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Committee adjusts indigent veteran burial rules and expands county/DFS coordination
Summary
The committee unanimously amended a draft to align county indigent-burial payments with the Department of Family Services program, increased Department of Family Services reimbursement levels and made county payments a payer-of-last-resort for veteran cases, then sponsored the bill.
The Joint Military Committee on Aug. 18 amended a bill draft addressing burial assistance for indigent veterans and voted to sponsor the revised measure.
Tim Shepherd, executive director of the Wyoming Veterans Commission, told the committee that recent statutory changes had unintentionally complicated payments because multiple titles (health, welfare, county law) overlap. He said county commissioners were concerned that many indigent veterans qualify for federal or state programs that exclude them from county assistance, reducing access to transportation funds for burial in veterans’ cemeteries.
Representative Larson proposed a set of conforming amendments to address the split among Wyoming statutes. The committee adopted changes to raise Department of Family Services reimbursement from $1,000 to $1,500, add explicit cross-reference language so veterans who qualify under DFS also qualify under the veterans-burial section, and designate county payments as the payer of last resort after other sources are applied. The amendments passed on voice votes.
Jeremiah Raymond of the Wyoming County Commissioners Association told the committee counties are legally responsible to provide indigent burial up to $1,500 and that shared fee revenue has helped, but in the most recent fiscal year reimbursements covered only about 85% of county requests because caseloads rose.
Corinne Leibers, senior administrator for economic security at the Department of Family Services, said DFS concurred with the proposed fixes and that the department stands ready to work on conforming language. County and DFS witnesses told the committee the change would clarify eligibility and ensure veterans are not excluded from the transportation benefit intended to move remains to a veterans’ cemetery.
The committee voted to sponsor the draft as amended (roll call: 13 aye, 1 excused). Committee members said they expect staff to incorporate all conforming statutory citations across Titles 18, 19 and 42 and to confirm administrative procedures for annual reimbursement to funeral providers and counties.
