The State Department of Human Resources, by and through the State Board of Human Resources and the Commissioner of the State Department of Human Resources, is hereby authorized, empowered and directed to provide for the payment to the widows of Confederate veterans and others entitled thereto the pension provided therefor pursuant to this chapter.

The widow of any person who actually served as a soldier or sailor in the army or navy of the Confederate States of America or of the State of Alabama for or during the period of the War Between the States, who was married to such soldier or sailor prior to January 1, 1904, or was married to such soldier or sailor for at least one year prior to the time of his death, regardless of whether his death occurred before or after September 23, 1919, and who has not remarried, except as provided in Section 31-8-3, and who was not at the time of her husband*s death separated from him by divorce or was not voluntarily living apart from her husband during the period of one year prior to his death, and whose husband did not desert the service of the State of Alabama or the Confederate states, and who is an actual bona fide resident of Alabama and has been such for a period of five years prior to the filing of said application, and the widow of any Confederate soldier or sailor on the pension roll at the time of his death, shall be entitled to relief under the provisions of this chapter.

Any widow, entitled to draw a pension under the provisions of this chapter, who has remarried, shall be entitled to and may draw a pension as is provided for widows upon the death of her last husband, or in the event she should be divorced from him by judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction.

The State Department of Human Resources shall not place on the pension rolls of the state the name of the widow of any person or persons who served only in the state troops, state militia or home guard.

The Commissioner of the State Department of Human Resources shall furnish to the county departments of human resources all necessary forms and stationery to carry out the provisions of this chapter. The cost of such forms and stationery shall be paid by the state as is other stationery.

All applications for pensions under this chapter shall be filed with the county department of human resources and shall be immediately forwarded by it together with all papers pertaining thereto, to the State Department of Human Resources.

The widow of any Confederate soldier or sailor, deeming herself entitled to the benefits of this chapter, shall file with the county department of human resources of the county of which she is a bona fide resident, her application in writing, sworn to before some officer authorized to administer oaths, on blanks furnished by the county department of human resources, such blanks conforming substantially to the requirements set forth in Section 31-8-2. The application shall show the name of the deceased husband and the date of his death, his company and regiment, the date of the widow*s marriage, her age at the time of making the application and whether application has been made before and rejected or her name dropped from the pension roll before, and if so, when and the reason assigned.

No applicant will have her name placed upon the pension rolls of this state unless at least one witness who was a Confederate soldier and can establish his record as such certifies to the fact that the husband of the applicant rendered the service as set forth in the application. In addition thereto there shall be required with an application for a pension under this chapter the certificate of two disinterested witnesses that the applicant is trustworthy and reliable and that they have full reason to believe and do believe that the statements made in the application are true and correct. If the Confederate archives in the City of Washington or the Department of Archives and History in Montgomery show the service of the husband of the applicant for a pension, the affidavit of the person who served in the service of the Confederate states, or the State of Alabama, as above set out, need not be required.

Upon the application of the widow of any Confederate soldier or sailor, or the widow of any Alabama soldier or sailor who served in the state in the War Between the States, the fact of her deceased husband*s having served as alleged, and of his not deserting, may be proven by the affidavit of two reliable witnesses who are acquainted with the facts; or if such witnesses cannot be found, upon affidavit to that fact, it may be proven by any evidence that will satisfactorily prove the truth of such facts. Whenever the proof of such facts is made by evidence other than the affidavit of two reliable witnesses, such evidence shall be reduced to writing and subscribed and sworn to by the witness offering the evidence.

All applications rejected by the State Department of Human Resources shall be entered upon a permanent record with reasons for such rejection, and the original application and all papers connected therewith shall be returned to the county department of human resources, which shall file them for permanent preservation and reference.

An applicant who has been rejected may file her application again after the lapse of three months, but if only the original application and no new or additional proof shall be offered, the county department of human resources shall refuse to consider the application.

Any widow receiving a pension under this chapter who shall become a resident citizen of another state shall be dropped from the pension roll of this state, and the county department of human resources is expressly prohibited from delivering the pension warrant to any payee who is at the time of such delivery a resident citizen of another state. On the return of any such pensioner to the state and the reestablishment by her of residence in this state, the name of such pensioner shall be restored to the pension roll; provided, however, that if a pensioner temporarily removes to another state, but does not abandon her legal residence in this state, such pensioner shall not be dropped from the pension roll but shall be retained thereon, and her warrant shall be sent by registered or certified mail to the temporary address of such pensioner, return receipt requested.

