SPONSOR: Schulte
COMMITTEE ACTION: Voted "Do Pass with HCS" by the Standing Committee on Veterans and Armed Forces by a vote of 14 to 7.
The following is a summary of the House Committee Substitute for HB 3029.
This bill specifies that, if someone is advising or assisting any individual with regard to any veterans' benefits, he or she cannot guarantee that any individual will receive specific veterans' benefits or that any individual is guaranteed to receive a specific level, percentage, or amount of veterans' benefits. This bill exempts the assisting in housing loan under 38 U.S.C. Section 3710, et seq.
This bill exempts the Missouri Veterans' Commission, Federally chartered veterans service organizations, or claims agents or attorneys accredited by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.
The individual who is providing the advising services must provide the following discloser:
"This business is not sponsored by, or affiliated with, the United States Department of Veterans Affairs or the Missouri Veterans Commission, or any other Federally chartered veterans service organization. Other organizations, including, but not limited to, the Missouri Veterans' Commission, your local veterans service agency, and other Federally chartered veterans service organizations, may be able to provide you with this service free of charge. Products or services offered by this business are not necessarily endorsed by any of these organizations. You may qualify for other veterans' benefits beyond the benefits for which you are receiving services here."
This bill also prohibits any person from receiving compensation for referring any individual to another person to advise or assist the individual with veterans' benefits.
Any person who violates the provisions of this bill is guilty of a class A misdemeanor.
This bill is similar to HB 399 (2025). The following is a summary of the public testimony from the committee hearing. The testimony was based on the introduced version of the bill.
PROPONENTS: Supporters say that we need protections for our veterans and their benefits. Malicious companies are spreading fast and they are targeting our veterans. We need to act fast to shut these bad actors down.
Testifying in person for the bill were Representative Schulte; Arnie Dienoff; and Troy Williams, Missouri Association of Veterans Organization.
OPPONENTS: Those who oppose the bill say that this bill punishes good companies who are trying to help veterans just because there are some bad actors in the industry. Missouri does not have enough veteran service officers which is creating longer waiting periods for veterans to receive their benefits. This bill would take away veterans' options for seeking help with their benefits outside of seeing a veteran service officer.
Testifying in person against the bill were CW Hadley, Parmele Disability Advocates; and John Blomstrom, National Association of Veterans Rights.
Written testimony has been submitted for this bill. The full written testimony and witnesses testifying online can be found under Testimony on the bill page on the House website.
Statutes affected: