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H.R. 100, the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act

Summary

 H.R. 100, the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, is a comprehensive restatement of the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Civil Relief Act of 1940 that would clarify and strengthen the rights and protections it provides to persons in military service.

 The Act’s coverage includes servicemembers’ financial obligations and liabilities, such as rent, mortgages, installment contracts and leases; civil (but not criminal) legal proceedings; life insurance; taxes; and rights in public lands.

 Significant improvements H.R. 100 would make in the Act include:

   ·           Clear guidance that a tax jurisdiction may not use the military compensation of a non-resident servicemember to increase the tax liability imposed on other income earned by the non-resident servicemember or spouse subject to tax by the jurisdiction.

·           Clear guidance that the 6 percent interest rate cap for  obligations and liabilities of servicemembers incurred before military service results in a reduction of monthly payments and that any interest in excess of the cap is forgiven, consistent with the Act’s objective of reducing monthly obligations for servicemembers, including  mobilized National Guard or Reserve members who may have a reduced income.

·           A right for any active duty servicemember who has permanent change of station orders or who is being deployed for more than 90 days to terminate a housing lease.  Currently, a servicemember can be obligated to pay rent for housing he or she is unable to occupy because of a government required move.

·           Updated eviction protection to reflect the increase in the cost of rental housing.  The current Act only applies to leases of less than $1,200 per month; H.R. 100 would increase that amount to $2,400, and the amount would increase each year in accordance with a housing rental index.

·           An increase in the coverage level for protection against the lapse of life insurance policies when an individual enters military service from $10,000 to $250,000 or the SGLI maximum, whichever is greater. 

·           Coverage of all motor vehicles and other property by the Act’s installment contract protections, so that in the case of a servicemember who, for example, has fallen behind on car lease payments, the lessor must obtain a court order before repossessing the car.

·           Clarification that the Act’s rights and protections apply to civil administrative proceedings, such as license and zoning matters, which are far more common today than they were in 1940.  

·           Improved protection of servicemembers against default judgments.

·           An expansion of the professional liability protections to include legal services.