Veterans 5358-S.PLCERTIFICATION OF ENROLLMENT
SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5358
68th Legislature
2023 Regular Session
Passed by the Senate March 6, 2023
Yeas 48 Nays 0
President of the Senate
Passed by the House April 12, 2023
Yeas 97 Nays 0
Speaker of the House of
Representatives
CERTIFICATE
I, Sarah Bannister, Secretary of
the Senate of the State of
Washington, do hereby certify that
the attached is SUBSTITUTE SENATE
BILL 5358 as passed by the Senate
and the House of Representatives on
the dates hereon set forth.
Secretary
Approved FILED
Governor of the State of Washington
Secretary of State
State of Washington
AN ACT Relating to expanding veterans' services and programs; 1
amending RCW 43.60A.101; adding new sections to chapter 43.60A RCW; 2
creating a new section; and providing expiration dates.3
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:4
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that it is vital for 5
veterans in their return to our communities to have adequate 6
community supports. Local programs that connect veterans with their 7
federal benefits and with other veterans for peer support are crucial 8
components of that structure. It is the intent of the legislature 9
through this act to enhance state funding of these programs to ensure 10
they are robust and widely available throughout the state.11
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 43.60A 12
RCW to read as follows:13
(1) By September 30, 2024, the department must submit a report to 14
the legislature on the veterans service officer program authorized in 15
RCW 43.60A.230 to determine the effectiveness of the program in 16
meeting the needs of veterans in the state. The report must include 17
the number of veterans receiving services from the program, the 18
location of such services, and an analysis of areas of the state that 19
are lacking these services. The report must also include 20
SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5358
Passed Legislature - 2023 Regular Session
State of Washington 68th Legislature 2023 Regular Session
By Senate State Government & Elections (originally sponsored by
Senators Gildon, Nobles, Conway, Holy, Lovelett, Nguyen, Randall,
Torres, Wagoner, Wellman, C. Wilson, and L. Wilson)
READ FIRST TIME 02/07/23.
p. 1 SSB 5358.PL
recommendations for how to phase in an expansion of these services to 1
these areas.2
(2) This section expires December 31, 2024.3
Sec. 3. RCW 43.60A.101 and 2017 c 192 s 5 are each amended to 4
read as follows:5
(1) By ((December 31, 2018)) September 30, 2024, the department 6
((of veterans affairs)) must submit a report to the legislature on 7
the veteran peer-to-peer training and support program authorized in 8
RCW 43.60A.100 to determine the effectiveness of the program in 9
meeting the needs of veterans in the state. The report must include 10
the number of veterans receiving peer-to-peer support and the 11
location of such support services; the number of veterans trained 12
through the program to provide peer-to-peer support; and the types of 13
training and support services provided by the program. The report 14
must also include an analysis of ((peer-to-peer training and support 15
programs developed by other states, as well as in the private and 16
nonprofit sectors, in order to evaluate best practices for 17
implementing and managing the veteran peer-to-peer training and 18
support program authorized in RCW 43.60A.100)) areas of the state 19
that do not have these support services and are in need of these 20
services, including recommendations for how to phase in an expansion 21
of these services to these areas.22
(2) This section expires December 31, 2024.23
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. A new section is added to chapter 43.60A 24
RCW to read as follows:25
It is the intent of the legislature to increase state 26
appropriations for veterans service officer and peer mentoring 27
programs with this act. As a result, and subject to the availability 28
of amounts appropriated for this specific purpose, the department 29
shall provide grants to counties of the state in order to develop or 30
expand veterans service officer programs, peer-to-peer support 31
programs, and other services and programs to assist veterans in areas 32
where these programs and services are needed. In distributing these 33
grants, the department must prioritize counties with smaller 34
populations and counties that are below the national average in the 35
p. 2 SSB 5358.PL
percentage of veterans receiving federal disability or pension 1
compensation.2
--- END ---
p. 3 SSB 5358.PL