The high pace of deadlines continued in the second half of this week with just as many bills heard throughout legislative committees as was heard in the House Veterans committee on Monday.

The Senate Environment, Climate and Legacy committee heard SF 3884 by Sen. Nicole Mitchell (Woodbury) on Tuesday. This bill would provide funding to the Minnesota Military and Veterans Museum for restoration, relocation and interpretation of the USS Ward Gun that currently sits on the State Capitol mall. The bill was laid over for possible inclusion in a Legacy bill.

On Wednesday morning the House Health committee heard Rep. Greenman’s (South Minneapolis) HF 4412. This bill gives statutory authority to MDVA’s central pharmacy for the Veterans homes. The bill was approved by the committee in under a minute and sent to the House floor. This is a rare committee stop for Veterans bills, but the use of the word ‘pharmacy’ triggered a mandatory referral under House rules.

The Senate Judiciary and Public Safety heard Sen. Jeff Howe’s (Rockville) SF 3328 for the second time. This would require reporting data tied to the Veterans Restorative Justice Act. The bill was approved and sent to the Senate floor. The House companion, HF 3304 (Wiens – Lake Elmo) was heard on Thursday in the House Public Safety committee. It was also sent to the House floor.

On Thursday, the Senate State and Local Government and Veterans committee met with five Veterans bills on the agenda. The following included:

• SF 4927 (Seeberger – Afton) is the companion bill to Rep. Greenman’s HF 4412. The bill was laid over for possible inclusion in a Veterans omnibus bill.
• SF 4930 (Seeberger) a technical bill for the agency that eliminates the language that the administrators for the Minnesota Veterans Homes directly report to the MDVA commissioner, rather than the deputy commissioner for healthcare. The bill was laid over for possible inclusion.
• SF 4362 (Pappas – St. Paul) authorizes MDVA to search for a site for a fifth State Veterans Cemetery in Northwestern Minnesota. Section 1 of the bill was taken out via amendment and will be passed in a bonding bill. Section 2 remained in the bill and was laid over for possible inclusion.
• SF 4195 (Lang – Olivia) creates reporting requirements for grants that MDVA provides. The bill was laid over for possible inclusion.
• SF 3586 (Howe) expands the former National Guard members who can receive the Veteran designation on drivers licenses. It also allows for more members to be buried in State Veterans Cemeteries. The bill was laid over for possible inclusion.

Next week will be a short week for the legislature as they take time off starting Wednesday evening for the Easter recess. They will return on Tuesday, April 2.