Maine Air National Guard and Maine Army National Guard members got some good news last week when Gov. Paul LePage signed a bill that provides tuition assistance and other benefits.

We agree with the governor when he says of L.D. 1612, “Our veterans give so much to our state and nation and ask for so little in return. The experience they gain in military service brings valuable skills and talented employees to our workforce. It is only right that we should give back to them, provide the services they deserve.”

The bill was previously approved in the Maine House and Senate and brings Maine up to par with other New England states that provide free tuition for active National Guard members.

Under the new law, a Guard member can now receive 100 percent of tuition at any state-run postsecondary educational institution. The benefit applies to students taking full-time or part-time course schedules. It can be used to earn one  bachelor’s degree, associate’s degree, a certificate or licensure. No post-collegiate courses apply, and a 2.0 grade point average must be maintained to qualify for  tuition reimbursement.

We think that all sounds like a pretty good deal for a Guard member. We also think that sounds pretty good for taxpayers footing the bill, since this is a strong perk to attract and retain Guard members here in the state. We thank our servicemen and women for protecting our great state and country, and they deserve some healthy perks along the way.

L.D. 1612 also helps Maine veterans.

First, it allows veterans associations such as the Veterans of Foreign Wars and American Legion to avoid paying sales tax. This makes sense since any event a Legion or VFW post holds is just to going back into its own coffers as a means of self-support. Requiring a post to pay sales tax just provides red-tape headaches and cuts into profits.

Next, the bill addresses the disturbing issue of homelessness in the veteran population by trying to improve access to housing support services. The bill calls for first establishing a baseline for homelessness in the state and developing methods within state agencies to identify homeless vets and then “maximize resources available” to address their situation. It’s a special embarassment for a country to allow a military veteran to languish on the streets.

Another positive change called for in the bill is the establishment of one additional Veterans Service Officer to help Maine veterans learn about any benefits they are entitled to under the law. A VSO is a help to veterans trying to navigate the complicated world of the federal Veterans Adminstration, so we applaud the addition of another frontline operative to aid veterans in this manner.

Though many bills sound promising when they’re fresh from the governor’s desk, the proof of the pudding in this particular bill is in the impact it has on Maine’s veterans. While we believe the tuition assistance will have tangible benefit starting immediately, we wonder about the effort to reduce homelessness among vets. However, there is a level of accountability in the bill, since it also requires the director of the Bureau of Maine Veterans’ Services to periodically report to the Legislature, beginning in February 2018, on how the department is improving on the baseline. Time will tell, however.

What’s important is the state taking the lead when it comes to coming to the aid of veterans and service members, who have earned our continued care and attention.

–John Balentine, managing editor

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