Lawmakers hear plan for confidential Vermont veterans database; officials flag data, cost and integration challenges

Representative Hooper of Burlington introduced legislation to create a confidential statewide database of veterans and would require state agencies to notify the Vermont Office of Veterans Affairs when they encounter someone who is a veteran, lawmakers and witnesses said during a meeting of the House Committee on Government Operations & Military Affairs.

The proposal — described by proponents as a tool to improve outreach about benefits and services — drew detailed testimony from Robert Parker, director of the Vermont Office of Veterans Affairs, who said the office currently relies on the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ population model and long-standing paper records. "We don't necessarily have a way to identify every veteran that's in the state,"…