S.F. 2466 Section 1. NEW SECTION . 35.4 Power of attorney. 1 The provisions of this chapter and chapters 35A, 35B, 2 35C, and 35D do not limit the ability of a veterans’ service 3 organization recognized pursuant to 38 C.F.R. §14.628(c) to 4 represent a veteran in the United States department of veterans 5 affairs benefit claims process or to be granted the power of 6 attorney for a veteran with the United States department of 7 veterans affairs. A veteran may grant a veterans’ service 8 organization that is recognized pursuant to 38 C.F.R. 9 §14.628(c) power of attorney for the purposes of filing claims 10 with the United States department of veterans affairs. 11 Sec. 2. Section 35A.5, subsection 6, paragraph b, 12 subparagraph (2), Code 2026, is amended to read as follows: 13 (2) All funds moneys received by the department for the 14 purposes established in subparagraph (1) shall be deposited 15 in the county commission of veteran affairs training veterans 16 services excellence training program and administration account 17 established in section 35A.16, subsection 4 . 18 Sec. 3. Section 35A.5, subsection 9, Code 2026, is amended 19 to read as follows: 20 9. Verify each executive director and administrator of a 21 county commission of veteran affairs is fully qualified to work 22 in the person’s position. Qualifications include but are not 23 limited to has all of the following credentials : 24 a. The person has obtained certification that is federally 25 required for the executive director’s or administrator’s 26 position within twelve months of beginning the person’s 27 employment. 28 b. The person has obtained a personal identification 29 verification card necessary to access the veterans benefits 30 management system within twelve months of beginning the 31 person’s employment. 32 c. The person maintains certification that is federally 33 required for the executive director’s or administrator’s 34 position. 35 -1- LSB 5189SZ (2) 91 sc/ns 1/ 9

S.F. 2466 d. The person maintains an active personal identification 1 verification card and has access to the veterans benefits 2 management system. 3 e. The person is proficient in the use of electronic 4 mail, general computer use, and use of the internet to access 5 information regarding facilities, benefits, and services 6 available to veterans and their families in compliance with 7 education and training standards established by the commandant . 8 Sec. 4. Section 35A.5, Code 2026, is amended by adding the 9 following new subsections: 10 NEW SUBSECTION . 16A. Establish and maintain a statewide 11 standardized electronic claim system to be used by county 12 veterans service offices for submission of all United States 13 department of veterans affairs claims. 14 NEW SUBSECTION . 16B. Communicate county veterans service 15 office performance metrics to county commissions of veteran 16 affairs and boards of supervisors through quarterly reports. 17 Sec. 5. Section 35A.13, subsection 5, Code 2026, is amended 18 to read as follows: 19 5. a. For each fiscal year that the balance of the trust 20 fund on July 1 is below fifty seventy-five million dollars, 21 the interest and earnings on moneys in the fund and the first 22 five hundred thousand dollars transferred pursuant to section 23 99G.39 from the lottery fund are appropriated to the commission 24 to be used to achieve the purposes of subsection 8 . Moneys 25 appropriated to the commission under this paragraph that remain 26 unencumbered or unobligated at the end of the fiscal year shall 27 revert to the fund. 28 b. For each fiscal year that the balance of the trust fund 29 on July 1 is above fifty million dollars but the balance of the 30 fund was below fifty million dollars on July 1 of the previous 31 fiscal year, moneys transferred pursuant to section 99G.39 from 32 the lottery fund are appropriated to the commission to be used 33 to achieve the purposes of subsection 8 . Moneys appropriated 34 to the commission under this paragraph that remain unencumbered 35 -2- LSB 5189SZ (2) 91 sc/ns 2/ 9

S.F. 2466 or unobligated at the end of the fiscal year shall revert to 1 the fund. 2 c. For each fiscal year that the balance of the trust fund 3 on July 1 is above fifty million dollars and the balance of 4 the fund was above fifty million dollars on July 1 of the 5 previous fiscal year, moneys equal to the net income the fund 6 received in the previous fiscal year are appropriated to the 7 commission to be used to achieve the purposes of subsection 8 8 . Moneys appropriated to the commission under this paragraph 9 that remain unencumbered or unobligated at the end of the 10 fiscal year shall revert to the fund. For the purposes of this 11 paragraph, “income” means moneys credited to the veterans trust 12 fund pursuant to subsection 2 and moneys transferred pursuant 13 to section 99G.39 . 14 d. b. Notwithstanding paragraphs paragraph “a” , “b” , and 15 “c” , moneys credited to the war orphans educational assistance 16 account shall be expended as provided in subsection 9 . 17 e. c. Notwithstanding paragraphs paragraph “a” , “b” , 18 and “c” , moneys transferred under subsection 6 to the county 19 commission of veteran affairs training veterans services 20 excellence training program and administration account shall be 21 expended as provided in section 35A.16 . 22 Sec. 6. Section 35A.13, subsection 6, Code 2026, is amended 23 to read as follows: 24 6. For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2024 2026 , and 25 for each subsequent fiscal year, there is transferred to the 26 county commission of veteran affairs training veterans services 27 excellence training program and administration account of 28 the county commissions of veteran affairs veterans services 29 excellence fund created in section 35A.16 , from the moneys 30 transferred pursuant to section 99G.39 from the lottery fund to 31 the veterans trust fund, three hundred thousand dollars. 32 Sec. 7. Section 35A.16, Code 2026, is amended to read as 33 follows: 34 35A.16 County commissions of veteran affairs veterans 35 -3- LSB 5189SZ (2) 91 sc/ns 3/ 9

