AN ACT

 

1Amending Title 51 (Military Affairs) of the Pennsylvania
2Consolidated Statutes, further providing for educational
3leave of absence<-; and providing for heroic service website.

4The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
5hereby enacts as follows:

6Section 1. Section 7313 of Title 51 of the Pennsylvania
7Consolidated Statutes is amended to read:

8§ 7313. Educational leave of absence.

9Whenever any member of the Pennsylvania National Guard or
10other reserve component of the armed forces of the United States
11shall be called or ordered to active duty, other than active
12duty for training, including, in the case of members of the
13Pennsylvania National Guard, active State duty, the educational
14institution in which the member is enrolled shall grant the
15member or the member's spouse a military leave of absence from
16their education. The member or the member's spouse shall receive
 

1an "M" <-or "military" on their grade transcript for all classes 
2they are unable to complete due to a military leave of absence.
3Members and spouses on military leave of absence from their
4educational institution shall be entitled, upon the member's
5release from military duty, to be restored to the educational
6status they had attained prior to the member's being ordered to
7military duty without loss of academic credits earned,
8scholarships or grants awarded or tuition and other fees paid
9prior to the commencement of the military duty. It shall be the
10duty of the educational institution to refund tuition or fees
11paid or to credit the tuition and fees to the next semester or
12term after the termination of the educational military leave of
13absence at the option of the student.

<-14Section 2. Title 51 is amended by adding a chapter to read:

15CHAPTER 97

16HEROIC SERVICE WEBSITE

17Sec.

189701. Responsibilities.

19§ 9701. Responsibilities.--

20The department shall have the following responsibilities:

21(1) In consultation and cooperation with the United
22States Department of Defense, <-to create, administer and
23maintain <-the department shall provide public access to a
24searchable database of individuals who have been awarded the
25Medal of Honor <-as well as any other award or decoration that
26is,<- the Distinguished Service Cross, the Navy Cross, the Air
27Force Cross and the Silver Star, which are granted for heroic
28service in the armed forces of the United States. The
29searchable database shall include the following:

30(i) The recipient's full name.

1(ii) The recipient's dates of service.

2(iii) The name of the award or decoration.

3(iv) The date of award or decoration.

4(2) Within one year of the effective date of this
5paragraph, the department shall issue a report detailing the
6feasibility of expanding the database established under
7paragraph (1) <-of to all military awards and decorations. The
8report shall include an estimate of the costs to the
9department associated with the establishment, administration
10and maintenance of the expanded database under this
11paragraph. The report shall be published on the department's
12publicly accessible Internet website and shall be delivered
13to the Veterans' Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee
14of the Senate and to the Veterans Affairs and Emergency
15Preparedness Committee of the House of Representatives.

16(3) <-The database established under paragraph (1)
<-17Information pursuant to this chapter shall be available on
18the department's publicly accessible Internet website <-within
19three months of the effective date of this chapter.

20Section 2 3. This act shall take effect in 60 day<-s.