MONTGOMERY—The State Board of Veterans Affairs (SBVA) spoke out at a Wednesday meeting against possible legislation in the 2025 session that would change the way the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs (ADVA) is governed.
The SBVA oversees the operations of the ADVA, a state agency separate from the federal U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The SBVA's members are nominees from various veteran groups across the state. The governor, who is also a member of the board, appoints board members based on those groups' nominations.
Governor Kay Ivey unilaterally fired former ADVA commissioner Kent Davis last year over the objections of SBVA members.
Davis and his attorney have said they plan to file a lawsuit based on anti-retaliation provisions of the Alabama Ethics Act and contesting Ivey's alleged "supreme executive power" to fire him.
Casey Rogers, Ivey's external affairs director, said at an SBVA meeting on Wednesday that the board will probably be changed.
"As far as potential board/ADVA changes go, we've heard a lot of the same that you guys have seen in the media. I haven't seen an official piece of legislation. I do think there will be, kind of watching out to see when it will drop. I do not think it's a secret that changes will probably be made," Rogers said at the meeting.
Most media reports about the legislation mention moving the ADVA commissioner role to the governor's cabinet, which would allow the governor to hire and fire for the role. Reports have also mentioned taking away the board's authority to make policy decisions where members would have "advisory" roles.
Tony Berenotto, chair of the SBVA's legislative committee, said at the meeting that he was "surprised" no one on the board had been given details about the possible changes.
"I'm really surprised. I would really appreciate it if they sought some input or briefed us ahead of time. There's almost a feeling like, 'We don't know what we're doing' or even 'We don't know the veteran community' or something," Berenotto said.
State Rep. Ed Oliver (R-Dadeville) and State Sen. Andrew Jones (R-Centre) discussed the legislation on APTV's "Capitol Journal" in December. Jones called the changes in the bill a "positive development."
"I got an update from some of the governor's staff just yesterday that they're continuing to work through the process on developing the legislation. It is my understanding that it would go through both of our respective committees. I see this really as a way to elevate the Department of Veterans Affairs, bring them fully into the fold of state government and highlight the work that's being done for veterans and kind of make that person a member of the governor's team and the governor's cabinet. I think that's important. I think we need to make sure that veterans have a seat at the table. Everything that I've heard is all these veterans groups, the VSOs, veteran service organizations would still have a seat at the table. To me it's a positive development because we're elevating the status of the organization," Jones said.
Matt Gaff, an SBVA board member, said at the SBVA meeting on Wednesday, "I find it a little bit offensive whenever politicians get on a TV talk show or with a reporter that have never sat in this room or even talked to anybody in this room that we maybe aren't doing the right thing."
"It's even more disturbing when one of them is a veteran. I mean, it's not a secret when we meet and what we discuss. They can read all the minutes that they want, but I can tell you right now, I haven't had any of them reach out to me as a board member and say, 'Hey, what do you think? What do you think?' We do pretty good I believe with the way that we operate right now. We have states right now that their boards were removed and their veterans in the state lost benefits. North or South Carolina just lost three or four state benefits because they removed their board," Gaff added.
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email caleb.taylor@1819News.com.
Don't miss out! Subscribe to our newsletter and get our top stories every weekday morning.
