Powers and duties of the board of veterans affairs; reimbursement of veterans' tuition at tribal colleges; documentation for eligibility to veterans homes; operation of veterans homes; eligibility and procedural requirements for veterans home loans, veterans personal loans, county veterans service grants, and American Indian veterans grants; and funeral honors, burial, and disinterment of veterans. (FE)

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.

12. The bill removes the requirement that no changes could be made in the minimum budget and operating standards for the county veterans' service grant program without first being reviewed by the veterans' service officers' advisory council.

13. The bill changes the requirement that an applicant for a personal loan submit check stubs for a recent month within three months of the date of application to requiring the submittal of check stubs for a 30-day period within three months of the date of application.

14. The bill requires an applicant for the loan under the personal 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 those returns, if the applicant uses tax information to verify income.

15. The bill allows DVA to assess a fee to disinter an individual who is currently interred in a veterans cemetery, but limits the fee to the average cost to DVA of disinterring an individual.

16. The bill removes the assessment by DVA from a funeral director involved in the burial of a veteran for the average cost of providing a columbarium niche or an in-ground container for the interment of cremains.

17. The bill changes the date on which an application for an American Indian grant is due from not later than June 30 of each year to not later than May 15 of the calendar year for which the grant is claimed.

18. The bill removes the requirement that the governing body of an American Indian tribe or band employ a full-time veterans' service officer to be eligible for an American Indian grant.

19. The bill deletes the preference that military funeral honors be performed by a military funeral honors team.