§ 26. Payment to parents of veterans. 1. Annuity established. (a) A
parent, identified in 10 USC 1126 as a gold star parent, of a veteran
who heretofore has died or a parent of a veteran dying hereafter, shall
upon application to the state commissioner, be paid an annual annuity
out of the treasury of the state for the sum of five hundred dollars for
such term as such parent shall be entitled thereto under the provisions
of this article. Commencing in the year two thousand nineteen, the
amount of any annuity payable under this section shall be the same
amount as the annuity payable in the preceding year plus a percentage
adjustment equal to the annual percentage increase, if any, for
compensation and pension benefits administered by the United States
Department of Veterans Affairs in the previous year. Such percentage
increase shall be rounded up to the next highest one-tenth of one
percent and shall not be less than one percent nor more than four
percent. The commissioner of veterans' services, not later than February
first of each year, shall publish by any reasonable means, including but
not limited to posting on the department's website, the amount of the
annuity as adjusted payable under this section. The term "parent" for
the purposes of this section includes mother, father, stepmother,
stepfather, mother through adoption and father through adoption.

(b) The entitlement of any parent to receive the annuity provided by
paragraph (a) of this subdivision shall terminate upon his or her death
or upon his or her ceasing to continue to be a resident of and domiciled
in the state of New York, but such entitlement may be reinstated upon
application to the state commissioner, if such parent shall thereafter
resume his or her residence and domicile in the state.

(c) The effective date of an award of the annuity to a parent shall be
the day after the date of death of the veteran if the application
therefor is received within one year from date of death. If the
application is received after the expiration of the first year following
the date of the death of the veteran, the effective date of an award of
the annuity to a parent shall be the date of receipt of the application
by the state commissioner. If the application is denied but is granted
at a later date upon an application for reconsideration based upon new
evidence, the effective date of the award of the annuity to a parent
shall be the date of the receipt of the application for reconsideration
by the state commissioner.

(d) Any applicant convicted of making any false statement in the
application for the annuity shall be subject to penalties prescribed in
the penal law.

2. Qualifications. (a) Any gold star parent, who is the parent of a
deceased veteran, and who is a resident of and domiciled in the state of
New York, shall make application to the department.

(b) No entitlement shall be paid under this section to or for a gold
star parent who is in prison in a federal, state, or local penal
institution as a result of conviction of a felony or misdemeanor for any
part of the period beginning sixty-one days after his or her
imprisonment begins and ending with his or her release.

(c) Where one or more gold star parents are disqualified for the
annuity for a period under paragraph (b) of this subdivision, the state
commissioner shall pay the shares of such disqualified parents to the
other parents, if they meet the qualifications on their own.

(d) The decision of the state commissioner on matters regarding the
payment of such annuity shall be final.

3. Method of payment. (a) Evidence of the military service of the
deceased veteran of the gold star parent for each case shall be
furnished in the manner and form prescribed by the state commissioner.

(b) Upon being satisfied that such service was honorable, that other
facts and statements in the application of such gold star parent are
true, the state commissioner shall certify to the state comptroller the
name and address of such gold star parent.

(c) Thereafter, the department of taxation and finance, on the audit
and warrant of the comptroller, shall pay such gold star parent such sum
as is authorized by the provisions of this section in semi-annual
installments for so long as such qualified gold star parent shall meet
the requirements of this section.

4. Report. The state commissioner shall submit a report to the
governor, the chair of the senate finance committee, and the chair of
the assembly ways and means committee not later than January fifteenth
of each year this section is in effect. Such report shall include, but
not be limited to regulations promulgated pursuant to this section, and
a description and evaluation of the program.