Saint Paul, Minnesota – Today, the Minnesota House of Representatives passed the State Government Finance and Veterans Affairs Omnibus Bill, which increases funding for veterans programs and services. State Representative Mary Sawatzky (DFL – Willmar) is a member of the House State Government Finance and Veterans Affairs Committee and voted in support of the legislation.
Rep. Sawatzky authored an amendment saying that General Fund money appropriated to the Arts Board for the Grants Program in the bill may only be spent on projects located in Minnesota. Grant money cannot be used to travel outside Minnesota unless the cost of travel is less than 5% of the total grant. And none of the funds may be used for travel outside of the United States.
In March, KSTP TV reported that grants from the Arts Board were being spent on artists taking trips to tropical locations. Records show the Minnesota Arts Board gave out 114 grants to artists who traveled to 40 countries. The program spent $5.6 million from 2009-2013 with 15 percent of the trips being overseas. Rep. Sawatzky’s amendment received broad bipartisan support and was adopted on a 121-6 vote.
“Those trips were clearly not a responsible use of taxpayer dollars,” said Rep. Sawatzky. “We have an obligation to ensure that taxpayer dollars are being used wisely and responsibly. My amendment was common-sense and I’m pleased it was adopted with strong bipartisan support.”
For veterans, the bill increases funding for the Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs programs and services by 18 percent.
The bill modifies Minnesota’s GI Bill education program by expanding eligibility to all veterans. The legislation also would provide the educational benefit to the spouse or child of soldiers killed in the line of duty. Under this reform, eligibility would be based on the federal program requirements.
The legislation also allows public employees who also serve in the National Guard to choose when in the calendar year when to take their 15 days of paid military leave. In the past some municipalities have required employees to use all of their paid military leave before using unpaid leave – creating financial hardship later in the year. This legislation will allow employees to spread unpaid leave evenly throughout the year.
The bill creates a grant program to provide assistance to Minnesota veterans who are homeless or in danger of becoming homeless. This includes help with utilities, employment, and legal issues. The bill authorizes towns and cities to give contract preferences to veteran-own small businesses.
Finally, the bill provides funding for a permanent honor guard for veterans’ funerals.
“Our veterans have given us so much and they deserve our steadfast support,” said Rep. Sawatzky. “This bill does great things to help our vets and their families.”
Rep. Sawatzky encourages constituents to contact her with any questions, comments, concerns, or ideas on any legislative topic. Rep. Sawatzky can be reached by phone at 651-296-6206 or by email at rep.mary.sawatzky@house.mn. Constituents can also visit Rep. Sawatzky’s AreaVoices blog, legislative page and sign up for email updates.