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Committee rolls bill waiving veterans’ business license fees after legal questions over discharge status
Summary
House Bill 1108, which would waive business license fees for veterans, was referred to the second calendar of 2026 after committee members and legal counsel raised questions about whether the bill should limit the benefit to honorably discharged veterans.
House Bill 1108, a proposal to waive business license fees for veterans starting new businesses, was rolled to the second calendar of 2026 after committee members sought clarifying language on eligibility.
Representative Salinas, the bill sponsor, said the measure would waive business license fees for veterans to encourage entrepreneurship and workforce participation by veterans. Leader Cochran expressed support but raised the common drafting convention of limiting veteran benefits to honorably discharged service members.
The committee paused to solicit a legal opinion. Levin Middleton of the Office of Legal Services told members that the bill’s current language — which uses the single term "veteran" — could encompass veterans regardless of discharge status. Middleton said, "If we wanted to specify only those who received that type of discharge, then, I do think that would need to have clarifying language." Representative Salinas said she was open to amending the bill to specify "honorably discharged." Several members said they preferred handling the clarifying language in the next committee stage rather than rejecting the bill outright.
A motion to place House Bill 1108 on the second calendar of 2026 passed by voice vote; the chair said "The ayes have it." The sponsor and members said they planned to work on precise discharge language before the measure returns to full committee.
Ending: The committee advanced the bill administratively to allow drafting changes; the eligibility question (honorably discharged or not) will be addressed before full committee consideration.
