NEW: House Approves Soldiers and Veterans Bills
Friday, February 10, 2012
The House of Representatives today passed three bills sponsored by Raymond E. Gallison Jr. concerning members of the armed forces and veterans.
The bills would make it easier for deployed soldiers to get mail ballots in elections, allow those with old “War Veteran” license plates to keep them as a new war veteran plate rolls out, and enable the National Guard to directly accept donations for a fund that assists the family of Guard members.
The first bill (2012-H 7100) would help bring Rhode Island’s elections laws into compliance with the federal Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment (MOVE) Act. The MOVE Act is designed to ensure that members of the armed services who are deployed overseas and other Americans abroad are aware of the their voting rights and have genuine opportunities to register to vote, cast their absentee ballots and be counted. The legislation would change the time period in which a person could request an absentee ballot to the time period specified by federal law, provided he or she is a member of the armed forces providing services connected with military operations or residing or employed outside the United States. Companion legislation (2012-S 2335) has been introduced in the Senate by Sen. Juan M. Pichardo (D-Dist. 2, Providence).
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST“The men and women in our armed forces have made a major commitment to their country, and it would be a sad irony if that commitment stood in the way of any of them having a full and fair opportunity to exercise his or her right to vote. Bringing our state elections laws in line with the federal act makes sure that deployed members of the military get the chance to vote in every election,” said Representative Gallison (D-Dist. 69, Bristol, Portsmouth), who serves as chairman of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee.
The second bill (2012-H 7101) would allow veterans who currently have old “war veteran” license plates to keep those plates if they desire. The Division of Motor Vehicles now has a different plate for war veterans, but Representative Gallison says he’s heard from a number of Vietnam veterans who prefer to keep the old plates. Sen. Walter S. Felag Jr. (D-Dist. 10, Warren, Bristol, Tiverton) has introduced identical legislation (2012-S 2232) in the Senate.
The final bill (2012-H 7188) would allow the office of the adjutant general of the Rhode Island National Guard to accept and administer monetary contributions from donors for charitable organizations that benefit state military programs and military families.
The bill is specifically aimed at allowing the Rhode Island National Guard to accept donations to the Rhode Island Military Family Relief Fund, which provides financial support to the families of Guard members when deployment results in financial strain on them. Currently, the Rhode Island National Guard doesn’t have a legal mechanism to accept donated money directly, and donations to the fund have had to be processed through other agencies and organizations.
