MONTGOMERY — On Wednesday, the House Veterans and Military Affairs Committee again delayed voting on legislation reforming the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs (ADVA), making the ADVA commissioner a cabinet position and changing the State Board of Veterans Affairs (SBVA) role.
The legislation, with versions in both the House and Senate, would change the ADVA commissioner's role to being appointed by the governor. Currently, the State Board of Veterans Affairs hires and fires the position. The State Board of Veterans Affairs would also be changed to an "advisory" role.
After weeks of debate, the Senate passed a heavily amended version of the bill on Tuesday after significant backlash from the state's veterans service organizations (VSOs), who initially came out in force at the state house in opposition.
The Senate version will now go to a House committee for debate and deliberation. However, it was the House version that lawmakers delayed voting on Wednesday afternoon.
In a tightly packed room in the so-called cloakroom in the Alabama State House, chairman Ed Oliver (R-Dadeville), who also sponsors the House version of the bill, quickly motioned to carry the bill over.
According to Oliver, the delay in the vote was to prevent the appearance of shoving the bill through without appropriate transparency.
“Senate Bill 67, as most of you are aware, passed 21-9 yesterday in the Senate,” Oliver said. “Rather than ramming everything down your throats and trying to act like we’re in a hurry, we decided to slow this down a little bit so we have maximum visibility; that everybody gets to see what we’re doing. I think it’s very important that we get this right.”
The Senate’s amended version still elevates the ADVA commissioner to a cabinet position. However, it also maintains the current law, keeping the governor as the sole appointer of board members selected from recommendations from the state’s VSOs.
The SBVA would only exist in an advisory capacity under the new bill, bearing no real authority.
With the newest version, the only remaining complaint form VSOs that are still in the bill relate to the perceived demotion of the SBVA to an advisory role.
However, the bill’s Senate sponsor, State Sen. Andrew Jones (R-Centre), said, "There's no way to have a commissioner be a cabinet official and have him answer to the board.”
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email craig.monger@1819news.com.
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