Any widow whose name has been dropped from the pension rolls of this state since January 1, 1922, and who is a bona fide resident citizen of this state at the time of making application for restoration of her name to the pension rolls of the state may have her name restored to the pension roll of this state by making application before the county department of human resources of the county of her residence, setting forth in said application the name of the county in which she was residing at the time her name was stricken from the pension roll, and the names of the places, counties and states where she has resided since her name was dropped from the pension roll of Alabama, such application to be supported by affidavit of the applicant and proof of two witnesses as to her bona fide residence in this state. Such application shall be forwarded by the county department of human resources to the State Department of Human Resources and if, on investigation by said board, the facts set forth in said application are found to be true and correct, the board shall order the name of such person restored to the pension rolls of the state.

Whenever it is made to appear to the county department of human resources that the name of a pensioner has through any error or omission or inadvertence been dropped from or left off the list of pensioners, it shall certify such fact and the length of time omitted or dropped and the amount due such pensioner, to the State Department of Human Resources, and if it is satisfactorily shown that such pensioner is justly entitled to be restored, the State Department of Human Resources shall order and the Comptroller shall issue his warrant for the amount shown to be due, said warrant to be delivered to the pensioner as other warrants are delivered.

No applicant who has been purposely stricken from the pension roll shall be entitled to any back pay for the time her name was stricken from the roll, and no back pay shall in any case be granted except to those making application, as set forth in this chapter.

If it shall be ascertained that any pensioner under this chapter secured the grant of her pension by misrepresentation, either by herself or others, the name of such pensioner shall be stricken from the pension roll of the state and the facts reported by the county department of human resources to the grand jury of the county of the pensioner*s residence for its consideration.

When it shall be reported to the State Department of Human Resources or it shall come to their knowledge that any person whose name is on the pension roll is not entitled to a pension or through fraud or misrepresentation has been placed on the pension roll, and has been receiving a pension from the state, the State Department of Human Resources shall make inquiry into such charges and if they are satisfied as to the probable correctness thereof, reference of the same shall be made to the county department of human resources of the county where the pensioner resides, which shall make full investigation and report the result thereof to the State Department of Human Resources. If the charges are established, the name of such pensioner shall be stricken from the pension roll and the State Department of Human Resources shall ascertain and make demand upon the pensioner to immediately refund the same. The State Department of Human Resources shall report such fact to the Attorney General for collection.

There shall be paid monthly to each and every widow of a Confederate soldier and sailor, who is now on the pension roll of this state or who may hereafter be placed on the pension roll of this state, the sum of not less than $150.00 for each month. There is hereby continuously appropriated out of the Treasury a sum which, in conjunction with the moneys derived from the one-mill pension fund, shall be sufficient to carry out the provisions of this chapter and all other provisions of law relating to pensions for the widows of Confederate soldiers and sailors.

All pensions to the widows of Confederate soldiers and sailors are to be paid in monthly payments on the first day of each month by warrant drawn on the Treasurer by the State Department of Human Resources in favor of each and every pensioner for the amount due each pensioner as provided by law, payable out of the moneys in the Treasury to the credit of the Confederate Pension Fund.

Pension warrants shall be sent from the office of the State Department of Human Resources to reach the county department of human resources in each county not later than the last day of each month.

The State Department of Human Resources shall deliver to the respective county department of human resources all such warrants for pensioners on the pension roll of that county. The county department of human resources shall deliver such warrants to the payees in their respective counties either in person or by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested. The county department of human resources shall, at the expiration of 30 days, return to the State Department of Human Resources all undelivered pension warrants, stating on said warrants the date of the return, the reason for such nondelivery and, if the payee is dead, the date of death, and such returned warrant shall be endorsed by the State Department of Human Resources @cancelled@ on the face thereof, and no other warrants shall be issued in the place of such cancelled warrants, unless it be shown by satisfactory proof that such return or cancellation was erroneously made.

The county department of human resources, in the event it does not know that the person applying for such warrant is the identical person named in such warrant and entitled thereto, must require satisfactory proof of these facts before the delivery of such warrant.

