State Sen. John Yudichak's legislation exempting nonprofit veterans' organizations from the realty transfer tax has been signed into law.

Yudichak, D-Luzerne/Carbon, succeeded in adding the language from his veterans' bill into the state's tax code legislation, which was enacted by Gov. Tom Wolf."As our veterans organizations face membership fluctuations, we must work to ensure they are not penalized for merging or transferring property," Yudichak said.Yudichak credited veterans' organizations for playing an active leadership role in communities throughout the state. Ranging from charitable work to social and civic activities, Yudichak said the organizations are important to both their membership and community.A similar tax exemption already exists for volunteer fire and emergency service organizations.Yudichak also pointed to two other measures in the budget package that benefited veterans. They include a veteran job creation tax credit that will allow businesses to claim $2,500 for every veteran they hire; and the Neighborhood Assistance Program was expanded to provide more affordable housing opportunities for veterans.