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Committee adopts amendment requiring VA accreditation for agents who assist veterans; bill 584 passes
Summary
A state legislative committee adopted an amendment that inserts federal language requiring accreditation by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for agents and attorneys who assist veterans with benefit claims, then voted to pass bill 584 as amended.
A state legislative committee adopted an amendment that requires agents or attorneys who assist veterans with benefits claims to be accredited by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, then passed bill 584 as amended.
Committee members said the amendment adopts federal language into state law to establish the accreditation requirement. “What we did is in we took the federal statute, which is in federal law, and just transferred it to the state legislation,” one legislator said during the discussion.
The amendment, as read aloud during the meeting, replaces portions of the bill on page 2 and page 3 with new text. The replacement language states that no person shall assist in the preparation, presentation or prosecution of claims for veterans benefits as an agent or attorney unless he or she has first been accredited by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for that purpose. A committee member said stakeholders — including veterans organizations that reviewed the text — had reached agreement on the change.
The committee adopted the amendment by voice vote. One committee member said, “Motion adopted.” The panel then moved on to final consideration of bill 584. A committee member made a motion for passage “as amended,” the motion was seconded, and the chair called for the ayes; the motion passed.
Meeting remarks were brief and centered on adopting the federal language into state statute and confirming stakeholder agreement. Committee members did not state a roll-call vote or record individual yes/no votes in the public remarks captured in the transcript. After the bill passed, the committee had no further business and adjourned.
Details recorded in the meeting transcript identify the sections and replacement lines the amendment addressed but the transcript does not specify the bill sponsor, the chamber (House or Senate), or the full, formal bill title for 584. The committee also did not state a numeric vote tally in the recorded excerpt.
