Amendment #17 to S1885
Technical Amendment
Mr. Dempsey of Haverhill moves to amend the bill by inserting the following section:-
SECTION 4A. Chapter 29 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 2GGGG the following section:-
Section 2HHHH. There shall be established and set upon the books of the commonwealth a separate fund to be known as the Support our Veterans Fund. There shall be credited to said fund revenues received from the sale of “Support our Veterans” distinctive registration plates issued pursuant to subsection (d) of section 2E of chapter 90. Amounts credited to said fund shall be available for expenditure by the secretary of the department of veterans’ services who shall distribute the funds once during each fiscal year for the purpose of administering grants to programs or organizations that fund additional services or conduct research relative to, including, but not limited to, the following: (i) veterans’ mental health and substance abuse; (ii) veterans’ housing and homelessness; (iii) veterans’ health care; (iv) veterans’ disability benefits; (v) long-term care of veterans; (vi) veteran employment and employment training; (vii) veterans’ education; and (viii) Gold Star family support.
In order to expend funds from said fund, the secretary of the department of veterans’ services shall appoint a 3-member funding authorization committee. The committee shall authorize the expenditure of funds through an application process developed and administered by the committee. The secretary shall be a member and act as the chairperson of the committee. One member of the committee shall be a member of the Governor’s Advisory Council on Veterans’ Services, who shall be appointed by the governor. One member of the committee shall be a veteran representative of the public with no financial interest in funding programs and services, who shall be appointed by the governor. No member of the legislature shall serve on the committee. An entity awarded funds pursuant to this section, in any fiscal year, shall not be eligible for funding for the next 2 subsequent fiscal years.
And moves to further amend the bill by striking out section 20 and inserting in place thereof the following section:-
SECTION 20. Section 2E of said chapter 90, as so appearing, is hereby amended by adding the following subsection:-
(d) The registrar shall furnish, upon application, to the owner of a private passenger motor vehicle, a distinctive registration plate that shall display on its face the words “Support our Veterans” to honor men and women who have served in the armed forces of the United States and the armed forces of the commonwealth. There shall be a fee of not less than $50 for the plates in addition to the established registration fee for a private passenger motor vehicle, which shall be payable at the time of registration of the vehicle and at each renewal thereof. The portion of the total remaining fee, after the deduction of costs directly attributable to the issuance of the plates, shall be deposited in the Support our Veterans Fund established pursuant to section 2HHHH of chapter 29.
And moves to further amend the bill in section 26 by inserting after the words “1 member”, in line 232, the following words:- appointed by the minority leader of the senate
And moves to further amend the bill in section 26 by inserting after the words “1 member”, in line 238, the following words:- appointed by the minority leader of the house of representatives
And moves to further amend the bill in section 26 by striking, in lines 249 to 258, the following words:- “and 14 members shall be appointed by the governor, 2 of whom shall be veterans of Operation New Dawn, Operation Enduring Freedom or Operation Iraqi Freedom, and 1 from a list of nominees submitted by each of the following organizations: Massachusetts Coalition for Suicide Prevention, Massachusetts Psychological Association Inc., Massachusetts Psychiatric Society, Inc., Massachusetts Association of Mental Health, Inc., Association for Behavioral Healthcare, Inc., Massachusetts Veterans’ Service Officers Association, Massachusetts Women Veterans’ Network, The Red Sox Foundation and Massachusetts General Hospital Home Base Program, the Massachusetts Military Heroes Fund, Inc., the United States Veterans Administration, the Massachusetts Hospital Association, Inc., the Military Friends Foundation and the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers, Inc.” and inserting in place thereof the following words: and 14 members shall be appointed by the governor from a list of nominees submitted by each of the following organizations: Massachusetts Coalition for Suicide Prevention, Massachusetts Psychological Association Inc., Massachusetts Psychiatric Society, Inc., Massachusetts Association of Mental Health, Inc., Association for Behavioral Healthcare, Inc., Massachusetts Veterans’ Service Officers Association, Massachusetts Women Veterans’ Network, The Red Sox Foundation and Massachusetts General Hospital Home Base Program, the Massachusetts Military Heroes Fund, Inc., the United States Veterans Administration, the Massachusetts Hospital Association, Inc., the Military Friends Foundation and the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers, Inc.; provided that 2 of such members shall be veterans of Operation New Dawn, Operation Enduring Freedom or Operation Iraqi Freedom.