Veterans and Military Affairs Division

FIFTEENTH MEETING

2025-2026 Regular Session - Wednesday, April 15, 2026

STATE OF MINNESOTA FIFTEENTH MEETING
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES NINETY-FOURTH SESSION

VETERANS AND MILITARY AFFAIRS DIVISION

MINUTES

Representative Bliss, Co-Chair of the Veterans and Military Affairs Division, called the meeting to order at 8:15AM on Wednesday, April 15, 2026, in Room G23 of the State Capitol Building.

The Committee Legislative Assistant noted the roll.

Members Present:

BLISS, Matt (Co-Chair)
XIONG, Jay (Co-Chair)
OLSON, Bjorn (Co-Vice Chair)
REHRAUER, Kari (Co-Vice Chair)
BENNETT, Peggy
CLARDY, Mary Frances
DAVIS, Ben
DURAN, Bidal
FEIST, Sandra
HILL, Josiah
LEE, Xp
REPINSKI, Aaron

A quorum was present.

Representative Olson moved the minutes of March 25, 2026, be approved. THE MOTION PREVAILED.

HF 4588 (Myers) Task force established to improve veterans' access to mental health services in rural areas, and money appropriated.

Chair Bliss moved HF4588 before the Division.

Testifiers:

Bryce Wood, Clinical Psychology Doctoral Student, Augsburg University
Brendan Weed
Jon Kelly, Department of Veterans Affairs Director of Government Affairs

Chair Bliss laid over HF 4588.

HF 3685 (Olson, B.) High school diploma established for armed forces veterans.

Vice Chair Olson moved HF3685 before the Division.

Chair Bliss moved the H3685DE1 amendment. THE AMENDMENT WAS ADOPTED.

Testifiers:

Jon Kelly, Department of Veterans Affairs Director of Government Affairs

Chair Bliss laid over HF 3685.

HF 4577 (Rymer) Psilocybin therapeutic use program established; protections for registered patients, registered suppliers, registered facilitators, and health care practitioners established; civil actions authorized; advisory committee established; and money appropriated.

Chair Bliss moved HF4577 before the Division.

Testifiers:

Jamie Croyle, Director and Co-Founder, Psychedelic Access Project
Dr. Jessica Nielson, Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Minnesota and Chair, MN Psychedelic Medicine Task Force
Ross Brecke
Jon Kelly, Department of Veterans Affairs Director of Government Affairs

Chair Bliss laid over HF4577.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:42 AM

Representative Bliss, Co-Chair

Representative Xiong, Co-Chair

Representative Olson, Co-Vice Chair

Representative Rehrauer, Co-Vice Chair

Representative Bennett

Representative Clardy

Representative Davis

Representative Duran

Representative Feist

Representative Hill

Representative Lee

Representative Repinski

Jacob Alm, Committee Legislative Assistant

More Info On This Meeting..

Bills Added:

HF4588 (Myers) - Task force established to improve veterans' access to mental health services in rural areas, and money appropriated.
HF4577 (Rymer) - Psilocybin therapeutic use program established; protections for registered patients, registered suppliers, registered facilitators, and health care practitioners established; civil actions authorized; advisory committee established; and money appropriated.
HF3685 (Olson) - High school diploma established for armed forces veterans.

Documents:

HF 3685 DE1 authors amendment.pdf - 4/10/2026
HF 4577 DE3 authors amendment.pdf - 4/14/2026
HF4588 Bryce Wood written support testimony.pdf - 4/14/2026
HF 4577 Alex Larson support letter.pdf - 4/14/2026
HF 4577 Bryan Ebert support letter.pdf - 4/14/2026
HF 4577 Jessica Nielson support letter.pdf - 4/14/2026
HF 4577 John Bagby support letter.pdf - 4/14/2026
HF 4577 John Lichtsinn support letter.pdf - 4/14/2026
HF 4577 Law Enforcement Action Partnership support letter.pdf - 4/14/2026
HF 4577 Maggie Kirkwood support letter.pdf - 4/14/2026
HF 4577 Rebecca Lenz support letter.pdf - 4/14/2026
HF 4577 Veterans Exploring Treatment Solutions support letter.pdf - 4/14/2026
Veterans Day on the Hill 2026 flier.pdf - 4/14/2026

Audio:
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House TV Video:
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01:38 - HF4588 (Myers) Task force established to improve veterans' access to mental health services in rural areas, and money appropriated.
27:02 - HF3685 (Olson) High school diploma established for armed forces veterans.
38:28 - HF4577 (Rymer) Psilocybin therapeutic use program established; protections for registered patients, registered suppliers, registered facilitators, and health care practitioners established; civil actions authorized; advisory committee established; and money appropriated.
Runs 1 hour, 26 minutes.

Show Full Schedule Agenda:

1. Call to Order

2. Pledge of Allegiance

3. Approval of Minutes

4. HF 4588 (Myers) Task force established to improve veterans' access to mental health services in rural areas, and money appropriated.

5. HF 3685 (Olson, B.) High school diploma established for armed forces veterans. Note: an author's delete-all amendment has been posted for this bill.

6. HF 4577 (Rymer) Psilocybin therapeutic use program established; protections for registered patients, registered suppliers, registered facilitators, and health care practitioners established; civil actions authorized; advisory committee established; and money appropriated. Note: an author's delete-all amendment has been posted for this bill.

7. Adjourn

Agenda note: Agenda items may be taken up in any order at the discretion of the Chair and to accommodate schedules.

Testimony: Written testimony or requests to testify in person are due via e-mail to john.hultquist@house.mn.gov, the Committee Administrator for this hearing, no less than 24 hours prior to the start of the committee hearing. In-person testimony may be limited due to committee time constraints. Committee documents will be posted in advance of the hearing.

Note: All persons visiting the Minnesota State Capitol must go through security screening.

This hearing may be viewed via the House webcast schedule page. All events are closed captioned with automatically generated captions.