AN ACT relating to disabled and deceased veteran benefits.

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AN ACT relating to disabled and deceased veteran benefits. 1
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky: 2
Section 1. KRS 164.507 is amended to read as follows: 3
(1) The nonremarried spouse, regardless of age, and any child, stepchild, or orphan, 4
under the age of twenty -six (26), of a deceased veteran shall not be required to pay 5
any matriculation or t uition fees upon admission to any state -supported university, 6
community college, or vocational training institution for up to a maximum of one 7
hundred twenty -eight (128) credit hours of undergraduate instruction [junior 8
college, or vocational training insti tute for a period not in excess of forty -five (45) 9
months in order to obtain a diploma, nor in excess of the lesser number of months 10
required for a certificate of completion], if the deceased parent or spouse: 11
(a) 1. Served in the Armed Forces of the Unite d States during a national 12
emergency, wars declared by Congress, or actions of the United 13
Nations; or 14
2. Died while on active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States 15
regardless of wartime service; or 16
3. Died as a result of a service -connected disability acquired while on 17
active duty with the Armed Forces of the United States regardless of 18
wartime service; and 19
(b) 1. Was a resident of the Commonwealth of Kentucky at the time of death; 20
or 21
2. Was married to a resident of Kentucky at the time of death; and 22
3. If discharged, was under honorable conditions. 23
(2) In order to obtain the benefits conferred by subsection (1), the parent -child 24
relationship must be shown by birth certificate, adoption papers, marriage 25
certificate, or other documentary evidence. A stepchild must have been a member 26
of the veteran's household at the time of the veteran's death. The spousal 27
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relationship must be shown by a marriage certificate or other documentary 1
evidence. The parent's or spouse's service and the cause of death must be evidenced 2
by certification from the records of the Kentucky Department of Military Affairs, 3
the United States Department of Veterans Affairs Records, or the Department of 4
Defense of the United States. In the e vent one so admitted to a state -supported 5
university, junior college, or vocational training institution under this section shall 6
have obtained a cash scholarship paid or payable to the institution, from whatever 7
source, the amount of the scholarship shall be applied to the credit of the applicant 8
in the payment of incidental expenses of attendance at the institution, and any 9
balance, if the terms of the scholarship permit, shall be returned to the applicant. 10
Section 2. KRS 164.515 is amended to read as follows: 11
(1) The spouse, regardless of age, and any child, stepchild, or orphan, under the age of 12
twenty-six (26), of a permanently and totally disabled member of the Kentucky 13
National Guard or Reserve Component injured whi le on state active duty, active 14
duty for training, or inactive duty training, or a permanently and totally disabled 15
war veteran, or a one hundred percent (100%) service -connected disabled veteran 16
regardless of wartime service, or prisoner of war or member of the Armed Services 17
declared missing in action shall not be required to pay any matriculation or tuition 18
fees upon his admission to any state -supported university, community college, or 19
vocational training institution for up to a maximum of one hundred t wenty-eight 20
(128) credit hours of undergraduate instruction [institution of higher education or 21
to any state-supported vocational training school for a period not in excess of forty -22
five (45) months in order to obtain a diploma, nor in excess of the lesser number of 23
months required for a certificate of completion]. 24
(2) To be entitled to benefits under this section the parent or stepparent of the child 25
claiming benefits if living must be rated permanently and totally disabled for 26
pension purposes or one hundr ed percent (100%) disabled for compensation 27
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purposes by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs or the Department of 1
Defense. If the veteran is deceased, the claim to benefits is to be based on the rating 2
held by the veteran at the time of death o r if a prisoner of war or missing in action, 3
must have been declared as such by the Department of Defense. Members of the 4
Kentucky National Guard must be rated permanently and totally disabled as 5
provided in KRS Chapter 342. The parent's, stepparent's, or spouse's service and 6
rating must be evidenced by certification from the records of the Kentucky 7
Department of Military Affairs, United States Department of Veterans Affairs, or 8
the Department of Defense of the United States. 9
(3) The parent -child relationsh ip must be shown by birth certificate, legal adoption 10
papers, marriage certificate, or other documentary evidence. A stepchild must be a 11
member of the veteran's household. The spousal relationship must be shown by a 12
marriage certificate or other documentary evidence. 13
(4) To entitle a spouse, child, stepchild, or orphan to benefit under this section the 14
disabled member of the National Guard or Reserve Component veteran living or 15
deceased must have served on state active duty, active duty for training, or ina ctive 16
duty training or active duty with the Armed Forces of the United States, and his 17
discharge must have been under honorable conditions. He must be a resident or, if 18
deceased, have been a resident of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. 19
(5) No provision of this section shall serve to deny these benefits to an eligible spouse, 20
child, stepchild, or orphan, who enlists, or who fulfills a military obligation, in the 21
Armed Forces of the United States and is discharged under honorable conditions; 22
the period of time s pent in the military service to be compensated by like time, 23
beyond the age of twenty -six (26) years if required, but not in excess of the period 24
of enrollment as set forth in subsection (1) of this section. 25
(6) The marriage of an eligible child, stepchild , or orphan, shall not serve to deny full 26
entitlement to the benefits provided in this section. 27