September 9, 2004, Introduced by Reps. Farhat, Nofs, Steil, Garfield, Pappageorge, Mortimer, Woronchak, Casperson, Pumford, Richardville, Sheltrown, Hopgood and Law and referred to the Committee on Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security.
A bill to amend 1899 PA 214, entitled
"An act to provide relief outside of the soldiers' home for
honorably discharged indigent soldiers, sailors, marines, nurses
and members of women's auxiliaries and the indigent wives, widows
and minor children of such indigent or deceased soldiers,
sailors, marines, nurses and members of women's auxiliaries, and
to repeal certain acts and parts of acts,"
by amending the title and sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7 (MCL
35.21, 35.22, 35.23, 35.24, 35.25, and 35.27), section 1 as
amended by 1984 PA 168; and to repeal acts and parts of acts.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
1 TITLE
2 An
act to provide relief assistance outside of the
3 soldiers' home for
honorably discharged indigent soldiers,
4 sailors, marines, nurses, and members of women's auxiliaries and
5 the indigent wives spouses,
widows, and minor children of
6 such indigent or deceased soldiers, sailors, marines,
nurses,
7 and members of women's
auxiliaries; , and to repeal certain
1 acts and parts of acts.
2 Sec. 1. (1) The county board of commissioners of each
3 county shall annually
levy , a tax not exceeding 1/10 of a mill
4 on each dollar , to
be levied and collected as provided by law,
5 upon the taxable property of each township and city, for their
6 respective counties, for the purpose of creating a veterans'
7 relief fund. for
the relief of honorably discharged indigent
8 members of the army,
navy, air force, marine corps, coast guard,
9 and women's
auxiliaries of all wars or military expeditions in
10 which the United
States of America has been, is, or may hereafter
11 be, a participant as
prescribed in section 1 of Act No. 190 of
12 the Public Acts of
1965, being section 35.61 of the Michigan
13 Compiled Laws, and the
indigent spouses, minor children, and
14 parents of each such
indigent or deceased member. Funds raised
15 in accordance with the
provisions of this section may be expended
16 for the relief of
indigent wives and children of active duty
17 soldiers, sailors,
marines, airmen, coast guardsmen, nurses, and
18 members of the women's
auxiliaries during the continuance of
19 present hostilities
and prior to their discharge. However, in
20 any year which, in the
opinion of the board, an emergency
21 justifying the same
exists, the board may appropriate a sum not
22 to exceed 2/10 of a
mill on each dollar for said purpose. The
23 sums, when collected,
shall be paid to the county treasurer of
24 the county where such
tax is levied in each of the counties in
25 this state, to be paid
out by the treasurer upon the order of the
26 soldiers' relief
commission duly signed by the chairperson and
27 secretary of the
commission. If any money in the fund is not
1 necessary for the
purpose for which it was raised, the money
2 shall remain in the
treasury of the county as a soldiers' relief
3 fund, and shall be
considered in raising future sums therefor.
4 (2) The veterans' relief fund shall be expended for the
5 assistance of wartime veterans who were discharged under
6 conditions other than dishonorable and for the assistance of the
7 indigent spouses, minor children, and parents of every deceased
8 member of the United States armed forces. The fund shall first
9 be expended for 1 or more of the following purposes:
10 (a) The provision of financial assistance for fund
11 beneficiaries.
12 (b) The provision of medical services for fund
13 beneficiaries.
14 (c) Job placement assistance for fund beneficiaries.
15 (d) Transportation for fund beneficiaries.
16 (e) Food for fund beneficiaries.
17 (f) Shelter for fund beneficiaries.
18 (g) Other assistance for fund beneficiaries.
19 (3) If excess funds exist after the expenditures authorized
20 in subsection (2), the fund shall be expended for the assistance
21 of all other veterans who were discharged under conditions other
22 than dishonorable. Fund expenditures under this subsection shall
23 be made for 1 or more of the following purposes:
24 (a) The provision of financial assistance for the fund
25 beneficiaries identified in this subsection.
