Can Confederate or pre-statehood veterans be inducted into the Florida Veterans' Hall of Fame?

Plain-English summary

After the Governor and Cabinet met in February 2015, the Attorney General offered to review the criteria the Florida Veterans' Hall of Fame Council uses to pick inductees. The specific question, raised by representatives of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, was whether Florida's pre-statehood veterans and veterans who served the Confederate States of America could be inducted under the existing rules. The office, through Deputy Attorney General Kent Perez, concluded they could not.

The Hall of Fame, administered by the Florida Department of Veterans' Affairs, honors military veterans who made a significant contribution to the state. The Council's nomination guidelines require a nominee to meet the definition of "veteran" in section 1.01, Florida Statutes, and to have received an honorable discharge from the United States Armed Forces. Section 1.01(14) defines a veteran as someone who served in the active military, naval, or air service and was discharged under honorable conditions. Read together, the statute and the Council's criteria require honorable service in and discharge from the United States Armed Forces, which does not encompass Confederate or pre-statehood service. The office also addressed the federal angle: although Title 38 of the U.S. Code recognizes Confederate service as "active military or naval service" in one section, that recognition is expressly limited to the chapter providing pensions for Civil War veterans and their survivors, and does not extend the general definition of "veteran" used elsewhere.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2015. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

What the opinion covered

Veterans organizations and the public

The office advised that, under the criteria then in place, Confederate and pre-statehood veterans did not qualify for the Florida Veterans' Hall of Fame. The barrier was definitional: both the state's general definition of "veteran" and the Council's nomination guidelines require honorable discharge from the United States Armed Forces.

State agencies and the Hall of Fame Council

The opinion located the eligibility limit in the interaction of section 1.01(14), Florida Statutes, and the Council's own guidelines adopted under section 265.003(5). It also explained why the federal Confederate-service provision did not help: Title 38's recognition of Confederate service is confined by its own terms to the chapter on Civil War pensions and does not broaden the definition of "veteran" generally.

Common questions

Q: Were Confederate veterans eligible for the Florida Veterans' Hall of Fame under the 2015 rules?
A: No. The opinion concluded that the state's definition of "veteran" and the Council's criteria, both keyed to honorable discharge from the United States Armed Forces, did not support inducting Confederate or pre-statehood veterans.

Q: Doesn't federal law recognize Confederate soldiers as veterans?
A: Only in a narrow context. The opinion noted that Title 38 of the U.S. Code treats Confederate service as active service for purposes of the chapter providing Civil War pensions, but that provision does not extend the general definition of "veteran" to other programs.

Q: What defines a "veteran" under Florida law?
A: Section 1.01(14) defines a veteran as a person who served in the active military, naval, or air service and was discharged or released under honorable conditions.

Background and statutory framework

The Florida Veterans' Hall of Fame is administered by the Florida Department of Veterans' Affairs under section 265.003, which the Legislature created to recognize veterans who have made significant contributions to the state. Section 265.003(5) authorizes the Hall of Fame Council to set nomination criteria, and the Council's guidelines require a nominee to meet the definition of "veteran" in section 1.01 and to hold an honorable discharge from the United States Armed Forces. Section 1.01(14) supplies the general statutory definition, tied to active service and honorable discharge. Because both the statute and the criteria turn on service in and discharge from the United States Armed Forces, the office read them not to cover Confederate or pre-statehood service. The federal definition in 38 U.S.C.S. section 101 is similar, and the one Title 38 provision recognizing Confederate service (section 1501) is limited by its terms to Civil War pensions under Chapter 15.

Citations and references

Statutes:

• § 1.01, Fla. Stat. (definitions, including veteran)
• § 265.003, Fla. Stat. (Florida Veterans' Hall of Fame)
• 38 U.S.C. § 101 (federal definition of veteran); 38 U.S.C. § 1501 (Confederate service for pension purposes)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.myfloridalegal.com/ag-opinions/florida-veterans-hall-of-fame
• Original PDF: https://www.myfloridalegal.com/print/pdf/node/8075

Original opinion text

Colonel Mike Prendergast

Florida Department of Veterans' Affairs

11351 Ulmerton Road, Suite 311-K

Largo, Florida 33778-1630

Dear Colonel Prendergast:

At the meeting of the Governor and Cabinet on February 5, 2015, the Attorney General offered to review the process and criteria for the selection of nominees to the Florida Veterans' Hall of Fame.[1] The issue presented is whether, under the current statutory framework and criteria used by the Florida Veterans' Hall of Fame Council, Florida's pre-statehood veterans and Florida's veterans in the service of the Confederate States of America could qualify for inclusion in the Florida Veterans' Hall of Fame.

