New Social Guarantees for Participants of the War and Their Family Members

Leader of the 'My Step' faction Lilit Makunts, along with deputies Sisak Gabrielyan and Hrachya Hakobyan, have introduced a package of draft laws proposing additional social guarantees for participants of the Artsakh war and their family members.

According to the projects published on the National Assembly’s website, which are not yet included in the agenda, the lawmakers suggest amending the first part of Article 66 of the RA Law on 'Military Service and the Status of Military Personnel' to allow family members of individuals with first or second group disabilities, or those who died while performing combat duty or special missions at the confrontation line with the enemy, to use all types of urban public transportation free of charge within the territory of Armenia, regardless of ownership type (excluding taxis).

Further amendments are also proposed for Article 67 of the law, establishing social guarantees for military personnel and their family members in the fields of education and culture. Specifically, family members of individuals with first or second group disabilities, or those who were killed while performing combat duties or special missions at the confrontation line, would:
a) receive school textbooks for free;
b) have free access to community kindergartens, with priority in the admission queue in Yerevan;
c) have free access to community extracurricular educational institutions (such as music, art schools, etc.);
d) enjoy free visits to state or community museums, theaters, and other cultural institutions.

The government will establish the procedure for granting these guarantees. The My Step faction also proposes amendments to the RA Tax Code. In particular, they suggest adding a new point 12.1) to the first part of Article 230, which states that real estate owned by individuals with first or second group disabilities acquired during combat actions of the Republic of Armenia is exempt from property tax. Furthermore, they propose adding a new point 3.1) to the first part of Article 245, stating that vehicles owned by individuals with first or second group disabilities who possess a driver's license, acquired during combat actions of the Republic of Armenia, are exempt from property tax.