An Act To
Maine Legislature, Session 129, LD 1926
Committee Amendment CA_A_S411 (Senate)
Amends: 37-B MRSA §505

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT " ,tj " to S.P. 668, L.D. 1926, Bill, "An Act To 
Amend the Laws Governing the Maine Veterans' Memorial Cemete1y System" 
Amend the bill by inserting after section 1 the following: 
'Sec. 2. 37-B MRSA §505, sub-§1-C, as enacted by PL 2017, c. 419, §6, is 
amended to read: 
1-C. Financial assistance. The following provisions apply to grants of temporary 
financial assistance to veterans. 
A. The bureau may provide a grant of temporary assistance not to exceed $2,000 to a 
veteran currently a resident of this State who has filed a valid claim for a veteran's 
pension, pending notification of the award of such a pension. For purposes of this 
paragraph, "claim for a veteran's pension" means a claim filed with the United States 
Department of Veterans Affairs pursuant to 38 United States Code, Chapter 15. 
B. The bureau may provide a grant of temporary assistance not to exceed $2,000 to a 
veteran currently a resident of this State who demonstrates to the bureau's satisfaction 
a financial need and suffers an emergency, including but not limited to: 
(1) Damage to that veteran's home due to fire, flood or hurricane that is not fully 
compensable by insurance; 
(2) Illness or the illness of an immediate family member; or 
(3) Hardship that would result in the veteran becoming homeless. 
C. A veteran who requests temporary assistance under this subsection and is denied 
such assistance by the bureau may request a reconsideration and review of this 
decision. Requests for reconsideration of a claim must be reviewed by the director 
and the commissioner or the commissioner's designee, and the decision after the 
reconsideration is final and may not be appealed to a court. 
D. 
The bureau may contract with an organization incorporated in the State as a 
nonprofit corporation in accordance with Title 13-B or an organization with tax-
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT"/} "to S.P. 668, L.D. 1926 
exempt status under 26 United States Code, Section 501(c) for the purpose of 
providing temporary financial assistance to veterans as described in this subsection. 
A contract authorized under this subsection may provide only for the distribution of 
direct temporary financial assistance to veterans and may not provide for 
compensation for personnel costs of the organization, funding of positions of 
employment within the organization or administrative costs of the organization 
except those directly related to the distribution of temporary financial assistance 
grants to veterans. 
E. The department may adopt rules to implement this subsection. Rules adopted 
pursuant to this paragraph are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 
7 5, subchapter 2-A. 
F. For the purposes of this subsection, "veteran" means any person who: 
(1) Served in the active United States Armed Forces and who, if discharged, 
received an honorable discharge or a general discharge under honorable 
conditions, as long as the discharge was not upgraded through a program of 
general amnesty; 
(2) Served in the Reserve Components of the United States Armed Forces and 
who is entitled to retired pay under 10 United States Code, chapter 1223 or would 
be entitled to retired pay under chapter 1223 except that the person is under 60 
years of age; 
(3) Served in the United States Armed Forces and, although the person does not 
meet the requirements of subparagraph (1) or (2), is determined by the director, 
on a case-by-case basis, to be eligible for temporary financial assistance; or 
(4) Served in the Maine National Guard and is determined by the director, on a 
case-by-case basis, to be eligible for temporary financial assistance. 
For the purposes of this subsection, "veteran" has the same meaning as "eligible veteran" 
in section 504, subsection 4, paragraph A 1. The director may also determine eligibility 
for temporary financial assistance on a case by case basis.' 
Amend the bill by relettering or renumbering any nonconsecutive Part letter or 
section number to read consecutively. 
SUMMARY 
The bill amends the definition of "eligible veteran" with respect to eligibility for 
burial in the Maine Veterans' Memorial Cemetery System. That definition of "eligible 
veteran" is also employed in current law to define veteran eligibility for temporaty 
financial assistance. This amendment, which is the unanimous report of .the committee, 
amends the statute governing the temporary financial assistance program by removing the 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" f) "to S.P. 668, L.D. 1926 ( 
, . 
1-/I I \ 
cross-reference to the definition of "eligible veteran" in the cemetery statute and replacing 
it with the definition of "veteran" that is currently used in the rnles governing the 
temporary financial assistance program to determine eligibility for assistance under that 
program. 
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED 
(See attached) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
Revised: 02/27/20 frac 
LD 1926 
LR 3038(02) 
An Act To Amend the Laws Governing the Maine Veterans' Memorial Cemetery System 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment ''. 1 '/', 
Committee: Veterans and Legal Affairs 
· t ·-
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
CmTent biennium cost increase - Federal Expenditures Funds 
Cunent biennium revenue increase - Federal Expenditures Funds 
! I/ 
Federal Expenditures Fund costs and revenue to the Department of Defense, Veterans and Emergency Management 
will increase as a result of the bill. The amount of the increase will depend on the number of additional eligible 
veterans requesting burial in the Maine Veterans' Memorial Cemetery System and cannot be detennined at this time. 
LR3038(02) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1