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Committee approves technical change aligning state veteran cemetery law with federal rules
Summary
House File 14 45 was recommended to the general register; the bill corrects statutory references so Minnesota law on veteran cemetery eligibility points to the proper federal regulation (38 CFR) and clarifies that eligibility practices will not change.
The House Veterans and Military Affairs Division on March 5 recommended re-referral of House File 14 45 to the general register, a technical bill to align Minnesota’s statutory language on state veterans cemetery eligibility with the correct federal citation.
Chair Bliss yielded the floor to John Kelly, director of government affairs for the Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs, who testified the bill corrects statutory references to point to the appropriate provision in 38 C.F.R. and clarifies that state statute and administrative practice are aligned on eligibility for burial of veterans, spouses and dependents. “This allows MDVA to clear up any ambiguities in statute, that could be misread to indicate that spouses and dependents of veterans are not eligible, at State Veterans Cemetery,” Kelly said.
Kelly told the division the proposal will not jeopardize federal funding tied to state cemetery grants and that the change does not alter who is eligible for burial; it simply makes the state statute point to the correct federal rule. He also noted that no one previously buried would lose eligibility under the corrected language.
After brief discussion and no questions, the division voice-voted to recommend the bill to the general register.
