Subcommittees approve veterans services hires and $1.4M opioid treatment funding; ask for more transparency on veterans gift account

The joint legislative subcommittees on Public Safety, Natural Resources and Transportation approved multiple budget actions for the Department of Veterans Services (DVS), including personnel authorizations, a $1.4 million transfer of opioid settlement funds to expand treatment services for veterans not covered by TRICARE, continued funding for a veteran dental program and a subcommittee recommendation to seek more transparency on the department’s use of its gift account (NRS 417.115).

Personnel and grants management

Alex Hartz, fiscal analyst with the LCB fiscal analysis division, presented four major closing issues for DVS. The subcommittees approved a budget amendment to fund one classified veteran service officer position in lieu of a previously proposed unclassified program development coordinator. The approved funding is $68,214 in FY 2026 and $88,520 in FY 2027. Chair Taylor moved and the committee approved the staff recommendation.

The panel also approved one new Management Analyst 3 position intended to strengthen grants management and financial oversight across the department. LCB said the position’s total recommended cost is $186,701 over the 2025–27 biennium, budgeted to begin Oct. 1, 2025. The analyst will be responsible for identifying notices of funding opportunities, leading multidisciplinary grant teams and overseeing formal solicitations and contract compliance, including contracts for operational management services at the Northern Nevada State Veterans Home. The motion to approve the position passed on a voice vote.

Opioid settlement transfer and program goals

The subcommittees approved a transfer of $1,400,000 from the Fund for a Resilient Nevada (opioid settlement funds) to the department to pay for contract treatment services, temporary staff, supplies, assessment and evaluation, and program travel for a new program targeting veterans with opioid and other substance use disorders — prioritizing veterans who are ineligible for services through TRICARE. LCB summarized three program goals provided by the department: prevention of opioid misuse in the veteran community (including family/guardians), reduction of opioid‑related harm including suicide prevention, and improving access to licensed counseling and therapy for veterans and their family members.

Gift account transparency and reporting recommendation

LCB staff told the subcommittees that the department uses a non‑executive “gift account for veterans” (NRS 417.115) to fund ongoing and temporary operating costs, including some positions the department keeps as contractors rather than state employees. The department provided partial responses to follow‑up requests and said there were concerns about transferring certain revenues into the executive budget because of potential limits on operational flexibility. Fiscal staff recommended the subcommittee ask that staff include review of the gift account in the next biennial budget review and consider issuing a letter of intent directing the department to provide more detailed annual reporting to the Interim Finance Committee under NRS 417.115(6). Committee members said the request was not an implication of wrongdoing but a move to increase transparency and facilitate informed oversight. The subcommittees approved the staff recommendation on a voice vote.

Other approved items

- The committee approved continuing $1.8 million in general‑fund appropriations over the biennium in the agency’s base budget to continue the Adoptive Vet dental program.

- The subcommittees approved staff recommendations for the Southern Nevada State Veterans Home, including the addition of a personnel office analyst 1 funded with patient collections and approval of a Management Analyst 3 position established during FY 2025 but omitted from the budget by oversight; that analyst will be funded with VA per‑diem reimbursement revenues ($127,319 in FY 2026 and the same in FY 2027 per the governor’s amendment).

- The Northern Nevada State Veterans Home other closing items were approved as read by staff; LCB requested authority to make technical adjustments as needed.

What was not decided

Several approvals — particularly the use of gift account revenues to support positions or program pilots — raised questions about longer‑term budget transparency and whether temporary contractors should be transitioned to state employment if appropriate. The subcommittees directed fiscal staff to include the topic in future reviews and to seek more detailed annual reporting from the department, per NRS 417.115(6).

Attribution and votes

Alex Hartz presented staff recommendations. Chair Taylor moved several of the DVS motions; Assemblymember Brown May seconded. All motions described above were approved on voice votes; no roll‑call tallies were recorded in the transcript.

Ending

The subcommittees completed their DVS closings and adjourned after a brief public comment period in which no callers or in‑person speakers were recorded.