Arkansas House approves veterans-home bill

— Arkansas lawmakers have approved legislation to authorize the state to establish a new veterans home to replace one that closed last year.

The House voted 95-0 Friday on an amendment to a bill to authorize the state Department of Veterans Affairs to set up and maintain a new home. The bill limits the maximum capacity of the veterans home to 150 beds.

The proposal had already passed the House, but was amended in the Senate to allow the department to select the site after seeking advice from a task force created under a separate measure signed into law earlier this month.

The state closed the veterans home in Little Rock last year, and veterans complained that years of neglect led to the facility’s deterioration.

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