PRINTER'S NO. 719
No. 651 Session of 1989
INTRODUCED BY KASUNIC, MRKONIC, DALEY, DeLUCA, COLE, COHEN,
JACKSON, STUBAN, WASS, LaGROTTA, COLAIZZO, KUKOVICH,
STEIGHNER, HALUSKA, D. W. SNYDER, DISTLER, LETTERMAN, BISHOP,
MICOZZIE, HERMAN, MARKOSEK, JAROLIN, KOSINSKI, FOX, MORRIS,
KENNEY, McCALL, DIETTERICK, FREEMAN, CORRIGAN, STISH, NAHILL,
TRELLO, RITTER, BELARDI, LEVDANSKY, CAWLEY, STAIRS,
VAN HORNE, GRUPPO, BUNT, COY, BELFANTI, E. Z. TAYLOR,
DONATUCCI, JOHNSON, PHILLIPS, LASHINGER, VEON, BURD, MILLER,
CIVERA, MELIO AND G. SNYDER, MARCH 6, 1989
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON MILITARY AND VETERANS AFFAIRS,
MARCH 6, 1989
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.177, No.175), entitled
2 "An act providing for and reorganizing the conduct of the
3 executive and administrative work of the Commonwealth by the
4 Executive Department thereof and the administrative
5 departments, boards, commissions, and officers thereof,
6 including the boards of trustees of State Normal Schools, or
7 Teachers Colleges; abolishing, creating, reorganizing or
8 authorizing the reorganization of certain administrative
9 departments, boards, and commissions; defining the powers and
10 duties of the Governor and other executive and administrative
11 officers, and of the several administrative departments,
12 boards, commissions, and officers; fixing the salaries of the
13 Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and certain other executive
14 and administrative officers; providing for the appointment of
15 certain administrative officers, and of all deputies and
16 other assistants and employes in certain departments, boards,
17 and commissions; and prescribing the manner in which the
18 number and compensation of the deputies and all other
19 assistants and employes of certain departments, boards and
20 commissions shall be determined," creating a Department of
21 Veterans' Affairs and defining its functions, powers and
22 duties; transferring certain agencies to such department; and
23 making repeals.
24 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
1 hereby enacts as follows:
2 Section 1. Section 201 of the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.177,
3 No.175), known as The Administrative Code of 1929, amended
4 December 30, 1984 (P.L.1299, No.245) and repealed in part May
5 26, 1988 (P.L.414, No.721), is amended to read:
6 Section 201. Executive Officers, Administrative Departments
7 and Independent Administrative Boards and Commissions.--The
8 executive and administrative work of this Commonwealth shall be
9 performed by the Executive Department, consisting of the
10 Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of the Commonwealth,
11 Attorney General, Auditor General, State Treasurer, and
12 Secretary of Education; by the Executive Board, and the
13 Pennsylvania State Police; by the following administrative
14 departments: Department of State, Office of Attorney General,
15 Department of Corrections, Department of the Auditor General,
16 Treasury Department, Department of Education, Department of
17 Military Affairs, Department of Veterans' Affairs, Insurance
18 Department, Department of Banking, Department of Agriculture,
19 Department of Transportation, Department of Health, Department
20 of Labor and Industry, Department of Aging, Department of Public
21 Welfare, Department of General Services, Department of Revenue,
22 Department of Commerce, Department of Community Affairs and
23 Department of Environmental Resources; and by the following
24 independent administrative boards and commissions: Pennsylvania
25 Game Commission, Pennsylvania Fish Commission, State Civil
26 Service Commission, Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission and
27 the Pennsylvania Securities Commission.
