Last week as hundreds of Veterans and their closest supporters rallied at the Capitol for Veterans Day on the Hill, two bills were signed into law, another passed the Senate and one more reached the Governor’s desk.

The two Veterans bills signed into law by Governor Walz make important updates to Veterans Higher Education-related sections of law in state statute. The other is MDVA’s Housekeeping and Federal conformity bill. It reclassifies the agency Chief of Staff position as the Deputy Commissioner for Administration, aligns federal forfeited benefits with state benefits and repeals outdated statutes.

The third bill awaiting the governor’s signature would allow the Commissioner of MDVA to direct non-monetary agency resources toward Veterans' priorities including food insecurity, homelessness and suicide prevention.

The Senate passed a supplemental budget bill for Veterans and Military Affairs with a vote of 58-8. The bill includes the language of the SGU and Irregular Forces Task Force Recommendation and allows National Guard retirees who don’t qualify as Veterans the opportunity to be buried in State Veterans Cemeteries.

More bills are expected to receive full votes in the House and the Senate this week.