2004 LEGISLATIVE HIGHLIGHTS
Agent Orange
Dioxin is a chemical contaminant that was contained in
Agent Orange, a herbicide (plant killer) used for
defoliation in Vietnam from 1962 until 1971, as well as
along the demilitarized zone (DNZ) in Korea in 1968-69,
and at Fort Drum, New York, in 1959.
Agent Orange received its name from orange painted on
barrels containing the herbicide. Other herbicides
were also named this way, e.g., Agents White, Blue, Green,
and Purple. The barrels were color-coded to make
identification easier for shippers and handlers.
Herbicide spraying operations were conducted to clear
vegetation, denying the enemy camouflage or cover for
ambush. Herbicides were also used to destroy enemy food
crops and to clear base perimeters, landing zones,
waterways, and communications lines. An estimated 11
million gallons of Agent Orange were sprayed in Southeast
Asia.
Of the nearly 440,000 Vietnam-era veterans in New York
State, roughly 131,000 engaged in active duty in Southeast
Asia. Thus, the number of veterans in New York State who
were exposed to Agent Orange is probably very high.
Since the time this statue of limitations was first
enacted in 1981, additional diseases, such as Hodgkin’s
disease, prostate cancer, and Type 2 adult diabetes, have
been associated with Agent Orange. Recently researches
have found a link between a type of leukemia and Vietnam
soldiers exposed to herbicides like Agent Orange,
prompting the Department of Veterans Affairs to extend
benefits to veterans with the illness.
Agent Orange Extender
(A.9778, Tocci; Chapter 68 of the Laws of 2004)
In 1981, legislation was enacted to allow former members
of the armed forces to initiate action to recover damages
from personal injury caused by exposure to phenoxy
herbicides (Agent Orange) within two years from the date
of discovery of the injury or within two years from the
date such injury should have been discovered, whichever
is later.
This Chapter extends to June 16, 2006, the deadline for
filing suits against the producers of Agent Orange. Those
persons whose injury or death was caused by contact with
or exposure to phenoxy herbicides (Agent Orange) and
served as members of the U.S. Armed Forces in Indo-China
from December 22, 1961, through May 7, 1975, may file.
Education Benefits for Vietnam and
Persian Gulf Veterans
The Vietnam Veterans Tuition Awards Program (VVTAP) was
created in order to enhance the employability of Vietnam
veterans. To further meet this goal, it was expanded in
1985 to allow the tuition award to be applied not only
to courses at educational institutions, but also
vocational training programs. In 1987, the year VVTAP
was to expire, the Legislature recognized the need to
extend the program, increase the available funding, and
provide for proper promotion. Thus, the VVTAP’s
expiration date was extended, the amount of the award
increased from $500 to $1,000 for each semester of
full-time study and a task force created to coordinate
outreach efforts. In 1997 the program was expanded to
graduate school students and those veterans who served
in the Persian Gulf War.
Vietnam Veterans Tuition Awards Program Extension
and the Persian Gulf Veterans Tuition Awards Program
Extension
(A.9564; Sweeney; Chapter 250 of the Laws of 2004)
This measure extends the date establishing eligibility
in the Vietnam Veterans Tuition Award Program and the
Persian Gulf Veterans Tuition Award Program to September
1, 2006.
Energy
Chapter 82 of the Laws of 1998 was enacted to require electric utilities
to charge lower rates (based on residential rates) for service to
post and halls of not-for-profit veterans organizations. The law was
passed by both houses of the legislature prior to the date when the
Long Island Company (LILCO) sold its electric distribution business
to LIPA but was not signed until after that date. The 1998 law was
intended to benefit all of the veterans’ organizations in the state,
including those in the LILCO service territory, and it would have done
do if it had been signed by the Governor prior to that date of the
LILCO/LIPA transaction.
Long Island Power Authority
(A.3796; DiNapoli; Chapter 234 of the Laws of 2004)
This law adds a new section to the public authorities’
law to require LIPA to charge a rate no greater than the
residential rate in the same village, town or municipality
for electric service to any post or hall owned or leased
by a not-for-profit veterans’ organization. The measure
further prohibits LIPA from increasing rates to other
customers to recover revenues forgone under the public
authorities law and in cases to satisfy bond coverage
requirements, require LIPA to reduce its non-personnel
operating expenses.
The purpose of this measure is to provide that the Long
Island Power Authority charge not-for-profit veterans
organizations the rates charged to domestic consumers
just as the other utilities in the state are required
to do under Chapter 82 of the Laws of 1998.
New York State World War II
Monument
Chapter 233 of the Laws of 1998 directed the Commissioner
of the Office of General Services to erect a monument
for veterans who served during the Second World War in
the Empire State Plaza or Capitol Park.
