Florida Senate - 2010 SB 1972 By Senator Aronberg 27-01063A-10 20101972__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to veterans; amending s. 295.187, 3 F.S.; redefining the term “service-disabled veteran” 4 for purposes of the Florida Service-Disabled Veteran 5 Business Enterprise Opportunity Act; amending s. 6 296.06, F.S.; revising the eligibility requirements 7 for a veteran’s residency in the Veterans’ Domiciliary 8 Home of Florida; amending s. 296.36, F.S.; revising 9 the eligibility requirements for a veteran’s 10 admittance into a licensed health care facility that 11 is operated by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs; 12 providing an effective date. 13 14 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 15 16 Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subsection (3) of section 17 295.187, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 18 295.187 Florida Service-Disabled Veteran Business 19 Enterprise Opportunity Act.— 20 (3) DEFINITIONS.—For the purpose of this section, the term: 21 (b) “Service-disabled veteran” means a veteran who is a 22 permanent Florida resident with a service-connected disability 23of 10 percent or greateras determined by the United States 24 Department of Veterans Affairs or who has been terminated from 25 military service by reason of disability by the United States 26 Department of Defense. 27 Section 2. Subsection (2) of section 296.06, Florida 28 Statutes, is amended to read: 29 296.06 State policy; eligibility requirements.— 30 (2) To be eligible for residency in the home, a veteran 31 must: 32 (a) Have wartime service or peacetime service as defined in 33 ss. 1.01(14) and 296.02. 34 (b) Have been a resident of the state for 1 year 35 immediately preceding application and be a resident of the state 36 at the time of application. 37 (c) Not be mentally ill, habitually inebriated, or addicted 38 to drugs. 39 (d) Not owe money to the department for services rendered 40 during any previous stay at a department facility. 41 (e) Have applied for all financial assistance reasonably 42 available through governmental sources. 43 (f) Have been approved as eligible for care and treatment 44 by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. 45 Section 3. Subsection (1) of section 296.36, Florida 46 Statutes, is amended to read: 47 296.36 Eligibility and priority of admittance.— 48 (1) To be eligible for admittance to the home, the person 49 must be a veteran as defined in s. 1.01(14) or have eligible 50 peacetime service as defined in s. 296.02 and must: 51 (a) Be in need of nursing home care. 52 (b) Have been a resident of the state for 1 year 53 immediately preceding, and at the time of application for, 54 admission to the home. 55 (c) Not owe money to the department for services rendered 56 during any previous stay at a department facility. 57 (d) Have applied for all financial assistance reasonably 58 available through governmental sources. 59 (e) Have been approved as eligible for care and treatment 60 by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. 61 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2010.