80-401.02 Department of Veterans' Affairs; creation; director; qualifications; salary; bond or insurance; service officers and assistants; appointment. - Nebraska Statutes

80-401.02. Department of Veterans' Affairs; creation; director; qualifications; salary; bond or insurance; service officers and assistants; appointment.There is hereby created a department of government to be known as the Department of Veterans' Affairs. The chief administrative officer of the department shall be the director to be known as the Director of Veterans' Affairs. He or she shall be appointed by the Governor, subject to confirmation by the Legislature. No person shall be eligible to receive appointment as director unless such person has the following qualifications: (1) Resident of the State of Nebraska for at least five years immediately prior to his or her appointment; (2) citizen of the United States; and (3) served in the armed forces of the United States during any of the periods identified in section 80-401.01 and discharged or otherwise separated with a characterization of honorable from such service. The director shall serve until a new director to succeed him or her is appointed and has qualified. If a vacancy occurs in the office of director when the Legislature is not in session, the Governor shall make a temporary appointment until the next meeting of the Legislature, when the Governor shall present to the Legislature a recommendation for the office. The director shall receive an annual salary to be fixed by the Governor, payable in equal monthly installments. He or she shall be entitled to the necessary and actual expenses involved in the performance of his or her official duties as provided in sections 81-1174 to 81-1177. He or she shall be bonded or insured as required by section 11-201. The director shall appoint state service officers and assistants, whose appointments shall be approved by the Veterans' Advisory Commission.The department shall be the designated state agency to advocate on behalf of veterans. SourceLaws 1947, c. 306, § 3, p. 928; Laws 1951, c. 303, § 2, p. 995; Laws 1957, c. 367, § 7, p. 1291; Laws 1959, c. 423, § 1, p. 1421; Laws 1961, c. 413, § 1, p. 1241; Laws 1965, c. 537, § 1, p. 1687; Laws 1969, c. 754, § 2, p. 2837; Laws 1978, LB 653, § 29; Laws 1981, LB 204, § 166; Laws 1997, LB 396, § 21; Laws 2004, LB 884, § 38; Laws 2005, LB 54, § 30. Cross ReferencesConstitutional provisions:Bonds of heads of executive departments, see Article IV, section 26, Constitution of Nebraska.Executive department heads, appointment and removal, see Article IV, sections 1 and 12, Constitution of Nebraska.Official oath of executive officers, see Article XV, section 1, Constitution of Nebraska.Reports to Governor, see Article IV, sections 22 and 23, Constitution of Nebraska.Bond of director and assistants, see Chapter 11 and section 81-111.Official oaths of office, see sections 11-101 to 11-101.02 and 81-110.Qualifications of director and other personnel, see section 80-410.State administrative departments, general provisions, see Chapter 81, article 1.