Despite expectations of a swift passage out of the House of Representatives, the controversial State Board of Veterans Affairs (SBVA) restructuring did not make the cut for Tuesday's special order calendar to receive a floor vote.
The bill to restructure the SBVA and graft the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs (ADVA) commissioner into the governor's cabinet has already led to much debate and political sniping.
Senate Bill 67 (SB67) shifts the ADVA commissioner's hiring and firing responsibility to the governor. The role currently answers to the SBVA. The bill also turns the SBVA into an "oversight" board, bearing no real authority.
Senate lawmakers heavily amended the bill during debate, resulting in an eventual substitute encompassing multiple changes, many of which were requested by the state's Veterans Service Organizations (VSOs).
Under the new law, the governor would still appoint SBVA members based on suggested appointees from the following nine organizations: The Alabama Department of the American Legion (DAL), the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), the Disabled American Veterans (DAV), the Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA), AMVETS, the Military Order of the Purple Heart (MOPH), the American Ex-Prisoners of War, the Alabama Alliance of the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) and the Marine Corps League (MCL).
Since the amendments, three of the state's largest VSOs have supported them, while the remaining have either actively opposed them or decided not to.
After the House Veterans and Military Affairs Committee advanced the legislation last week without any amendments, all signs pointed to the House swiftly advancing the bill. However, the House's special order calendar for the first legislative day of the week does not include SB67.
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