On Wednesday, April 17 the State Capitol was filled with nearly a thousand Veterans. Along with their families and friends, these former service members came to St. Paul for the annual Veterans Day on the Hill. They held a rally in the Capitol Rotunda and before that gathered for an information session and lunch at the Cedar Street Armory on the southern end of the Capitol Complex.

As for the legislature, the Senate heard HF 3454 on the floor. The bill’s author, Sen. Nicole Mitchell, inserted the language of her bill, SF 4429 and also amended it. This is the Veterans and Military Affairs omnibus bill for 2024.

The bill passed the Senate 65-2. With its passage, it now will be sent to the House where the Representatives have two choices, either support the language passed by the Senate or vote it down and trigger a conference committee to work out the differences.

The Senate’s version of HF 3454 includes the following Veterans provisions-

• Makes a technical correction in law that said Veterans Home administrators report directly to the MDVA commissioner. This was a mistake put into law after the Veterans Home Board was dissolved and became the Health Care division of MDVA.
• Authorizes in law the Central Pharmacy that MDVA already operates for the Veterans Homes throughout the state.
• Allows MDVA to lay the groundwork for a fourth State Veterans Cemetery in the Bemidji area.
• Provides flexibility to Health Care funding to use next fiscal year’s appropriation to cover expenses due to the delay in opening and receiving federal certification for the three new Veterans homes.
• Allows the grant for Metro Meals on Wheels to use this fiscal year’s funds next year.
• Gives county boards the authority to provide funds to Veterans Service Organizations (VSO) posts for Veterans Day activities. Previously, boards were only permitted to provide funds for Memorial Day. The funding cap was also eliminated.
• County Veterans Service Officers and VSO service officers are now permitted to receive discharge papers at no charge from county recorders.

The legislature will take a brief pause for Passover starting this weekend. The House and Senate will return on Wednesday afternoon.