51 Pa.C.S. Ch. 93

51 Pa.C.S. § 9301 Reports of annual conventions.

(a) Printing and distribution by Commonwealth.--Whenever the department commanders of the Grand Army of the Republic, the United Spanish War Veterans, the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, the American Legion, the Disabled American Veterans of the World War, the Veterans of World War I of the U.S.A., Inc., the American Veterans of World War II (AMVETS), Military Order of the Purple Heart, Jewish War Veterans, Catholic War Veterans, Inc., The Society of the 28th Division, A.E.F., the Marine Corps League and the Italian American War Veterans of the United States, Incorporated, shall report to the Department of Property and Supplies the proceedings of the annual encampment or conventions of their respective departments, with such general and special orders and circulars and other data which may form a part of said proceedings, then the said proceedings, so reported, shall be considered Commonwealth records, and under the direction of the Department of Property and Supplies, shall be printed and bound, and a printed and bound copy thereof shall be sent to each post or detachment in this Commonwealth of the organization of whose proceedings the same is a report. (b) Number of copies printed and distributed.--Not more than 1500 copies of each of such annual reports shall be printed and bound, and the balance remaining after the distribution provided for in subsection (a) may be requisitioned as follows: (1) State Librarian, 300 copies. (2) Legislative Reference Bureau and Senate Library, ten copies. (3) Executive head of the organization of whose proceedings it is a report, the remaining copies. References in Text. The Department of Property and Supplies, referred to in subsec. (a), is now the Department of General Services. Section 21(a) of the act of July 22, 1975, P.L.75, No.45 provided that statutory reference to the Department of Property and Supplies shall be deemed to be a reference to the Department of General Services.

51 Pa.C.S. § 9302 Veterans' associations accompanied by military bands to places of interment or divine services.

All associations of veteran soldiers, when parading for the purpose of interring any deceased member of such association or other veteran soldier, or for the purpose of attending divine service on Sunday, may be accompanied by the proper military band, from their place of assembly to the place of interment or to the place of holding divine service, and thence to the point where they shall disband except that the band shall not play upon the return from such interment, or from such divine service.

51 Pa.C.S. § 9303 Charitable status of certain veterans' organizations.

(a) General rule.--Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, any branch, post or camp of honorably discharged servicemen or servicewomen or an affiliated organization thereof shall be: (1) Exempt from sales and use taxes imposed under Article II of the act of March 4, 1971 (P.L.6, No.2), known as the Tax Reform Code of 1971, for all purchases used for benevolent, charitable or patriotic purposes. (2) Exempt from any real property taxes for that portion of the real property that is actually and regularly used for benevolent, charitable or patriotic purposes. (b) Definition.--As used in this section, the term "affiliated organization" means an affiliated organization as defined in section 461.1(b) of the act of April 12, 1951 (P.L.90, No.21), known as the Liquor Code. (Oct. 16, 1998, P.L.780, No.96, eff. imd.) 1998 Amendment. Act 96 added section 9303.

51 Pa.C.S. § 9304 Grants to veterans' service officer programs.

(a) Award allocations.--From funds specifically appropriated for this purpose, the department shall award grants to designated veterans' service organizations to support veterans' service officer programs. Grants awarded under this section shall be used solely to support accredited veterans' service officers and the associated costs, including: (1) Wages, benefits, other compensation and related personnel costs. (2) Training provided by accredited veterans' service advocacy staff. (3) Equipment to be used by accredited veterans' service officer staff. (b) Program goals.--The goals of the program shall include: (1) improvement of the coordination and distribution of veterans' benefits; (2) maximization of the effective and efficient use of taxpayer dollars; and (3) increasing veterans' participation in available benefits programs. (c) Use of grants.--A designated veterans' service organization shall use grants received under this section to improve the administration and delivery of services to Pennsylvania's veterans and meet the goals set forth in subsection (b) by: (1) Increasing interaction between the veterans' service organizations and the United States Department of Veterans Affairs in order to enhance the delivery of services to Pennsylvania veterans. (2) Increasing the number of initial claims filed with the United States Department of Veterans Affairs on behalf of Pennsylvania veterans for service-related disabilities or pension benefits. (3) Developing methods to increase rates of recovery paid by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs to Pennsylvania veterans. (4) Expanding training opportunities for designated veterans' service organizations and veterans' service officers. (5) Increasing either the number or percentage of Pennsylvania veterans enrolled in the Department of Veterans Affairs health care system. (6) Improving coordination among the veterans' service organizations and with the department to assure an integrated approach to claims processing. (7) Improving outreach services to veterans throughout Pennsylvania and each of its counties. (d) Eligibility.--The following veterans' service organizations are designated to receive grants under this program: (1) The American Legion. (2) AMVETS. (3) Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States. (4) Disabled American Veterans. (5) The department may designate additional Pennsylvania veterans' service organizations to receive grants under the program when: (i) The veterans' service organization is a member of the State Veterans' Commission as listed in section 1702(b) (relating to State Veterans' Commission). (ii) The veterans' service organization serves as an active participant in the State Veterans' Commission abiding by the statutory rules and guidelines. (e) Application for allocations.--Veterans' service organizations eligible for funding under subsection (c) shall submit an annual spending plan to the department in order to be eligible to receive a grant under this section consistent with the provisions of subsections (b) and (c). (f) Amount of grants.--The department shall determine the annual allocation to each of the designated veterans' service organizations based on the spending plan submitted under subsection (e) for the upcoming fiscal year and on actual recoveries from the previous fiscal year. If the total appropriation totals less than the collective spending plans, the department shall prorate the allocations among eligible organizations based on the spending plan and past performance. (g) Procedures, policies and guidelines.--The department shall establish procedures, policies, guidelines, forms and reporting requirements necessary to carry out the purposes of this program within 45 days of the effective date of this section. Procedures, policies, guidelines, forms and reporting requirements established under this section shall be submitted to the Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee of the Senate and the Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee of the House of Representatives for their review and comment. (h) Reporting requirements.--On or before October 1 of each year, designated veterans' service organizations participating in the program established by this section shall file a written report with the Adjutant General and the Deputy Adjutant General for Veterans' Affairs and send copies to the chairman and minority chairman of the Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee of the Senate and the chairman and minority chairman of the Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee of the House of Representatives and State Veterans' Commission. The report shall contain the following information: (1) A description of all veterans' service officer activities, an accounting of recoveries and a listing of volunteer hours for the preceding Commonwealth fiscal year. (2) A proposed budget and spending plan for the Commonwealth fiscal year beginning on July 1 of the year following the filing of the report. (3) An accounting of its expenditures from grants awarded under this program, audited by a certified public accountant for the preceding Commonwealth fiscal year. (i) Review of reports.--The Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee of the Senate and the Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee of the House of Representatives shall review the reports filed by the participating veterans' service organizations. (j) Audits.--The department or the Auditor General may conduct such audits and reviews of the grant program hereby established as the department or the Auditor General determines to be necessary or appropriate. Copies of all audit reports or reviews conducted by the department or the Auditor General shall be made available to the chairman and minority chairman of the Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee of the Senate and the chairman and minority chairman of the Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee of the House of Representatives. (Dec. 12, 2007, P.L.433, No.66, eff. imd.) 2007 Amendment. Act 66 added section 9304. See section 2 of Act 66 in the appendix to this title for special provisions relating to applicability.