Should a widow who is a pensioner under this chapter die leaving a minor child or children, a warrant equal to the total amount of the next three monthly payments succeeding the death of said pensioner shall be issued and delivered, as other pension warrants are issued and delivered, to the minor child or children of such pensioner, and should there be no minor child of such deceased pensioner, the county department of human resources shall endorse such fact on the pension warrant and collect the same and apply the proceeds, first, to the payment of the burial expenses, and, second, to the expenses of the last illness of the pensioner. Any unexpended balance remaining shall be returned to the Treasury to the credit of the fund against which the warrant was drawn.

No person shall purchase or receive a transfer of any pension or warrant issued or to be issued under this chapter before the date provided for issuing warrants provided in this chapter, unless in writing transferred for face value or for supplies of merchandise, or unless discounted at nothing more than the legal rate of interest, which shall be stated in the instrument of transfer, and a copy of such transfer must be made and filed with the county department of human resources to be returned with a receipt to the State Department of Human Resources.

Any person who shall purchase or receive a transfer of any pension claim or warrant issued or to be issued under the pension laws for the relief of needy widows of Confederate soldiers or sailors before the same is received by the county department of human resources, except as otherwise provided by law, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, on conviction, shall be fined not less than $20.00 nor more than $50.00.

During the month of January of each year, the county department of human resources shall publish in a newspaper of the county an alphabetical list with full names and post-office addresses of all the pensioners on the pension roll of its county. Such list shall be published one time and shall be paid for from the county treasury at no more than the legal or contract rate for printing. The county department of human resources shall furnish the Commissioner of the State Department of Human Resources a copy of such publication, and the latter shall keep the same as permanent file of the State Department of Human Resources.

The county department of human resources of each county shall, at least twice a year, submit a certified list of the pensioners on the roll of its county, with the post-office address of each, to the judge of the circuit court, who shall specifically charge the grand jury to investigate the pension list for the purpose of ascertaining such as are not entitled to pensions. The list may be purged of any names on said list who are not entitled to receive pensions, and the foreman of such grand jury shall report through the county department of human resources to the State Department of Human Resources the recommendation of the grand jury as to such names as from their investigation are not entitled to the benefits of this chapter. Such names shall, on order of the State Department of Human Resources, be stricken from the pension roll.

The Commissioner of the State Department of Human Resources shall have prepared records to be used as a permanent state record of pensions in which shall be recorded, in alphabetical order according to county, the names of all pensioners, together with a suitable column in which shall be entered promptly the date of death or other cause for the discontinuance of the pension. Such record shall be kept up to date by the prompt entry thereon of all new names, with the date of granting of the application, and when payment to any pensioner shall cease, the reason therefor shall be stated of record.

The Commissioner of the State Department of Human Resources, by correspondence with the Department of Defense in Washington, or investigation of the Confederate records on file in the state or elsewhere, shall obtain all necessary information to make the permanent pension roll complete, authentic and permanent as contemplated by this chapter, and the entering of names of pensioners on the permanent pension roll and the cancellation of names struck from the roll by reason of death or other legal cause, shall be under the supervision and direction of said commissioner, who shall, when any application is made for a pension, submit to the Department of Defense the facts of service set forth in such application for verification thereof, and the result of such inquiry shall be submitted by him, with the application of the pensioner, to the State Board of Human Resources. No application for a pension shall be finally denied, whether witness proof of the facts set forth therein as required by law is made or not, until such report has been obtained and submitted. The commissioner shall compare the pension warrants issued with payments made by the Treasurer, and examine the same as to their rightful delivery and payment, and he may request assistant examiners of accounts, in their assignments to any county, to make careful investigation of the pension roll of such county and the actual delivery and receipt of pensions, and under his direction there shall be prepared at the end of each month a list of all outstanding unpaid pension warrants, by number and name, and a report thereof shall be filed with the State Department of Human Resources.

There shall be prepared and submitted, under the direction of the State Board of Human Resources and the State Department of Human Resources, quadrennially from November 1, 1974, a report showing as fully as the same can be shown, the result of the operations of this chapter, and containing the complete roll of pensioners under this chapter on the permanent pension record on October 1, last preceding the report required, the same to be printed, with as many copies thereof as the Governor may determine, and to be paid for in like manner as payment is made for other state reports.

Any person who violates any provisions of the laws of this state as to pensions for widows of Confederate veterans, if a penalty is not otherwise provided for such violation, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than $500.00.