An Act To Implement the Recommendations of the Commission To Strengthen and Align the Services Provided to Maine's Veterans Regarding Enhancements to the Bureau of Maine Veterans' Services
Maine Legislature, Session 127, LD 1612
Committee: Veterans and Legal Affairs
Amends: 37-B MRSA §3, 37-B MRSA §501, 37-B MRSA §503, 37-B MRSA §508, 37-B MRSA §514

Legislative Document 
No. 1612 
H.P. 1100 
House of Representatives, February 25, 2016 
An Act To Implement the Recommendations of the Commission To 
Strengthen and Align the Services Provided to Maine's Veterans 
Regarding Enhancements to the Bureau of Maine Veterans' Services 
Reported by Representative LUCHINI of Ellsworth for the Joint Standing Committee on 
Veterans and Legal Affairs pursuant to Resolve 2015, chapter 48, section 7. 
Reference to the Committee on Veterans and Legal Affairs suggested and ordered printed 
pursuant to Joint Rule 218. 
ROBERT B. HUNT 
Clerk 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  37-B MRSA §3, sub-§1, ¶D, as amended by PL 2013, c. 469, §1 and c. 
569, §2, 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 
informational 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 Capital Repair, 
Maintenance, Construction and Acquisition Account of the Military Bureau. 
(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.  The 
Adjutant General shall provide the personnel, supplies, services and matching 
funds required by a federal cost-sharing arrangement pursuant to 31 United States 
Code, Chapters 63 and 65 (2013); 32 United States Code (2013); and National 
Guard Regulation 5-1 (2010).  The Adjutant General shall receive funds and 
property and an accounting for all expenditures and property acquired through 
such a federal cost-sharing arrangement and make returns and reports concerning 
those expenditures and that property as required by such a federal cost-sharing 
arrangement. 
(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 of law. 
(16)  The Adjutant General may establish a science, mathematics and technology 
education improvement program for schoolchildren known as the STARBASE 
Program.  The Adjutant General may accept financial assistance and in-kind 
assistance, advances, grants, gifts, contributions and other forms of financial 
assistance from the Federal Government or other public body or from other 
sources, public or private, to implement the STARBASE Program.  The Adjutant 
General may employ a director and other employees, permanent or temporary, to 
operate the STARBASE 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, permanent or temporary, to operate the program. 
(19)  The Adjutant General may execute cooperative agreements for purposes 
described or defined by this Title and other arrangements necessary to operate the 
department. 
(20)  The Adjutant General shall act as the Governor's homeland security advisor. 
(21)  The Adjutant General shall implement a program to identify residents of the 
State who are not considered veterans but are military retirees or former members 
of the Maine Army National Guard or Maine Air National Guard who 
successfully completed service. 
Sec. 2.  37-B MRSA §501, first ¶, as amended by PL 1997, c. 455, §17, is further 
amended to read: 
The Bureau of Maine Veterans' Services, referred to in this chapter as the "bureau," is 
established and shall provide informational services, program assistance, memorial 
facilities and financial aid to veterans in the State and their dependents in order to ensure 
that they receive all entitlements due under the law, are relieved to the extent possible of 
financial hardship, receive every opportunity for self-improvement through higher 
education and are afforded proper recognition for their service and sacrifice to the Nation.  
The bureau shall serve as the primary source of information for veterans in the State 
regarding all services, benefits and honors administered by the State and, to the maximum 
extent possible, services and benefits provided by the United States Department of 
Veterans Affairs, veterans' service organizations and other organizations dedicated to 
serving veterans. 
