00HOUSE BILL NO. 428                                                                                                    
01 "An Act relating to ferry travel by disabled veterans."                                                                 
02 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
03    * Section 1.  AS 19.65 is amended by adding a new section to article 1 to read:                                    
04  Sec. 19.65.040.  Disabled veterans ferry passage.  (a)  The Alaska marine                                           
05 highway system shall provide disabled veterans with free passage on Alaska state                                        
06 ferries.                                                                                                                
07  (b)  To obtain the free passage under (a) of this section, an individual shall                                        
08 apply to the department on a form provided by the department, submit proof                                              
09 satisfactory to the department that the individual is a disabled veteran, and pay a fee                                 
10 established by the department to cover the administrative costs of issuing the card.                                    
11 The department shall issue the veteran a card that is good for five years and that                                      
12 indicates that the veteran is entitled to free passage on Alaska state ferries.                                         
13  (c)  A disabled veteran to whom a card has been issued under (b) of this                                              
14 section may renew the card by applying to the department for the renewal and paying                                     

01 the department a fee established by the department to cover the administrative costs                                    
02 of renewing the card.  A renewal under this subsection does not require reverification                                  
03 that the individual is a disabled veteran.                                                                              
04  (d)  In this section,                                                                                                 
05   (1)  "department" means the Department of Transportation and Public                                                  
06 Facilities;                                                                                                             
07   (2)  "disabled veteran" means an individual who                                                                      
08   (A)  is separated from the military service of the United States,                                                   
09 is entitled to compensation for a disability under laws administered by the                                             
10 United States Department of Veterans Affairs, and whose disability is rated at                                          
11 50 percent or more; or                                                                                                  
12   (B)  served in the Alaska Territorial Guard or its equivalent in                                                    
13 another state, incurred a disability in the line of duty, and whose disability is                                       
14 rated at 50 percent or more.