House Bill No. 7064
Public Act No. 19-148
AN ACT CONCERNING MU NICIPAL VETERANS'
REPRESENTATIVES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subsection (b) of section 27-135 of the general statutes is
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective
October 1, 2019):
(b) (1) Any city or town that has not established its own local
veterans' advisory committee separate from one or more other cities or
towns pursuant to subsection (a) of this section and does not otherwise
provide funding for a veterans' service officer shall designate (A) a city
or town employee, or (B) a volunteer who is a resident of such city or
town, and (i) is a veteran, as defined in subsection (a) of section 27-103,
or (ii) has practical experience handling veterans' issues, to serve as a
[veterans' service contact person] municipal veterans' representative in
such city or town. The Commissioner of Veterans Affairs shall
annually send to the chief executive officer of any such city or town an
electronic notification of such chief executive officer's duty to so
designate a city or town employee or volunteer in accordance with this
subsection. Such chief executive officer shall, not later than thirty days
after receipt of such notification, submit to the Office of Advocacy and
Assistance, as described in subsection (b) of section 27-102l, as House Bill No. 7064
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amended by this act, the name and electronic mail address of the city
or town employee or volunteer so designated. As used in this
subdivision, "chief executive officer" means the officer described in
section 7-193.
(2) [Any city or town employee designated as a veterans' service
contact person] Each municipal veterans' representative shall carry out
the duties described in subsection (a) of this section and shall complete
a training course conducted by the Office of Advocacy and Assistance,
as described in subdivision (3) of subsection (b) of section 27-102l, as
amended by this act, or attend a training session conducted by the
manager of said office, as described in subparagraph (A) of
subdivision (2) of subsection (b) of said section. [Each employee so
designated prior to July 1, 2016, shall complete such training course
prior to January 1, 2017. Each employee so] Each municipal veterans'
representative designated on or after [July 1, 2016] October 1, 2019,
shall complete such training course not later than one year after the
date of such designation. Upon completion of such training course, a
[veterans' service contact person] municipal veterans' representative
may thereafter receive electronically any new or updated training
information from the Office of Advocacy and Assistance and shall not
be required to complete any other such training course.
(3) Any volunteer designated as a municipal veterans'
representative by a city or town pursuant to subdivision (1) of this
subsection shall (A) be available to veterans in person, by telephone or
by electronic mail for any minimum number of hours per week that
the city or town designating the volunteer may establish, and (B) file a
performance report each month with the city or town designating the
volunteer that includes, but is not limited to, the names of veterans
assisted, services or referrals provided and any other information as
determined by the city or town.
Sec. 2. Subdivisions (1) to (3), inclusive, of subsection (b) of section House Bill No. 7064
Public Act No. 19-148 3 of 4
27-102l of the general statutes are repealed and the following is
substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2019):
(b) (1) The commissioner may appoint a manager to administer an
Office of Advocacy and Assistance for the aid and benefit of veterans
and their spouses, eligible dependents and family members. The office
shall have a staff of not less than eight men and women, including six
veterans' service officers, and clerical personnel. The manager and
veterans' service officers shall be veterans, as defined in subsection (a)
of section 27-103, or veterans who were awarded the armed forces
expeditionary medal for service by the armed forces.
(2) (A) The manager shall develop a training module on assisting
and serving women veterans with regard to state or federal services or
benefits and identifying and advising such veterans of community or
nonprofit programs focused on assisting and serving such veterans.
The manager shall hold and provide instruction for an annual training
session, in accordance with such module, to each veterans' [services]
service officer and any [veterans' service contact person] municipal
veterans' representative, as described in subsection (b) of section 27-
135, as amended by this act, or representative from an Operation
Academic Support for Incoming Service Members center at a public
institution of higher education in this state.
(B) At least one of the veterans' service officers shall be a woman
having a demonstrated interest in the concerns of women veterans,
who shall be responsible for addressing those concerns, and, effective
upon the next opening of a veterans' service officer position occurring
on or after July 1, 2010, at least two of the veterans' service officers
shall be individuals having bilingual proficiency in English and
Spanish, within existing authorized positions. Each veterans' service
officer shall (i) successfully complete a course in veterans' benefits not
later than one year after commencement of employment, (ii) attend the
training session described in subparagraph (A) of this subdivision, and House Bill No. 7064
Public Act No. 19-148 4 of 4
(iii) be assigned to one of the five congressional districts of the state.
(3) The office staff shall, at least twice annually, conduct a training
course for any [city or town employee designated a veterans' service
contact person pursuant to subsection (b) of section 27-135] municipal
veterans' representative. The office staff shall include in such training
course a summary of state and federal services and benefits, the duties
to be carried out by each [veterans' service contact person] municipal
veterans' representative, as described in subsection (a) of section 27-
135, and any assistance the office staff may provide to any [veterans'
service contact person] municipal veterans' representative related to
such duties.