Sec. 3.  37-B MRSA §503, sub-§§7 and 8 are enacted to read: 
7.  Marketing and outreach program.  The director shall implement, as a core 
function of the bureau, a marketing and outreach program to increase, to the greatest 
extent practicable, awareness of services and benefits available to veterans and family 
members of veterans and to encourage veterans to seek the benefits and services to which 
they are entitled.  The director is authorized to employ personnel dedicated to the 
marketing and outreach program objectives described in this subsection.  The director is 
authorized to enter into memoranda of understanding with other state agencies to allow 
for the sharing of information to achieve the objectives of the program.  The marketing 
and outreach program objectives must include, but are not limited to: 
A.  Identifying residents of the State who are veterans; 
B.  Increasing awareness of the bureau for veterans and family members of veterans; 
C.  Implementing media and technology to encourage veterans to self-identify to the 
bureau and communicating to veterans and family members of veterans about the 
services and benefits available to them; 
D.  Attendance by bureau personnel at events organized for and by veterans that, as 
determined by the director, facilitate the objectives of this subsection; and 
E.  Establishing benchmarks to measure the effectiveness of marketing and outreach 
efforts. 
The program objectives listed in this subsection may also be used to assist the 
commissioner to identify residents of this State who are military retirees or former 
members of the Maine Army National Guard or Maine Air National Guard who 
completed service requirements but never served on active duty pursuant to section 3, 
subsection 1, paragraph D, subparagraph (21). 
8.  Records management system.  The director shall acquire and maintain an 
electronic database with secured remote access capabilities to facilitate management of 
records of veterans, spouses of veterans and veterans' dependents served by the bureau.  
When selecting a records management system, the director shall ensure that, at a 
minimum, the system is capable of: 
A.  Reducing reliance on paper records; 
B.  Allowing for immediate access by authorized users to update records; 
C.  Displaying a complete record of assistance provided by the bureau to veterans and 
veterans' family members; 
D.  Providing improved customer service to veterans seeking assistance from the 
bureau; and 
E.  Identifying burial locations on a map of the Maine Veterans' Memorial Cemetery 
System. 
Sec. 4.  37-B MRSA §508, as amended by PL 2013, c. 569, §4, is further amended 
to read: 
§508.  Veteran service officers 
Veteran service officers shall serve, assist and advocate for all veterans.  A veteran 
service officer must be trained and conversant on the issues, benefits and definitions 
affecting all veterans, including atomic, Vietnam, Desert Storm and female veterans.  The 
bureau shall have at least one veteran service officer who specializes in female veterans' 
issues.  The director shall regularly conduct an assessment of the number and geographic 
distribution of veteran service officers to ensure the number and location of officers is 
adequate to effectively serve veterans in the State. 
Sec. 5.  37-B MRSA §514, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2013, c. 569, §6, is further 
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. A 
veterans' service organization that receives funds under this subsection shall establish, in 
consultation with the director, methods to provide the director with data that demonstrate 
that the funds from the fund are being used to the maximum extent possible to support 
and assist veterans of this State in filing claims with the United States Department of 
Veterans Affairs in an accurate and timely manner; and 
SUMMARY 
This bill is submitted by the Joint Standing Committee on Veterans and Legal Affairs 
pursuant to Resolve 2015, chapter 48.  It implements some of the recommendations of the 
Commission To Strengthen and Align the Services Provided to Maine's Veterans.  The 
bill requires the Director of the Bureau of Maine Veterans' Services within the 
Department of Defense, Veterans and Emergency Management to include marketing and 
outreach objectives as a core function of the bureau.  The marketing and outreach 
objectives are intended to identify residents in the State who are veterans and also to 
maximize awareness of benefits and services available to veterans and family members of 
veterans.  The bill also directs the bureau to acquire and implement an electronic records 
management system to create efficiencies and improve customer service to veterans 
seeking assistance from the bureau.  The bill clarifies that the bureau's purpose includes 
serving as the primary source of information for veterans regarding the services, benefits 
and honors provided to veterans. The bill requires a veterans' service organization that 
receives funds from the Coordinated Veterans Assistance Fund to provide the Director of 
the Bureau of Maine Veterans' Services with data demonstrating that the funds are being 
used to assist veterans in filing claims with the United States Department of Veterans 
Affairs.