We have reviewed the material your office provided relating to the process for nomination to the Florida Veterans' Hall of Fame, and additionally met directly with the representatives of the Sons of Confederate Veterans. Based on our review, it appears that section 1.01, Florida Statutes, defining the term "veteran" and the nominee criteria expressly created by the Florida Veterans' Hall of Fame Council would not currently support inclusion of Florida's pre-statehood veterans or veterans in the service of the Confederate States of America into the Florida Veterans' Hall of Fame.

The Florida Legislature established the Florida Veterans' Hall of Fame to recognize and honor military veterans who have made a significant contribution to our state.[2] To effect this purpose, the Florida Veterans' Hall of Fame Council (Council) has established and adopted nomination guidelines requiring that a nominee meet the following criteria[3]:

"a. Meets the definition of "Veteran" as defined by section 1.01 of the Florida Statutes as determined by the Department of Defense documentation such as a DD Form 214.

b. Received an honorable discharge from the United States Armed Forces and provided official documentation verifying discharge status.

c. Has exhibited good moral character and has no felony convictions.[4]

                        *           *           *"

A general definition of the term "veteran" for use throughout the Florida Statutes is provided in section 1.01, Florida Statutes. As defined therein a "veteran" for purposes of Florida law is:

"a person who served in the active military, naval, or air service and who was discharged or released under honorable conditions only or who later received an upgraded discharge under honorable conditions, notwithstanding any action by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs on individuals discharged or released with other than honorable discharges."[5]

Thus, it appears that nominees must have been discharged under honorable conditions, have good character, and have served actively on behalf of the United States military. The language of section 1.01, Florida Statutes, and the criteria developed by the Council which require the honorable discharge of veterans from service in the United States Armed Forces would not appear to support the inclusion of pre-statehood veterans or veterans who served in the armed forces of the Confederate States of America for inclusion in the Florida Veterans' Hall of Fame.

It appears from testimony at the meeting of the Governor and Cabinet on February 5, 2015, that federal veterans' provisions were considered in evaluating qualifications of nominees to the Veterans' Hall of Fame. Title 38 United States Code Service (U.S.C.S.) section 101 defines a "veteran" for purposes of that title in terms similar to the Florida statutory definition:

"The term 'veteran' means a person who served in the active military, naval, or air service, and who was discharged or released therefrom under conditions other than dishonorable."[6]

The Federal code provisions further define "active military, naval, or air service" to include "active duty"[7] which is defined to mean "full-time duty in the Armed Forces, other than active duty for training."[8] The Federal code provides that the term "Armed Forces" means "the United States Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard, including the reserve components thereof."[9] Thus, Federal statutory language appears to be more restrictive than the State law as it limits recognized military service to "the United States Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard . . ."

Additional Federal provisions do not appear to expand the meaning of the term "veteran" as they are limited in their scope and application. For example, Title 38 U.S.C.S. section 1501, recognizes that the term "active military or naval service" includes active service in the forces of the Confederate States of America during the Civil War. However, that provision is expressly limited in application and scope to Chapter 15 of the code providing for pensions for military service;[10] it does not, by its own terms, extend the definition contained therein outside of Chapter 15. Several additional sections of Title 38 U.S.C.S. make provision for pensions for surviving spouses and children of Civil War veterans.[11]

In sum, based on our review of these sources, it appears that section 1.01, Florida Statutes, defining the term "veteran" and the nominee criteria expressly created by the Florida Veterans' Hall of Fame Council would not currently support inclusion of Florida's pre-statehood veterans or veterans in the service of the Confederate States of America.

Sincerely,

Kent J. Perez

Deputy Attorney General

General Counsel

KP/tgh

[1] The Florida Veterans' Hall of Fame is administered by the Florida Department of Veterans' Affairs. See s. 265.003(2)(a), Fla. Stat.

[2] Section 265.003(1) and (2), Fla. Stat.

[3] See s. 265.003(5), Fla. Stat., authorizing the Council to establish criteria for nominations to the Florida Veterans' Hall of Fame.

[4] See Florida Veterans' Hall of Fame Nomination Guidelines 2015, available at /files/pdf/page/4FD3E8C29CDEF8DF85257E040068486C/2015%20Nominations%20Guidelines.pdf.

[5] Section 1.01(14), Fla. Stat.

[6] See 38 U.S.C.S. s. 101(2), and compare n.5 supra.

[7] Id. at (24).

[8] Supra n.6 at (21)(A).

[9] Supra n.6 at (10).

[10] 38 U.S.C.S. s. 1501, providing definitions states that these definitions are to be used "[f]or the purposes of this chapter [38 U.S.C.S. ss. 1501 et seq.]"; 38 U.S.C.S. Ch. 15 is entitled "Pension for Non-Service-Connected Disability or Death or For Service."

[11] See 38 U.S.C.S. s. 1532, providing pensions for surviving spouses of Civil War veterans and s. 1533, making provision for pension payments to the children of Civil War veterans.