28 All of the provisions of this act, which apply generally to
29 administrative departments, or generally except to the
30 Department of the Auditor General, the Treasury Department and
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1 the Office of Attorney General, shall apply to the Executive
2 Board and to the Pennsylvania State Police.
3 Section 2. As much as relates to the Department of Military
4 Affairs in section 203 of the act, amended December 3, 1970
5 (P.L.834, No.275), is amended to read:
6 Section 203. Advisory Boards and Commissions.--The following
7 advisory boards and commissions are placed in and made parts of
8 the respective administrative departments, as follows:
9 In the Department of Military Affairs,
10 State Military Reservation Commission[,];
11 [State Veterans' Commission;]
12 * * *
13 Section 3. Section 206 of the act, amended December 30, 1984
14 (P.L.1299, No.245), is amended to read:
15 Section 206. Department Heads.--Each administrative
16 department shall have as its head an officer who shall, either
17 personally, by deputy, or by the duly authorized agent or
18 employe of the department, and subject at all times to the
19 provisions of this act, exercise the powers and perform the
20 duties by law vested in and imposed upon the department.
21 The following officers shall be the heads of the
22 administrative departments following their respective titles:
23 Secretary of the Commonwealth, of the Department of State;
24 Auditor General, of the Department of the Auditor General;
25 State Treasurer, of the Treasury Department;
26 Attorney General, of the Office of Attorney General;
27 Secretary of Education, of the Department of Education;
28 Adjutant General, of the Department of Military Affairs;
29 Insurance Commissioner, of the Insurance Department;
30 Secretary of Banking, of the Department of Banking;
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1 Secretary of Agriculture, of the Department of Agriculture;
2 Secretary of Transportation, of the Department of
3 Transportation;
4 Secretary of Health, of the Department of Health;
5 Secretary of Labor and Industry, of the Department of Labor
6 and Industry;
7 Secretary of Aging, of the Department of Aging;
8 Secretary of Public Welfare, of the Department of Public
9 Welfare;
10 Secretary of Revenue, of the Department of Revenue;
11 Secretary of Commerce, of the Department of Commerce;
12 Secretary of Community Affairs, of the Department of
13 Community Affairs;
14 Secretary of Environmental Resources, of the Department of
15 Environmental Resources;
16 Secretary of General Services, of the Department of General
17 Services;
18 Secretary of Corrections, of the Department of
19 Corrections[.];
20 Secretary of Veterans' Affairs, of the Department of
21 Veterans' Affairs.
22 Section 4. Sections 1412 and 1413 of the act are repealed.
23 Section 5. The act is amended by adding an article to read:
24 ARTICLE XIV-A
25 POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF
26 VETERANS' AFFAIRS
27 Section 1401-A. Powers and Duties in General.--The
28 Department of Veterans' Affairs shall have the following powers
29 and duties:
30 (1) To administer the laws providing for the payment of
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1 pensions and relief, for the marking of graves of the veterans
2 and for the selection, acquisition and maintenance of a State
3 military cemetery.
4 (2) To investigate and compile data concerning veterans of
5 the armed forces of the United States, and all State and
6 municipal activities relating to veterans, and to recommend to
7 the Governor legislation for submission to the General Assembly
8 concerning veterans and their activities.
9 (3) To expend funds, appropriations to or for it, for the
10 purpose of providing the necessities of life, and to otherwise
11 assist such Pennsylvania veterans of any war or armed conflict,
12 or the widows and infant children or dependents of such veterans
13 as are sick, disabled or indigent, and who are without means for
14 planning and providing for the rehabilitation and care of
15 veterans. Such expenditures shall be made for the stated
16 purposes by the issuance of checks in direct payment to the
17 veteran, widow or proper representative of infant children or
18 dependents in accordance with rules, regulations and standards
19 established by the department. In no event shall payments made
20 by the department exceed the maximum assistance payable under
21 the public assistance laws and no payments shall be made in the
22 form of relief orders.
