Military Officers Association files bill to ease death-certificate process for service‑connected veterans' surviving spouses

Mike Kelly of the Military Officers Association of America, speaking on behalf of Representative Johnson, introduced 26RS2626. "This bill has to do with ... how death certificates are prepared on service connected veterans," Kelly said, adding the change "will make it easier for surviving spouses to claim dependency and indemnity compensation from the veterans affairs." The committee accepted the bill into the record and did not debate text or hold a vote.

Kelly clarified the bill number and system entry during the meeting but the transcript does not provide the bill text or the exact mechanism by which certificates would be altered (for example, change in cause-of-death fields, medical attestation, or administrative process). Committee staff will need to prepare bill language and estimate any administrative or fiscal impacts for future hearings.