A. Bonuses shall be paid out of funds appropriated by the legislature for this purpose to servicemen and ex-servicemen and servicewomen and ex-servicewomen who served on active duty in the Merchant Marine at any time during the period between September 16, 1940 through July 25, 1947, and who were citizens of Louisiana when inducted into active service and certain surviving spouses of such servicemen and servicewomen, such payments of bonuses to be in the amounts and subject to the conditions set forth as follows:
(1)To each such serviceman or servicewoman who served in the Merchant Marine during said period, the sum of two hundred fifty dollars.
(2)To the surviving spouse of each such serviceman or servicewoman who died while serving in the Merchant Marine during said period or who died
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A. Bonuses shall be paid out of funds appropriated by the legislature for this purpose to servicemen and ex-servicemen and servicewomen and ex-servicewomen who served on active duty in the Merchant Marine at any time during the period between September 16, 1940 through July 25, 1947, and who were citizens of Louisiana when inducted into active service and certain surviving spouses of such servicemen and servicewomen, such payments of bonuses to be in the amounts and subject to the conditions set forth as follows:
(1) To each such serviceman or servicewoman who served in the Merchant Marine during said period, the sum of two hundred fifty dollars.
(2) To the surviving spouse of each such serviceman or servicewoman who died while serving in the Merchant Marine during said period or who died at any time during said period after having served in the Merchant Marine during said period as a result of injuries or wounds received or disease contracted by him while in the Merchant Marine during said period, the sum of two hundred fifty dollars, provided that no such bonus shall be paid to any surviving spouse who has remarried.
B. If there is no surviving serviceman or servicewoman or surviving unremarried spouse, then no bonus shall be paid. In addition, the two hundred fifty dollar payment specified herein shall be reduced by any other amount paid under the provisions of this Section.
C. No such bonus shall be paid to any serviceman or servicewoman who has been separated from the Merchant Marine without an honorable discharge or an honorable separation therefrom nor to the surviving spouse of such a serviceman or servicewoman.
D. No bonus as herein provided shall be paid to any serviceman or servicewoman, or to the surviving spouse of any such serviceman or servicewoman, unless a claim therefor is filed in writing with the director of the state Department of Veterans Affairs on or before five years after July 1, 1994.
E. If any serviceman or servicewoman or surviving spouse herein entitled to a bonus or payment has received a bonus or gratuitous payment from any other state, territory, or governmental authority, other than the government of the United States, prior to making application hereunder, then the amount of the bonus or gratuitous payment so received shall be deducted from the amount provided herein to be paid to each such person.
F. The bonuses and payments provided herein shall be completely exempt from all liability for any debt, tax, or obligation. This exemption cannot be waived. Such bonus or payment shall be nonassignable and shall not be subject to pledge or hypothecation in any manner whatsoever.
G. The state Department of Veterans Affairs shall have responsibility for the administration of this Section. The director of the department is designated as the officer charged by law with the payment of the bonuses authorized herein, and the director, with the approval of the Veterans' Affairs Commission, shall make such rules and regulations, not inconsistent herewith, as are necessary for the distribution of the bonuses and for the proper administration of this Section.
H. The state Department of Veterans Affairs shall estimate the amount necessary to pay such claims and administer this Section and include that amount as a separate item in its budget request submitted for the 1994-1995 Fiscal Year, and for each fiscal year thereafter during the five-year time limit to make a claim for a bonus.