Enacts the "military experience recognized for institutional transfer (MERIT) act"; grants academic credit for veterans with regard to SUNY and CUNY college credits for military learning, training, coursework and occupational experience.
Relates to veterans' health care; creates a veteran health care review to ensure veterans and their families have access to health and mental health treatment, including for post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, military sexual trauma, reproductive and mental health conditions, and suicide prevention.
This bill expands eligibility for New York's veterans tuition awards program to include Purple Heart recipients. It adds "Purple Heart recipient" to the list of qualifying veterans under the education law, defining it as someone awarded the Purple Heart under federal military law (10 U.S.C. §§ 1129 or 1129-a). The change allows Purple Heart recipients to access the same tuition assistance benefits previously available to other veterans, including up to eight full-time semesters of coverage at approved schools. The bill modifies existing eligibility language to explicitly include this group without creating new funding or altering benefit amounts.
Relates to veterans' health care; creates a veteran health care review to ensure veterans and their families have access to health and mental health treatment, including for post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, military sexual trauma, reproductive and mental health conditions, and suicide prevention.
This bill (S 1866) establishes a statewide "green alert" system for missing military members who have opted in and suffer from mental health conditions like PTSD or traumatic brain injury. It requires law enforcement to verify a member's military status, condition, and safety risk before activating the alert, which would then be broadcast through media and highway signs. The system includes privacy safeguards under HIPAA, an opt-out option for military members, and mandates coordination between state agencies and law enforcement. Alerts remain active only until the member is found or the designated notification period ends.
Addresses the financial, health care, educational, and workforce needs of disabled veterans and their families by providing tax relief, expanding health care access, enhancing education benefits, and improving workforce protections.
Provides that, for purposes of veterans seeking to qualify for public housing, "probable aggregate annual income" shall not include disability benefits paid by federal government to veterans for service-connected disabilities; provides that such disability benefits shall not be included in computing any surcharge against such veterans.
S 3530 creates a state-funded dental insurance program for New York state resident veterans, providing comprehensive and routine dental care through the state employee dental plan. It requires veterans to have no better existing dental coverage (from public or private sources) and uses a sliding-scale copayment based on income and disability rating, with veterans rated 50% or more disabled receiving full coverage without copays. The bill appropriates $5 million from the general fund to implement the program, which will require applicants to verify veteran status, residency, income, and existing coverage, with rules for eligibility appeals and benefit recovery if fraud is detected.
