For all intensive purposes this year’s Legislative Session is over and I have mixed thoughts on that subject——the Legislature sent a clear message that as a body it no longer wished to deal with the Executive Director of the Kansas Commission on Veterans Affairs; unfortunately his resignation doesn’t take effect until November 30 therefore things may get bleaker before they get better. Although I was not originally a true supporter of the grant program which currently funds about half of the American Legion’s and VFW’s Veteran Affairs programs, I became a convert early on. Supporter or not, I was determined to help make the program work despite continual roadblocks and issues of control exerted by some connected with the KCVA. As usual, the Legion and VFW have far exceeded expectations in the number of veterans served and the amount of federal tax dollars returning to directly to the pockets of Kansas veterans with a service connected disability or who qualify financially for VA assistance. There will be challenges in both the near and distant future if our organizations are to continue to provide the best available assistance to veterans and their families——and best of all, at no charge

For years Kansas veterans preference laws have been ignored from city hall up to the state level. As a body the Legislature believes it has strengthened veteran’s preference in Kansas; I disagree, but hope I am proven wrong. KSA 73-201 was amended to grant the spouses of 100% disable veterans, and the spouses of veterans killed on active duty, veterans’ preference for employment by cities, counties, and the state——and that’s a good thing. But in my view veterans preference was dealt a major setback in other ways. Prior to the amendments passed and signed into law this year KSA 73-201’s language included the following in reference to honorably discharged veterans:

"shall be preferred for appointments and employed to fill positions in every public department and upon all public works of the state of Kansas, and the counties and cities of this state, if competent to perform such services" has been changed to "the provisions of this section are enacted. (c) Veterans shall be preferred for initial employment and first promotion" and,

" the officer, board or person whose duty it is or may be to appoint a person to fill such a place shall, if the applicant be a man or woman of good reputation, and can perform the duties of the position applied for , by him, or her, appoint said ex-soldier, sailor, airman or marine to such position , place, or employment:" has been changed to "shall, if the applicant be a veteran of good reputation, and can competently perform the duties of the position applied for by the veterans, consider the veteran for appointment to such position, place, or employment"

The key changes are: instead of a life time of earned veterans’ preference, veterans now have "initial employment and first promotion" which could be used to limit a person’s ability for advancement. How for example is a person going to prove they weren’t given preference for city or county summer job while attending college? Also, "shall appoint" has been changed to "shall consider". Every time you are handed a menu each item on that menu is available to you for your consideration’ but if you are only interested in a salad you’ve just considered and rejected everything else.

There are other troubling provisions in the new law, including the exclusion of certain positions or jobs. However on the positive side the law now requires every eligible veteran who applies for a public job but is not hired, be notified by certified mail or personnel service they are not being hired. And "Such notice shall advise the veteran of any administrative appeal available." Further the bill has a provision requiring a Legislative Post Audit to review whether veterans are actually being given preference for employment in 2011. It is now up to us to gather information on specific cases where veterans have applied for public employment but not been hired. Please ask veterans who have been denied public employment to contact me at Department Headquarters.