Chapter 62 of the general laws, as appearing in the 2000 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after section 6I, the following new section:-

Section 6J. Every individual who files a separate return and every husband and wife filing a return jointly may voluntarily contribute all or part of any refund to which they are entitled, or may voluntarily add an amount onto any amount due, to be credited to the Massachusetts Military Family Relief Fund established pursuant to section 35T of chapter ten.

A contribution made under this section may be with respect to any taxable year at the time of filing a return of the tax established by this chapter for such taxable year; provided, however, that the commissioner shall prescribe the manner in which such contribution shall be made on the face of the return required by section five of chapter sixty-two C; and provided, further, that the commissioner shall assure that taxpayers filing any such forms are made clearly aware of their ability to make the contributions provided for by this section.

The commissioner shall annually report the total amount designated under this section to the state treasurer, who shall credit such amount to said Massachusetts Military Family Relief Fund.

SECTION 2.  Chapter 10 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after section 35S the following new section:-

Section 35T. The Secretary of Administration and Finance shall create an expendable trust, to be known as the Massachusetts Military Family Relief Fund, the purpose of which is to help members of the Massachusetts National Guard and Massachusetts residents who are members of the reserves of the armed forces of the United States and who have been called to active duty as a result of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, and their families, to defray the costs of food, housing, utilities, medical services, and other expenses. Said fund shall consist of all revenues received by the commonwealth under the provisions of section 6J of chapter 62, from public and private sources as gifts, grants, and donations to further the purposes of said fund. All revenues credited to said fund under this section shall remain in said fund, not subject to appropriation, for application to said purposes. The state treasurer shall not deposit said revenues in, or transfer said revenues to, the General Fund or any other fund other than the Massachusetts Military Family Relief Fund. The state treasurer shall deposit monies in said fund in accordance with the provisions of section 34 and 34A of chapter 29 in such manner as will secure the highest interest rate available consistent with safety of the fund and with the requirement that all amounts on deposit be available for immediate withdrawal at any time. All revenues received for the Military Family Relief Fund shall be directly paid to the Friends of Massachusetts National Guard and Reserve Families by the Adjutant General through the established expendable trust.    

SECTION 3.  The Friends of Massachusetts National Guard and Reserve Families, shall be solely responsible for administering the grant program, provided, that the Adjutant General shall make available the revenues received from the Military Family Relief Fund.  The Friends of the Massachusetts National Guard and Reserve Families is authorized to make grants from the Massachusetts Military Family Relief Fund to a member or to families of person who are members of the Massachusetts National Guard or Massachusetts residents who are members of the reserves of the armed forces of the United States and who have been called to active duty as a result of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

The Friends of the Massachusetts National Guard and Reserve Families shall promulgate rules and regulations to establish eligibility requirements for assistance under this section which shall be reviewed by the Adjutant General.  In developing rules and regulations, the Friends of the Massachusetts National Guard and Reserve Families shall consult with the Adjutant General, military support groups, including but not limited to the family assistance fund and family assistance centers. 

SECTION 4.  (a)The Friends of the Massachusetts National Guard and Reserve Families shall submit an annual report to the Secretary of Administration and Finance and the house and senate committees on ways and means detailing:

(1) the expenditure of such funds including the amount of assistance provided from the fund by branch of service, regular or reserve duty classification, amount of individual assistance provided, the reason that qualified a member of the military or the member’s family for assistance and the balance remaining within the interest income account for future disbursements;

(2) The name, address, rank and rating, branch of service, deployment location and amounts of financial assistance provided to each eligible military member and to the member’s family.

(b) The information provided pursuant to paragraph (a)(1) shall be public records.  The information provided pursuant to paragraph (a)(2) shall be confidential and shall be available for inspection only by the Secretary of Administration and Finance and the legislature.  Names addresses and deployment locations shall not be in any report available for public access.  The Secretary of Administration and Finance and the legislators with legal access to the report shall be required to hold names, addresses and deployment locations confidential.

SECTION 5.  In the event that the Friends of Massachusetts National Guard and Reserve Families loses its status as a charitable corporation or ceases to exists, the Secretary of Administration and Finance shall identify a charitable organization to administer the grants.

SECTION 6.  This act shall take effect immediately.