Easter and Passover break arrived at the Minnesota Legislature in conjunction with the third committee deadline. All finance bills have been passed out of committees of jurisdiction, including two versions of the Veterans and Military Affairs omnibus finance bill. When legislators return, finishing this finance bill and others to create the state’s budget will be the focus of their work until the legislative session concludes.

While there is more in common between the two versions, as well as the governor’s recommendations, the following shows the differences that will need to be reconciled either through elimination or different funding levels.

There are two funding items that only appear in the House version and not in the Senate or the governor’s recommendations. The House would like to fund a grant appropriation for operations to the Minnesota Military and Veterans Museum as well as the non-profit Every Third Saturday.

The Senate version also has two exclusive funding items. Grant funding for Metro Meals on Wheels to provide food to Veterans. The other is funding for Veteran Service Organization posts to become Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant.

The House and Senate have four items of agreement, but the funding levels may be different. These items were not a part of the governor’s recommendations. Two of the items are for Veterans retreats at Camp Bliss in Walker and Veterans on the Lake in Ely. Both bills fund construction of the Minnesota Military and Veterans Museum. Finally, the last point of agreement between the two legislative proposals are to provide funding to the Veterans Resilience Project for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy.

Finally, there are 14 items that are included in the three proposals from the House, Senate, and Governor. Again, the funding levels will differ for each item. They are as follows:

• Post-9/11 service bonus which includes changes to allow Veterans who have moved to Minnesota after their military service as well as Inherent Resolve campaign medalists.
• Funds to maintain operations to continue providing benefits and services to Veterans at current levels
• Operational funds for the three new Veterans homes in Bemidji, Montevideo and Preston
• Specific funding for MDVA’s homelessness prevention and SOAR programs
• Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans (MACV) supportive housing grants
• Direct Veteran Assistance funding for unhoused Veterans
• Community Health Navigators program establishment to connect Veterans and their families with support for mental health, hospice care and other support
• Funding adjustment for state Veterans cemeteries, Minnesota Service Core and LinkVet operations
• Funds to operate the recently separated Veterans program
• Increase MN GI Bill benefits for a Veteran to $15,000 in a lifetime and $6,000 per year
• Funding for Minnesota’s 50th Commemoration of the Vietnam War

The bill language can be found on HF 1937 and SF 2247.

The next steps for both versions of the bills will be to get approval from the House Ways and Means and Senate Finance committees, respectively, followed by floor votes from each chamber. After those votes are taken the differences between the bills will need to be worked out by conference committees that consist of an equal number of members from each body.

When the legislature returns on April 11, it will have 42 days to complete its work by the adjournment date set by the state constitution on May 22.