Chapter 177
2013 -- S 0479 SUBSTITUTE B
Enacted 07/11/13
A N A C T
RELATING TO
STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS' AFFAIRS
Introduced
By: Senators Felag, Bates,
Date Introduced: February 28, 2013
It is enacted by the
General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Chapter 30-17.1 of the General Laws entitled
"Veterans' Affairs" is hereby
amended by adding thereto the following sections:
30-17.1-8.
Legislative findings. -- The general assembly
hereby finds that there is a
gap in resources and information necessary to effectively
support and address the needs of
veterans and our state agencies must work together more
effectively to collaborate, coordinate,
leverage and ultimately enhance existing state, federal and
private veterans' services to meet and
exceed the needs and expectations of
30-17.1-9.
Definitions. -- When used in this chapter, the
following terms shall have the
following meanings:
(1) "Advisory
Committee" means the veterans' services strategic plan advisory committee
as established in section 30-17.1-10.
(2)
"Committee" means the veterans' committee pursuant to the provisions
of subdivision
30-17.1-11 (c)(8).
(3) "State
agencies" means state entities responsible for the implementation of
services
for
(i)
The division of veterans' affairs;
(ii) The division of
planning;
(iii) The department
of human services;
(iv)
The
(v) The department of
behavioral healthcare, developmental disabilities and hospitals;
(vi)
The department of health;
(vii) The division of
elderly affairs;
(viii) The department
of business regulation;
(ix) The department
of the attorney general;
(x) The department of
labor and training;
(xi) The economic
development corporation; and
(xii) The office of
the secretary of state.
(4) "Veterans'
Services Strategic Plan ("VSSP")" means the strategic plan as
established
in section 30-17.1-11.
30-17.1-10.
Veterans' services strategic plan advisory committee established. -- (a)
There is hereby created a veterans' services strategic
plan advisory committee known as "the
members as follows:
(1) One of whom shall be the director of the division of
veterans' affairs, or his or her
designee, who shall serve as co-chairperson;
(2) One of whom shall be the director of the department of human
services, or his or her
designee, who shall serve as co-chairperson;
(3) One of whom shall be the associate director of the division
of planning, or his or her
designee;
(4) One of whom shall be the chair of the
designee;
(5) One of whom shall be the director of the department of
behavioral healthcare,
developmental disabilities and hospitals, or his or her designee;
(6) One of whom shall be the director of department of health,
or his or her designee;
(7) One of whom shall be the director of the division of elderly
affairs, or his or her
designee;
(8) One of whom shall
be the director of the department of business regulation, or his or
her designee;
(9) One of whom shall be the attorney general, or his or her designee;
(10) One of whom
shall be the director of the department of labor and training, or his or
her designee;
(11) One of whom shall be the director of the economic
development corporation, or his
or her designee;
(12) One of whom shall be the secretary of state, or his or her
designee.
(b) Forthwith upon
the passage of this chapter, the members of the advisory committee
shall meet at the call of the chairperson and organize.
Thereafter, the committee shall meet
quarterly and at the call of the chairperson or three (3)
members of the advisory committee.
(c) All departments
and agencies of the state shall furnish such advice and information,
documentation, and otherwise to the committee and its agents as is
deemed necessary or desirable
by the advisory committee to facilitate the purposes of
this chapter.
(d) The department of
human services, division of veterans' affairs, is hereby directed to
provide suitable quarters and staff for the advisory
committee.
(e) All departments
and agencies of the state shall furnish such advice and information,
documentation, and otherwise to the commission and its agents as is
deemed necessary or
desirable by the advisory committee to facilitate the purposes
of this chapter.
(f) The members of
the advisory committee shall receive no compensation for their
services. Members of the committee shall serve for a term of
three (3) years and may not succeed
themselves more than once after January 1, 2016.
30-17.1-11. The duties of the committee. -- (a) The advisory committee acting through
the division of veterans' affairs, shall work in
conjunction with the department of human services
to develop, maintain and annually update a five (5) year
statewide veterans' services strategic plan
("VSSP"), that includes goals and measurable
outcomes to ensure that all departments deliver
comprehensive services and supports for veterans and their
families.
(b) The advisory
committee shall conduct an analysis of study toward the development of
the "VSSP" that shall include, but not be
limited to, the following veterans' issues:
(1) Access to
benefits;
(2) Employment
opportunities;
(3) Veteran-owned
small business growth;
(4) Educational
attainment;
(5) Job skills
training;
(6) Behavioral
health;
(7) Long-term health
care options;
(8) Criminal justice
issues; and
(9) Homelessness.
(c) Establish a veterans'
committee comprised of no fewer than five (5) veterans,
representing diverse interests and viewpoints, that shall provide
input to the advisory committee
on all matters pertaining to the preparation or
implementation of the veterans' services strategic
plan. The committee shall receive administrative support
from the departments and the members
shall not receive compensation for their service. The
committee shall meet at least quarterly and
at the call of the co-chairs or four (4) members of the
veterans' committee.
(d) The
"VSSP" shall:
(1) Be based upon
comprehensive data gained through open and transparent engagement
of veterans' stakeholders;
(2) Produce
veteran-centric policies and procedures informed by forward looking
planning;
(3) Realistically
assess resource adequacy and capabilities delivered;
(4) Ensure that existing resources are aligned to mission
critical objectives;
(5) Compliment, as
well as leverage, existing US Veterans' Administration programs and
best practices;
(6) Foster state,
federal and private partnerships that seamlessly deliver exceptional
services to the state's veteran population; and
(7) More effectively coordinate
the delivery of veterans' services to all current and future
veterans in
30-17.1-12.
Meeting and reporting requirements for the advisory committee.
-- (a)
The advisory committee shall meet regularly, on a
quarterly basis and at the call of the
chairperson or three (3) committee members;
(b) The advisory
committee shall provide a copy of the veterans' services strategic plan
"VSSP" to the senate president, speaker of
the house, senate fiscal advisor and house fiscal
advisor one year after the enactment of this act.
(c) The advisory
committee shall report annually to the governor and the general
assembly, no later than April of each year, on the
progress made in achieving the goals and
objectives set forth and any other pertinent information.
(d) The advisory
committee shall update the "VSSP" every five (5) years and provide a
copy of the plan to the senate president, speaker of the
house, and senate and house fiscal
advisors.
(e) The advisory
committee shall be subject to the provisions of chapter 38-2, access to
public records act, and chapter 42-46, open meetings act.
SECTION 2. This
act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC01821/SUB B
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