David W. Osborne

During the 2008 General Assembly, we approved legislation concerning the 367,000 veterans and their families who are a valued part of the Commonwealth’s 4.2 million citizens.

Among the new laws passed was House Bill 110 that will be known as “The Stolen Valor Act.” Any individual who falsely applies for a special military license plate, claims that they are entitled to wear military awards and decorations, or make any substantial misrepresentation of military service will be charged with a Class A misdemeanor.  

We also expanded veterans’ private sector job opportunities by passing House Bill 607.  A five year statement of eligibility for teaching will be issued to a veteran who has completed a total of ten years of active duty service, ten years of service officially credited toward armed services retirement, or ten years combination of both services.

House Bill 239 and Senate Bill 150 both provide allowances for veterans and their family members to obtain and display specialty military license plates.  House Bill 239 allows persons eligible for Gold Star Spouses license plates to receive two plates each year for their vehicles and exempts them from the fees to purchase these plates.  Furthermore, anyone who is eligible for membership in Gold Star Mothers of America or Gold Star Wives of America Associations will also be eligible for the specialty license plate.  Senate Bill 150 allows the surviving spouse of a former Kentucky National Guard member or retired veteran to keep the special license plates that are assigned to that member or veteran.

We also passed House Bill 227, legislation establishing the Indigent Veterans’ Burial Program and the Indigent Veterans’ Burial Trust Fund.  Both of these programs will help defray funeral and burial costs for our military heroes.  The Department of Veterans’ Affairs will oversee both the program and trust fund, as well as coordinate with the Department of Military Affairs to determine the eligibility of veterans for the burial program. 

Under House Bill 65, we established “The Kentucky Medal for Freedom Award” for service members who were Kentucky residents and killed on or after January 1, 1991. 

With the passage of HB 65, men and women currently returning from active duty will not be cited for driving on an expired driver’s license.  Service members must renew their license within 90 days of returning home and must be able to provide proof of out-of-state service and dates of assignment(s).  

The children of our military families will find interstate moves easier to handle through Senate Bill 68 which allows Kentucky to enter into an interstate education compact for military children. This is intended to help streamline the transfer of school records, ensure that students don’t need to repeat courses based on state curriculum differences, and make sure military children have equal access to extracurricular activities.

Over the next few weeks, I will continue to update you on more of the bills we passed into law this session.  If at anytime you have a question, concern, or would like additional information, please do not hesitate to contact me.  I can be reached at home or through the toll-free message line at 1-800-372-7181.  I invite those with internet access to e-mail me at david.osborne@lrc.ky.gov