Florida 2024 Regular Session

Florida House Bill H0507 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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10	10	F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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14	14	A bill to be entitled 1
15	15	An act relating to veterans' assistance; creating s. 2
16	16	295.235, F.S.; requiring the Department of Veterans' 3
17	17	Affairs, subject to appropriation, to expand programs 4
18	18	connecting veterans and their families and survivors 5
19	19	to certain services, benefits, and support; requiring 6
20	20	the department to host public events for such purpose; 7
21	21	requiring a report to the Governor and Legislature; 8
22	22	providing an effective date. 9
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24	24	WHEREAS, Florida offers its population of almost 1.5 11
25	25	million veterans unique benefits, such as in -state tuition rates 12
26	26	for veterans and their families using the Post-9/11 GI Bill, 13
27	27	several layers of property tax exemptions, and expanded 14
28	28	veterans' preference, inclu ding extensive benefits and licensure 15
29	29	and fee waivers, for many activities and occupations, and 16
30	30	WHEREAS, veterans' benefits and services provided by the 17
31	31	State of Florida are meant to complement and augment available 18
32	32	federal programs to avoid duplication o f effort and unnecessary 19
33	33	state expense for a federally funded service or benefit, and 20
34	34	WHEREAS, with only 749,000 Florida veterans enrolled in 21
35	35	earned health care services from the United States Department of 22
36	36	Veterans Affairs, hundreds of thousands of the s tate's veterans 23
37	37	and their families are not taking advantage of earned federal, 24
38	38	state, and local services, benefits, and support, and 25
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47	47	F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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51	51	WHEREAS, while Department of Veterans' Affairs veterans' 26
52	52	claims examiners assisted more than 272,000 veterans in 27
53	53	providing information and counsel on earned services, benefits, 28
54	54	and support by the end of fiscal year 2022, additional federal 29
55	55	dollars for Florida veterans remain untouched due to a lack of 30
56	56	awareness, and 31
57	57	WHEREAS, a corresponding increase in the quality and 32
58	58	quantity of outreach opportunities linking veterans to earned 33
59	59	benefits through the Department of Veterans' Affairs will not 34
60	60	only increase the quality of life for Florida veterans and their 35
61	61	families, but provide additional federal dollars to bolster 36
62	62	local economies, NOW, THEREFORE, 37
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64	64	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 39
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66	66	Section 1. Section 295.235, Florida Statutes, is created 41
67	67	to read: 42
68	68	295.235 Funds for promoting veteran assistance. — 43
69	69	(1) Subject to an annual appropriation of $500,000 by the 44
70	70	Legislature, the Department of Veterans' Affairs shall enhance 45
71	71	and expand its Internet -based, mobile application, printed, 46
72	72	social media, and in -person outreach programs through various 47
73	73	means for the purpose of connecting veterans, their families, 48
74	74	and their survivors with earned services, benefits, and support 49
75	75	beyond existing underfunded efforts. 50
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77	77	HB 507 2024
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84	84	F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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88	88	(2) Using appropriated funds, the department must host at 51
89	89	least two public events each year to disseminate information to 52
90	90	in-person and virtual attendees r egarding benefits and services 53
91	91	available to veterans, including, but not limited to, 54
92	92	educational, medical, insurance, and disability benefits. 55
93	93	(3) The department must submit an annual report to the 56
94	94	Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker o f the 57
95	95	House of Representatives which includes the number of public 58
96	96	events hosted by the department, the number of attendees at each 59
97	97	such event, and any other information deemed necessary by the 60
98	98	department. 61
99	99	Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024. 62