This is all important information and please read it if you haven’t been following these issues over the past month. If you have been following, the request for action (Contact our Representatives and Senators) is found in the last two or three paragraphs. Please take some time to look/read and send a message if you want to express your support for these issues.
To All TNVET member organizations and those who signed up for Veterans Day on the Hill (whether you attended or not)
Below is a report on the disabled veteran property tax bill and how to send a letter to your legislators asking for support. Those that attended “Veterans Day on the Hill” have done their part….to a degree. Many of you attendees have spouses, friends and family who support the veteran causes and they are registered voters too. We need them to sign a letter and email it to legislators too. This will come down to a budget/funding fight at the legislature. We need legislators to get thousands of email/letters so they understand that this issue is important. Now many of you are not directly affected by this bill, but as veterans we lobby for the benefit of all of us. There are about 430,000 veterans in Tennessee currently….about 50,000 are part of TNVET, through their veteran organization membership. As far as we know, that makes TNVET the 800lb gorilla in the legislative ring…compared to all other veteran organizations. That has been the legislative goal since the beginning of TNVET….represent the voices of many through one focused effort. That effort must work as veteran numbers have dropped from over 500,000 less than 10 years ago. By the state’s own numbers, we are over a $12 billion impact on this state ( https://www.tn.gov/veteran/vrbp/economic-impact-veterans-tn.html ). Last year to fund this bill would cost an additional $2.5 million/yr. There are other bills out there related to the veteran property tax reimbursement. Some would pay for all of the disabled’s property tax. Some would allow for a level higher than the $175K limit on property value. HOWEVER, the repeated pattern year after year that TNVET has personally witnessed in legislative committee meetings is to see these other initiatives shot down immediately as being too costly. The other bills, while potentially being of great benefit to these disabled vets run 3 to almost 10 times the cost of our effort. As the updated version of these bills are being bought forth, costs will only go higher. Also, for those bills that increase the amount of value the reimbursement can be based on, still have the flaw of using “Market Value” versus “County Accessed Value”, which still short changes the disabled vet and their family. This was explained at the last summer TNVET meeting an at the Veterans Day event.
Now, having said that, the best way to eat the elephant is a bite at a time. We have taken bites of this elephant since 2016 and been successful. The TNVET approach of fixing “Market Value” is another bit. We are fully aware, understand and see future bites that will include bigger and better reimbursements. However, TNVET will stay the course as all member organizations agreed to…..fix the “market value” calculation first.
With that said, all TNVET appointed veteran organizations contacts that get this email are URGED to make sure it gets to all the grass root organizational levels. This was a topic of concern that was covered at “Vet Day”. This report has also been posted to the TNVET Facebook page.
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TNVET Legislative Update – Disable Veteran Property Tax Reimbursement – HB0436/SB0651
At the “Veterans Day on the Hill” (Jan 29) over 100 attendees signed letters addressed to their House and Senate legislators on proposed TNVET veteran legislation. At the time, the legislators carrying our bills had not been able to get bill numbers assigned, due to the special session activity. TNVET collected those letters with the promise that once the bill numbers were assigned, we would “pen” them in and deliver to their respective legislators.
We now have bill numbers for the Disable Veteran Property Tax Reimbursement – HB0436/SB0651. As promised, TNVET placed the numbers on the letters, placed the letters into folders assigned with legislator’s name, and placed a cover letter on the outside of the folder explaining our goal again. TNVET delivered them to the 22 Senate and 36 House offices that the attendees represented by district. Legislators not having a vet from their district have received a visit and letter from TNVET…we covered ALL 132 legislative offices. This was accomplished on Feb13, 2025. This may have been the best across-the-state representation we have had of legislative districts at the annual meeting.
Now we need to engage the thousands of other veterans (whether they are a part of TNVET or not) to send this letter to their Tennessee State House and Senate representatives. Government responds when the interest is shown and support at the grass roots! TNVET has provided the same letter that attendees signed on our website. The basics are, 1) have the email address of your legislator, 2) copy and pasted the letter we have provided to an email, 3) fill in the required blanks of the letter and 4) email.
We have more details (if you don’t know who is your state House and Senate legislator is, or what is their email, etc.), at our website that help you access all the info you need to contact/email your legislators. For the letter and details go to: https://tnvet.org/legislative-success/letters-for-legislator-support-2025/
You will also find, at this time, another TNVET letter on our website page, which attendees signed and delivered that day to their legislators that requested support of legislative bill: HJR 0001 – Support for hyperbaric oxygen therapy for veteran TBI/PTSD. TNVET asks that you also send this as a separate email to your legislators asking for support.
Thank you,
TNVET