23 (4) To certify for payment gratuities for the children,
24 between the ages of sixteen (16) and twenty-one (21) years, of
25 totally disabled veterans and of soldiers, marines, female
26 clerks, yeoman (female), or members of the Enlisted Nurse Corps
27 of the United States, who die or have died of Spanish-American
28 War or World War I service-connected disabilities, and of
29 totally disabled veterans and of members of the armed forces of
30 the United States and of women's organizations officially
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1 connected therewith, who die or have died of World War II, or
2 the armed conflict in Korea service-connected disabilities as
3 certified from Veterans' Administration records. Such children
4 must have lived in the Commonwealth for five (5) years
5 immediately preceding the date upon which the application was
6 filed. Certification by the department shall be made when the
7 children meet the following requirements:
8 (i) As coming within the class of children described above.
9 (ii) As attending any State or State-aided educational or
10 training institution of a secondary or college grade or other
11 institution of higher education, business school, trade school,
12 hospital providing training for nurses school, or institution
13 providing courses in beauty culture, art, radio or undertaking
14 or embalming or such other educational training within this
15 Commonwealth as approved by the department.
16 (iii) As being unable, without such gratuity, to pursue his
17 or her education or training.
18 (iv) Payments not exceeding two hundred dollars ($200) per
19 semester per child shall be made to such institution upon the
20 submission by them of proof that bills have been incurred or
21 contracted for matriculation fees and other necessary fees,
22 tuition, board, room rent, books and supplies for such children
23 in a definite amount for the school year. Such proof shall be
24 submitted to the department which shall attach the same to the
25 requisitions prepared for payments out of appropriations made
26 for such purpose.
27 (v) When a child within the class of children eligible to
28 receive a gratuity authorized by this section is completing an
29 educational or training course, and becomes twenty-one (21)
30 years of age before completing the course, the gratuity may be
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1 paid until the course is completed: Provided, That gratuities
2 may not be paid for any child for a longer period than four
3 scholastic years.
4 Section 1402-A. Specific Duties of the Secretary of
5 Veterans' Affairs.--The Secretary of Veterans' Affairs shall
6 have the specific duty:
7 (1) To recommend to the Governor new legislation and
8 amendments to existing statutes concerning veterans and their
9 activities, for consideration by the General Assembly.
10 (2) To cooperate with all departments and agencies of the
11 Commonwealth in the interest of war veterans' welfare, housing
12 and the obtaining of licenses.
13 (3) To aid in filing and prosecuting all claims of the
14 Commonwealth's war veterans and dependents of war veterans under
15 Federal or State statutes.
16 (4) To aid in the employment and reemployment of all war
17 veterans honorably discharged from the armed forces of the
18 United States or their auxiliaries.
19 (5) To aid in securing hospitalization, for any war veteran
20 requiring medical care, that may be provided by a Federal or
21 State mental or medical or surgical facility specifically
22 provided for war veterans or in any other public hospital.
23 (6) To aid in the rehabilitation of injured, wounded or
24 compensable war veterans, or other war veterans, in educational
25 institutions or vocational training institutions to which they
26 may be eligible by statute.
27 (7) To cooperate with and advise the Department of Education
28 with respect to the establishment of vocational training
29 programs particularly suited to war casualties, for either day
30 or evening instruction, or both.
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1 (8) To administer relief provided by the Commonwealth for
2 war veterans and dependents of war veterans.
3 (9) To administer the distribution of any compensation to
4 war veterans or dependents of war veterans that has been or may
5 be granted by the Commonwealth.
6 (10) To investigate the work of other departments of the
7 Commonwealth administering laws affecting war veterans or war
8 veterans' orphans.
9 (11) To investigate, compile and maintain complete and
10 accurate data concerning veterans of the armed forces of the
11 United States and all State and municipal activities relating
12 thereto.
13 (12) To compile from the records as transmitted by the
14 county commissioners of each county, a record of the burial
15 places within this Commonwealth of deceased service persons,
16 their rank, division, length of service, name and location of
17 cemetery, and the location of their graves therein, and the
18 character of headstones or other markers, if any, and such other
19 information deemed desirable.
