The Senate Agriculture and Veterans Affairs Committee on Thursday recommended a “do pass” on House Bill 11-35, a bill that would raise the maximum loan available from the state Veterans Aid Fund to $8,000.

Representative Brandy Pyle, R-District 22, introduced the bill, saying the fund “serves as a revolving loan fund providing financial assistance to veterans [and] surviving spouses who have not remarried,” and noting the fund’s authorization has not been updated in more than two decades. “Given this long period of time without adjustment, I believe it is both reasonable and necessary to make a small increase in this loan authorization,” Pyle said.

The bill would increase the maximum unsecured loan veterans can receive from the fund to $8,000. Lonnie Wong, commissioner of the North Dakota Department of Veterans Affairs, testified in favor and explained the program’s mechanics: the Administrative Committee on Veterans Affairs can set an interest rate up to 10 percent; the program currently charges 8 percent and refunds half the interest for timely repayment. “With the loan right now we've got a little over maybe $150,000 loaned out and well over $400,000 available,” Wong said, adding that the interest paid helps cover administrative costs and that written-off loans have been rare.

Committee members asked how the revolving feature operates; Wong said borrowers who reduce a loan balance can re-borrow up to the statutory maximum but may not exceed the $8,000 cap the bill would set. He also said the loans may be used for any purpose except debt consolidation, which the department discourages because it historically increased delinquency and collection difficulty.

After testimony, a motion for a do-pass recommendation was made and the clerk recorded affirmative votes from members present. The committee recorded a unanimous recommendation in favor and named Senator Weston as the carry senator.

The bill’s supporters described it as not creating a fiscal cost to taxpayers because it modifies the limit on a revolving loan fund rather than creating a new subsidy. The testimony cited inflation and the national average for unsecured loans — “just over $8,000” — as reasons for selecting the new cap.

If enacted, the legislative change would allow the Veterans Aid Fund to issue individual loans of up to $8,000 and continue using repaid principal to fund future loans. The bill will next proceed to the floor where the sponsor and the designated carrier will present it.

Ending: The committee closed the public hearing after hearing no opposition or neutral testimony and advanced the bill with a do-pass recommendation.