Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Veterans Legislation Tax And Consumer Protection topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Veterans groups press for tax relief, renewed claims-shark legislation and clarity on disability definitions
Summary
Representatives of the Military Officers Association of America and the VFW described population and disability data, discussed HB 2005 (property tax rebate for 100% disabled veterans), a bundled exemption bill (2014) and said they will reintroduce a claims-shark bill that failed last year.
Mike Kelly, representing the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA), briefed the committee on demographic estimates for Kansas’s military community and said MOAA stands ready to assist members and constituents with data and advice. "We have almost 30,000 military personnel in Kansas" and "there are 47,000 veterans that have some sort of disability rating," Kelly said, citing federal VetPop and other national data sources.
Kelly and other presenters discussed HB 2005, a bill that would provide a residential property tax rebate limited in current draft to veterans rated 100% (permanent and total) or with individual unemployability (IU). Kelly explained the difference between temporary 100% ratings and permanent 100% ratings: a temporary 100% rating can be assigned for a limited rehabilitation period, whereas permanent and total ratings describe conditions for which medical science expects no improvement.
Nut graf: Multiple veterans stakeholders asked the committee to track several measures this session — HB 2005 (property tax rebate for certain 100%-rated veterans), a broader property tax exemption package identified as "2014" (and companion Senate bill SB 10), and a renewed "claim shark" consumer-protection bill the VFW plans to reintroduce.
Jim Carlskin, lobbyist for the Veterans of Foreign Wars, said the "claim shark" bill had passed committee unanimously last year but did not reach final passage and will be filed again. He also invited members to a reception Tuesday, Jan. 21 at the Hotel Topeka (formerly the Capital Plaza), 5:30 p.m., noting committee members were welcome.
Committee members asked clarifying questions about how the disability counts are presented. Kelly cautioned that some figures are demographic estimates rather than counts of active claims records.
Ending: Stakeholders asked members to coordinate with agency staff and legislative revisers as bills are drafted and to contact them for data or case assistance.
