VFW and DAV oppose Senate Bill 208; committee adopts amendments and reports bill

Senator Kathy presented Senate Bill 208 to the Committee on Judiciary B on March 17, describing it as cleanup to earlier legislation that unintentionally duplicated federal accreditation requirements for organizations assisting veterans with VA disability claims. She said the bill would exempt federally accredited representatives from a redundant state requirement and asked the committee to report the bill as amended.

Veterans service organizations pushed back. Bobby Liberta of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Department of Louisiana, told the committee: “Senate bill 208 is nothing more than a misdirection intended to circumvent the recent decision by the US District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana.” Liberta said federal law restricts who may represent veterans before the Department of Veterans Affairs and argued the state cannot create a parallel accreditation scheme that conflicts with federal supremacy.

Paul Harmon Jr. of the Disabled American Veterans testified that no veteran, spouse or dependent should have to pay for initial claims assistance: “DAV nationally and locally has had the same policy. No veteran should ever have to spend money that they have earned.” Connor Junkin, executive counsel for the Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs, told the committee there is ongoing federal litigation about the statute and said the department assisted in drafting the amendment package.

Committee members discussed enforcement options and consumer protections. Supporters of the amendments characterized them as added accountability: the adopted language bars compensation for preparing initial claims for veterans without an existing disability rating, bans certain termination fees except for actual pre-termination work, and creates a private right of action for veterans harmed by neglect or reckless conduct that causes reduced ratings, denials or delay with recoverable damages and attorney’s fees. The amendment also clarifies the law does not regulate federally accredited agents or representatives under 38 CFR 14.627.

Opponents, including the VFW, warned that the state statute could still conflict with federal law and cited a recent court decision that struck down related state legislation as unconstitutional. The committee’s discussion acknowledged that the attorney general is appealing the federal decision to the Fifth Circuit.

After discussion and the adoption of amendment set 471,913 (including permission for staff to make technical corrections), Senator Talbot moved that the committee report Senate Bill 208 as amended. With no objection, the committee reported the bill favorably by unanimous consent. The bill will proceed to the next chamber steps as amended.

Ending: The committee recorded public testimony, technical and enforcement-focused amendments, and a unanimous reporting of SB208 as amended; record materials and the pending federal appeal were cited as context for any subsequent floor debate.