(a) General rule.--Each veterans' home operated by the Commonwealth shall establish and dedicate a hall of fame to recognize and honor the military achievements of outstanding veterans who have completed honorable, active duty military service and who reside or resided in the geographic region served by the veterans' home. The area or space in the veterans' home dedicated to the hall of fame may be used for other purposes.

(b) Selection of inductees.--The advisory council for each veterans' home shall, consistent with the guidelines established by the commission in subsection (c), nominate eligible veterans for induction into the hall of fame by the commission and perform such other duties relating to the hall of fame as approved by the commission. Any Medal of Honor recipient shall be automatically inducted into the hall of fame.

(c) Oversight.--The commission shall develop guidelines for the halls of fame. The guidelines shall include, but not be limited to:

(1) Eligibility criteria for qualified candidates.

(2) Procedures for nomination of candidates and selection of inductees.

(3) Ceremonies to officially honor the inductees.

(4) Manner of recognizing or presenting the inductees in the halls of fame.

(5) Maintenance of the halls of fame.

(6) Duties of the advisory councils of the veterans' homes relating to the halls of fame.

(d) Documentation.--Each eligible veteran or his or her representative shall be responsible for obtaining the documentation necessary to establish his or her eligibility from the National Archives in Washington, D.C., or the National Personnel Record Center in St. Louis, Missouri.

(e) Centralized list.--The State Veterans' Commission shall keep a centralized list of all hall of fame inductees from all regional veterans' homes.

(June 22, 2000, P.L.343, No.40, eff. 60 days)

2000 Amendment. Act 40 added section 1705.