NEW JERSEY – Legislation sponsored by Senator Steven Oroho and Assemblymen Parker Space and Hal Wirths (all R-Sussex, Warren, Morris) that would allow permanently disabled veterans to submit less paperwork to the MVC for parking privileges was signed into law Monday by Governor Murphy.
“We are proud that this bill was signed into law. Our disabled veterans should not have to go through needless red tape to secure basic benefits from the Motor Vehicle Commission,” Oroho said. “Under this bill, permanently disabled veterans who apply for special benefits through the MVC will only need to submit proof of their disability with their first application—not on renewal ones. This will improve efficiency at the MVC and allow our veterans to enjoy all of the benefits they so rightly earned in a timely manner.”
The legislation, S-660/A-2438, requires veterans who are 100 percent disabled to submit their Department of Veterans Affairs statement confirming that disability to the Motor Vehicle Commission only with their initial application for parking privileges. Previously, they were required to submit that statement with each renewal request.
“I am happy we can provide a little helping hand to veterans who are 100 percent disabled due to a service-related condition,” Wirths said. “Any little bit the state can do to make life easier for these men and women who served their country, I am behind 100 percent.”
Honorably discharged veterans who are 100 percent disabled due to a service-related condition are eligible for certain unemployment, health care, and educational benefits. In New Jersey, such veterans are eligible to receive disability identification cards, placards, and license plates.
“Any bill that peels away at the layers of bureaucracy to help our veterans is something I support,” Space said.
The latest VA data from 2019 shows 350,538 veterans live in New Jersey. Of those, 60,027 receive disability compensation, although it’s unreported how many of those are 100% disabled.
