The Texas Veterans Commission meets Tuesday to approve the application rules for its next round of grants to veterans’ charities — the program that handed out $40.8 million in 190 grants to 160 organizations in awards announced in June.
The Fund for Veterans’ Assistance is a pot of money that sits outside the state’s main checkbook and can be spent only by this agency. More than eighty percent of it comes from the lottery game dedicated to veterans; the rest comes from the voluntary donations people can add when they register a vehicle, get a driver’s or commercial license, buy a hunting or fishing license or apply for a license to carry. It pays for five things: general assistance, housing, mental health care, veterans treatment courts, and the county offices that help veterans file federal claims. At least five percent is reserved for those county offices. Since 2009, the commission says, the fund has made 1,790 grants worth more than $400 million.
One thing changed underneath it last year. The Legislature abolished the Texas Lottery Commission in 2025 and handed the lottery to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation on September 1. The money still reaches veterans: the comptroller’s accounting manual still carries the fund and says the licensing department now computes the monthly transfers.
The commission also takes up its budget request to the Legislature, and it does so under a cap. On July 14 the governor, the lieutenant governor and the House speaker ordered every agency to ask for three percent less than its current base. Veterans’ services are not among the carve-outs. The request was due at the Legislative Budget Board on August 7 — eleven days before this meeting — and the agency has not posted it, so whether Tuesday’s vote ratifies a filed document or precedes one is not clear from the notice.
The commission is meeting short-handed. Five seats are authorized; the letterhead on the notice lists four members and no vice chair. Also on the agenda are the agency’s annual internal audit report and this year’s awards to colleges judged to serve veteran students well. Grant seekers should watch the agency’s site in early September, when it posts the dates for the application window.
Meeting at a glance
- When
- 8:30 a.m. CT Tuesday, August 18, 2026 — the commission’s fourth quarterly meeting of fiscal 2026. The notice was filed August 6.
- Where
- George H.W. Bush Building, 1801 Congress Ave., Board Room 4.300, Austin.
- Governing body & chair
- Texas Veterans Commission — five governor-appointed members serving staggered six-year terms. At least three must be honorably discharged veterans and at least one a disabled veteran. Laura Koerner is chairwoman.
- Format
- In person, with public comment also taken by Zoom. Speakers get three minutes, must be on camera and must file a comment form naming the item. A closed session on personnel and litigation is noticed.
- Live video
- Live webcast · recording posted afterward on the agency’s commission meetings page.
- Full agenda
- Secretary of State Open Meeting Viewer · agency meeting page
Commission members
- Laura Koerner, Fair Oaks Ranch — chairwoman; Navy veteran and engineer.
- Chuck Wright, Frisco — secretary; former Marine Corps helicopter pilot.
- Mike P. Hernandez, Abilene — retired Marine corporal; term expired December 2025.
- Chris Cantu — retired Air Force colonel; appointed August 2026.
- Fifth seat vacant; no vice chair listed on the notice.
The roster follows the letterhead on the August 6 meeting notice, which is more current than the agency’s own commissioners page. Two sources give different hometowns for Chris Cantu — the governor’s appointment announcement says Hutto, the agency’s welcome release says Leander — so no city is given here. Composition, six-year terms and the veteran and senate-district requirements are set by Government Code Chapter 434. Thomas P. Palladino, a retired Army colonel, has been executive director since 2010; Shawn Deabay is deputy executive director. Staff contact for this meeting: Cheryl Aldridge, (512) 463-0504.