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| To enact section 5902.021 of the Revised Code to | 1 |
| require the Director of Veterans Services to issue | 2 |
| disabled veteran's certificates that prove | 3 |
| service-related disabilities. | 4 |
| Section 1. That section 5902.021 of the Revised Code be | 5 |
| enacted to read as follows: | 6 |
| Sec. 5902.021. The director of veterans services shall issue | 7 |
| disabled veteran's certificates. A disabled veteran's certificate | 8 |
| is sufficient to prove the service-related disability and level of | 9 |
| service-related disability of the disabled veteran named in the | 10 |
| certificate. A state agency and a political subdivision of the | 11 |
| state that provides a benefit to disabled veterans shall accept a | 12 |
| disabled veteran's certificate as proof of the facts it states. | 13 |
| The director shall issue a disabled veteran's certificate to | 14 |
| an individual who is a resident of this state, who is a veteran of | 15 |
| the armed services, who has a service-related disability, and who | 16 |
| applies to the director on a form prescribed by the director. | 17 |
| The application for a disabled veteran's certificate shall | 18 |
| require a disabled veteran to enter the disabled veteran's name, | 19 |
| address, telephone number or electronic mail address, branch of | 20 |
| the armed services, service-related disability, and level of | 21 |
| service-related disability, and to provide any other information | 22 |
| the director needs to prepare a disabled veteran's certificate for | 23 |
| the disabled veteran. The application shall require a disabled | 24 |
| veteran to attach supporting documentation that the director needs | 25 |
| to verify the facts asserted in the application. A supporting | 26 |
| document may be in the form of a photographic copy of the | 27 |
| original. | 28 |
| If the director verifies the information a disabled veteran | 29 |
| provides in the application, the director shall prepare and issue | 30 |
| a disabled veteran's certificate to the disabled veteran. If the | 31 |
| director is unable to verify the information a disabled veteran | 32 |
| provides in the application, the director shall notify the | 33 |
| disabled veteran of the deficiency. The disabled veteran may | 34 |
| reapply for a disabled veteran's certificate. | 35 |
| A disabled veteran's certificate shall state the date of its | 36 |
| issuance, the disabled veteran's name, that the disabled veteran | 37 |
| has a service-related disability, the level of the disabled | 38 |
| veteran's service-related disability, and any other information | 39 |
| the director determines necessary to achieve the purposes of the | 40 |
| disabled veteran's certificate. A disabled veteran's disabled | 41 |
| veteran's certificate is not valid unless the disabled veteran | 42 |
| named in the certificate has signed the certificate. The director | 43 |
| shall provide a place for the signature on the certificate. | 44 |
| A disabled veteran's certificate expires on the date that is | 45 |
| five years after the date on which it was issued. A disabled | 46 |
| veteran whose disabled veteran's certificate has expired may apply | 47 |
| to the director for the issuance of a new disabled veteran's | 48 |
| certificate. The director may authorize disabled veterans to apply | 49 |
| for new disabled veteran's certificates in anticipation of the | 50 |
| expiration of their current disabled veteran's certificates. | 51 |
| If a disabled veteran loses, misplaces, or damages the | 52 |
| disabled veteran's disabled veteran's certificate, the veteran may | 53 |
| provide the disabled veteran's name and address to the director, | 54 |
| together with an explanation of the loss, misplacing, or damage. | 55 |
| If the director verifies the facts asserted with regard to the | 56 |
| lost, misplaced, or damaged disabled veteran's certificate, the | 57 |
| director shall issue a replacement disabled veteran's certificate | 58 |
| to the disabled veteran. | 59 |
| If, because of a disabled veteran's service-related | 60 |
| disability, the disabled veteran is unable personally to perform | 61 |
| an act required by this section, the disabled veteran may cause | 62 |
| the act to be performed. Such a substituted performance has the | 63 |
| same validity as if the disabled veteran personally had performed | 64 |
| the act. | 65 |
| The director, under Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, shall | 66 |
| adopt rules that are necessary for the successful and efficient | 67 |
| issuance of disabled veteran's certificates. In particular, the | 68 |
| director shall adopt the rules so as to deter fraud in the | 69 |
| issuance of disabled veteran's certificates. | 70 |
| Section 2. The Director of Veterans Services, not later than | 71 |
| the date that is six months after the effective date of this | 72 |
| section, shall adopt the initial rules that are necessary to | 73 |
| implement section 5902.021 of the Revised Code. | 74 |