Secretary Jameson Herrera told the committee the state supports military funeral honors through local teams and recent legislative funding that provided uniform allowances, equipment and training.

"We provide them with a uniform allowance, equipment that, is the the firearms, the bugle, and, the ability and the training that we do twice a year," Herrera said, describing training and support for the 32 teams registered with the department, 26 of which are active.

Herrera raised concern that federal budget changes could reduce National Guard support for funeral honors and increase demand on state teams and volunteer organizations. "There is a federal component here that we work with the National Guard... because there is a federal component here that we work with the National Guard. And those are that's funded at the federal level for funeral honors. And that with budget shrinking, that has been on the discussion table. And I don't wanna get too far out of the front of... that may be a problem that we have to be aware of and be out in front of it, not wait till they feel it's it's stripped for us to continue to operate."

Committee members and other speakers said the program already experiences operational strain in rural areas. Herrera reported the department had "well over 700 just for this FY... 756 total services that our honor guard teams have... assisted with and paid for" and that the department handled "over 900" services in the prior year.

The secretary described efforts to expand volunteer participation and to pay volunteer veteran organizations for services when federal teams are unavailable: volunteer teams can receive up to $300 per service. He also said the National Guard’s active-available staff had declined in recent years, citing a drop in team members available statewide.

Ending: Committee members urged continued monitoring and asked the department to coordinate with the Department of Military Affairs and local veteran organizations to avoid service gaps if federal funding changes.