New JerseyS4376220th Legislature (2024-2025)SenateWALLET

Establishes Department of Veterans Affairs.

Sponsored By: Joseph P. Cryan (Democratic), Robert J. Karabinchak (Democratic), Annette Quijano (Democratic), Cleopatra G. Tucker (Democratic), Joseph F. Vitale (Democratic)

Signed by Governor

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

26 provisions identified: 19 benefits, 3 costs, 4 mixed.

Free help correcting discriminatory military discharges

Former service members get free help seeking an honorable discharge when their discharge was caused solely by sexual orientation, gender identity, or expression. This covers general and other-than-honorable discharges and includes help with forms and the application process. Request and correction records remain confidential and are not public government records. Once the discharge changes to honorable, the person receives the same state-law rights and benefits as other honorably discharged veterans.

Veterans and families can access facility care

People unable to afford necessary community care can qualify for veterans’ facility care, including clothing, meals, and medical and surgical care. Disabled veterans generally need two years of New Jersey residence, with an exception for service in a New Jersey military organization. A spouse of an admitted person must be at least 50 and married for at least 10 years. Surviving spouses must not have remarried and face residency, service, and marriage-duration requirements; parents face residency and service-death requirements. Disabled veterans in distress can receive temporary admission under the commissioner’s rules.

Military dependents qualify for tuition-free college

Qualifying dependents can complete undergraduate degrees or certificates tuition-free at covered public or private New Jersey institutions. Their parent must have been declared a prisoner of war or missing in action after January 1, 1960. The parent must have lived in New Jersey upon entering service or have an official New Jersey residence. Students must be accepted for covered study and remain eligible. The parent’s return or reported death does not end the tuition benefit.

Gold Star families get free counseling

New Jersey-resident Gold Star relatives of service members who died on active duty can receive free counseling from volunteer professionals. The Department recruits providers, shares a statewide availability list with county veterans offices, and tracks donated hours. Providers receive documentation for the referenced tax credit, using the applicable calendar-year TRICARE rate. The annual credited-hour limit is set between 20 and 40 hours per professional, not per family.

Listed state officials earn $210,000 annually

The law sets annual salaries at $210,000 for listed state officials in calendar year 2024 and thereafter. The list includes the Veterans Affairs commissioner and Board of Public Utilities members. Earlier salaries are not given, so the amount of any increase is not stated.

Gold Star identification misuse brings penalties

Unlawful possession, lending, use, copying, alteration, or false claims involving Gold Star Family identification carry a $1,000 civil penalty per violation. The rule covers designated driver’s licenses and identification cards. The Department maintains a designation-holder registry and shares lists with county veterans service offices. Municipal courts enforce the penalty.

Veterans’ facility residents contribute toward care

Veterans’ facility residents must contribute toward care and treatment based on their ability to pay. The commissioner uses an annual financial-ability formula approved by the State’s budget and accounting director. The Department can also accept care payments from residents’ family, relatives, or friends. The law gives no contribution amounts.

Veterans’ home staff face drug testing

Direct-care job applicants must consent to drug testing; the law includes applicant-paid initial testing and Department-paid testing provisions. Applicants applying on or after April 16, 2020, must be rejected for refusing testing or testing positive for unlawful use. Current staff face at least 100 random tests yearly and reasonable-suspicion testing with written approval; the Department pays for employee testing. Refusal requires termination, while positive employee tests can lead to referral for help or termination, depending on the position. Outside facilities perform confidential testing, and employees retain civil service review rights.

Justice-involved veterans get mentors and referrals

Former service members volunteer to mentor veterans during criminal proceedings and afterward, including help connecting with reentry services. The commissioner maintains an updated mentor registry and a directory of Veterans Diversion Resource Program providers. Prosecutors receive the registry for eligible diversion participants, and the courts receive it for eligible veterans on probation. These tools do not change diversion eligibility or guarantee a particular service.

