The February budget forecast was unveiled on Monday and showed that the state had a $9.3 billion surplus, an increase from November. The legislature and governor will now have to work together to decide how to use that money, if at all. An agreement isn’t necessary because the state budget was enacted last June.

On the Veterans legislation front, there were four bills heard on Wednesday in two committees.

• HF 3657 is authored by Rep. Tony Jurgens of Hastings. It would provide funding for improvements and renovations to the Veterans Home in Hastings. The bill was laid over for possible inclusion in an omnibus Veterans and Military Affairs bill.
• HF 2966 is authored by Rep. Jon Koznick of Lakeville. The bill modifies eligibility and documentation requirements for a “Veteran” designation on a drivers’ license or Minnesota ID cards. Under current law, a former service member must have served at least 181 consecutive days on active duty in order to add the Veteran designation. This bill would allow National Guard or Reservists to obtain the designation if the person retired and met the requirements for retirements under their service.
• HF 2865 is authored by Rep. Bob Dettmer of Forest Lake and HF 3066 is authored by Rep. Dave Lislegard of Aurora. The first part of each bill would change the disabled Veterans’ exclusion application window for spouses of Veterans who died due to a service-connected cause, allowing applications within two years of the service member’s death, within two years of the spouse receiving a Dependency and Indemnity Compensation determination, or by December 31, 2023, whichever is later. The bills would also allow surviving spouses that were previously denied the opportunity to reapply. Rep. Dettmer’s bill would go one step further by providing the same extension to spouses who would have been eligible for the exclusion about but died before applying for the exclusion. Both bills were laid over for possible inclusion in an omnibus tax bill.

The Senate Veterans and Military Affairs committee met the next day and hosted MDVA for a briefing regarding supplemental budget items.

MDVA will provide a similar presentation to the House Labor, Industry, Veterans and Military Affairs committee on Wednesday, March 9 at 3 p.m.

The supplemental budget items that MDVA is pursuing this session is as follows-

• Service bonus to Minnesota’s post-9/11 Veterans
• Increase grants to Veterans Service Organizations
• Fargo VA Medical Center Fisher House construction
• Redwood Falls State Veterans Cemetery operation funding
• Changes to County Veterans Service Officer grants
• Tenancy supports and landlord engagement activities for homeless Veterans
• Low-barrier, permanent supportive housing for Veterans
• Increased engagement and outreach activities; support temporary housing options