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Committee advances bill to exempt congressionally chartered veterans posts from property taxes; advocates cite community services
Summary
The House Veterans and Military Affairs Division voted to re-refer House File 195 to taxes after testimony from the American Legion, VFW and local posts asking state exemption from property taxes to preserve aging post buildings that host charitable and community activities.
Saint Paul — Lawmakers advanced House File 195 to the taxes committee on Feb. 12 after hearing testimony from American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars leaders who said congressionally chartered veterans service organizations (VSOs) perform community functions and are struggling to maintain aging facilities under current tax burdens.
Lede: Representative Peggy Bennett presented HF195 and said the bill would exempt congressionally chartered veteran service organizations, such as American Legion posts and VFW posts, from local property taxes on buildings they own and operate for veterans’ activities.
Nut graf: Testimony emphasized that many posts provide space for community meetings, charity fundraising, youth programs and veteran suicide-prevention training; leaders argued property-tax relief would help preserve volunteer-run halls that serve local needs.
Key testimony and numbers - American Legion: Dr. Carl Moon, American Legion department commander for Minnesota, said more than half of Minnesota Legion posts do not own buildings; of the 531 posts in Minnesota, 260 do have buildings and several are at risk of closing or have already sold properties because of tax and maintenance pressures. - VFW: David Staelin, Department of Minnesota VFW state commander, said 188 VFW posts exist in Minnesota and 107 own real estate; posts reported roughly 42,000 volunteer hours during the prior year and aggregate charitable contributions reported by Minnesota VFW posts totaled about $2.6 million. - Local examples: Witness Alan Skramstad, adjutant at Mora’s Legion Post 201, said his post operates memorial and meeting facilities used by veterans’ and youth organizations; he said the county sought to tax a memorial site as commercial property with a tax bill near $7,000 despite little or no commercial activity.
Policy arguments - Proponents asked that congressionally chartered VSOs be eligible for the same nonprofit property-tax exemptions that many 501(c)(3) organizations receive, arguing that VSOs already report volunteer and charitable work annually to Congress and provide public benefit through local grants and services. - Supporters said some posts rely on charitable gambling proceeds that are restricted by law and cannot fully fund building upkeep and community services; property-tax relief would free resources either for post maintenance or more charitable giving.
Votes and procedure - Representative Peggy Bennett moved to re-refer House File 195 to the taxes committee. The Division voted “aye”; the motion carried and HF195 was re-referred to taxes by voice vote, with no roll-call recorded.
Ending: Committee members expressed appreciation for the testimony; HF195 now moves to the taxes committee for further consideration, where fiscal impacts and statutory language will be examined.