Military survivors get benefits guidance sooner

Within 10 working days after federal death notice, the Department must alert the proper county and state veterans offices. This covers New Jersey-resident spouses, children, or parents when the deceased lived in New Jersey, or their information is known for a nonresident member. The state office must provide a comprehensive benefits packet, and each county must name a Gold Star family liaison. A public Gold Star webpage lists state benefits, liaison contacts, fallen service members, and support organizations.

Veterans get claims help and referrals

Regional Veteran Service Offices help veterans and dependents file claims and find work, education, housing, burial, counseling, and medical services. The Department helps resident service members register with the federal veterans agency after deployment or discharge, when their information is available. A public, topic-based directory lists reviewed service organizations, but listing is not an endorsement or a promise of service. A 15-member Commission on Women Veterans studies needs, recommends improvements, and shares service information; public members must live in New Jersey. These access tools do not themselves change eligibility for the services listed.

Disabled veterans get financial planning help

Regional Veteran Service Offices provide financial planning help for costs tied to a disabled veteran’s daily care. Veterans must be New Jersey citizens and residents with qualifying active service and an honorable discharge or release under honorable circumstances. Their service-connected disability must be recognized by the federal veterans agency. Caregivers must be at least 18 and have primary responsibility for daily care. The law does not specify a cash payment.

Veterans get help with counseling travel

Qualified veterans can receive travel reimbursement for authorized New Jersey counseling appointments for service-connected conditions. Veterans must have paid the travel costs and lack eligibility for another state or federal travel-payment program. Covered travel includes public transit and private vehicles; transit reimbursement depends on available state or federal funding. For-hire rides qualify only when a certified service-connected injury or disability prevents or hinders driving. The provision gives no reimbursement rates.

Veterans’ home residents get stronger representation

Families get technical help seeking guardianship for veterans living in, or entering, memorial homes; financial help depends on economic criteria. Another eligible person can receive help when family members are unwilling or unavailable to serve. Each home must have an advocate who responds to oral or written complaints, records action plans, and gives copies to residents and administrators. Advocates keep records for at least one year after resolution. Homes must hold quarterly meetings with guardians and power-of-attorney holders and send updates through at least two communication methods.

Homeless veterans get service funding support

Organizations can apply for grants from the Homeless Veterans Grant Fund to help homeless veterans. The commissioner sets award criteria, and grants depend on money appropriated to the Department. Separate agreements fund part of legal services for homeless veterans and veterans at risk of homelessness. Legal help covers housing, family law, income support, criminal defense, and other approved matters, with regional access arranged where practical. The law sets no total funding amount or guaranteed individual payment.

Historical veterans tuition credits retain limits

Historical tuition credits cover qualifying service after December 31, 1960, and before May 7, 1975, with state residency, domicile, federal-aid eligibility, and approved-study requirements. Applications were due within eight years after separation or March 3, 1976, whichever was later. Credits cannot exceed tuition or $200 per semester, $100 per quarter, or $400 per full school year. Duration is capped at eight semesters, 12 quarters, or 36 months; full-time study rules apply, including generally 14 undergraduate semester hours. Lottery money reimburses schools; credits do not count toward other college aid, and awards are reduced proportionally when funding falls short.

Private employers can favor veteran applicants

Private employers and labor unions can voluntarily join a state veterans’ preference plan. The commissioner can set veteran hiring quotas for participating employers. Disabled veterans receive first preference for suitable jobs. The plan cannot require an employer to discharge a current worker, and it does not guarantee veterans a job.

Veterans commissioner decides employment and pension status

The veterans commissioner decides veteran or disabled-veteran status and hears appeals for specified state employment and retirement programs. Those decisions bind the public agencies running the programs. Beginning January 9, 2026, this authority covers specified veteran retirement allowances and purchases of military service credit. The law does not itself change those programs’ veteran criteria or benefit amounts.

