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Veteran Services seeks funding to absorb Taos county cemetery and shore up operations; committee hears outreach plans
Summary
The Veteran Services Department requested funding to staff and operate a Taos cemetery the federal government declined to accept, plus pay adjustments for veteran‑service officers; department officials described a mobile outreach unit under construction.
The Veteran Services Department told lawmakers it needs funding to assume operations of a Taos county veterans cemetery that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs will not accept for inclusion in the National Cemetery Administration.
Secretary Herrera told the committee that federal officials determined the Taos site does not meet VA criteria, in part because it falls within a 75‑mile radius of an existing VA‑eligible site. The department requested an initial investment of about $1 million to take the cemetery into state operation and said annual operations thereafter would be about $700,000, including four FTEs to staff the site.
LFC and DFA analysts summarized the FY26 recommendations and differences from the executive request. DFA noted the House proposed a Taos cemetery appropriation of roughly $1 million with contingency language tied to federal acceptance as a national cemetery; DFA said the federal government is unlikely to accept the site under NCA rules. LFC identified personnel reclassification costs and veteran‑service officer pay changes that were already implemented in some positions.
Secretary Herrera also described mobile outreach and communications work; the department said a mobile unit funded in a prior session is under construction and expected to be in service in spring, which officials said will expand access in rural and tribal areas where transportation and trust are barriers.
Committee members asked about vacancy and reversion patterns and about using the department’s available operating balances to meet personnel costs. Herrera said the department’s classified vacancy rate was under 10 percent at the time of testimony and noted the reclassification work was needed to retain staff, including to reduce turnover to federal VA positions. DFA said some of the differences between the LFC and executive recommendations reflect timing and whether pay increases were included in base funding.
The committee did not take an immediate final vote on the department’s budget request at the hearing; appropriation decisions will be made later in the legislative process.
