Due to the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday, the House Veterans and Military Affairs committee did not meet last week but returns on Jan. 23.

When the House committee does meet it will hear two bills, HF122, and HF311. The agenda will also include presentations from Veterans Service Organizations involved with the Minnesota Commanders’ Task Force, like the American Legion, DAV and others. The committee meets weekly at 1:00 p.m. on Monday, the 23rd in Room 5 of the State Office Building.

On Thursday night the Minnesota Veterans Home – Minneapolis hosted the Senate State and Local Government and Veterans committee for a field hearing. This meeting was used as a listening session to hear about issues facing our state’s Veterans. Testifiers included members of Veterans Service Organizations as well as those offering care and services to Veterans.

The committee closed out the time at the home with a presentation for Senate confirmation from MDVA Commissioner Larry Herke. He described his work over the last four years and goals for the next four. After some questioning from members, he was recommended for confirmation unanimously. He is expected to receive a full vote from the Senate in the next few weeks.

According to Chair Erin Murphy, the committee made history by holding the confirmation hearing by holding the hearing on location at a MDVA facility instead of a Senate hearing room.

Finally, the state bill tracker is up and running for this session. There are currently 13 Veterans related bills including the two that will be heard in the House Veterans committee next week.