TALLAHASSEE – Gov. Ron DeSantis’ Florida Leads budget provides critical support to the state’s 1.5 million veterans, their families and survivors.
Florida Department of Veterans’ Affairs Deputy Executive Director James S. “Hammer” Hartsell said: “I’m very proud of Governor Ron DeSantis’ steadfast support of FDVA, ensuring Florida remains the most veteran-friendly state in the nation. Governor DeSantis has committed millions of dollars in funding to Florida’s veteran population over the past two years. This year’s budget continues our passion of connecting veterans with their earned services, benefits and support.”
One of the biggest enterprises within the FDVA is its network of award-winning State Veterans’ Homes. The State of Florida boasts six state veterans’ nursing homes and one state veterans’ domiciliary. Additional state veterans’ nursing homes in Port St. Lucie and Orlando are slated to open in calendar year 2021.
Governor DeSantis has proposed funding for the completion and staffing of the additional state veterans’ nursing homes in Port St. Lucie and Orlando, and capital improvements and replacement of equipment and furniture for the state’s operational veterans’ nursing homes and domiciliary.
Other state veterans’ home funding includes support for contract services for increased costs and utilization in agency staffing, housekeeping, therapy, medical and pharmacy services. For more information, click here: https://bit.ly/3pu9jZJ
TALLAHASSEE –The 2021 Florida Legislative Session has begun with a series of Interim Committee Weeks preceding the annual 60-day session, which begins March 2. The third of five weeks of pre-session committee hearings begins at the Capitol on Feb. 1.
The remaining interim committee weeks in Tallahassee are Feb. 1-5, Feb. 8-12, and Feb. 15-19.
On the first day of the legislative session March 2, Gov. Ron DeSantis will deliver a televised State of the State address.
The Florida Department of Veterans’ Affairs is promoting several veteran-related bills in the upcoming session. One bill involves creating a detailed statewide standard for the creation and operation of, and procedures for, veteran treatment courts. Modeled after drug court treatment programs, veteran treatment courts divert eligible veterans and service members into treatment programs for military-related conditions or war-related trauma. Sen. Danny Burgess is sponsoring Senate Bill 764. Its companion bill in the House of Representatives is expected to be filed in the coming days.
The second bill establishes the Florida Veterans’ Care Coordination Program, which expands Florida’s 2-1-1 Crisis Network and provides veterans and their families with dedicated behavioral health care referral services, primarily for mental health and substance abuse. Sen. Gayle Harrell is sponsoring Senate Bill 260, while Rep. Ardian Zika is sponsoring the companion bill in the Florida House of Representatives, HB 231.
In addition, Sen. Tom Wright is sponsoring SB 586, which creates a statewide awareness and employment program built on the Department of Defense SkillBridge Program. There is no companion House bill at present.
The program allows servicemembers to gain workforce training at private businesses while on active duty as they are transitioning out of the military and designates Veterans Florida as the state’s principal SkillBridge assistance organization to employers and transitioning servicemembers.
The bills, and other veteran-related legislation which will be introduced in the coming weeks, can be followed by visiting the legislative page of the Florida Department of Veterans’ Affairs at https://www.floridavets.org/news/veteran-legislation/.
TALLAHASSEE – Gov. Ron DeSantis and officials from the Florida Department of Veterans’ Affairs are pointing to a string of policies and initiatives that were providing critical support to the state’s 1.5 million veterans in 2020. For more information on these successes, click here: https://bit.ly/3iHZPHt
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