35A.13 - VETERANS TRUST FUND. - Iowa Statutes

35A.13 VETERANS TRUST FUND. 1. For the purposes of this section, "veteran" means the same as defined in section 35.1 or a resident of this state who served in the armed forces of the United States, completed a minimum aggregate of ninety days of active federal service, and was discharged under honorable conditions. 2. A veterans trust fund is created in the state treasury under the control of the commission. 3. The trust fund shall consist of all of the following: a. Moneys in the form of a devise, gift, bequest, donation, federal or other grant, reimbursement, repayment, judgment, transfer, payment, or appropriation from any source intended to be used for the purposes of the trust fund. b. Interest attributable to investment of moneys in the fund or an account of the trust fund. Notwithstanding section 12C.7, subsection 2, interest or earnings on moneys in the trust fund shall be credited to the trust fund. 4. Moneys credited to the trust fund shall not be transferred, used, obligated, appropriated, or otherwise encumbered, except as provided in this section. Moneys in the trust fund may be used for cash flow purposes during a fiscal year provided that any moneys so allocated are returned to the trust fund by the end of that fiscal year. 5. The minimum balance of the trust fund required prior to expenditure of moneys from the trust fund is five million dollars. Once the minimum balance is reached, the interest and earnings on the fund and any moneys received under subsection 3, paragraph "a", are appropriated to the commission to be used to achieve the purposes of this section. It is the intent of the general assembly that the balance in the trust fund reach fifty million dollars. 6. It is the intent of the general assembly that beginning with the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2008, appropriations be made annually to the veterans trust fund. Prior to any additional appropriations to this fund, the department shall provide the general assembly with information identifying immediate and long-term veteran services throughout the state and a plan for delivering those services. 7. Moneys appropriated to the commission under this section shall not be used to supplant funding provided by other sources. The moneys may be expended upon a majority vote of the commission membership for the benefit of veterans and the spouses and dependents of veterans, for any of the following purposes: a. Travel expenses for wounded veterans, and their spouses, directly related to follow-up medical care. b. Job training or college tuition assistance for job retraining. c. Unemployment assistance during a period of unemployment due to prolonged physical or mental illness or disability resulting from military service. d. Expenses related to the purchase of durable medical equipment or services to allow veterans to remain in their homes. e. Expenses related to hearing care, dental care, vision care, or prescription drugs. f. Individual counseling or family counseling programs. g. Family support group programs or programs for children of members of the military. h. Honor guard services. i. Expenses related to ambulance and emergency room services for veterans who are trauma patients. j. Emergency expenses related to vehicle repair, housing repair, or temporary housing assistance. k. Expenses related to establishing whether a minor child is a dependent of a deceased veteran. l. Matching funds to veterans organizations to provide for accredited veteran service officers. However, moneys expended for this purpose in a fiscal year shall not exceed the lesser of one hundred fifty thousand dollars or twenty percent of the moneys appropriated to the commission from interest and earnings on the fund in that fiscal year. 8. If the commission identifies other purposes for which the moneys appropriated under this section may be used for the benefit of veterans and the spouses and dependents of veterans, the commission shall submit recommendations for the addition of such purposes to the general assembly for review. 9. The commission shall submit an annual report to the general assembly by January 15 of each year concerning the veterans trust fund created by this section. The annual report shall include financial information concerning the moneys in the trust fund and shall also include information on the number, amount, and type of expenditures, if any, from the fund during the prior calendar year for the purposes described in subsection 7. 10. The department may adopt emergency rules under section 17A.4, subsection 3, and section 17A.5, subsection 2, paragraph "b", to implement the provisions of this section and the rules shall be effective immediately upon filing unless a later date is specified in the rules. Any rules adopted in accordance with this subsection shall also be published as a notice of intended action as provided in section 17A.4.          Section History: Recent Form 2003 Acts, ch 131, §1; 2006 Acts, ch 1110, §1, 2; 2006 Acts, ch 1185, §66--68; 2007 Acts, ch 202, §7; 2008 Acts, ch 1012, § 1; 2008 Acts, ch 1129, § 1, 2, 3, 9 Referred to in § 99G.9A, 422.12L          Footnotes FY 2007-2008 appropriation from veterans trust fund to Vietnam Conflict veterans bonus fund; 2007 Acts, ch 176, §3; 2008 Acts, ch 1187, §68; 2009 Acts, ch 182, §82, 87 For future amendments to this section effective July 1, 2010, see 2009 Acts, ch 164, §2, 6, 7