TITLE 38 MILITARY, EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, AND VETERANS AFFAIRS

Section 4. Veterans Affairs, 38-4-1 through 38-4-72.

ARTICLE 2 VETERANS BENEFITS

38-4-55. Admissions and discharges; rules and regulations concerning.

1. Admissions to and discharges from any facility of the Georgia State War Veterans' Home shall be under the control of the governing authority of the facility concerned under the laws and department rules and regulations in force at the time application for admission or for discharge is presented; provided, however, that a war veteran shall not be eligible for admission to the Georgia War Veterans' Nursing Home or the Georgia State War Veterans' Home unless such war veteran:
   1. Has been a resident of this state for a period of at least two years immediately prior to application for admission; or
   2. Is a current resident of this state and has been a resident of this state for at least five years out of the last 15 years prior to application for admission.

Provided, further, that the Veterans Service Board may admit and discharge veterans to the Georgia State War Veterans' Home who qualify for care and treatment under Title 38, U.S.C., Section 101 (19) and Section 641. The Veterans Service Board may adopt appropriate rules consistent with accepted medical considerations to determine if a war veteran qualifies under this subsection.

The governing authority of such facility shall exercise appropriate police power and power of restraint over veterans at the Georgia State War Veterans' Home consistent with policies applied to other patients under their care or responsibility.

(Ga. L. 1955, Ex. Sess., p. 18, § 4; Ga. L. 1969, p. 633, § 1; Ga. L. 1999, p. 796, § 1; Ga. L. 2015, p. 587, § 1/HB 180.)

The 2015 amendment, effective July 1, 2015, added the subsection (a) and (b) designations; and, in subsection (a), added the colon at the end of the first paragraph; added the paragraph (a)(1) designation, in paragraph (a)(1), substituted "Has" for "has" at the beginning, substituted "two years" for "five years", and added "; or" at the end, added paragraph (a)(2), and, in the ending undesignated paragraph of subsection (a), substituted "Provided," for "provided" at the beginning, substituted ". The Veterans Service Board" for "and" at the beginning of the second sentence, and substituted "determine if a war veteran qualifies under this subsection" for "carry out this function" at the end.