GOOD MORNING, IRAQ — PEF member Keith F. Martel is a data communications analyst 2 at the state Office of Mental Health central offices in Albany. A veteran of three tours of duty in Vietnam, he is now serving in the NY Army National Guard as the command sergeant major of the 1/142 Aviation Intermediate Maintenance Battalion at firebase LSA Anaconda north of Baghdad. It is, he reports, “the most attacked firebase in Iraq.” He is also proud to have a son in the U.S. Special Forces.
Martel has been in Iraq since February and hopes to return next spring to his state job of installing computer cable for state OMH facilities and offices.
Bill awaits governor’s OK
Lawmakers try to ease burdens for New York’s citizen soldiers
By SHERRY HALBROOK
The state Legislature has moved to raise the pay and lighten the load for New York’s citizen soldiers called to active military duty.
The state Senate and Assembly have passed legislation (S.7607/A.11697) that would amend several state laws to improve benefits for New Yorkers, including many PEF members, who have been called to active duty in the NYS militia/National Guard and military reserves.
According to PEF Director of Civil Service Enforcement Tom Cetrino, this legislation, which must still be acted upon by the governor, clarifies and expands the benefits of the state’s Patriot Plan enacted in July of last year.
The legislation would boost daily pay from $100 to $125 for NYS militia/National Guard personnel ordered into active service, retroactive to April 1, 2004.
However, it would be a moot point for state PS&T employees, because the state already makes up the difference between their military and state pay thanks to an agreement PEF negotiated with the state.
Other provisions of the new legislation are more pertinent for PEF members, however.
Shortcut to benefits
The legislation cuts through at least part of the red-tape barrier to benefits for military families. If your military service is making it more difficult for your dependents to meet contractual or certain other obligations, they can apply to a court for relief under Section 301-b of NYS Military Law.
Under the new legislation, if no court proceeding were pending, your dependents initially could apply directly to the creditor or other benefit provider.
Protects your license
The legislation also provides a waiver so you won’t lose your professional license, certification or registration if you can’t meet the continuing education requirements while you are on active duty.
Under current law that license, certification or registration can neither expire while you’re in active military status, nor for 12-months after your service ends. That does not apply to loss of these professional credentials if you fail the licensure exam, or if your license is suspended or revoked.
And the extension does not apply to limited permits or credentials issued for less than two years to professionals subject to Title 8 of the Education Law. This includes nurses, engineers, social workers, accountants, psychologists, and architects.
Help with tuition
Eligibility for tuition awards currently authorized for Vietnam and some Persian Gulf war veterans would be expanded to include all Persian Gulf veterans and Afghanistan veterans enrolled in approved undergraduate or graduate programs.
And the legislation would extend the deadline for veterans to apply for such tuition awards to September 1, 2006.
You would be eligible for these tuition awards if you were honorably discharged from service in the U.S. military in the Persian Gulf during hostilities which began August 2, 1990, or in Afghanistan during hostilities which began September 11, 2001.
State tax accommodation
If your military service was or is outside the United States in a “contingency operation,” as declared by the U.S. Secretary of Defense or law, you would be afforded the same tolling of the limitations period and deadlines for filing returns and making payments under the NYS Tax Law that is currently afforded to soldiers serving in a combat zone.
And pay received by members of the NYS militia/National Guard for active service within the state would be exempt from state income taxes. This section would apply to taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2004.
Cetrino said he believes this provision is meant to exempt only eligible military pay from the state income tax.
Temporary backfills
Recognizing the strain military activation of many public employees can pose on public services, the bill would allow local governments to hire retired public employees, without diminution of their retirement benefits, to fill those resulting temporary vacancies considered essential to protect public health and safety.
This provision would automatically expire one year after it is signed into law by the governor.
The
Communicator September 04
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