20 (13) To establish an information center, and to disseminate
21 regularly to chapters, camps and posts of war veterans'
22 organizations throughout this Commonwealth, such information as
23 he shall determine, and to transmit to the public press and
24 other media of public information, such information relative to
25 war veterans as should be of public interest.
26 (14) To submit biannually to the Governor, a report of State
27 activities on behalf of veterans.
28 (15) To perform such other duties in connection with war
29 veterans that may be referred to him by other departments or
30 agencies of the Commonwealth, and to be a clearinghouse for all
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1 veterans' war service-connected problems.
2 Section 1403-A. Soldiers' and Sailors' and Veterans'
3 Homes.--(a) The Department of Veterans' Affairs shall maintain
4 and operate the Soldiers' and Sailors' Home in Erie and
5 Hollidaysburg Veterans' Home for military veterans.
6 (b) The department shall appoint a director to administer
7 each home. Each director shall be qualified and licensed in the
8 Commonwealth as a nursing home administrator. Each director
9 shall appoint such officers and employes as may be necessary and
10 fix their salaries in conformity with the standards established
11 by the executive board.
12 (c) The department may accept gifts, grants or payments for
13 the use of each home: Provided, however, That the department
14 shall only receive and accept Federal funds to the extent they
15 are appropriated to the department by the General Assembly.
16 (d) The department shall establish a schedule of fees to be
17 charged residents. The fees shall be based on the level of
18 service or care required and the ability of the resident to pay.
19 (e) The department shall establish the level of service to
20 be provided in accordance with the Federal veteran's
21 administration standards of nursing and domiciliary care.
22 Section 6. All powers and duties imposed by 51 Pa.C.S. § 704
23 (relating to advisory councils for veterans' homes) upon the
24 Department of Military Affairs are hereby transferred to the
25 Department of Veterans' Affairs.
26 Section 7. (a) All personnel, allocations, appropriations,
27 agreements, leases, claims, demands and causes of action of any
28 nature whether or not subject to litigation on the date of this
29 act, equipment, files, records, classified data files, plans,
30 maps, air photographs and all other materials which are used,
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1 employed or expended in connection with the duties, powers or
2 functions of the Department of Military Affairs relating to
3 veterans' affairs, are hereby transferred by this act to the
4 Department of Veterans' Affairs with the same force and effect
5 as if the appropriations had been made to and said items had
6 been the property of the Department of Veterans' Affairs in the
7 first instance and if said contracts, agreements, leases and
8 obligations had been incurred or entered into by the Department
9 of Veterans' Affairs.
10 (b) All personnel transferred to the Department of Veterans'
11 Affairs from other State departments and agencies pursuant to
12 this act shall retain any civil service or other employment
13 status assigned to said personnel in those departments or
14 agencies prior to the effective date of this act.
15 Section 8. (a) 51 Pa.C.S. § 902 (relating to general powers
16 and duties of Adjutant General) and Chs. 17 (relating to State
17 Veterans' Commission), 19 (relating to Pennsylvania Veterans'
18 Memorial Commission), 85 (relating to Veterans' Emergency
19 Assistance), 87 (relating to Educational Gratuity Program) and
20 89 (relating to Disabled Veterans' Real Estate Tax Exemption)
21 are repealed insofar as they are inconsistent with this act.
22 (b) Sections 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 of the act of April 29,
23 1988 (P.L.381, No.60), entitled "An act amending Title 51
24 (Military Affairs) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes,
25 codifying provisions of law relating to the creation,
26 administration and powers and duties of the State Veterans'
27 Commission, to the educational gratuity program for veterans'
28 children and to the real property tax exemption for certain
29 qualified veterans; providing for reestablishment of the State
30 Veterans' Commission and the Pennsylvania Veterans' Memorial
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1 Commission; and making repeals," are repealed absolutely.
2 (c) All other acts and parts of acts are repealed insofar as
3 they are inconsistent with this act.
4 Section 9. This act shall take effect in 90 days.
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