Veterans

HF 3544 changes eligibility for Minnesota veterans' state benefits and discontinues a specific program. It prohibits veterans or former military members who have forfeited federal benefits (per U.S. law) from receiving state-funded benefits, services, or programs. The bill also ends the environmental hazards information and assistance program, which provided veterans with health risk information related to chemical exposures like Agent Orange. This is accomplished by repealing specific statutes (196.19-196.26, 197.225) that previously established the program and its requirements. The law directly affects veterans who lost federal benefits and those who relied on the discontinued environmental hazards program.