On May 30, 2002, the traditional date for Memorial Day,
the New York State World War II Memorial was dedicated.
The Memorial’s centerpiece is the eagle, symbolizing
freedom, liberty, and the strength of the United States,
perched on top of a large pedestal. The pedestal is
surrounded by two pools of water encased with granite
walls inscribed with the names of significant places,
battles, and dates from the European and Pacific
theaters of war. Granite tablets bear the names of
the major campaigns of the war, along with quotations
from President Franklin Roosevelt and Generals Eisenhower
and MacArthur. Water jets create turbulence in the
pools, symbolizing the lack of peace and harmony in
the world during World War II.
The Four Chaplains
(A.10553; McEneny; Chapter 517 of the Laws of 2004)
This bill requires the Commissioner of the Office of
General Services to modify the existing New York State
World War II monument to appropriately recognize the
Four Chaplains.
On February 3, 1943, the U.S. Army Troopship
"Dorchester" was torpedoed off the coast of
Greenland. On board this ship were four Chaplains, two
Protestant pastors, a Catholic priest, and a Jewish
rabbi, who were among the first on deck handing out
lifejackets and calming the men. When the lifejackets
ran out, the Chaplains gave up their own and placed
them on other soldiers without regard to their own
safety. Approximately eighteen minutes after the
torpedo impact, the ship disappeared beneath the
surface and witnesses last saw the Four Chaplains
arm-in-arm on the hull of the ship praying together.
Of the nine hundred men on board, almost seven hundred
died that night, making it the third largest loss at
sea of its kind by the United States in World War II.
The Four Chaplains were later recognized for their
valor and selfless acts of courage by Congress with
the creation of a special Congressional Medal of Valor
for the Chaplains’ next of kin.
Cemeteries
The Department of Veterans’ Affairs State Cemetery Program
was established in 1978 to complement the VA’s National
Cemetery Administration. The program assists states in providing
gravesites for veterans in those areas where VA’s national cemeteries
cannot fully satisfy their burial needs.
The grants may be used only for the purpose of
establishing, expanding, or improving veterans’
cemeteries that are owned and operated by a state or U.S.
territory and a grant request may only be made by a
state official. New York State has not participated
in this program.
New York State Veterans’ Cemetery Siting
Committee
(A.11290-A, Rules at the request of Tocci; Chapter
288 of the Laws of 2004)
This measure would establish a state veterans’
cemetery siting committee to report upon the
feasibility of establishing New York State
veterans’ cemeteries throughout New York State.
The committee would advise the state director of
Veterans’ Affairs and the director of the Division
of Cemeteries within the Department of State.
Such committee shall consist of nine members,
including the secretary of state or his or her
designee, the director of the Division of
Veterans’ Affairs or his designee, the
commissioner of General Services or his designee,
the commissioner of Parks, Recreation and Historic
Preservation or her designee and appointments made
by the Governor, the temporary president of the
Senate, the speaker of the Assembly, the minority l
eader of the Senate, and the minority leader of the
Assembly. All appointees must be honorably
discharged veterans who served in the U.S. Armed
Forces during a time of war.
The committee shall report to the Governor, the
temporary president of the Senate, and the speaker
of the Assembly on or before December 31, 2004, as
to the feasibility of establishing one or more
veteran’s cemeteries within New York State.
Such report shall identify and evaluate potential
sites based on geographic need. Such sites include,
but not be limited to, Sampson State Park, Old
Plattsburgh Army Barracks 1812 Cemetery, Richmond
county, and vacant land under the jurisdiction of
state agencies, taking into consideration
accessibility, cost of acquisition, cost of
maintenance, cost of operation, applicable rules
and regulations that must be med to ensure
eligibility for federal funds, and the availability
of federal funds to meet the cost of establishing
such cemeteries.
New York State Veterans’
Cemetery Siting Committee Chapter Amendment
(A.11787, Rules at the request of Tocci; Chapter 458
of the Laws of 2004)
This Chapter amendment requires the nine members to be
appointed to be honorably discharged veterans as defined
in section three hundred sixty-four of the executive law
or an honorably discharged Persian Gulf or Afghanistan
veteran as those terms are described in section six hundred
sixty-nine-a of the education law. It also, requires the
New York State veterans’ cemetery siting committee to report
by June 30, 2005, to the Governor, the temporary president
of the senate and the speaker of the assembly as to the
feasibility of establishing one or more veteran’s cemeteries
within New York State and to identify and evaluate potential
sites based on geographical need.
Benefits
New York State veterans’ benefits have always
been, with a few exceptions, specifically linked to
"time of war" military service. On the federal
level, benefits for wartime veterans also are much
greater than those who served during peacetime. The
difference in benefits takes into consideration the
additional sacrifices an individual faces during a
"time of war" when a serviceman or woman can
quickly find themselves in a combat zone or on the
frontlines.