S.F. 2466 services excellence fund —— appropriation. 1 1. a. A county commissions of veteran affairs veterans 2 services excellence fund is created within the state treasury 3 under the control of the department. The fund shall consist of 4 appropriations made to the fund and any other moneys available 5 to and obtained or accepted by the department from the federal 6 government or private sources for deposit in the fund. Moneys 7 in the fund are appropriated to the department to be used to 8 incentivize counties to effectively increase veteran outreach 9 and efficiency in the application for individual federal 10 veteran compensation. 11 b. There is appropriated from the general fund of the state 12 to the department, for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2009 13 2026 , and for each subsequent fiscal year, the sum of nine 14 hundred ninety thousand dollars to be credited to the county 15 commissions of veteran affairs veterans services excellence 16 fund. 17 2. Notwithstanding section 12C.7 , interest or earnings on 18 moneys in the county commissions of veteran affairs fund shall 19 be credited to the county commissions of veteran affairs fund. 20 Notwithstanding section 8.33 , moneys remaining in the county 21 commissions of veteran affairs fund at the end of a fiscal year 22 shall not revert to the general fund of the state . 23 3. a. If sufficient moneys are available, the department 24 shall annually allocate ten thousand dollars make allocations 25 from the fund to each county commission of veteran affairs, or 26 to each county sharing the services of an executive director 27 or administrator pursuant to chapter 28E , to . For the fiscal 28 year beginning July 1, 2026, the department shall allocate 29 moneys equally to each qualifying county. For the fiscal year 30 beginning July 1, 2027, and each subsequent fiscal year, the 31 department shall allocate moneys based on performance criteria 32 determined by the department. The moneys shall be used to 33 provide services to veterans pursuant to section 35B.6 and 34 provide for and maintain accreditation in accordance with 35 -4- LSB 5189SZ (2) 91 sc/ns 4/ 9

S.F. 2466 the policies and procedures of the department and the United 1 States department of veterans affairs. Each county receiving 2 an allocation shall annually report on expenditure of the 3 allocation in on a form agreed to provided by the department 4 and county representatives . 5 b. If a county fails to be in compliance with the 6 requirements of section 35B.6 on June 30 of each fiscal year, 7 all moneys received by the county pursuant to this subsection 8 during that fiscal year shall be reimbursed to the county 9 commissions of veteran affairs fund. 10 c. Moneys distributed to a county under this subsection 11 shall be used to supplement and not supplant any existing 12 funding provided by the county or received by the county from 13 any other source. The department shall adopt a maintenance 14 of effort requirement for moneys distributed under this 15 subsection . 16 4. A county commission of veteran affairs veterans services 17 excellence training program and administration account shall 18 be is established within the county commissions of veteran 19 affairs fund. Any moneys remaining in the fund after the 20 allocations under subsection 3 shall be credited to the account 21 and are appropriated to the department to fund the county 22 commission of veteran affairs training program under section 23 35A.5, subsection 6 , and training for department personnel. 24 In addition, from the moneys transferred to the account 25 from the veterans trust fund created in section 35A.13 , the 26 department shall annually allocate three thousand dollars to 27 each county commission of veteran affairs, or to each county 28 sharing the services of an executive director or administrator 29 pursuant to chapter 28E , to be used for national training 30 and related expenses of county veteran service officers and 31 appropriate staff. Moneys in the account are appropriated 32 to the department to provide training and support for county 33 commissions of veteran affairs, including but not limited to 34 a statewide standardized electronic claim system for county 35 -5- LSB 5189SZ (2) 91 sc/ns 5/ 9

