newsminer.com

A bill creating a state veterans' cemetery in the Interior was heard by the Senate Finance Committee this morning, where Sen. Joe Thomas, D-Fairbanks, offered an amendment calling for progress soon, regardless of state funding.

Senate Bill 45 is sponsored by Sens. Gene Therriault, R-North Pole, and Charlie Huggins, R-Wasilla.

But a very similar plan, SB 55, is sponsored by Sen. Joe Thomas, D-Fairbanks, with support from co-sponsors Sens. Joe Paskvan, D-Fairbanks, Johnny Ellis, D-Anchorage, and Therriault. And in the House, Rep. David Guttenberg, D-Fairbanks, launched House Bill 97 to accomplish the same goal.

Minority leader Beth Kerttula, D-Juneau, and Rep. Berta Gardner, D-Anchorage, signed on as co-sponsors.

One of the bills was looking likely to pass, with a commitment from Gov. Sarah Palin to Guttenberg to allocate $250,000 to start planning. The state needs to commit $750,000 in order to access about $5 million in construction funds from the federal Veterans Administration.

But, Palin cut the funding in a list of budget amendments designed to rein in spending as revenues shrink.

This morning Thomas offered an amendment in Senate Finance that states the Legislature intends for the state Department of Military and Veterans' Affairs to get started on the planning and design now, regardless of state appropriation.

The amendment also specifically cites Fairbanks as the location for the Interior cemetery, and mandates a MVA progress report to the Legislature by Dec. 15.

The state could begin work, as Guttenberg's staff drafted a grant proposal for MVA, which a spokesperson recently said would be submitted for early federal review this week.