Vietnam veterans’ tuition aid remains expired

The law retains a historical tuition program whose five-year eligibility period ran from April 9, 1985, to April 9, 1990. It covered qualifying Vietnam veterans pursuing an initial undergraduate degree, subject to service, discharge, domicile, and academic-standing requirements. Applicants had to apply for other available state and federal student aid first. Awards covered up to full public-college tuition or Rutgers-level tuition at eligible independent colleges, generally for four academic years or five in qualifying programs. This provision does not reopen the expired eligibility period.

New Jersey centralizes veterans services

The law creates a Cabinet-level New Jersey Department of Veterans Affairs, effective 120 days after enactment. It brings state veterans’ homes, cemeteries, homeless shelters, and veterans programs under one department. The Department reviews state veterans policies and programs; rejected programs need the Governor’s specific approval to start or continue. Beginning January 9, 2026, the law also repeals specified provisions of the 1987 military-affairs law. The supplied text does not explain separate household effects from those repeals.

Public gains New Jersey military history website

The Department must maintain a public website about New Jersey battles and places important to military or war efforts. It must offer both a list and an online tour, including battle dates, locations, and why the sites mattered. The Department develops it with the state tourism division and historical commission.

Veterans’ facility closures face public review

Outside emergencies, certain veterans’ facility closures or privatizations require a public hearing and report before implementation. This applies when at least 100 filled, full-time career-service positions would be eliminated. The report must explain fiscal effects, policy reasons, and public testimony. Following closure actions affecting residents and employees, the Department must study former residents’ well-being and publicly post annual reports for five years. These safeguards do not prohibit a closure after the required steps.

Some veterans services can carry fees

The commissioner can set and collect fees for Department services, with money paid into the State Treasury. Establishing veteran status remains free. The law sets military-record search fees at $1 and certified-copy fees at $2. It does not give a general fee schedule for other services.

Families face three-year property claim deadline

When a veterans’ facility member dies without a will, property deposited in trust is held for three years after death. Claimants can recover the money or property during that time by providing legal proof. After three years, unclaimed property becomes the facility’s property. The facility’s advisory council and commissioner determine its use.

Veterans’ remains receive burial and transfer support

A veteran’s next of kin, friend, or fellow veteran can request a free transfer from a paupers’ or potters’ cemetery. The destination is Brigadier General William C. Doyle Veterans’ Memorial Cemetery, and the Department must publicize how to apply. After one year, funeral directors must give qualified veterans groups the right to receive unclaimed veteran, eligible spouse, or dependent cremains. This requires certified diligent efforts to find and notify relatives or friends; groups must scatter at sea or use a veterans cemetery when eligible. Specified parties face civil liability only for gross negligence or willful misconduct.

Veterans can leave temporarily but keep paying

During a Governor-declared public health emergency, guardians or power-of-attorney holders can temporarily remove residents from veterans’ memorial homes. Removal follows Department rules, with an initial extension of up to 30 days and one additional extension of up to 30 days. Residents must keep paying care and maintenance fees to hold their beds while away. The Department must also send weekly home-status reports to the Department of Health during declared public health emergencies.

Sponsors & Cosponsors

Cosponsors

Renee C. Burgess
Democratic • Senate
Patrick J. Diegnan Jr.
Democratic • Senate
Vin Gopal
Democratic • Senate
Linda R. Greenstein
Democratic • Senate
Shama A. Haider
Democratic • House
Gordon M. Johnson
Democratic • Senate
Joseph A. Lagana
Democratic • Senate
Angela V. McKnight
Democratic • Senate
Raj Mukherji
Democratic • Senate
Verlina Reynolds-Jackson
Democratic • House
M. Teresa Ruiz
Democratic • Senate
Brian P. Stack
Democratic • Senate
Andrew Zwicker
Democratic • Senate

Roll Call Votes

All Roll Calls

Yes: 104 • No: 6

Senate vote • 6/30/2025

3RDG FINAL PASSAGE

Yes: 32 • No: 6

House vote • 6/30/2025