AB 734

This bill makes a number of changes to the rules promulgated by the

Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA), including the following:

1. The bill eliminates references to the duties and powers of the Board of

Veterans Affairs (board) so that the rules relating to the duties and powers of the

board conform with the statutes.

2011 Wisconsin Act 36

transferred some of the

board's powers and duties to the secretary of veterans affairs.

2. The bill creates rules implementing a veterans tribal college tuition

reimbursement program created in

2013 Wisconsin Act 20

.

3. The bill changes certain eligibility requirements for subsistence payments

to needy veterans, including changing the income eligibility level from 130 to 180

percent of the federal poverty level.

4. The bill makes changes in the code relating to the eligibility for surviving

parents' children who died while in service so that the code conforms with the current

statutes.

5. The bill specifies that DVA is the payer of last resort for the costs of providing

medical and nursing care and other types of care to persons residing in veterans

homes when the costs are not paid for by the entity that operates the home or by third

parties.

6. The bill changes the types of information and documentation that must

accompany an application to be admitted to veterans homes.

7. The bill changes references to veterans homes in the rules from referencing

a single home to referencing multiple homes. The current rules were written when

there was only one veterans home in the state.

8. The bill increases the current minimum equity a veteran must have in a

property secured by a veterans home loan to permit the release of a portion of the

property providing security from 10 percent to 15 percent of the property's value.

9. The bill reduces the period that a veteran must be a resident of this state for

purposes of receiving a certificate of eligibility for a loan under the veterans home

loan program from five consecutive years to 12 consecutive months.

10. The bill requires an applicant for the loan under the veterans home

improvement loan program to submit copies of W-2s and attachments to federal and

state income tax returns, in addition to the currently required submission of the

returns, including all schedules.

11. The bill changes the date on which an application for a county veterans'

service grant is due from not later than six months after the start of the fiscal year

to not later than May 15 of the calendar year for which the grant is claimed.