Committee hears bill to exempt VFW posts from certain emergency closures

House Bill 2702 would amend the emergency management code to provide an exception for 501(c)(19) Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) posts so that those organizations, whose primary purpose is to benefit veterans, would not be subject to closure orders that otherwise applied to businesses during emergency proclamations.

Senator Adam Hinojosa, the Senate sponsor, said this is a refiled measure from the prior session that previously passed the House unanimously but was vetoed by the governor. He told the committee the bill was revised to address concerns and that a committee substitute would limit closure authority to public‑health pandemics while maintaining gubernatorial authority during other serious emergencies.

Mitch Fuller, legislative director for the VFW Department of Texas, testified in support and said many VFW posts have TABC licenses but are not bars; during the COVID‑19 emergency some posts were treated as nonessential and were forced to close, disrupting services to veterans. Fuller described coordination issues across state, county and city authorities and said the bill seeks only to allow posts to continue serving veterans in emergency public‑health contexts.

The committee received no opposing public testimony and left the bill pending for further consideration and coordination with the governor's office as described by the sponsor.