Highlights

• Mental Health
  • Expands access to behavioral health treatment by allowing veterans to be reimbursed for visits to outpatient behavioral health providers.
  • Establishes a working group to study the benefits of alternative therapies, such as psilocybin, for treating veterans' mental health challenges.
• Disability Benefits: Increases the disabled veteran annuity from $2,000 to $2,500, phased in over two years, and will be one annual payment on August 1
• Employment: Incrases the Vet-Hire Tax Credit, a tax credit for small businesses hiring chronically unemployed or low-income veterans, to $2,500.
• Families: Requires public school districts to provide support services to militaryconnected students when a parent or guardian is called to active duty.
• Recognition
  • Requires flags to be flown at half-staff from the day of death until the day of interment for any military service member residing in Massachusetts.
  • Aligns the state Chapter 115 definition of a veteran with the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs definition.
  • Revises Chapters 115 and 115A of the General Laws for gender-neutral and inclusive language.