The House Committee on Finance approved several bills regarding the military presence in Hawaii Thursday.
One of the bills enforces existing an existing law, the John Warner National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007, to limit the terms of credit that may be applied to military members and their dependents. The act is designed to protect military members and their families from unfair lending practices that are commonly used by issuers of payday loans, vehicle title loans, and tax refund anticipation loans. There is no federal enforcement mechanism for the legislation, and HB 2409 will authorize the DCCA to take action in the state of Hawaii.
House Bill 2258 allows professional and vocational licensing authorities to accept military training, education, and service towards licensing requirements. House Bill 2639 authorizes the University of Hawaii system to grant military members with college credits for military experience. Military members currently receive college credits for military training, but not for professional experience while serving. The bill will establish a learning assessment to determine college-level learning gained during military service.
HB 2798 establishes a Veterans Court that will allow Hawaii to join more than a dozen states across the country in taking into account the impact returning home from combat has on veterans when administering justice. The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have caused a spike in veterans going through the court system. The Veterans Treatment Court is a system that recognizes the psychological effects of deployments and gives veterans a degree of justice commensurate with their service.
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