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Senate committee moves to replace section 2214 with online registry of veterans service providers
Summary
A Senate committee agreed to replace the controversial section 2214 with language requiring the Office of Veterans Services to publish a registry of people seeking compensation for assisting veterans with disability benefits and to fold a privately funded kiosk bill into bill 2049; no formal roll-call vote was recorded in the transcript.
A Senate committee discussed and agreed to use bill 2049 as a vehicle to replace section 2214 with new language that would require the Office of Veterans Services to host an online registry of people who seek compensation for advising, assisting or consulting with veterans about disability benefits.
Jesse read the substitute language aloud: "it requires the office of Veterans Services in consultation with the National Association of Veterans Rights to create and maintain a database on the office's website for the purpose of listing persons who are requesting to receive compensation for their advising assisting or consulting with any individual in connection to their veteran disability benefits." The registry would require a prescribed form, list the filer’s name and, if applicable, include certification ID and current compliance status with the National Association of Veterans Rights.
The text Jesse read also says the section "shall not be construed to apply limit or expand any requirements" on agents, attorneys, or representatives accredited by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs or regulated by the Office of Veterans Services. Representative Rick James sought a clarification, asking whether the change inserts "certification" rather than "accreditation," and was told the provision uses "certification."
Committee members framed the change as a transparency measure aimed at giving veterans a place to check whether a service provider claims a certification and to give the Office of Veterans Services a means to identify and remove "bad actors." The presenter told the committee the change followed an unsuccessful veto override and characterized the registry as a partial step while lawmakers continue to work on a more comprehensive bill.
The committee also agreed to include house bill 2758 (the kiosk bill) and several other house bills — 2767 (as amended), 2026 (as amended) and 2627 (as amended) — into bill 2049 so that the substitute language would appear in section two. The presenter said the kiosk bill passed the House by "121 to one" and that the kiosk would be privately funded through local fundraising rather than state dollars.
The transcript does not record a formal roll-call vote on the motion to insert these bills into 2049; committee members indicated concurrence and asked no further questions before adjourning. The transcript also records that the veto override effort earlier "fell short" and "we ended up with 81," which committee members cited as background for seeking the substitute approach.
What’s next: committee members said they may continue to refine the policy in a future session, but they intended to move the four house bills now and return to broader policy work later.
