(SB 14)
State Veterans Home admission eligibility revised.
Section
1.
That
§
33-18-22
be amended to read as follows:
33-18-22.
Any veteran as defined by § 33-17-1, who has an honorable discharge, who has
been
a resident of
maintained a residence in
the state
for a period of one year next
at any time in the five
years
preceding the date of the application, and who has no income in excess of one thousand
dollars per year above the maximum income limitation for pension benefits as determined by the
veterans administration, is eligible for admission to the State Veterans' Home.
For the purposes
of this section, a residence is a physical structure in which a person resides and the term does not
include a post office box or address of another mail service purchased by the veteran.
A war
veteran who meets the residence requirements and has a rating of total disability as defined by the
veterans administration for pension and compensation purposes is also eligible for admission.
Membership status at the State Veterans' Home is not affected because of a medical leave of
absence either in a veterans' administration facility or other hospital. A veteran who has honorably
served in a South Dakota regiment during a wartime period meets the residency requirement.
Any
veteran who is an enrolled member of a federally recognized Indian tribe located wholly or
partially in the state meets the residency requirement.