Face The State Staff Report
Veterans got a boost Tuesday as Gov. Bill Ritter signed five GOP bills that will improve services for current and retired members of the armed forces and their families.
FTS Staff Photo
“The veterans are very pleased with the Governor’s action today in signing the bills, which will have a significant impact on veterans throughout the state of Colorado, their families as well as the active duty personnel,” said Marvin Meyers, of United Veterans Committee of Colorado. “We’re also very pleased with the support that we get from the legislature and we want to be sure veterans are taken care of.”
House Bill 1039, sponsored by Rep. Frank McNulty, R-Highlands Ranch, and Sen. Mike Kopp, R-Littleton, makes higher education more affordable for active-duty military members, their families and honorably discharged veterans by making them eligible for in-state college tuition. A similar measure was offered last year, but killed due to objections over the added cost burden on Colorado’s higher education system.
“One of the things that George Washington observed a couple hundred years ago is that you can almost predict the level of willingness the country’s young people will have to serve in the military based on the way their country at present treats those folks,” said Kopp, who served in the Army.
Ritter also signed House Bill 1205, which will make it easier for military personnel serving overseas to to participate in elections. Republican Reps. Marsha Looper, of Calhan, David Balmer, of Centennial, and Sen. Suzanne Williams, an Aurora Democrat, sponsored the measure.
HB 1205 would require mail-in ballots requested 35 days before the election to be issued to overseas military personnel at least 30 days prior to the election. The deadline to receive and count military mail-in ballots would also be extended to eight days after the election. Additionally, the bill sets up a separate pilot program to test a program for active duty, uniformed members of the military stationed overseas to register and vote electronically.
Other bills signed Tuesday:
House Bill 1280, which will allow Colorado to participate in the National Guard’s Youth Challenge program, a mentoring program for high school dropouts between the ages of 16 and 18.
House Bill 1291, which will create a clearinghouse so veterans and their families can get information about support services and other assistance they are eligible to receive.
House Bill 1329, which allows more money to be spent annually from the Colorado State Veterans Trust Fund to support Colorado’s veteran nursing homes, cemeteries and programs run by veterans’ organizations.