Many pieces of 2016 legislation were to the benefit of veterans and military personnel

As the General Assembly has concluded its work for the 2016 Regular Session, I would like to take time over the next few weeks to update you on legislation regarding specific areas of interest to the people of the 83rd District.

As is typical, several pieces of legislation during this past session dealt with our veterans and active military personnel. As these brave men and women have put their lives on the line to serve our country and protect our way of life, I have always been committed to doing what I can to show our support for them.

After enlisting, military recruits are required to participate in various trainings. Sometimes, if the person is still in high school, this can conflict with a school schedule. Senate Bill 256 addressed this issue by allowing any high school student participating in basic training required by a branch of the United States Armed Forces to be considered present for all purposes, for up to 10 days. The bill passed both chambers unanimously and has been signed into law by Governor Bevin.

While serving our country, many veterans have suffered disabling injuries, causing their career paths to go in different directions from what they had planned. Some have started businesses and the view of the General Assembly was that we should do what we can to help them in their enterprises. House Bill 183 will establish a disabled veteran-owned business certification program in order to help patrons identify such businesses. This bill also passed both chambers unanimously and has been signed into law by Governor Bevin.

We fully recognize that not all of our military personnel make it home, as some pay the ultimate price in defense of our country. These sacrifices cannot be forgotten and we, as the General Assembly, took a small, but hopefully meaningful step, towards that end this session.

House Joint Resolution 76 designates the Honor and Remember Flag as an emblem of the service and sacrifice by the brave men and women of the United States Armed Forces who have given their lives in the line of duty. This flag was created in 2005 in the hopes of being an official national emblem to recognize our fallen members of the military. To date, the flag has been endorsed by over 25 military support organizations, including the AMVETS and Vietnam Veterans of America. I was proud to support this resolution and hope other states will join Kentucky in adopting its usage.

In previous columns, you may remember I spoke about a proposed new veterans nursing facility in Bowling Green. Veterans, civic leaders, and elected officials in South Central Kentucky have been working toward this goal for a long period of time and have done the legwork to make this a reality.

I was proud to vote for an amendment to the Executive Branch Budget that would have funded the state portion necessary to make it a reality. Unfortunately, in the final version of the budget, House Democrats removed this provision as there was outcry from Eastern Kentucky about wanting to have a facility located there, despite not being as far along with necessary preparations as Bowling Green.

While this is a setback, I am optimistic that work can be done in the near future to find ways for the facility in Bowling Green to move forward so that the veterans in our region requiring nursing care can be serviced.

I want to thank all of our veterans and military personnel. Your service does not go unnoticed and we appreciate all you have done and continue to do in service to our nation. Ours is a debt of gratitude that can never be fully repaid, but I do hope that these and other measures taken by the Kentucky General Assembly help toward that goal.

If you would like to stay up-to-date on all legislative action of interest to you during this session of the Kentucky General Assembly, you can visit www.lrc.ky.gov or call the LRC toll-free Bill Status Line at (866) 840-2835. As always, I welcome your thoughts and comments. You can send me a message either at jeff.hoover@lrc.ky.gov or by calling (800) 372-7181.