Senate File 2466 H-8341 Amend Senate File 2466, as passed by the Senate, as follows: 1 1. By striking everything after the enacting clause and 2 inserting: 3 < Section 1. NEW SECTION . 35.4 Power of attorney. 4 The provisions of this chapter and chapters 35A, 35B, 5 35C, and 35D do not limit the ability of a veterans’ service 6 organization recognized pursuant to 38 C.F.R. §14.628(c) to 7 represent a veteran in the United States department of veterans 8 affairs benefit claims process or to be granted the power of 9 attorney for a veteran with the United States department of 10 veterans affairs. A veteran may grant a veterans’ service 11 organization that is recognized pursuant to 38 C.F.R. 12 §14.628(c) power of attorney for the purposes of filing claims 13 with the United States department of veterans affairs. 14 Sec. 2. Section 35A.5, subsection 9, Code 2026, is amended 15 to read as follows: 16 9. Verify each executive director and administrator of a 17 county commission of veteran affairs is fully qualified to work 18 in the person’s position. Qualifications include but are not 19 limited to has all of the following credentials : 20 a. The person has obtained certification that is federally 21 required for the executive director’s or administrator’s 22 position within twelve months of beginning the person’s 23 employment. 24 b. The person has obtained a personal identification 25 verification card necessary to access the veterans benefits 26 management system within twelve months of beginning the 27 person’s employment. 28 c. The person maintains certification that is federally 29 required for the executive director’s or administrator’s 30 position. 31 d. The person maintains an active personal identification 32 verification card and has access to the veterans benefits 33 management system. 34 e. The person is proficient in the use of electronic 35 -1- SF 2466.3932 (1) 91 sc/ns 1/ 6 #1.
mail, general computer use, and use of the internet to access 1 information regarding facilities, benefits, and services 2 available to veterans and their families in compliance with 3 education and training standards established by the commandant . 4 Sec. 3. Section 35A.5, Code 2026, is amended by adding the 5 following new subsections: 6 NEW SUBSECTION . 16A. Establish and maintain a statewide 7 standardized electronic claim system to be used by county 8 veterans service offices for submission of all United States 9 department of veterans affairs claims. 10 NEW SUBSECTION . 16B. Communicate county veterans service 11 office performance metrics to county commissions of veteran 12 affairs and boards of supervisors through quarterly and annual 13 reports. 14 Sec. 4. Section 35A.13, subsection 2, paragraph c, Code 15 2026, is amended to read as follows: 16 c. Interest attributable to investment of moneys in the 17 fund or an account of the trust fund. Notwithstanding section 18 12C.7, subsection 2 , interest or earnings on moneys in the 19 trust fund shall be credited to the trust fund. For the fiscal 20 year beginning July 1, 2026, and each fiscal year thereafter, 21 thirty-three percent of the interest collected in that fiscal 22 year is appropriated to the commission to be used for the 23 purposes set forth in subsection 8, and thirty-three percent 24 of the interest collected in that fiscal year is appropriated 25 to the department to allocate to each county commission of 26 veteran affairs or to each county sharing the services of an 27 executive director or administrator pursuant to chapter 28E for 28 veterans service officer salaries and training, based on the 29 number of veterans in each county according to the most current 30 data from the United States department of veterans affairs on 31 July 1 of that fiscal year. If the annual report under section 32 35A.5 demonstrates that a county has not met the standards 33 established by the department, the moneys that the county would 34 have received shall remain in the trust fund. Notwithstanding 35 -2- SF 2466.3932 (1) 91 sc/ns 2/ 6
section 8.33, moneys appropriated to the commission under this 1 paragraph that remain unencumbered or unobligated at the close 2 of a fiscal year shall not revert but shall remain available 3 for expenditure for the purposes designated. 4 Sec. 5. Section 35A.13, subsection 5, Code 2026, is amended 5 to read as follows: 6 5. a. For each the fiscal year that the balance of the 7 trust fund on July 1 is below fifty million dollars beginning 8 July 1, 2026, and each fiscal year thereafter , the remaining 9 interest and earnings on moneys in the fund and the first five 10 hundred thousand one million dollars transferred pursuant to 11 section 99G.39 from the lottery fund are appropriated to the 12 commission to be used to achieve the purposes of subsection 8 . 13 Moneys appropriated to the commission under this paragraph that 14 remain unencumbered or unobligated at the end of the fiscal 15 year shall revert to the fund. Notwithstanding section 8.33, 16 any moneys appropriated to the commission under this paragraph 17 that remain unencumbered or unobligated at the close of a 18 fiscal year shall not revert but shall remain available for 19 expenditure for the purposes designated. However, nine hundred 20 ninety thousand dollars of the amount transferred pursuant to 21 section 99G.39 from the lottery fund is appropriated to the 22 department to allocate to each county commission of veteran 23 affairs or to each county sharing the services of an executive 24 director or administrator pursuant to chapter 28E for veterans 25 service officer salaries. In addition, sixty thousand dollars 26 of the amount transferred pursuant to section 99G.39 is 27 appropriated to the department for one full-time equivalent 28 position to administer the statewide standardized electronic 29 claim system created pursuant to section 35A.5, subsection 16A. 30 b. For each fiscal year that the balance of the trust fund 31 on July 1 is above fifty million dollars but the balance of the 32 fund was below fifty million dollars on July 1 of the previous 33 fiscal year, moneys transferred pursuant to section 99G.39 from 34 the lottery fund are appropriated to the commission to be used 35 -3- SF 2466.3932 (1) 91 sc/ns 3/ 6
