MS SB2972

Appropriates $6,257,337.00 from the State General Fund and $30,864,685.00 from special funds to the Veterans Affairs Board for fiscal year 2012-2013.

Authorizes 78 permanent full-time positions, 530 time-limited full-time positions, and 76 part-time positions within the board.

Allocates $250,000.00 to provide care for indigent and low-income Mississippi veterans and surviving spouses in state veterans homes under the "Hilton R. 'Jack' Vance Act of 1997."

Grants the Veterans Affairs Board authority to escalate and expend reimbursement funds for the Mississippi Veterans Memorial Cemetery planning and up to $8,000,000.00 in federal funds for construction and equipment.

Permits the board to retroactively reimburse State Veterans Home daily care charges for service-connected veterans specified in Public Law 109-461 dating back to March 21, 2007, to obtain increased VA per diem funding.