Sen. Pavel M. Payano is hailing last Thursday’s unanimous state Senate passage of the HERO Act, boost support for hundreds of thousands statewide who have served in the U.S. military, including nearly 30,000 women veterans and thousands of LGBTQ+ veterans.
The package, formally known as an act Honoring, Empowering and Recognizing Our Servicemembers and Veterans, would increase benefits for disabled veterans, bolster support for businesses that hire veterans, update the definition of a veteran, expand the scope of the Veterans Equality Review Board and place medical and dental benefits into the law.
“I am proud to have voted in favor of the HERO Act which passed the Senate yesterday,” said Payano Friday the “legislation reaffirms our commitment to our veterans and active duty service members. This bill isn’t just about increasing benefits, it’s about ensuring our veterans feel valued and respected when they arrive home. The HERO Act modernizes our veteran services to meet the population’s diverse needs and ensures that no one is left behind, whether they’re women, LGBTQ+ or anyone else who have honorably served our country.”
Senate President Karen E. Spilka added, “We are a Commonwealth that has the deepest respect and gratitude to our veterans, and the HERO Act doubles down on that commitment to our service members by delivering the support that they and their families deserve.” She thanked the Healey-Driscoll Administration for introducing this legislation, Sen. John Velis for his work and leadership on the issue and her Senate colleagues.
The Senate’s version requires, among other things, public schools to provide support services to military-connected students when parents or guardians are called to active duty, create a military spouse liaison to help military spouses obtain employment and child care and deal with other issues and allow Gold Star family spouses to remarry without the penalty of losing annuity benefits.
The bill allows the Veterans Equality Review Board to expand its scope beyond “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” discharges to include discharges related to military sexual trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, mental health conditions or HIV discharges.
It also expands access to behavioral health treatment; increases annual annuities for veterans with a 100% service-connected disability, the Vet-Hire Tax Credit and active-duty buyback program which lengthens the timeframe for veterans in public service to participate; ensures Social Security cost-of-living adjustment don’t affect veterans’ eligibility for Chapter 115 benefits in the middle of the state fiscal year; and allows communities to double the veteran property tax exemption without doubling all other exemption clauses and inflation adjustments.
The Senate and the House of Representatives must now reconcile differences before sending the bill to the governor’s desk.