NY Exec L § 367 (2021)
2021 New York Laws EXC - Executive Article 17 - Veterans' Services 367 - Payment to Parents of Veterans.

§  367. Payment to parents of veterans. 1. Annuity established.  (a) A parent, identified in 10 USC 1126 as a gold star parent,  of  a  veteran who  heretofore  has  died or parent of a veteran dying hereafter, shall upon application to the state director, be paid an annual annuity out of the treasury of the state for the sum of five hundred dollars  for  such term  as  such  parent shall be entitled thereto under the provisions of this article. Commencing in the year two thousand nineteen,  the  amount of  any  annuity  payable under this section shall be the same amount as the annuity payable in the preceding year plus a  percentage  adjustment equal  to  the  annual percentage increase, if any, for compensation and pension  benefits  administered  by  the  United  States  department  of veterans affairs in the previous year. Such percentage increase shall be rounded up to the next highest one-tenth of one percent and shall not be less  than  one  percent  nor  more  than  four percent. The director of veterans' services, not later than February first of  each  year,  shall publish by any reasonable means, including but not limited to posting on the  division's  website,  the amount of the annuity as adjusted payable under this section. The term "parent" for the purposes of  this  section includes mother, father, stepmother, stepfather, mother through adoption and father through adoption.  (b)  The  entitlement of any parent to receive the annuity provided by paragraph (a) of this subdivision shall terminate upon his or her  death or upon his or her ceasing to continue to be a resident of and domiciled in  the  state  of New York, but such entitlement may be reinstated upon application to the state  director,  if  such  parent  shall  thereafter resume his or her residence and domicile in the state.  (c) The effective date of an award of the annuity to a parent shall be the  day  after  the  date  of  death  of the veteran if the application therefor is received  within  one  year  from  date  of  death.  If  the application is received after the expiration of the first year following the  date of the death of the veteran, the effective date of an award of the annuity to a parent shall be the date of receipt of the  application by  the state director. If the application is denied but is granted at a later date upon  an  application  for  reconsideration  based  upon  new evidence,  the  effective  date  of the award of the annuity to a parent shall be the date of the receipt of the application for  reconsideration by the state director.  (d)  Any  applicant  convicted  of  making  any false statement in the application for the annuity shall be subject to penalties prescribed  in the penal law.   2.  Qualifications.  (a)  Any gold star parent, who is the parent of a deceased veteran, and who is a resident of and domiciled in the state of New York, shall make application to the division.  (b) No entitlement shall be paid under this section to or for  a  gold star  parent  who  is  in  prison  in  a  federal, state, or local penal institution as a result of conviction of a felony or misdemeanor for any part  of  the  period  beginning  sixty-one  days  after  his   or   her imprisonment begins and ending with his or her release.  (c)  Where  one  or  more  gold  star parents are disqualified for the annuity for a period under paragraph (b) of this subdivision, the  state director  shall pay the shares of such disqualified parents to the other parents, if they meet the qualifications on their own.  (d) The decision of  the  state  director  on  matters  regarding  the payment of such annuity shall be final.   3.  Method  of  payment.  (a)  Evidence of the military service of the deceased veteran of  the  gold  star  parent  for  each  case  shall  be furnished in the manner and form prescribed by the state director.  (b)  Upon  being satisfied that such service was honorable, that other facts and statements in the application of such  gold  star  parent  are true, the state director shall certify to the state comptroller the name and address of such gold star parent.  (c)  Thereafter,  the department of taxation and finance, on the audit and warrant of the comptroller, shall pay such gold star parent such sum as is authorized by  the  provisions  of  this  section  in  semi-annual installments  for  so long as such qualified gold star parent shall meet the requirements of this section.   4. Report. The state director shall submit a report to  the  governor, the chair of the senate finance committee, and the chair of the assembly ways  and  means committee not later than January fifteenth of each year this section is in effect. Such report shall include, but not be limited to regulations promulgated pursuant to this section, and  a  description and evaluation of the program.