Consolidated Amendment "F" to H4100
Veteran Services and Soldiers' Homes
Veteran Services and Soldiers’ Homes
Fiscal Note: $673,924
Amendments 809 has been re-categorized to the Veterans Services and Soldiers’ Homes
Amendments from Veteran Services and Soldiers’ Homes: 38, 63, 110, 115, 222, 268, 277, 299, 304, 313, 340, 358, 420, 434, 522, 528, 530, 548, 556, 641, 651, 743, 748, 754, 768, 817, 861, and 865
Mr. Dempsey of Haverhill and others move to amend H. 4100 in section 2, in line item 1410-0010, by inserting after the words “from this item;”, in line 2, the following: provided further, that no less than $10,000 shall be expended for maintenance services for the Korean War memorial located in the Charlestown navy yard; provided further, that no less than $100,000 shall be expended for restoration grants for Civil War Veterans Monuments, Memorials, and other significant sites across the Commonwealth in conjunction with the Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities; provided further, that no less than $10,000 shall be expended for the transportation of a decommissioned tank, approved by the Department of Defense, from the North Carolina National Guard to the Johnny Ro Veterans Memorial Park in Leominster; provided further, that not less than the amount allocated in item 1410-0010 of section 2 of chapter 182 of the acts of 2008 shall be expended for the purpose of maintaining and rehabilitating Massachusetts Vietnam Veterans memorials; provided further, that no less than $30,000 shall be expended for the Veteran's Oral History Project at the Morse Institute Library in Natick;
And further amend said item by striking out the figure: “$2,440,839” and inserting in place thereof the figure: “$2,615,839”.
And further amend the bill in section 2, in line item 1410-0012, by inserting after the words “agent orange;” in line 4, the following: provided further, that the department shall not reduce the amount allocated to a program or its successor listed in this item as appearing in section 2 of chapter 68 of the acts of 2011; provided further that the Bilingual Outreach Centers of Massachusetts, Inc. in the town of Springfield shall be the successor to the Mason Square Veterans Outreach Center.
And further amend the bill in section 2, in item 1410-0018, by striking out the figures: “$300,000” and inserting in place thereof the figures: “$350,000”.
And further amend the bill in section 2, by inserting after item 1410-0018 the following two items:-
1410-0075 For the purpose of the Train Vets to Treat Vets program; provided, that the department shall work in conjunction with the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology to administer a behavioral health career development program for returning veterans………………………………………………………………………………….$125,000
1410-0100 For the revenue maximization project of the executive office of elder affairs to identify individuals eligible for veterans’ pensions who are currently receiving home health care services…………………………………………………………………………………….$96,500
And further amend the bill in section 2, in item 1410-0250, by inserting after the word “services” in line 1, the following:- ; provided, that the department shall not reduce the amount allocated to a program or its successor listed in this item as appearing in section 2 of chapter 68 of the acts of 2011.
And further amend the bill in section 2, by striking out item 1410-0300 and inserting in place thereof the following item:-
1410-0300 For the payment of annuities to certain disabled veterans and the parents and un-remarried spouses of certain deceased veterans; provided, that the payments shall be made under sections 6A, 6B and 6C of chapter 115 of the General Laws…………………………$21,400,000
And further amend the bill in section 2, in line item 1410-0400, by inserting after the words “soldiers’ home” in line 4, the following: , homeless shelter, or transitional housing facility
And further amend said item by striking out the figure: “$43,988,726” and inserting in place thereof the figure: “$44,208,485”.
And further amend the bill in section 2, in line item 1410-0400, by striking out the figure: “$1,007,160” and inserting in place thereof the figure: “$1,014,825”.
And further amend the bill by adding the following sections:
SECTION X. Chapter 15A of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2010 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting, after section 41, the following new section:-
Section 42. (a) The board shall coordinate and adopt a uniform policy requiring each public institution of higher education to award educational credits to a student who is enrolled in such an institution and who is also a veteran, as defined in clause forty-third of section 7 of chapter 4, for the student’s military occupation, training and experience relevant to the occupation, and courses that were a component of the student’s military training or service; provided, that the occupation, training, experience, or courses meet the standards of the American Council on Education or equivalent standards for awarding academic credit; provided further, that the award of educational credit is based upon an institution’s admissions standards and is consistent with the mission of the commonwealth’s system of public higher education, as defined by the board, pursuant to section 1 of chapter 15A.
(b) The board shall consult and collaborate with the boards of trustees in implementing the policy set forth in subsection (a) and the policy adopted by the board shall, to the greatest extent possible, provide for consistent application by all the commonwealth’s public institutions of higher education and promote accurate and complete academic counseling.
(c) The board shall adopt all necessary rules, regulations and procedures to implement the provisions of this section, effective beginning January 1, 2013 and continuing thereafter.