Determines that disability compensation or benefits received by veterans from the United States department of veterans affairs are not to be treated as income or resources for purposes of determining eligibility for means-tested programs.
Establishes a veterans' bill of rights; provides sample language for such bill of rights; requires the department of veterans' services to establish and distribute a veterans' bill of rights and to make such bill of rights available on the department's website.
Requires nursing homes, residential health care facilities, and adult care facilities to ask patients if they have a service-connected disability rating from the federal department of veterans affairs; requires such information to be delivered to the department of veterans' services and transmitted to city and county veterans' services agencies and officers.
S 6559 would allow local governments (counties, cities, towns, villages, or school districts) to provide a 100% property tax exemption for veterans who served in combat zones and are 100% permanently disabled due to military service, or their unmarried surviving spouses. This exemption would apply directly to the property tax bill for eligible veterans, bypassing any local limits on standard property tax exemptions. Localities would choose whether to implement this option, and the exemption would apply to properties assessed on or after January 1, 2025. The bill does not require localities to adopt this exemption but provides a new option for those that choose to do so.
Requires that the state university of New York's board of trustees and the city university of New York's board of trustees shall each adopt a policy requiring all state university of New York, city university of New York, college, and community college campuses that offer membership programs to the general public for the use of fitness and aquatic facilities, to permit disabled veterans to obtain a membership for the use of fitness and aquatic facilities upon the same terms and conditions as apply to the general public, but without payment of any fees or other charges, or at a discounted rate; defines "disabled veteran".
This bill creates a program allowing courts to offer veterans and active service members accused of certain non-violent felonies (excluding sex offenses and specific violent crimes) an alternative to standard sentencing. It requires courts to assess whether the individual's military service contributed to their crime through a court-approved evaluation for conditions like PTSD or substance abuse. If eligible, defendants receive treatment instead of jail time, with the court considering if their service-related condition played a role in the offense. The program aims to address gaps in mental health care for veterans within the criminal justice system.
Establishes a legal services veterans tax credit of up to $1,500 for any attorney who performs a minimum of fifty hours of pro bono legal services to a veteran or disabled veteran during a taxable year; provides that such services shall include, but not be limited to, veteran's benefits and appeals, military discharges and upgrades, public benefits, evictions and foreclosures, and consumer debt issues.
Expands the definition of veteran to include members of the commissioned corps of the NOAA and the commissioned corps of the public health service; expands access to certain benefits to those who served in the commissioned corps of the NOAA and the commissioned corps of the public health service.
This bill allows private employers (like corporations or nonprofits with employees) to voluntarily create written policies giving hiring, promotion, or retention preference to veterans over equally qualified candidates. It defines "veteran" as someone with qualifying military service (e.g., 180+ days active duty with honorable discharge) and requires any preference policy to be applied uniformly. The policy must be in writing and does not apply to government entities like state agencies or school districts. Private employers can adopt this policy without legal obligation, but must follow it consistently for all employment decisions affecting veterans.
Authorizes the Department of Veterans' Services to consult and collaborate with relevant offices in the federal department of veterans affairs, the department of health, the state office for the aging and other HCBS experts to develop educational materials for veterans and their families about the accessibility to home and community-based services.
