AB 96 to be signed into law July 13th

Governor Scott Walker will sign 2011 Assembly Bill 96 into law in a public ceremony in the State Capitol on Wednesday morning, July 13th.

The bill will restore the appointment of the WDVA Secretary to an appointment by the Governor and confirmed by the state Senate.  The process was changed to the current, Board-appointed process in 1977, a change that was adamantly opposed by nearly all veterans service organizations and county veterans service officers.

Earlier this year, DAV's Executive Committee considered these issues twice and agreed -- with one member opposing -- to support the AB 96 restoration.

The bill signing ceremony will be held in the Governor's Conference Room in the State Capitol, and a number of key DAV leaders plan to attend.

(Personal note:  Despite having put a lot of personal and organizational effort into getting AB 96 introduced, amended, and passed, due to prior plans, I'll be in Washington, DC on Capitol Hill working on military health research and foreign affairs funding and regrettably unable to attend the ceremony.)


--Anthony Hardie, Madison, Wis.