26 (b) The provision of medical services for fund beneficiaries
27 identified in this subsection.
1 (c) The provision of job placement assistance for fund
2 beneficiaries identified in this subsection.
3 (d) The provision of transportation for fund beneficiaries
4 identified in this subsection.
5 (e) The provision of food for fund beneficiaries identified
6 in this subsection.
7 (f) The provision of shelter for fund beneficiaries
8 identified in this subsection.
9 (g) The provision of other assistance for fund beneficiaries
10 identified in this subsection.
11 (4) If excess funds exist after the expenditures authorized
12 in subsections (2) and (3), the fund may be expended to provide
13 assistance to indigent spouses and children of active duty
14 members of the United States armed forces, members of the United
15 States armed forces reserve who have been called to active duty
16 by the president of the United States or the United States
17 secretary of defense, or members of the Michigan national guard
18 called to active duty by the president of the United States or
19 the United States secretary of defense. Fund expenditures under
20 this subsection may be made for 1 or more of the following
21 purposes:
22 (a) The provision of financial assistance for beneficiaries
23 identified in this subsection.
24 (b) The provision of medical services for beneficiaries
25 identified in this subsection.
26 (c) The provision of job placement assistance for
27 beneficiaries identified in this subsection.
1 (d) The provision of transportation for beneficiaries
2 identified in this subsection.
3 (e) The provision of food for beneficiaries identified in
4 this subsection.
5 (f) The provision of shelter for beneficiaries identified in
6 this subsection.
7 (g) The provision of other assistance for beneficiaries
8 identified in this subsection.
9 (5) If the county board of commissioners decides that an
10 emergency exists, the county board of commissioners may
11 appropriate an additional 2/10 of a mill on each dollar for funds
12 to cover the emergency. All money under this section shall be
13 paid to the county treasurer in the county where the tax is
14 collected. The treasurer shall pay the money out upon the
15 written order of the commission or upon the order of the
16 department. The order shall be signed by the chairperson and
17 secretary of the commission or by the chairperson and secretary
18 of the department, whichever applies. If money is not expended
19 for the enumerated purposes of this section, the remaining money
20 paid into the veterans' relief fund shall remain in the treasury
21 of the county as a soldiers' relief fund and shall be considered
22 in raising sums for future years.
23 (6) The county board of commissioners of each county may
24 accept donations of money or items of value from any source for
25 deposit into the veterans' relief fund. Disposition of donations
26 shall be determined under this section.
27 (7) As used in this act:
1 (a) "Commission" means the soldiers' relief commission
2 created in this act.
3 (b) "Department" means the county department of veterans'
4 affairs created in 1953 PA 192, MCL 35.621 to 35.624.
5 (c) "Wartime veteran" means a person who served as a member
6 of the army, navy, air force, marine corps, coast guard, or
7 women's auxiliaries of all wars or military expeditions in which
8 the United States has been, is, or may be a participant as
9 described in section 1 of 1965 PA 190, MCL 35.61.
10 Sec. 2. (1) The judge of probate in each county shall
11 appoint 3 persons, residents
of such the county, who shall be
12 honorably discharged soldiers, sailors, marines, nurses, or
13 members of the women's
auxiliaries , of the United States army
14 and navy, volunteers or regulars, who served in a war in which
15 the United States has
been, is, or may hereafter be , a
16 participant, at least 1 of whom shall have served in World War I,
17 to be known as the "soldiers' relief commission" of the county,
18 with the powers and
duties in this act provided in this act.
19 If there is no World War I veteran who is willing to serve, a
20 veteran of a war as
defined in Act No. 190 of the Public Acts
21 of 1965, as amended,
being sections 35.61 and 35.62 of the
22 Compiled Laws of 1948 1965 PA 190, MCL 35.61 to 35.62, may be
23 appointed to serve on the soldiers' relief commission.