In 1909, the Bureau of Sick and Disabled Veterans was
created within the Division of Military and Naval
Affairs. In 1960, the function of overseeing the Blind
Veterans Annuity was transferred to the Division of
Veterans’ Affairs. Chapter 424 of the Laws of
1961 made widows eligible for the program. Prior to
the enactment of Chapter 233 of the Laws of 1998, the
blind veterans’ annuity was paid to widows provided
that the marriage had taken place prior to March 14,
1936. The 1998 law deleted the phase "widow, who
has not remarried" and added the term
"unremarried spouse." It also deleted the
provision that the surviving spouse had to be married
to the veteran by March 14, 1935.
Blind Veterans Annuity Regular
Adjustments
(A.9598, Nolan; Chapter 251 of the Laws of 2004)
In 2000, Chapter 435 raised the New York State Blind
Veterans’ Annuity Program stipend from $500 to $1,000 a year. The
benefit was created in 1913, and this was the first time the benefit
increased. This law would allow for the annual adjustment of the
annuity now payable plus a percentage increase, if any, for compensation
and pension benefits administered by the U.S. Department of
Veterans’ Affairs in the previous year. Commencing in the year
2005, the director of the division of veterans’ affairs has to publish
by February first of each year, the amount of the annuity as adjusted.
Disabled Veterans
(A.5044, Tocci; Chapter 65 of the Laws of 2004)
This law authorizes disabled veterans who are
certified by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
or a military department to present such certificate
as evidence of their disability and provides purple
heart recipients a preference for consideration
established pursuant to section 55-c of the Civil
Service Law.
Identification of Veterans
Since the end of World War I, one of the New York State
Legislature’s chief priorities has been enacting
legislation to help veterans gain access to their
benefits. Many of the benefits to which veterans are
entitled are not awarded automatically. Veterans must
apply for them through the Division of Veterans’
Affairs, or other veterans’ service providers. In
order to serve the veterans community, those providing
veterans’ services need to identify veterans.
Veterans Nursing Homes and Residential
Health Care Facilities
(A.10076-B, Tocci; Chapter 95 of the Laws of 2004)
This measure requires nursing homes and residential
health care facilities to advise in writing all
individuals identifying themselves as veterans or
spouses of veterans that they are entitled to
assistance. The information given shall be the name,
address and telephone number of the various veterans’
service offices who are accredited and of the
Division of Veterans’ Affairs.
Updating Statute
(A.10414, Cusick; Chapter 355 of the Laws of 2004)
This law updates the statute directing agencies to
seek information on the status of veterans receiving
assistance to promote referral of veterans to
agencies for benefits.
Real Property
The veterans’ real property tax exemption has a
long history in New York State. Veterans’ tax
exemptions are available to men and women who served
in the armed forces of this country since the time of
the American Revolution. Essentially, the exemptions
take the form of freedom from levy and freedom from
taxes on the property acquired through military
service.
This benefit is a special way of recognizing the
sacrifices of those men and women who served in time
of war.
Virtually all real property tax exemptions granted to
veterans in New York State fall into two categories: the
fixed dollar amount "eligible funds" category
(Real Property Tax Law, Section 458) and the
percentage-of-exemption value "alternative"
category (RPTL, Section 458-A).
The "alternative exemption" was enacted in
1984 as a local option replacement for the "eligible
funds" exemption. The "alternative exemption"
provides a property tax exemption of 15% of assessed value
to veterans who served during wartime, and an additional
10% to those veterans who served in a combat zone. The
law also provides an additional exemption to disabled
veterans, equal to one-half of their service-connected
disability rating.
Two measures were enacted this year to allow more veterans to
participate in the real property tax exemption program.
Global War On Terrorism Expeditionary
Medal
A.10417, DiNapoli; Chapter 473 of the Laws of 2004)
This bill extends eligibility for the veteran’s
alternative real property tax exemption to those
awarded the global war on terrorism expeditionary
medal.
Presidential Executive Order 13289 authorized the
Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal for those
servicemen and women deployed overseas for service
in the Global War on Terrorism operations. Initial
award of the expeditionary medal is limited to
personnel deployed abroad in Operation Enduring
Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. The area of
eligibility encompasses the United State Central
Command area (less the lower Horn of Africa); Middle
East; eastern Turkey; Philippines; Diego Garcia;
and all air spaces above the land and adjacent water
areas.
Conditions of Refiling Applications
For Exemptions
(A.6050-B, Tocci; Chapter 646 of the Laws of 2004)
This measure would allow applicants for the alternative veterans
real property tax exemption to refile on or after the appropriate
taxable status date in cases in which chances have occurred that
would affect qualification for the exemption or the amount of
the exemption.
|