HOUSE BILL No. 4571

 

April 21, 2011, Introduced by Reps. Damrow, Franz, Agema, Moss, Rogers, MacGregor, Callton, Ouimet, Heise, Kurtz, Opsommer, Price, Muxlow, Gilbert, Poleski, Shirkey, LaFontaine, Rendon, Crawford, Somerville, McMillin, Outman, Hughes, Lyons, Wayne Schmidt, Genetski, Haines, Tyler, Forlini, Lund, Foster, Horn, Farrington, MacMaster, Shaughnessy, Daley, Zorn, Nathan, Liss, Cavanagh, Smiley, Stapleton, Haugh, Oakes, Bledsoe, Haveman, Scott, Pscholka, Johnson, Slavens and Jenkins and referred to the Committee on Military and Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security.

 

     A bill to amend 1965 PA 190, entitled

 

"An act to provide for a system of uniformity of service for

veterans,"

 

by amending section 1 (MCL 35.61), as amended by 1997 PA 131.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

 

     Sec. 1. In order to provide for the uniformity of service

 

dates for veterans, the following dates and terms shall be

 

applicable to all acts of the state relative to veterans:

 

     (a) "Veteran" means a person , who served in the active

 

military forces , during a period of war or who received the armed

 

forces expeditionary or other campaign service medal during an

 

emergency condition and who was discharged or released therefrom

 

under honorable conditions. "Veteran" also includes a person who

 

died in active military forces.

 

     (b) "Spanish-American war" means the period beginning on April

 


21, 1898 , and ending on July 4, 1902 , and includes the Philippine

 

insurrection and the Boxer rebellion. , and in the case of For a

 

veteran who served with the United States military forces engaged

 

in hostilities in the Moro province, Spanish-American war means the

 

period beginning on April 21, 1898 , and ending on July 15, 1903.

 

     (c) "World War I" means the period beginning on April 6, 1917

 

, and ending on November 11, 1918. , and in the case of For a

 

veteran who served with the United States military forces in

 

Russia, World War I means the period beginning on April 6, 1917 ,

 

and ending on April 1, 1920.

 

     (d) "World War II" means the period beginning December 7, 1941

 

, and ending December 31, 1946. , both dates inclusive.

 

     (e) "Korean conflict" means the period between beginning June

 

27, 1950 , to and ending January 31, 1955.

 

     (f) Civil war and confederate veterans shall be considered to

 

be those who served between April 12, 1861 , and May 26, 1865.

 

     (g) Indian wars. Since the Indian wars were fought

 

intermittently over a period of years, the determination as to

 

whether a person shall be considered as having rendered military

 

service during these wars will shall be carefully considered by the

 

state veterans' trust fund. For this purpose, the period beginning

 

January 1, 1817 , through and ending December 31, 1898 , is

 

considered the Indian war period.

 

     (h) Mexican wars. Since there were several skirmishes

 

involving the Mexican border, such as Mexican border troubles 1911-

 

1916; Veracruz expedition April 21, 1914 , to November 26, 1914;

 

punitive expedition into Mexico, March 15, 1916 , to February 5,

 


1917; therefore the persons rendering military service in any of

 

these skirmishes shall be considered veterans of the Mexican wars

 

that occurred between 1911 and February 5, 1917.

 

     (i) Future Other dates. The For the purposes of this act, for

 

a conflict not specifically addressed in this section, the service

 

dates for veterans shall be considered to be the period beginning

 

on the date of any future declaration of war by the congress or the

 

beginning of an emergency condition recognized by the issuance of a

 

presidential proclamation or a presidential executive order and in

 

which the armed forces expeditionary medal or other campaign

 

service medals are awarded according to presidential executive

 

order and ending on a date prescribed by presidential proclamation

 

or concurrent resolution of the congress.

 

     (j) Korea and Vietnam. Veterans of the Korean conflict and

 

veterans having served after January 31, 1955 , in an area of

 

hazardous duty for which an armed forces expeditionary or Vietnam

 

service medal was received or veterans having served in the Vietnam

 

era, which is that period beginning February 28, 1961 , and ending

 

on May 7, 1975.

 

     (k) "Cold war" means the continuous period of hostile acts

 

against the United States by communist bloc forces beginning

 

September 2, 1945 and ending December 26, 1991.