Sandoval creates Nevada veterans council

CARSON CITY - On the eve of July 4, Gov. Brian Sandoval announced he has created a council that will look into the problems of Nevada's veterans and propose solutions that could be enacted in coming years.

Members of state agencies, veterans groups, American Indian organizations and local and federal governments will be appointed to the 13-member Governor's Interagency Council of Veterans Affairs.

This group will meet four times and recommend ways to improve services to veterans in Nevada by Dec. 31, 2013. Nevada has between 240,000 and 300,000 veterans.

"Over the last decade, our country has been engaged in military conflicts around the globe, and veterans returning to our state from these conflicts face significant hardships while transitioning back into civilian life," Sandoval said in a statement.

"It is incumbent upon us as a society to provide the best level of service we can to our veterans, and increased formalization of the State's approach to coordination between existing efforts is necessary and important."

Tuesday's executive order follows one issued May 7 in which Sandoval ordered licensing reciprocity for spouses of military members in Nevada. The order requires state business license boards to give licenses for people such as nurses, cosmetologists and barbers who move to Nevada with their military husbands or wives.

And in recent weeks, a legislative committee agreed to ask local governments to voluntarily establish a veterans court in Clark County.

At this court, veterans facing nonviolent criminal violations could receive help for substance abuse problems, job training and assistance. If the county does not establish this court, sponsoring Assemblyman Elliot Anderson, D-Las Vegas, said the 2013 Legislature might mandate it.

Contact Capital Bureau Chief Ed Vogel at evogel@reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3901.