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SENATE FLOOR VERSION
April 10, 2025
ENGROSSED HOUSE
BILL NO. 2836 By: Duel and Burns of the House
and
Stanley of the Senate
An Act relating to veterans; enacting the
Safeguarding American Veteran Empowerment Act;
defining terms; providing guid elines for advising
veterans; providing penalties; providing for
noncodification; providing for codification; and
providing an effective date .
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new sectio n of law not to be
codified in the Oklahoma Statutes reads as follows:
This act shall be known and may be cited as the " Safeguarding
American Veteran Empowerment Act " (SAVE Act).
SECTION 2. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codifie d
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 239 of Title 44, unless there is
created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A. For purposes of this section:
1. "Compensation" means any money, thing of value, or economic
benefit conferred on, or received by, any person in return for
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services rendered, or to be rendered, by himself or herself or
another;
2. "Veterans' benefits matter" means preparation, presentation,
or prosecution of any claim affecting any person who has filed or
expressed an intent to file a claim for any benefit, program,
service, commodity, function, status, or entitlement for which
veterans, their dependents, their surviv ors, or any other individual
are eligible under the laws and regulations administered by the
United States Departm ent of Veterans Affairs or the Oklahoma
Department of Veterans Affairs ; and
3. Except as provided in paragraph 5 of subsection B of this
act, "person" means any natural person, corporation, trust,
partnership, incorporated or unincorporated association, o r any
other legal entity.
B. 1. No person may receive compensation for referring any
individual to another person to advise or assist the in dividual with
any veterans' benefits matter.
2. Any payment of fees by veterans for representation through
agents shall be done in accordance with, and not contrary to,
Section 14.636 of Title 38 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
3. No person may receive any compensation for any services
rendered in connection with any claim filed within the one -year
presumptive period of active-duty release, unless the veteran
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acknowledges by signing a waiver that they are within this period
and choosing to deny free s ervices available to them.
4. A person seeking to receive compensation for advising,
assisting, or consulting wit h any individual in connection with any
veterans' benefits matter must, before rendering any services,
memorialize the specific terms under which the amount to be paid
will be determined in a written agreement signed by both parties.
Compensation must be purely contingent upon an increase in benefits
awarded, and if successful, compensation must not exceed five times
the amount of the monthly i ncrease in benefits awarded based on the
claim. No initial or nonrefundable fee may be charged by a person
advising, assisting, or consulting an individual on a veterans '
benefits matter.
5. No person will guarantee, either directly or by implication,
a successful outcome or that any individual is certain to receive
specific veterans' benefits or that any individual is certain to
receive a specific level, percentage, or amount of veterans '
benefits.
6. Any person advising, assisting, or consulting on vet erans'
benefits matters for compensation shall provide the following
disclosure at the outset of the business rela tionship:
"This business is not sponsored by, or affiliated with, the
United States Department of Veterans Affairs or the
Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs, or any other
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federally chartered veterans ' service organization. Other
organizations includi ng, but not limited to, the Oklahoma
Department of Veterans Affairs, a local veterans ' service
organization, and other federally chartered vet erans'
service organizations may be able to provide you with this
service free of charge. Products or services of fered 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."
The written disclosure shall appear in at least 12 point font i n
an easily identifiable place in the person 's agreement with the
individual seeking services. The individual shall sign the document
in which the written disclosure appears to represent understanding
of these provisions. The person offering services shall retain a
copy of the written disclosure while providing veterans ' benefits
services for compensation to the individual and for at least one (1)
year after the date on which the service relations terminate.
7. Businesses advising, assisting, or consulti ng on veterans'
benefits matters for a fee shall abide by the following:
a. shall not utilize international call centers or data
centers for processing veterans' personal information ,
b. shall not use a veteran's personal log-in, username,
or password information to access that veteran 's
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medical, financial, or government benefits
information, and
c. shall ensure that any individual who has access to
veterans' medical or financial information undergoes a
background check prior to having access to that
information. The background check shall be conducted
by a reputable source and include identity
verification and a criminal records check.
C. 1. A violation of the provisions of this section
constitutes an unfair, false, misleading, or deceptive act or
practice in the conduct of trade or commerce under the Oklahoma
Consumer Protection Act.
2. Civil penalties shall be in an amount ordered by the
district court in an action brought by the Oklahoma Attorney
General.
3. Each day a violation continues is a separ ate violation.
4. Nothing in this section is to be construed as applying to,
limiting, or expanding the requirements imposed on agents,
attorneys, or other representatives accredited by the United States
Department of Veterans Affairs and regulated by tha t agency.
SECTION 3. This act shall become effective November 1, 2025.
COMMITTEE REPORT BY: COMMITTEE ON VETERANS AND MILITARY AFFAIRS
April 10, 2025 - DO PASS