S.F. 2466 submissions of claims to the United States department of 1 veterans affairs and education and training for county veterans 2 service officers. 3 Sec. 8. Section 35B.6, subsection 1, paragraph d, Code 2026, 4 is amended by adding the following new subparagraph: 5 NEW SUBPARAGRAPH . (4) Utilize the statewide standardized 6 electronic claim system authorized and provided by the 7 department of veterans affairs to file all claims for United 8 States department of veterans affairs benefits. 9 Sec. 9. Section 35B.7, Code 2026, is amended to read as 10 follows: 11 35B.7 Meetings —— report —— budget. 12 The commission shall meet monthly and at other times as 13 necessary. At the monthly meeting , the commission shall 14 determine who are is entitled to county benefits and the 15 probable amount required to be expended. The commission shall 16 also review quarterly performance reports generated by the 17 department of veterans affairs to assess the effectiveness 18 of delivery of federal benefits. The commission shall meet 19 annually to prepare an estimated budget for all expenditures 20 to be made in the next fiscal year and certify the budget to 21 the board of supervisors. The board may approve or reduce the 22 budget for valid reasons shown and entered of record and the 23 board’s decision is final. 24 Sec. 10. Section 99G.39, subsection 3, Code 2026, is amended 25 to read as follows: 26 3. Two million five hundred thousand dollars in lottery 27 revenues shall be transferred each fiscal year to the veterans 28 trust fund established pursuant to section 35A.13 prior to 29 deposit of the lottery revenues in the general fund of the 30 state pursuant to section 99G.40 , unless the balance of the 31 veterans trust fund is equal to or greater than seventy-five 32 million dollars at the beginning of the fiscal year . However, 33 if the balance of the veterans trust fund is fifty seventy-five 34 million dollars or more, the moneys shall be are appropriated 35 -6- LSB 5189SZ (2) 91 sc/ns 6/ 9

S.F. 2466 to the department of veterans affairs for distribution , with 1 the first three hundred thousand dollars transferred to the 2 county veterans services excellence training program and 3 administration account created in section 35A.16, and the 4 remainder allocated to county directors of veteran affairs , 5 with fifty percent of the moneys to be distributed equally to 6 each county and fifty percent of the moneys to be distributed 7 to each county based upon the population of veterans in the 8 county, so long as the moneys distributed to a county do not 9 supplant moneys appropriated by that county for the county 10 director of veteran affairs. 11 EXPLANATION 12 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 13 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 14 This bill provides that Code chapters 35, 35A, 35B, 35C, 15 and 35D do not limit the ability of a veterans’ service 16 organization to represent a veteran in the United States 17 department of veterans affairs benefit claims process or to be 18 granted power of attorney by a veteran for those purposes. 19 The bill replaces the county commissions of veteran 20 affairs fund and training program account with the county 21 veterans services excellence fund and training program and 22 administration account. Moneys in the fund are appropriated 23 to the department of veterans affairs (IDVA) to be used to 24 incentivize counties to effectively increase veteran outreach 25 and efficiency in the application for individual federal 26 veteran compensation. 27 Under current law, IDVA annually allocates $10,000 from the 28 fund to each county commission of veteran affairs (CCVA) or to 29 each county sharing the services of an executive director or 30 administrator, and each county must report on the expenditure 31 of its allocation in a form agreed to by IDVA and the county 32 representatives. The bill strikes the specified allocation 33 amount. The bill provides that for FY 2026-2027, each county 34 shall receive an equal amount of moneys from the fund. For 35 -7- LSB 5189SZ (2) 91 sc/ns 7/ 9

S.F. 2466 subsequent fiscal years, allocations shall be based on 1 performance criteria established by IDVA. 2 The bill requires the veterans services excellence training 3 program and administration account to fund training and support 4 for CCVAs and strikes provisions that credit remaining moneys 5 in the fund to the account and that allocate $3,000 to each 6 CCVA or each county sharing the services of an executive 7 director or administrator for training expenses. 8 The bill requires IDVA to verify that each executive 9 director and administrator of a CCVA be in compliance with 10 education and training standards established by the commandant 11 and removes the requirement to verify they are proficient in 12 general computer use. 13 The bill requires IDVA to create a statewide standardized 14 electronic claim system through which county veterans service 15 offices must submit all United States department of veterans 16 affairs claims and requires IDVA to communicate county veterans 17 service office performance metrics to CCVAs and boards of 18 supervisors. A CCVA must review the quarterly performance 19 report generated by IDVA. 20 The bill requires that for each fiscal year in which the 21 balance of the veterans trust fund is below $75 million, 22 rather than $50 million, the interest on the veterans trust 23 fund and the first $500,000 received from the lottery fund is 24 appropriated to the commission of veterans affairs to provide 25 various benefits to veterans and veterans’ families according 26 to Code section 35A.13(8). The bill removes requirements for 27 moneys in the veterans trust fund when the balance is above $50 28 million. 29 Under current law, when the balance of the veterans 30 trust fund is $50 million or more, lottery revenues that 31 would otherwise be deposited in the veterans trust fund are 32 distributed to county directors of veteran affairs. The bill 33 provides that this distribution shall not occur unless the 34 balance of the veterans trust fund is $75 million or more and 35 -8- LSB 5189SZ (2) 91 sc/ns 8/ 9