A bill designed to keep the Maine Veterans' Homes in Caribou and Machias open has won initial legislative approval in Augusta.
The Maine House and Senate voted unanimously to give initial approval to the legislation, which Senate President Troy Jackson introduced earlier this session.
Maine Veterans' Homes, which runs the facilities, has said staffing problems and a dwindling veteran population were the reasons for the planned closures this spring.
But the Caribou and Machias facilities would stay open, at least for now, under the legislation, which provides roughly $3 million to Maine Veterans' Homes to offset funding shortfalls.
Closing a veterans home in the future would require a public hearing and legislative approval. The bill also includes the names of all six Maine Veterans' Homes in statute.
The legislation faces one more vote in the Senate before it will head to Gov. Janet Mills' desk for her signature. Mills has said she wants to see the two veterans' homes stay open.
