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Committee advances bill to extend state veteran cemetery burial benefits to certain Guard and Reserve members
Summary
The House Standing Committee on Veterans, Military Affairs and Public Protection voted to give House Bill 191 a favorable report after testimony that a federal change in 2022 allows burial benefits for some National Guard and reserve members who were never called to Title 10 active duty.
The House Standing Committee on Veterans, Military Affairs and Public Protection on Feb. 2025 advanced House Bill 191 to extend burial eligibility at state veteran cemeteries to certain National Guard and reserve members who were never called to Title 10 active duty.
State Representative Aaron Thompson introduced the measure and said it implements a federal change from 2022 that allows burial benefits for a group of guard and reserve veterans previously ineligible. Al Duncan, Division Director for State Veteran Cemeteries, said the change covers members who served monthly duty ("one week in a month, two weeks a year") with honorable discharges but who were not federalized by presidential executive order.
Silas Session, executive director for the Office of Kentucky Veteran Services at the Kentucky Department of Veterans Affairs (KDVA), also spoke in support. Committee members described the bill as a reasonable way to recognize the service of Guardsmen and reservists who supported state responses to disasters, including floods in Eastern Kentucky and tornado recovery in Western Kentucky.
The committee also approved a title amendment before voting. A motion and second were recorded, and the committee reported the bill favorably as amended to the full House.
The presentation and committee discussion focused on which categories of service the change would cover and on confirming that eligible service is tied to honorable discharge and absence of Title 10 activation. Committee members did not request additional changes to the bill during the session.
House Bill 191 now moves to the full House with the committee's favorable recommendation.
Votes at the committee: The committee passed House Bill 191 as amended with a favorable report. The roll call in the transcript records explicit affirmative votes from Representative Blanton; Representative Bratcher; Representative Dawson; Representative Freeland; Representative Fugate; Representative Gooch; Representative Johnson; Representative Massaroni; Representative Moore; Representative Proctor; Representative Sharp; Representative Stevenson; Representative Thomas; Representative Wesley; and Chair McCool.
