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A4622
ASSEMBLY, No. 4622
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
INTRODUCED MARCH 10, 2026
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman� ALEX SAUICKIE
District 12 (Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean)
SYNOPSIS
���� �Compassionate Spousal Visits for Veterans Act�;
establishes transportation grant program for spouses of veterans; appropriates
$500,000.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� As introduced.
��
An Act
establishing
a transportation grant program for
spouses of veterans, supplementing chapter 3 of Title 38A of the New Jersey
Statutes, and making an appropriation
.
����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:
���� 1.� This act shall be known
and may be cited as the �Compassionate Spousal Visits for Veterans Act.�
���� 2.� The Department of Veterans
Affairs shall establish a program to provide transportation assistance to
spouses of veterans to travel to any long-term care facility or United States
Department of Veterans Affairs medical facility in this State where a veteran
resides or is receiving in-patient treatment for the purpose of making a
recreational, social, or non-medical visit.
���� The department shall:
���� a.���� develop, in cooperation
with the New Jersey Transit Corporation and the United States Department of
Veterans Affairs, a program to provide reimbursement to spouses of veterans who
spend their own funds to travel on public transportation to and from any
long-term care facility or United States Department of Veterans Affairs medical
facility in this State to make a recreational, social, or non-medical visit to
a resident or an in-patient veteran using any motor bus or rail passenger
service conducted by the corporation due to a circumstance which prevents or
hinders the spouse�s ability to operate a privately-owned conveyance and when
the spouse is not otherwise eligible for payment for travel or reimbursement by
means of any existing State or federal program;
���� b.��� develop, in cooperation
with county governments, a program to provide reimbursement to qualified
participating county governments that provide transportation services to
spouses of veterans who travel on county transportation to and from any
long-term care facility or United States Department of Veterans Affairs medical
facility in this State to make a recreational, social, or non-medical visit to
a resident or an in-patient veteran due to a circumstance which prevents or
hinders the spouse�s ability to operate a privately-owned conveyance by
reimbursing their operation of a county-owned conveyance;
���� c.���� develop a program to
provide reimbursement to spouses of veterans who spend their own funds to
travel, using a for-hire private entity, to and from any long-term care
facility or United States Department of Veterans Affairs medical facility in
this State to make a recreational, social, or non-medical visit to a resident
or an in-patient veteran by reimbursing on a per mile basis the use of a
privately-owned conveyance when that spouse is not otherwise eligible for
payment for travel or reimbursement by means of any existing State, federal, or
county program, the requested transportation is not duplicated by any existing
private transportation service available through residence in a group care
facility, and such transportation is necessary due to a circumstance which prevents
or hinders the spouse�s ability to operate a privately-owned conveyance;
���� d.��� develop a system for
monitoring spouses of veterans who have applied for reimbursement;
���� e.���� require all government
entities whose vehicles are used to provide transportation assistance to
spouses of veterans pursuant to this section to have liability insurance that
provides coverage to those spouses during transport;
���� f.���� reimburse county
governments for any costs necessary to effectuate the provisions of this
section;
���� g.��� notify the general
public, veterans, and eligible spouses of veterans that the program established
by this section is available; and
���� h.��� adopt such rules and
regulations as may be necessary to effectuate the purposes of this act.
���� 3.��� There is appropriated
from the General Fund to the Department of Veterans Affairs the sum of $500,000
to effectuate the provisions of P.L.��� , c.��� (C.������� ) (pending before
the Legislature as this bill).
���� 4.� This act shall take effect
on the first day of the sixth month next following enactment, except that the
Department of Veterans Affairs may take any anticipatory administrative action
in advance as shall be necessary for the implementation of this act.
STATEMENT
���� This bill, designated as the
�Compassionate Spousal Visits for Veterans Act,� establishes a program to
provide financial assistance, subject to available State or federal funding, to
spouses of veterans to travel to any long-term care facility or United States
Department of Veterans Affairs medical facility in this State where a veteran
resides or is receiving in-patient treatment for the purpose of making a
recreational, social, or non-medical visit.
���� Under the bill, a spouse of a
veteran may receive reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses on NJ Transit,
provided that the spouse is not otherwise eligible for travel or reimbursement
through any existing State or federal program.
���� The bill also provides
reimbursement to county governments for the operation of a county-owned
conveyance when that conveyance provides transportation services to spouses of
veterans to travel to any long-term care facility or United States Department
of Veterans Affairs medical facility in this State where a veteran resides or
is receiving in-patient treatment for the purpose of making a recreational,
social, or non-medical visit.
���� Under the bill, a spouse of a
veteran may also receive reimbursement on a per mile basis for out-of-pocket
expenses on a for-hire private transportation entity, provided that the spouse
is not otherwise eligible for travel or reimbursement through any existing
State, federal, or county program, the requested service does not duplicate any
existing private transportation service available to the spouse through
residence in a group care facility, and such transportation is necessary due to
a circumstance which prevents or hinders the spouse�s ability to operate their
own vehicle.
���� Additionally, the bill
requires the department to develop a system to monitor spouses who have applied
for reimbursement, notify the general public and appropriate parties about the
program, ensure that any government entity whose vehicle is used to transport
the spouse of a veteran pursuant to the bill has liability insurance that
covers spouses during transport, and reimburse county governments for any costs
necessary to implement its provisions.
���� The bill appropriates $500,000
to the department to effectuate its provisions.
���� The sponsor believes
transportation that enables a spouse of a veteran to visit that loved one while
in overnight or long-term care is important for the spouse who has supported
the veteran through difficult times, and also for the mental, emotional, and
physical health of the veteran under care.