JEFFERSON CITY -- Insuring that the Veterans' Commission Capital Improvement Trust Fund remains solvent is the goal behind legislation sponsored by State Sen. Anita Yeckel, R-Sunset Hills, which was considered by a Senate committee on Monday.

"This trust fund faces insolvency in 2006 if it continues to receive its current funding," said Sen. Yeckel, during testimony to the Financial and Governmental Organization, Veterans' Affairs and Elections Committee. "The Veterans' Commission has been good stewards of these funds, and the work they do is important to the veterans of this state."

Senate Bill 416 would change the amount transferred into the Veterans' Commission Capital Improvement Trust Fund from its present $3 million to $7 million.

A $2 boarding fee is charged at all casinos in the state. Half of that money goes to the communities in which the casino is located, and the other half goes to the Gaming Commission Fund. This funding is used for the operation of the Gaming Commission, with the remaining money distributed between the Veterans Commission Capital Improvement Fund, Early Childhood Education Fund, Missouri National Guard Scholarship Trust Fund, and the Compulsive Gambler's Trust Fund.

The Veterans Commission uses this money to operate the state's veterans' nursing home; veterans' cemeteries; maintenance and repair of veterans' home facilities; and provides funding for veterans' memorials including the Liberty Memorial in Kansas City.

In addition, under SB 416 when the net proceeds in the gaming commission fund exceeds $27 million, any amount of the remaining proceeds would be divided evenly between the Early Childhood Education Fund and the Veterans' Commission Capital Improvement Trust Fund.

"I think this is a much more equitable way to divide up the gaming commission fund," Sen. Yeckel said. "No one wants to take away from other groups receiving money from this fund. We simply want to make certain that the Veterans' Commission's fund does not run out of money."