[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4658 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4658

     To amend the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to make certain 
          improvements and technical corrections to that Act.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 23, 2004

  Mr. Smith of New Jersey (for himself and Mr. Evans) introduced the 
   following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans' 
                                Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To amend the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to make certain 
          improvements and technical corrections to that Act.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Servicemembers Legal Protection Act 
of 2004''.

SEC. 2. CLARIFICATION OF MEANING OF ``JUDGMENT'' AS USED IN THE ACT.

    Section 101 of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (50 U.S.C. App. 
511) is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(9) Judgment.--The term `judgment' means any judgment, 
        decree, order, or ruling, final or temporary.''.

SEC. 3. REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO WAIVER OF RIGHTS UNDER THE ACT.

    Section 107 of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (50 U.S.C. App. 
517) is amended--
            (1) In subsection (a), by inserting after the first 
        sentence the following new sentence: ``Any such waiver that 
        applies to an action listed in subsection (b) of this section 
        is effective only if it is in writing and is executed as an 
        instrument separate from the obligation or liability to which 
        it applies.'';
            (2) by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection (d); and
            (3) by inserting after subsection (b) the following new 
        subsection (c):
    ``(c) Prominent Display of Certain Contract Rights Waivers.--Any 
waiver in writing of a right or protection provided by this Act that 
applies to a contract, lease, or similar legal instrument must be in at 
least 12 point type.''.

SEC. 4. RIGHT OF SERVICEMEMBER PLAINTIFFS TO REQUEST STAY OF CIVIL 
              PROCEEDINGS.

    Section 202(a) of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (50 U.S.C. 
App. 522(a)) is amended by inserting ``plaintiff or'' before 
``defendant''.

SEC. 5. TERMINATION OF LEASES.

    (a) Joint Leases.--Subsection (a) of section 305 of the 
Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (50 U.S.C. App. 535) is amended--
            (1) by designating the text of that subsection as paragraph 
        (1), inserting before ``The lessee on a'' the following: ``In 
        general'', redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) thereof as 
        subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively, and realigning that 
        text so as to be indented two ems to the right; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(2) Joint leases.--A lessee's termination of a lease 
        pursuant to this subsection shall terminate any obligation a 
        dependent of the lessee may have under the lease.''.
    (b) Motor Vehicles Leases.--
            (1) Applicability to pcs orders from states outside 
        conus.--Subparagraph (B) of subsection (b)(2) of such section 
        is amended by striking ``military orders for'' and all that 
        follows through ``or to deploy'' and inserting ``military 
        orders--
                            ``(i) for a change of permanent station--
                                    ``(I) from a location in the 
                                continental United States to a location 
                                outside the continental United States; 
                                or
                                    ``(II) from a location in a State 
                                outside the continental United States 
                                to any location outside that State; or
                            ``(ii) to deploy''.
            (2) Definitions.--Such section is further amended by adding 
        at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(i) Definitions.--
            ``(1) Military orders.--The term `military orders', with 
        respect to a servicemember, means official military orders, or 
        any notification, certification, or verification from the 
        servicemember's commanding officer, with respect to the 
        servicemember's current or future military duty status.
            ``(2) Conus.--The term `continental United States' means 
        the 48 contiguous States and the District of Columbia.''.
    (c) Coverage of Individual Deployments.--Subsection (b) of such 
section is further amended in paragraph (1)(B) and paragraph (2)(B)(ii) 
(as designated by subsection (b) of this section) by inserting ``, or 
as an individual in support of a military operation,'' after ``deploy 
with a military unit''.

SEC. 6. PREVENTION OF DOUBLE TAXATION OF CERTAIN SERVICEMEMBERS.

    Section 511(c) of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (50 U.S.C. 
App. 571(c)) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph:
            ``(5) Use, excise, or similar taxes.--A tax jurisdiction 
        may not impose a use, excise, or similar tax on the personal 
        property of a nonresident servicemember when the laws of the 
        tax jurisdiction fail to provide a credit against such taxes 
        for sales, use, exercise, or similar taxes previously paid on 
        the same property to another tax jurisdiction.''.
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