to achieve the purposes of subsection 8 . Moneys appropriated 1 to the commission under this paragraph that remain unencumbered 2 or unobligated at the end of the fiscal year shall revert to 3 the fund. 4 c. For each fiscal year that the balance of the trust fund 5 on July 1 is above fifty million dollars and the balance of 6 the fund was above fifty million dollars on July 1 of the 7 previous fiscal year, moneys equal to the net income the fund 8 received in the previous fiscal year are appropriated to the 9 commission to be used to achieve the purposes of subsection 10 8 . Moneys appropriated to the commission under this paragraph 11 that remain unencumbered or unobligated at the end of the 12 fiscal year shall revert to the fund. For the purposes of this 13 paragraph, “income” means moneys credited to the veterans trust 14 fund pursuant to subsection 2 and moneys transferred pursuant 15 to section 99G.39 . 16 d. b. Notwithstanding paragraphs paragraph “a” , “b” , and 17 “c” , moneys credited to the war orphans educational assistance 18 account shall be expended as provided in subsection 9 . 19 e. c. Notwithstanding paragraphs paragraph “a” , “b” , 20 and “c” , moneys transferred under subsection 6 to the county 21 commission of veteran affairs training program account shall be 22 expended as provided in section 35A.16 . 23 Sec. 6. Section 35A.16, subsection 3, paragraph a, Code 24 2026, is amended to read as follows: 25 a. If sufficient moneys are available, the department 26 shall annually allocate ten thousand dollars to each county 27 commission of veteran affairs, or to each county sharing the 28 services of an executive director or administrator pursuant 29 to chapter 28E , to be used to provide services to veterans 30 pursuant to section 35B.6 and provide for and maintain 31 accreditation in accordance with the policies and procedures of 32 the United States department of veterans affairs. Each county 33 receiving an allocation shall annually report on expenditure 34 of the allocation in on a form agreed to provided by the 35 -4- SF 2466.3932 (1) 91 sc/ns 4/ 6
department and county representatives . 1 Sec. 7. Section 35B.6, subsection 1, paragraph d, Code 2026, 2 is amended by adding the following new subparagraph: 3 NEW SUBPARAGRAPH . (4) Utilize the statewide standardized 4 electronic claim system authorized and provided by the 5 department of veterans affairs to file all claims for United 6 States department of veterans affairs benefits. 7 Sec. 8. Section 35B.6, Code 2026, is amended by adding the 8 following new subsection: 9 NEW SUBSECTION . 4. Each county commission of veteran 10 affairs shall employ at least one veterans service officer 11 to work for forty hours per week. Two adjacent counties may 12 share the services of a veterans service officer pursuant to a 13 chapter 28E agreement. A veterans service officer shall spend 14 a minimum of sixteen hours per week physically present in each 15 county in which the veterans service officer is employed for 16 the purpose of providing veterans services. 17 Sec. 9. Section 35B.7, Code 2026, is amended to read as 18 follows: 19 35B.7 Meetings —— report —— budget. 20 The commission shall meet monthly and at other times as 21 necessary. At the monthly meeting , the commission shall 22 determine who are is entitled to county benefits and the 23 probable amount required to be expended. The commission shall 24 also review quarterly performance reports generated by the 25 department of veterans affairs to assess the effectiveness 26 of delivery of federal benefits and shall publish the annual 27 performance report generated by the department of veterans 28 affairs. The commission shall meet annually to prepare an 29 estimated budget for all expenditures to be made in the next 30 fiscal year and certify the budget to the board of supervisors. 31 The board may approve or reduce the budget for valid reasons 32 shown and entered of record and the board’s decision is final. 33 Sec. 10. Section 99G.39, subsection 3, Code 2026, is amended 34 to read as follows: 35 -5- SF 2466.3932 (1) 91 sc/ns 5/ 6
3. Two million five hundred thousand dollars in lottery 1 revenues shall be transferred each fiscal year to the veterans 2 trust fund established pursuant to section 35A.13 prior to 3 deposit of the lottery revenues in the general fund pursuant 4 to section 99G.40 . However, if the balance of the veterans 5 trust fund is fifty million dollars or more, the moneys shall 6 be appropriated to the department for distribution to county 7 directors of veteran affairs, with fifty percent of the moneys 8 to be distributed equally to each county and fifty percent of 9 the moneys to be distributed to each county based upon the 10 population of veterans in the county, so long as the moneys 11 distributed to a county do not supplant moneys appropriated by 12 that county for the county director of veteran affairs. 13 Sec. 11. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS —— 14 APPROPRIATION. There is appropriated from the veterans trust 15 fund created in section 35A.13 to the department of veterans 16 affairs for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2026, and ending 17 June 30, 2027, the following amount, or so much thereof as is 18 necessary, to be used for the purposes designated: 19 For implementing section 35A.5, subsections 16A and 16B, as 20 enacted by this Act: 21 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 300,000 > 22 ______________________________ RINKER of Des Moines -6- SF 2466.3932 (1) 91 sc/ns 6/ 6