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Iowa legislature gives special attention to veterans

From Iowa Senate President Pam Jochum –

Iowa Senate President Pam Jochum
Iowa Senate President Pam Jochum

Over the next five years, the U.S. Armed Services will downsize our military forces by 350,000. These Americans have skills that make them valuable to Iowa businesses and communities. Attracting former service members to our state will bring workers who can help grow our economy and expand our middle class.

To encourage more veterans to make Iowa their home, the Legislature approved the Home Base Iowa Act (Senate File 303). The centerpiece of the bill makes military retirement pay exempt from state individual income taxes starting this year. Those who are eligible for the tax exemption have given 20 or more years of military service to our country.

Iowa currently exempts the first $6,000 (single) and $12,000 (married) of a veteran’s qualified retirement income from state taxes. To qualify, the taxpayer must be at least 55 or disabled. Twenty-six other states already exempt all military retirement pay. By joining them, we are cutting taxes for at least 7,765 Iowa veterans.

Other benefits to veterans in SF 303 include:

• Allowing private employers to grant a preference in hiring and promotion to veterans, and to the spouses of disabled veterans or service members who died because of active duty.

• Providing a clear pathway to jobs by matching military occupational training to Iowa’s professional and occupational licensure requirements.

• Encouraging Iowa’s colleges and universities to grant educational credits to veterans for military education, training and experience.

• Expanding eligibility and financing options for the Military Home Ownership Assistance Program.

• Providing special license plates for military service to veterans and service members free of charge.

• Clarifying that war veteran properties, such as Veterans of Foreign Wars halls, will not lose their tax-exempt status if they rent their facilities for $250 or less and proceeds are used for the purposes of the veterans’ organization.

• Studying the feasibility of expedited licensing, certification or registration of military spouses if they have an occupational or professional license from another state.

Three bills approved by the Legislature during the 2014 session will help ensure our veterans and service members can afford a home that meets their families’ needs.

State capitol of Iowa
State capitol of Iowa

Between January 2009 and June 2013, Iowa’s Military Home Ownership Assistance Program boosted Iowa’s economy by leveraging more than $178 million toward home purchases, but the program has not been able to keep up with demand among military families that want to settle in our communities. House File 2463 eliminates the waiting list for the program with a $2.5 million appropriation to provide service members and veterans with a $5,000 grant toward the down payment and closing costs on a qualifying home purchase.Senate File 303 expands eligibility and financing options for the Military Home Ownership Assistance Program . Currently, eligibility is limited to those who served on active duty since 9/11. The bill extends eligibility for home ownership grants to those who served during the Persian Gulf Conflict (August 2, 1990, to April 6, 1991). It also expands financing options so our veterans and service members can get the best possible deal when applying for a home loan.

The Department of Veteran Affairs reports that 2,754 Iowa veterans are 100 percent disabled; 60 percent of them own their home. Under current law, the Disabled Veterans Homestead Tax Credit goes to disabled veterans who have an annual income of $35,000 or less and have acquired their home through certain federal programs for special adaptive housing because of a service-connected disability.

Senate File 2352 makes the tax credit available to any eligible veteran with a permanent and total disability due to service-related injuries, regardless of income and how the home was purchased. The bill also extends the credit to surviving spouses or children of troops killed in action or who died because of service-related illness or injury, as certified by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

PRESERVING IOWA’S MILITARY HISTORY

In recognition of the service and sacrifice of our military members, Iowa strives to preserve our state’s military artifacts and history. This year, the Legislature provided funding (SF 2349) to continue that work at three Iowa museums:

• $500,000 for the Iowa Veterans Oral History Project. Waterloo’s Sullivan Brothers Veterans Museum collects, preserves and interprets the stories of Iowa veterans and civilian soldiers throughout our state’s history. The museum includes interactive video portraying the stories of veterans from all corners of the state. Initial emphasis was on the recollections of World War II, Korea and Vietnam veterans, but the project has since expanded to include the stories of Iowans who have served since 2001. For more on the museum, go to www.groutmuseumdistrict.org.

• $250,000 for upgrades at the Gold Star Military Museum, the only federally recognized repository for military artifacts in the state. Permanent exhibits tell the story of Iowans who have served in defense of our state and nation, from early settlement in the 1840s through military efforts sparked by the September 11 terrorist attacks. Complete details on this museum at Camp Dodge in Johnston are available at www.iowanationalguard.com/History/Museum.

• $100,000 for renovation and repairs to the Fort Des Moines Museum & Education Center. This museum and education center on the south side of Des Moines honors the U.S. Army’s first officer candidate class for African American men in 1917 and the establishment of the first Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAACs) in 1942, both of which happened at Fort Des Moines. To learn more, check out the Fort Des Moines Museum page on Facebook.

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