24 (2) One of such
persons member shall be appointed for a
25 term of 1 year, ;
1 for a term of 2 years, ; and 1 for a term
26 of 3 years, and at the
expiration of the each term, for which
27 each of such persons
was appointed, his or her
successor shall
1 be appointed for a term
of 3 years. thereafter. The persons so
2 appointed Commission members shall organize by the
selection of
3 1 of their number as chairman
chairperson, and 1 as secretary,
4 and in the event of the death, resignation, change of residence,
5 or other disability of
any member of the commission , creating
6 that creates a vacancy,
the judge of probate shall fill such
7 the vacancy by an
appointment for the unexpired term. The
8 members shall each Each member shall file the constitutional
9 oath of office with the
probate court , and receive the
10 proper a certificate of their his or her
appointment. They
11 He or she shall be entitled to reasonable compensation for
12 their his or her services, to be fixed and paid by
the board of
13 supervisors of their his
or her respective counties county.
14 The judge of probate shall have authority to remove any member of
15 such the commission for cause.
16 Sec. 3. The
supervisor of each township and ward in each
17 of the counties of
this state, and where there is no ward
18 supervisor the
aldermen of the several wards of every
19 incorporated city in
this state, shall, on or before the last
20 Monday in September in
each year, make and place in the hands of
21 the soldiers' relief
commission of the county, a list of all the
22 persons entitled to
relief under the provisions of this act, and
23 the soldiers' relief
commission, on the first Monday in October
24 in each year, shall
proceed to determine the amount necessary for
25 aid and relief to be
granted such persons under this act, which
26 shall be then and
there recorded in the books to be kept by the
27 secretary of said
soldiers' relief commission. The commission
1 may determine not only
the sum to be paid, but the manner of
2 paying the same, and
may discontinue the payment of such relief
3 in their discretion.
Appeal may be taken therefrom to the
4 circuit court of such
county, by certiorari by filing application
5 therefor with the
clerk within 15 days following the making of
6 such decision. The
court shall hear the case de novo and its
7 decision shall be
final. The commission or the
department shall
8 determine the amount necessary to grant assistance under section
9 1. The amount shall be recorded by the secretary of the
10 commission or the secretary of the department. The commission or
11 department may determine the manner in which assistance is
12 administered and may discontinue assistance at any time in the
13 discretion of the commission or department, whichever is
14 applicable. The commission or department shall not spend more
15 than 5% of the total amount expended under section 1 for
16 administration of this assistance.
17 Sec. 4. Whenever any
an emergency shall arise arises in
18 the case of a
sickness, accident, or death , which, of a
19 beneficiary that,
in the opinion of any a supervisor or
20 alderman, needs relief, such
the supervisor or alderman , when
21 inconvenient to
consult any of the members of said commission,
22 shall have the power to draw an order on the county treasurer for
23 a sum not to exceed 10
dollars, $10.00 without contacting the
24 soldiers' relief commission or county department of veterans'
25 affairs and shall certify his or her action and the circumstances
26 of the case to such
soldiers' relief the commission , which
27 or department. The commission or department shall ratify the
1 same decision, and such the
commission or department may
2 grant such further
relief at any time as it may deem
3 necessary :
Provided, however, That no unless a claim for
4 relief shall be
allowed and paid which shall create creates a
5 deficiency in the fund when it is paid.
6 Sec. 5. Said
soldiers' relief The commission or
7 department shall make to the board of supervisors, at its October
8 session in each
year, a full report of its doings activities
9 and the amount of relief
money on hand available in the fund,
10 the amount expended
during the year preceding year, and the
11 amount estimated for the following
year, ensuing, and such
12 all further information
and suggestions as they the commission
13 or the department may consider necessary to the discharge of
14 their duties under this act.
15 Sec. 7. The several
commissioners appointed under this
16 act shall have power to administer oaths in the execution of the
17 duties of their offices.
18 Enacting section 1. Section 6 of 1899 PA 214, MCL 35.26, is
19 repealed.