Governor DeSantis Signs Veteran-Related Bills from 2021 Legislative Session

June 30, 2021

TALLAHASSEE – Governor Ron DeSantis signed three additional Veteran-related bills on June 29 ‎that were sent to him following the 2021 Florida Legislative Session.‎

House Bill 231 – Services for Veterans and Their Families

As part of the state’s focus on mental health care and Veteran suicide prevention with the ‎Crisis Center of Tampa Bay and others, the legislation requires the Florida Department of ‎Veterans’ Affairs to establish the Florida Veterans’ Care Coordination Program to provide ‎and expand behavioral health care referral and care coordination services for Veterans and ‎their families and to partner with Florida 2-1-1 Network participants to provide such ‎services. ‎

House Bill 7023 – Veterans Treatment Courts

The legislation creates uniform standards and procedures for Florida’s current and future ‎Veterans Treatment Courts (VTC). It allows a court with criminal jurisdiction to create and ‎administer a VTC, which may adjudicate felonies and misdemeanors, with the exception of ‎the pretrial intervention of misdemeanor criminal traffic offenses. ‎

Senate Bill 416 – POW-MIA Vietnam Veterans Bracelet Memorial

The bill establishes a POW-MIA Vietnam Veterans Bracelet Memorial across the street from ‎the Old Capitol in Tallahassee, which will be installed next ‎to Florida’s Vietnam War ‎Memorial. The Vietnam Veterans of Big Bend Chapter 96‎ paid for the seven-foot high ‎bracelet memorial. ‎

Other Veteran-related legislation signed into law earlier this year by Governor DeSantis can be found here.

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