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Bill would direct recurring funds to Postwar Trust Fund and veteran homelessness efforts, backers say
Summary
House Bill 1504 seeks to grow the state Postwar Trust Fund and provide recurring money for programs that prevent and end veteran homelessness. Backers urged funding be restored to the bill; county and VA officials described unmet needs.
BISMARCK, N.D. — Lawmakers on the Senate Agriculture and Veterans Affairs Committee heard House Bill 1504 on Friday, a measure sponsored by Representative Mary Schneider that would direct recurring funds to the state’s Postwar Trust Fund and to programs aimed at preventing and ending veteran homelessness.
Schneider told the committee the measure started in the House as a proposal to allocate a portion of veterans’ organization gaming revenues but was later amended in committee processes. The version presented to the Senate retained the program structure and the author asked senators to amend the bill to restore an appropriation that would have placed funds into the Postwar Trust Fund and into a veterans homelessness account.
Supporters testified the bill would address a persistent housing‑availability gap and the range of costs that cause or worsen homelessness, including rent, deposits, utilities, transportation and furniture. Cass County veteran service officer Chris Deary and representatives of supported‑service programs told the panel that on any given night an estimated 250–300 veterans and households in North Dakota experience homelessness and that families are at particular risk.
Lonnie Wallen, the state Veterans Affairs commissioner, briefed the committee on the Postwar Trust Fund’s history and current balance. The fund was seeded decades ago with wartime surtax/adjusted compensation receipts and other transfers; testimony said the principal is roughly $8.6 million as of the November report and that available interest earnings are routed into a dedicated veterans grants clearing account. Commissioner Wallen said the trust fund principal is not spendable without legislative action and the fund’s interest earnings are currently insufficient to meet all grant needs for dental, hearing aids, transportation and other urgent items.
Schneider and department witnesses asked the committee to restore an annual appropriation (the amendment she circulated would approximate $590,045 per year to each of the two accounts in the coming biennium) to build the trust fund principal and to fund homelessness prevention and rapid rehousing services. County and VA witnesses said the combination of shortage of affordable housing, mental‑health and substance‑use needs, benefit‑access barriers, and family needs mean a tailored, housing‑first approach is required.
No committee vote was recorded at the end of the hearing.
Supporters asked senators to adopt the amendment to restore the funding language so the bill can move forward with resources attached; committee members signaled interest in the policy and noted the fiscal implications.
