House advances "stolen valor" measure to align penalties with fraud statutes

The House’s committee of the whole recommended Senate Bill 14-24 — described on the floor as the state’s response to stolen valor and fraudulent uses of military recognition — receive a do-pass recommendation after lawmakers adopted a floor amendment described as a technical alignment with existing fraud statutes.

Supporters framed the bill as protecting veterans’ honors and preventing people from profiting from false claims of military service. Opponents did not offer sustained floor opposition during the recorded session.

Representative Blackmon (Representative), who brought the measure to the floor, said the bill was designed to “tighten the legislation up” with technical corrections to align the punishment phase to fraud statutes. Multiple lawmakers, including Representative Kupfer and Representative Marquez, praised the bipartisan work on the bill. Representative Kupfer called stolen valor “a very serious issue” and said the legislation addressed people who attempt to benefit from false claims of service.

Representative Blackmon urged members to support the measure and invoked veterans and the veterans caucus’ backing, saying “We have a half a million veterans in this state that support this legislation.” Several members acknowledged Republican and Democratic cooperation; Representative Travers said the sponsor had “listened to the veterans community” and worked through amendments to improve the bill.

The committee of the whole adopted a floor amendment and then reported the bill as do-pass. The transcript records the voice vote outcome on the committee motion and the committee report; the floor clerk later read into the journal that SB 14-24 do pass as amended. The transcript does not include a roll-call tally in the floor excerpt for final passage at this sitting.