Issue Position: Veterans

Issue Position

Virginia is fortunate to have some 830,000 veterans and their family members living in Virginia. To honor the sacrifices of Virginia's veterans and active duty personnel in the state, I supported legislation to help make Virginia a more veterans-friendly state.

During the 2012 legislative session, the General Assembly passed several bills to benefit our veterans. Some of those bills are listed below:

H.B. 253- Expands the hiring preference in state employment for veterans to include the surviving spouse or child of a veteran killed in the line of duty;

H.B. 719- Allows a permanently disabled veteran to obtain at no cost a combined hunting and fresh water fishing license or either a hunting or fishing license;

H.B. 922- Expands the eligibility of the real estate tax exemption law to include primary residencies held in certain trusts and primary residencies held by a surviving spouse;

H.B. 933- Clarifies various aspects of the disabled veterans property tax exemption, including that a veteran or their spouse does not lose the exemption due to extended stays in the hospital or at nursing facilities;

H.B. 573- Honors our service members who have made the ultimate sacrifice by requiring that all flags at any building owned by the Commonwealth be flown at half-staff or mast for one day when any member of the United State armed forces, a police officer, or a firefighter who is a resident of Virginia is killed in the line of duty;

H.B. 1121- Improves claims service for veterans qualifying for certain benefits in the Commonwealth by increasing the ratio of claims agents to veterans.

During the 2010 and 2011 sessions, I voted for legislation to improve access to higher education and health care for veterans, and most recently, real estate property tax exemptions for disabled veterans and their surviving spouses. I have also supported legislation that makes it easier for veterans to get back to work when they return from serving our country, including fee waivers for veterans starting a new business. Governor McDonnell has signed each of these bills into law.

The House and Senate passed legislation in 2010 extending the lead time for getting absentee ballots to deployed Virginia service members to 45 days before Election Day. The purpose of the legislation was to ensure our Virginians in active service have the fullest opportunity to participate in the electoral process even when serving on the battlefields of Iraq, Afghanistan and other posts around the world. If you are a veteran or know of a veteran who will be unable to cast his or her vote in person in the next election, please contact our office. We'll make sure they have the necessary information to know how to register to vote, apply for and cast an absentee ballot.

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