsection, the director shall divide the 
amount of available funds equally between the veterans' service organizations; and' 
Amend the bill by inserting after section 4 the following: 
'Sec. 5. 
Transfer of funds; Department of Defense, Veterans and 
Emergency Management. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, on or before 
August 15,2014, the State Controller shall transfer $15,000 from the Veterans Services 
program, General Fund account within the Department of Defense, Veterans and 
Emergency Management to the State House and Capitol Park Commission program, 
Other Special Revenue . Funds account within the Legislature for the design and 
construction of a plaque to honor veterans of the State who have participated in military 
campaigns and operations and who are not honored by existing plaques, as authorized by 
Resolve 2011, chapter 163. 
Sec. 6. Appropriations and allocations. 
The following appropriations and 
allocations are made. 
LEGISLATURE 
State House and Capitol Park Commission 0615 
Initiative: Provides an allocation for a contract to design and construct a plaque to honor 
veterans of the State. 
OTHER SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS 
All Other 
OTHER SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS TOTAL 
2013-14 
$0 
$0 
2014-15 
$15,000 
$15,000 
Amend the bill by relettering or renumbering any nonconsecutive .PartJetter or _ 
section number to read consecutively. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" A " 
to H.P. 1184, L.D. 1612 
SUMMARY 
This amendment adds several new sections to the bill. It requires the Adjutant 
General to include in the biennial report to the joint standing committee of the Legislature 
having jurisdiction over veterans affairs information on the status of communications 
with the United States Department of Veterans Affairs regarding the impact of 
environmental hazards on Maine National Guard veterans who were stationed in 
Gagetown, New Brunswick, Canada. The amendment provides that a postsecondary 
educational institution that provides tuition waivers to dependents of veterans may 
provide tuition waivers beyond 120 credit hours when a degree program requires more 
than 120 credit hours. 
The amendment also provides that, if revenues to the 
Coordinated Veterans Assistance Fund are insufficient to cover the full distribution for 
veteran service officers at Togus, the available funds will be divided equally between the 
veterans' service organizations. 
Finally, the amendment authorizes the transfer of 
$15,000 from the Veterans Services program, General Fund account to the State House 
and Capitol Park Commission program, Other Special Revenue Funds account for design 
and construction of a plaque to honor veterans of the State in accordance with Resolve 
2011, chapter 163. 
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED 
(See attached) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
• 
Approved: 03/12/14 frac.. 
LD 1612 
LR2546(02) 
An Act To Amend the Veterans' Services Laws 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Aruendme~t 'A{tI- b ~'I) 
Committee: Veterans and Legal Affairs 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
FY 2013-14 
FY2014-15 
Projections 
FY 2015-16 
Projections 
FY 2016-17 
Net Cost (Savings) 
General Fund 
Appropriations/Allocations 
Other Special Revenue Funds 
Transfers 
General Fund 
Other Special Revenue Funds 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
$0 
$0 
$0 
$0 
$15,000 
$15,000 
($15,000) 
$15,000 
$0 
$0 
$0 
$0 
$0 
$0 
$0 
$0 
The bill includes an Other Special Revenue Funds allocation to the Legislature for the design and construction of a 
plaque to honor veterans of the State. The funding comes from a transfer from the Department of Defense, Veterans 
and Emergency Management, Veterans Services General Fund account to the Legislature, State House Capitol Park 
Commission Other Special Revenue Funds account. 
Additional costs to the University of Maine System, Maine Community College System and Maine Maritime 
Academy associated with granting a tuition waiver can be absorbed within existing budgeted resources. 
Additional costs to the Department of Defense, Veterans and Emergency Management and Treasurer of State 
associated with serving on the Board can be absorbed within existing budgeted resources. 
LR2546(02) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1