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Assembly panel advances bill to bar unaccredited firms from charging veterans for VA claims
Summary
AB 826, authored by Assemblymember Jeff Gonzales, would impose civil penalties on unaccredited individuals or businesses that charge veterans to file VA benefit claims; it passed the committee and was re-referred to Judiciary after extended testimony both supporting and opposing the bill.
Assemblymember Jeff Gonzales presented AB 826 to the Assembly Committee on Military and Veteran Affairs and described it as a consumer-protection measure to address "unregulated, unlicensed" businesses charging veterans fees to help file claims with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. "These businesses and individuals have been operating freely and are unregulated, unlicensed, and operate with no oversight or obligation to prioritize the veterans' well-being," Assemblymember Gonzales said. The bill would establish a $2,000 civil penalty per violation and direct half of that fine to the veterans service office fund and the other half to the filing district attorney.
Supporters included the California Association of County Veterans Service…
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