Nixon signs law for vets' home funding

Gov. Jay Nixon visited the Mount Vernon Veterans Home June 1 to sign legislation that dedicates a funding source to Missouri’s seven veterans homes. 

House Bill 1731, which passed during the 2012 regular session, increases the money being transferred from the Missouri Gaming Commission Fund to the Veterans’ Commission Capital Improvement Trust Fund, providing an annual funding source of $32 million for the operations of Missouri veterans homes and cemeteries. This dedicated funding source will help prevent revenue shortfalls in upcoming fiscal years and allow veterans home administrators, who serve roughly 1,300 veterans statewide, to better prepare for home replacements or repairs, Nixon said in a June 1 news release.

“We can never fully repay our military heroes for their service and sacrifice to our nation. But we can keep our commitment to our veterans by ensuring that Missouri’s veterans homes will continue to have the resources needed to provide quality care to our heroes,” Nixon said in the release.

The bill, which received bipartisan support in the state legislature, goes into effect July 1, the start of the 2013 fiscal year. Nixon, who had held a similar signing ceremony at a veterans’ home in St. Louis on May 31, said he had included the funding for veterans homes in his budget proposal in January.

“When funding for Missouri’s veterans homes was at risk of running out, we worked together to find a bipartisan solution. This legislation supports a sustainable and long-term plan for our veterans homes by providing a dedicated source of funding for their ongoing operations,” Nixon said in the release.