Bill Summary: SB 355

• Extends special motor vehicle registration plates and certificates to members of Hmong Laotian special guerilla units who served in the U.S. secret war in Laos during the Vietnam War, on equal basis with veterans and armed forces members.

• Allows Hmong Laotian special guerilla unit members to request veteran status on their motor vehicle operator's licenses and identity cards upon submission of an affidavit with service details and corroborating documentation to the Department of Veterans Affairs.

• Provides $1,800 state funeral expense assistance for deceased members of Hmong Laotian special guerilla units with insufficient estates, with claims required within one year of death (or one year after remains are interred if death occurred abroad).

• Permits members of Hmong Laotian special guerilla units to request burial in Connecticut veterans' cemeteries and designates consecrated areas for those with religious burial requirements.

• Establishes a ribbon and medal award program for state residents who served in Hmong Laotian special guerilla units, with costs paid from military assistance account funds and awards available posthumously.