republic-os/legislation/us/states/in/2021/sb-316.md

---
type: "Bill"
title: "Military and veterans matters."
description: "Changes the definition of a \"qualified service member\" for purposes of eligibility under the military family relief fund (fund). Requires the Indiana veterans' affairs commission (commission) to: (1) develop, adopt, and issue a policy listing the disallowable separation codes of each branch of the armed forces; and (2) review the policy for amendment and adopt any necessary amendments before July 1 of each year. Provides that the department of veterans' affairs (department) may use not more than 10% of the average annual license plate revenue to cover direct costs associated with the marketing and promotion of the military relief fund. Specifies that the department may not use any of the amount for administrative costs, including payroll or any other overhead expenses. Provides that the department may deny an incomplete application for a grant under the fund if all required documentation is not received within 30 days after the date the applicant filed the application. Provides that, if an applicant appeals a denial of tuition and fee exemption benefits (benefits) not later than 15 days before the start of the semester for which the benefits would apply, the commission shall make a reasonable effort to issue a final order before the start of the semester."
jurisdiction: "us/states/in"
legislature: "Indiana General Assembly"
session: "2021"
identifier: "SB 316"
citation: "Indiana SB 316 (2021)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["PUBLIC FUNDS", "VETERANS"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Chris Garten", "James Tomes", "Philip Boots", "Steve Bartels"]
version_count: 6
action_count: 25
vote_count: 0
first_action: "2021-01-12"
last_action: "2021-04-15"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/8aa95037-c21f-447c-b663-a6d0ba3f9501"
source_url: "http://iga.in.gov/legislative/2021/bills/senate/316"
source_hash: "ba8487f62ec8cb9819ed235578e537dc870f10d6f8d06fcb9c83532f3b0eb867"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-in"]
---

# Indiana SB 316 (2021) — Military and veterans matters.

Changes the definition of a "qualified service member" for purposes of eligibility under the military family relief fund (fund). Requires the Indiana veterans' affairs commission (commission) to: (1) develop, adopt, and issue a policy listing the disallowable separation codes of each branch of the armed forces; and (2) review the policy for amendment and adopt any necessary amendments before July 1 of each year. Provides that the department of veterans' affairs (department) may use not more than 10% of the average annual license plate revenue to cover direct costs associated with the marketing and promotion of the military relief fund. Specifies that the department may not use any of the amount for administrative costs, including payroll or any other overhead expenses. Provides that the department may deny an incomplete application for a grant under the fund if all required documentation is not received within 30 days after the date the applicant filed the application. Provides that, if an applicant appeals a denial of tuition and fee exemption benefits (benefits) not later than 15 days before the start of the semester for which the benefits would apply, the commission shall make a reasonable effort to issue a final order before the start of the semester.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **Enrolled Senate Bill (S)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://in-proxy.openstates.org/2021/bills/SB0316/versions/SB0316.06.ENRH)
2. **Introduced Senate Bill (S)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://in-proxy.openstates.org/2021/bills/SB0316/versions/SB0316.01.INTR)
3. **Senate Bill (H)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://in-proxy.openstates.org/2021/bills/SB0316/versions/SB0316.04.COMH)
4. **Senate Bill (H)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://in-proxy.openstates.org/2021/bills/SB0316/versions/SB0316.05.COMH)
5. **Senate Bill (S)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://in-proxy.openstates.org/2021/bills/SB0316/versions/SB0316.03.COMS)
6. **Senate Bill (S)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://in-proxy.openstates.org/2021/bills/SB0316/versions/SB0316.02.COMS)

## Sponsors

- Chris Garten — primary (person)
- James Tomes — primary (person)
- Philip Boots — primary (person)
- Steve Bartels — primary (person)
- Carey Hamilton — cosponsor (person)
- Earl Harris — cosponsor (person)
- Erin Houchin — coauthor (person)
- Scott Baldwin — coauthor (person)
- Shane Lindauer — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2021-01-12** Coauthored by Senator Baldwin
- **2021-01-12** Authored by Senators Garten, Tomes, Boots
- **2021-01-12** First reading: referred to Committee on Veterans Affairs and The Military `reading-1, referral-committee`
- **2021-01-25** Senator Houchin added as coauthor
- **2021-02-02** Committee report: amend do pass adopted; reassigned to Committee on Appropriations `committee-passage, referral-committee`
- **2021-02-11** Committee report: amend do pass, adopted `committee-passage`
- **2021-02-15** Amendment #1 (Ford J.D.) failed; Roll Call 104: yeas 9, nays 35 `amendment-failure`
- **2021-02-15** Amendment #2 (Ford J.D.) failed; voice vote `amendment-failure`
- **2021-02-15** Second reading: ordered engrossed `reading-2`
- **2021-02-16** House sponsor: Representative Bartels
- **2021-02-16** Third reading: passed; Roll Call 133: yeas 46, nays 0 `passage, reading-3`
- **2021-02-17** Referred to the House
- **2021-03-02** First reading: referred to Committee on Veterans Affairs and Public Safety `reading-1, referral-committee`
- **2021-03-16** Committee report: do pass, adopted `committee-passage`
- **2021-03-16** Referred to the Ways and Means pursuant to House Rule 127
- **2021-03-25** Committee report: do pass, adopted `committee-passage`
- **2021-03-29** Second reading: ordered engrossed `reading-2`
- **2021-03-30** Third reading: passed; Roll Call 333: yeas 90, nays 3 `passage, reading-3`
- **2021-03-30** Representatives Lindauer, Hamilton, Harris added as cosponsors
- **2021-03-31** Returned to the Senate without amendments
- **2021-04-05** Signed by the President Pro Tempore
- **2021-04-07** Signed by the Speaker
- **2021-04-14** Signed by the President of the Senate
- **2021-04-15** Signed by the Governor `executive-signature`
- **2021-04-15** Public Law 53

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/8aa95037-c21f-447c-b663-a6d0ba3f9501`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Indiana legislature records).