Subcommittee approves bill to restore certificate-of-need exemption for state veterans homes

The Military and Veterans Affairs Subcommittee approved legislation to explicitly exempt state veterans nursing homes owned and operated by the South Carolina Department of Veterans Affairs from South Carolina's certificate-of-need review process.

Representative Brandon Cox, chairing the subcommittee, said the panel would consider a bill authored by Representative Brian Lawson and heard testimony from Secretary McCaffrey of the Department of Veterans Affairs. The amendment offered by Representative Holman, which the committee adopted, adds language specifying that "Veterans Nursing Home owned and operated by South Carolina Department of Veterans Affairs are included in the certificate of need exemptions." The full bill was then approved as amended.

Secretary McCaffrey told the committee the department began receiving transfer of six existing state veterans homes from the Department of Mental Health in 2023 and completed a transfer on 07/01/2025, when the department assumed responsibility for the Stone Pavilion in Columbia. He said three additional veterans homes have been planned, with applications submitted to the federal Department of Veterans Affairs and approvals for construction already granted by the Joint Bond Review Committee; state match funding has been appropriated while federal grant timing is still pending. "So a bit of an inadvertent oversight in our mind," McCaffrey said, describing how exemption language that applied when the Department of Mental Health owned the homes was left out as certificate-of-need statutes and rules were updated.

McCaffrey emphasized the homes are distinct from commercial long-term care providers because admissions require veteran status and eligibility for U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs benefits. "To qualify for admission to a state veteran's home, you have to have been a veteran. You have to be eligible for VA, US Department Of Veterans Affairs VA benefits," he said, arguing the facilities do not compete in the private long-term care market and that the bill is cleanup language to align the current ownership status with prior practice.

The amendment vote recorded Aye from Representatives Brandon Cox, Celeste Davis, Gilliard, and Holman; the same members then voted Aye to approve the bill as amended. Representative Brian Lawson was thanked for sponsoring the legislation. The subcommittee adjourned after the vote.

The bill clarifies the application of certificate-of-need exemptions for state veterans facilities; timing for construction of the three additional homes in Horry, Orangeburg and Lexington counties remains dependent on federal grants and related administrative steps.