JACKSON - The state Senate on Tuesday approved a $2.3 million deficit appropriation for the Veterans Affairs Board.
Appropriations Committee Chairman Jack Gordon, D-Okolona, said the money will allow the board to continue operations through June 30.
"They've got a serious deficit problem," Gordon told the Senate. "They are getting calls from various utilities every day because they are in a deficit on their bills."
The Veterans Affairs Board oversees the operation of four veterans homes. The facilities, each with 150 beds, are located in Jackson, Oxford, Collins and Kosciusko.
The bill passed unanimously and was sent to the House.
Sen. Gloria Williamson, D-Philadelphia, said much of the funding would go toward the payment of contract nurses. She said lawmakers should focus on programs that would encourage recruitment and retention of more nurses in state facilities.
Williamson said she introduced a bill a few years ago that did that, but it died. She said she'll introduce another this session.
The appropriation bill listed payments due to four companies that provide contract nurses. The other vendors are for drugs and medical supplies. The overdue bills date from fiscal year 2003.
Adrian Grice, executive director of the Veterans Affairs Board, said he informed the Joint Legislative Budget Committee last fall that his agency would need a deficit appropriation.
Grice said contract nurses are among the biggest expenses. He said it is mandatory that the facilities have a certain number of nurses on staff at all times. If a nurse calls in sick, then the facilities have to rely on contract agencies.
"The biggest problem that we have is competition for nurses," Grice said Tuesday.
He said hospitals and private companies pay higher salaries than the state.
The average pay for a nurse in state facilities ranges from $28,000 to $44,000 depending on experience.
"The Personnel Board has proposed substantial increases in those amounts, but they would have to be funded by the Legislature," Grice said.
Sen. Johnnie Walls, D-Greenville, said some lawmakers are reticent about approving deficit appropriations, especially in a tight budget year. However, he said the Veterans Affairs Board takes care of people who served in the military.
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