Focused on veterans — not politics — division hears 24 bills in 2018

Although politics between two competing parties can become testy at times in the Legislature, one group of lawmakers vocally vows to put aside partisanship as they hear, discuss and vote on bills. The House Veterans Affairs Division has a non-partisan approach to legislating.

Led by Rep. Bob Dettmer (R-Forest Lake), the division chair, and Rep. Paul Rosenthal (DFL-Edina), the ranking minority party member, the division finalized its session work Monday by approving a draft of its report activities.

“Leave politics at the door,” Dettmer mentioned in his closing statements, echoing sentiments from earlier this year and in 2017.

Once, a testifier identified himself with a veterans group and his political affiliation. Dettmer reminded the man that party politics have no place in the way he runs the division.

“[We’re] a committee dedicated to serving veterans throughout the state,” Rosenthal said Monday.

The report highlights the 24 bills heard during the division’s eight meetings, along with presentations from a number of groups and agencies. They include, but are not limited to:

• a proposal by Rep. Jim Davnie (DFL-Mpls) to increase property tax breaks for certain disabled veterans (HF1123);
• giving military recruiters access to high school students similar to college recruiters (Dettmer, HF2788);
• HF3477, sponsored by Rep. Matt Bliss (R-Pennington), which would allow local governments to recognize themselves as “Purple Heart” counties or cities; and
• a bill sponsored by Rep. Anna Wills (R-Rosemount) intended to correct the intention of a 2016 law that stopped taxing veterans’ pensions (HF3934).