Bill > S2350

This bill designates the Gold Star Families Memorial Monument in Fall River as the official state monument, clarifies the management and administrative roles at the Soldiers' Home in Holyoke, and expands the scope of certain legal provisions to include matters related to military service. It also establishes a Public Service Scholarship Program for children and widowed spouses of fallen public employees and children of prisoners of war or missing in action service members, and revises residency requirements for veterans seeking admission and tuition at public higher education institutions. The bill further amends laws to include specific military decorations for recognition, clarifies the definition of "uniformed services" for leave purposes, and modifies provisions for military leave pay and benefits for public employees, ensuring they do not lose seniority or accrued leave. Additionally, it expands property tax exemptions for surviving spouses of service members who died in active duty or are missing in action, and includes provisions for veterans with specific service-connected disabilities to receive exemptions. The bill also addresses the appointment of veterans' agents, allows cities and towns to collect additional funds for veterans' benefits through tax bills, and creates an office of veterans' homes and housing within the department of veterans' services to oversee and report on the state's soldiers' homes and veterans' housing. It also prioritizes veterans for scattered site housing units and revises how disability compensation is considered for rent calculations for disabled veterans. Furthermore, the bill establishes a Massachusetts post-deployment commission to study and recommend programs supporting servicemembers transitioning to civilian life, focusing on areas like suicide prevention, resilience training, and access to education, employment, healthcare, and housing, and also mandates a study on the feasibility of a tax rebate for landlords who rent below market rate to veterans. Finally, it calls for a special commission to study the need for accessible housing for individuals with mobility limitations, including returning veterans with disabilities, and to explore strategies for increasing the availability of visitable homes.