The American Legion Department of Minnesota 2022 Legislative Priorities are listed below. Contact your legislator to support this items.

  • Increase the state grant for congressionally chartered veteran service organizations to $1 million. This has decreased in recent years and has not been updated since 2009.
  • Pay a bonus to post-9/11 veterans. These bonuses have been paid to veterans of previous wars, but not to veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan.
  • Align the state definition of a veteran with the federal definition of a veteran. Currently there are a small number of individuals, federally recognized as veterans, who are denied state benefits.
  • Provide a property tax exemption to veteran service organizations that own buildings in their communities. State and county entities claim different interpretations of property tax law. An across the board 100% property tax relief would remove and confusion.
  • Reduce or make free the fees for hunting, fishing, and trapping for disabled veterans.
  • Require high school students to pass a citizenship/civics exam to graduate.
  • Create an omnibus bill for veteran-related legislation to keep our important causes away from partisan politics.
  • Allow military recruiters to enter schools and meet students.
  • Allow Boy and Girl Scout organizations access to schools for two weeks in September to speak about their organizations. Passed in 2018, but was not signed into law.
  • Require county recorders to document discharge papers from all branches of the military. This is currently only required for service members who left the Army, Navy, and Marines. This Legislation would add Coast Guard, Air Force, and Space Force.
  • Pursue a Legacy Fund grant for Legionville repairs.
  • Provide a percentage based Homestead Market Value Exclusion.
  • Provide a Homestead Market Value Exclusion for DIC Recipients. This will allow for cases where the VA takes more than the required two years to make the decision for Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC)
  • Stances on charitable gambling: reduce taxes; all mandated costs should be lawful expenses; oppose efforts to remove e-pull tabs; oppose altering the star-rating system.