(17) The Adjutant General shall establish a system, to be administered by the Director of the Bureau of Maine Veterans' Services, to express formally condolence and appreciation to the closest surviving family members of members of the United States Armed Forces who, since September 11, 2001, are killed in action or die as a consequence of injuries that result in the award of a Purple Heart medal. In accordance with the existing criteria of the department for the awarding of gold star medals, this system must provide for the Adjutant General to issue up to 3 gold star medals to family members who reside in the State, one to the spouse of the deceased service member and one to the parents of the service member. If the parents of the service member are divorced, the Adjutant General may issue one medal to each parent. If the service member has no surviving spouse or parents or if they live outside of the State, the Adjutant General may issue a gold star medal to the service member's next of kin, as reported to the department, who resides in the State.
Amend the bill in section 1 in paragraph D by striking out all of subparagraph (17) (page 2, lines 29 to 33 in L.D.) and inserting the following:
Amend the bill by inserting after section 1 the following:
‘Sec. 2. Appropriations and allocations. The following appropriations and allocations are made.
DEFENSE, VETERANS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF
Veterans Services 0110
Initiative: Appropriates funds for a medal system to recognize certain members of the United States Armed Forces.
| GENERAL FUND | 2007-08 | 2008-09 |
|
All Other
|
$5,000 | $1,500 |
 |
|
|
| GENERAL FUND TOTAL | $5,000 | $1,500 |
summary
This amendment clarifies the system to be developed by the Adjutant General to award gold star medals to relatives living in Maine of members of the United States Armed Forces who are killed in action or die as a result of injuries received in battle since September 11, 2001. The system is to be administered by the Director of the Bureau of Maine Veterans' Services within the Department of Defense, Veterans and Emergency Management. The amendment provides that up to 3 medals may be awarded. One medal would be issued to a surviving spouse and one to the parents or 2 if the parents are divorced. If the service member has no surviving spouse or parents or they live outside of the State, a medal may be awarded to the service member's next of kin.