Massachusetts Senate passes HERO Act to improve support for military members (2024)

BOSTON (WWLP) – The state Senate has unanimously passed legislation that will boost support for veterans.

The HERO Act increases benefits for disabled vets, updates the definition of what a veteran is, and modernizes services offered to those who have served our country. The Act expands medical offerings, mental health treatment, and gives extra support to businesses who hire veterans.

It also promises more services for veteran families and allows Gold Star family spouses to remarry without losing their benefits. Separate versions of this bill have been passed by the Senate and the House so now the chambers will reconcile the differences before sending the bill to the governor’s desk.

“Today we reaffirmed our commitment here in Massachusetts to respect, empower, and support those who have sacrificed for our nation and returned home,” commentedSenator Adam Gomez (D-Springfield).“By increasing their health care and mental health benefits, promoting businesses to hire veterans, and expanding support services for active veterans and their families we start to make inroads on issues that have a direct impact on the lives of our service members, benefitting them and their families.”

“Very few are brave enough to raise their hand and pledge to defend our nation and the values that we hold dear, no matter the cost. It is on us – as a Commonwealth – to always remember, recognize, and honor that sacrifice however we can. The legislation passed by the Senate today makes comprehensive and critical additions to the HERO Act to ensure that we are not only supporting Massachusetts veterans but also our active-duty service members and their families as well,” sharedSenator John C. Velis (D-Westfield), Chair of the Joint Committee on Veterans and Federal Affairs. “I am extremely grateful for the dedication of my Senate colleagues, many of whom have filed legislation included in the bill passed today, and most especially for the leadership of Senate President Spilka and Chair Rodrigues in continuing to prioritize legislation that supports all those who have served and continue to serve in our armed forces.”

Benefit Expansion

• Expands access to Behavioral Health Treatment:Allows veterans to be reimbursed for visits to outpatient behavioral health providers.
• Increases the Disabled Veteran Annuity:Increases the annual annuity for veterans with a 100% service-connected disability, surviving spouses, or Gold Star Parents from $2,000 to $2,500.
• Increases the Vet-Hire Tax Credit:Increases to $2,500 a tax credit for small businesses hiring chronically unemployed or low-income veterans. Eligible veterans include those receiving SNAP benefits, chronically unemployed veterans, and unemployed service-connected disabled veterans.
• Increases access to the Active-Duty Buyback program: Lengthens the timeframe for veterans in public service to participate in the Active-Duty Service Buyback program and allows retroactive participation for veterans who missed the buyback opportunity. This program will enable veterans to purchase up to four years of active-duty service time toward their state retirement.
• Prevents the “COLA Cliff”:Ensuring that a cost-of-living adjustment in Social Security benefits will not affect veterans’ eligibility for Chapter 115 benefits in the middle of the state fiscal year.  
• Increases Local Flexibility for Veterans Property Tax Exemptions:Creates two separate local options. The first allows municipalities to double the veteran property tax exemption without doubling all other exemption clauses. The second ties the annual property tax abatement amount to inflation, allowing exempted property tax amounts to increase with inflation.
• Eliminates the Fee for Specialty License Plates for Veterans: Waives specialty license plate fees on specialty veteran license plates and creates a new woman veteran license plate decal.
• Allows municipalities to increase the property tax obligation of a veteran in exchange for volunteer services.

Commitment to Inclusivity and Greater Representation

• Broadens the Chapter 115 Definition of Veteran: Aligns the state Chapter 115 program definition of a veteran with the United States Department of Veteran Affairs definition. This change allows more veterans to be eligible for annuity, Chapter 115 benefits, access to the Massachusetts Veterans Homes, and other state-provided benefits. This only applies to EOVS programs and does not affect any other agency or entity.  
• Expands the Scope of the Veterans Equality Review Board (VERB): Expands the scope of the Board beyond ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ discharges to include discharges related to Military Sexual Trauma, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Traumatic Brain Injury, mental health conditions, or HIV discharges. 
• Expands the definition of a veteran dependent: Expanding the Chapter 115 definition of “dependent” to support more dependents based on the Family Court definition.
• Updates Dependent Residency Requirements to Align with Current Practices: Updating dependent residency requirements to align with current practices.

Modernization of Veterans Services

• Codifies Dental Assistance Benefits:Ensuring veterans receive essential dental care by codifying dental benefits for Chapter 115 recipients.
• Codifies Medical Assistance Benefits: Providing consistent care to veterans by codifying medical assistance benefits.
• Codifies Authority for Veterans Cemeteries: Ensuring proper management and care of veteran’s cemeteries by codifying the authority for EOVS to continue administering and maintaining the state’s two Memorial Veterans Cemeteries.
• Modernizes statute language for inclusivity and standardization:Revise Chapters 115 and 115A to ensure gender-neutral and inclusive language while removing antiquated references.
• Allows municipalities to deliver chapter 115 benefits by direct deposit.
• Initiates a Study on the Use of Alternative Therapies for Veteran Mental Health Disorders: Establishing a working group to study the potential benefits of alternative therapies, such as psilocybin, in treating veterans suffering from mental health disorders.

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