BEnefits Corner
2018 Legislative Session in Review
Jana Waller and Jim Kinsey, of “Skull Bound TV,” and former Navy SEAL Bo Reichenbach scan for game during a hunting trip they organized for the double amputee. A bill passed by the Oregon Legislature during the last session will make it easier for nonprofits to organize hunting and fishing opportunities for disabled veterans and Purple Heart recipients. (File photo)
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he 2018 Legislative Session was a short one, but that didn’t stop it from seeing the passage of a number of important bills intended to benefit Oregon veterans and their families. The following summary highlights the key aspects of these measures. Senate Bill 1506: Oregon Wounded Warrior Parking Program. This bill creates the “Oregon Wounded Warrior” parking designation for veterans with a service-connected disability rating of 50 percent or greater. Veterans must also have been discharged under other than dishonorable conditions to qualify. Those who receive this designation will be able to enjoy free and unlimited parking in any time-limited or metered spaces in the state, without penalty. This program, which is being administered by the Oregon Department of Motor Vehicles, is now active. Interested veterans should contact their local DMV office and be prepared to show proof of disability and discharge status. SB 1517: Free Hunting Tags for Disabled Veteran Organizations. The Department of Fish and Wildlife currently operates a program to provide terminally ill children with hunting and fishing opportunities, at no charge, by issuing a certain number of free tags to nonprofit entities that organize and sponsor such adventures. SB 1517 expands this program by incorporating disabled veterans and Purple Heart 26
recipents into the existing program. A maximum of 35 tags will be made available to each year for both terminally ill children and veterans, with the former receiving precedence but being capped at 15. The measure also limits eligible veteran beneficiaries to one tag per year. SB 1548: Post-Traumatic Stress Injury Awareness. This bill establishes June as Oregon Post-Traumatic Stress Injury Awareness Month and June 27 as Oregon Post-Traumatic Stress Injury Awareness Day. The measure directs the Oregon Health Authority, Oregon Department of Veterans’ Affairs, and Oregon Military Department to continue working on educating victims of trauma about the causes, symptoms and treatment of post-traumatic stress injury. House Bill 4035: Tuition Assistance for Oregon National Guard Members. This bill establishes a program to provide tuition assistance for eligible members of the Oregon National Guard, provided they attend an Oregon community college or public university and are working toward an associate or bachelor’s degree. The expectation is that the eligible Guard member will not have to pay for any tuition when factoring in other federal and state assistance and the tuition assistance payments under the program. $2.7 million in General Funds are appropriated under the bill for tuition assistance payments and for program administration costs.
