Bill > S1345

Introduced Session

The State pays an annual allowance to soldiers and veterans with certain wartime service-connected disabilities. Currently, a blind veteran receives $750 annually under the Blind Veterans' Allowance Program; this amount has not been changed since 1971. A veteran with certain other described disabilities also receives $750 annually under the Paraplegic and Hemiplegic Veterans' Allowance Program; this amount has not been changed since 1981. This bill increases these annual payments to $1,500. The bill also provides for an annual adjustment in this allowance in direct proportion to the percent change in the Consumer Price Index over each 12-month period beginning November 1 and ending October 31. The "Consumer Price Index" is defined as the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island Metropolitan Area, All Items (1982-84=100), as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the United States Department of Labor. The bill requires an adjustment to be made only if the percent change in the Consumer Price Index results in an increase in the allowance; the allowance will not be reduced if the index experiences a decline. The purpose of this adjustment is to provide a mechanism for ensuring that, for the benefit of these disabled soldiers and veterans, the amount of this allowance keeps pace with cost-of-living increases.

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Shirley Turner (D)*, 

Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Military and Veterans' Affairs Committee (on 02/10/2020)