Local veterans advisory members urge county briefing on state bill they say leaves El Paso underfunded

Mike Barnes, who identified himself as chair of the veterans advisory board for El Paso County, told attendees the board is preparing to brief county commissioners on legislative items affecting veterans, focusing first on House Bill 2894 (HB 2894), which he described as a property‑tax reimbursement measure for certain veterans.

Barnes said the bill is intended to reimburse tax losses tied to 100% disabled‑veteran property tax relief but that funding apportioned to El Paso fell short of what local advocates expected. "We have approximately 8,800 veterans who are a 100% at a median tax rate, about $4,500 a year... That's $39,000,000 of lost revenue for our county," Barnes said, and he said local advocates will ask commissioners to press the state comptroller to increase allocations.

Barnes and other members said they are not proposing local amendments to the bill now but want to ensure the apportioned dollars reach El Paso. He urged members to pass specific legislative priorities to the VAC so staff can coordinate outreach and to identify which state grants the city and county should apply for to mitigate local shortfalls.

Context and next steps: Barnes said he would contact the board’s legislative representative in Austin for more detailed answers about the allocation shortfall and return that information to the advisory panel. The subcommittees present also planned to consolidate recommendations for an August briefing to the council and to push for state and local grant applications that target transportation, housing and employment services for veterans.