Three Veterans-related bills are headed to Governor Walz’s desk after unanimous passage in the Minnesota House and Senate. All three are MDVA initiatives.

The first bill passed by both bodies was HF 3741 authored by Rep. Josiah Hill and Sen. Judy Seeberger. This bill seeks to make important updates to Veterans Higher Education-related sections of law in state statute. The House passed the bill 134-0 on March 23 and it passed the Senate 66-0 on Tuesday, April 14.

Next, HF 3544 is MDVA’s Housekeeping and Federal conformity bill authored by Rep. Aaron Repinski and Sen. Rob Kupec. It will reclassify the agency Chief of Staff position as the Deputy Commissioner for Administration, align federal forfeited benefits with state benefits and repeal outdated statutes. The House passed the bill 133-0 on Monday, April 13. The Senate followed with a 66-0 vote on Thursday, April 16.

The last bill sent to the governor was HF 3467. Rep. Kari Rehrauer and Sen. Heather Gustafson are the bill authors. This MDVA initiative would allow the Commissioner of MDVA to direct non-monetary agency resources toward Veterans' priorities including food insecurity, homelessness and suicide prevention. The House passed the bill 133-0 on Monday, April 13. The Senate followed with a 65-0 vote on Thursday, April 16.

The governor will likely sign all three bills into law the week of April 20.

The Senate Agriculture, Veterans, Broadband and Rural Development committee met on Monday, April 13. It approved and re-referred three bills that were heard in the Subcommittee on Veterans last week.

• SF 4807 is Chair Putnam’s supplemental budget bill for Veterans and Military Affairs; it was sent to Finance.
• SF 4560 is also authored by Chair Putnam and establishes the Commanders’ Task Force into state statute. It was sent to the Rules committee so it can receive a waiver for future consideration.
• SF 3603 is Sen. Jordan Rasmusson’s bill to create a statewide policy allowing Korean and Vietnam era Veterans to request a high school diploma if they joined the armed services prior to graduating.

The House Veterans and Military Affairs committee held its final meeting this session on Wednesday, April 15 and heard three bills; all were laid over.

• HF 4588 would establish a task force to improve Veterans access to mental health services in rural areas. It is authored by Rep. Andrew Myers.
• HF 3685 is authored by Rep. Bjorn Olson. This is the House companion to SF 3603 (noted above).
• HF 4577 was presented by Reps. Max Rymer and Andy Smith. The bill would establish a psilocybin therapeutic use program managed by the Office of Cannabis Management. Psilocybin is a substance found in certain species of mushrooms and is considered a psychedelic drug.

This week, the Senate Finance committee will consider SF 4807 and SF 4075. The latter is Sen. Susan Pha’s bill to enact the recommendations from the Veterans of the Secret War in Laos Task Force.

The House Ways and Means committee will also meet to consider the House companion to SF 4075, which is HF 3919.