Florida Senate - 2024 SB 1452
By Senator Torres
25-01488-24 20241452__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to compensation for advising or
3 assisting in veterans’ benefits; creating s. 295.225,
4 F.S.; providing a short title; providing definitions;
5 prohibiting a person from receiving compensation for
6 advising or assisting an individual with regard to a
7 veterans’ benefits matter except as authorized by law;
8 providing requirements for advertising services
9 related thereto; requiring a person who provides such
10 services to an individual in return for compensation
11 to enter into a written agreement with and provide a
12 certain disclosure to such individual; providing
13 disclosure requirements; requiring the person who
14 provides such services to retain a copy of the
15 disclosure for a certain period; prohibiting a person
16 from guaranteeing an individual’s receipt of benefits,
17 receiving excessive or unreasonable compensation, or
18 receiving compensation for referring an individual to
19 another person; prohibiting a person from receiving
20 compensation for services provided before the date on
21 which a notice of disagreement is filed; providing
22 that a violation is a deceptive and unfair trade
23 practice; providing an effective date.
24
25 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
26
27 Section 1. Section 295.225, Florida Statutes, is created to
28 read:
29 295.225 Advising or assisting in veterans’ benefits
30 matters; receipt of compensation.—
31 (1) This act may be cited as the “Governing Unaccredited
32 Representatives Defrauding (GUARD) VA Benefits Act.”
33 (2) As used in this section, the term:
34 (a) “Compensation” means payment of any money, thing of
35 value, or financial benefit.
36 (b) “Person” means an individual, corporation, business
37 trust, estate, trust, partnership, limited liability company,
38 association, joint venture, public corporation, government,
39 governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality, or any
40 other legal or commercial entity.
41 (c) “Veterans’ benefits matter” means the preparation,
42 presentation, or prosecution of any claim affecting any person
43 who has filed or expressed an intent to file a claim for any
44 benefit, program, service, commodity, function, or status the
45 entitlement to which is determined under the laws and
46 regulations administered by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs
47 or the United States Department of Veterans Affairs pertaining
48 to veterans, their dependents, their survivors, and any other
49 individual eligible for such benefits.
50 (3) A person may not receive compensation for advising or
51 assisting an individual with regard to a veterans’ benefits
52 matter except as authorized by federal law and this section.
53 (4) A person who advertises services in advising or
54 assisting an individual with regard to a veterans’ benefits
55 matter in return for compensation must provide the following
56 disclosure in such advertisement:
57
58 “This business is not sponsored by or affiliated with
59 the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, the
60 Florida Department of Veterans’ Affairs, or any other
61 federally chartered veterans’ service organization.
62 Other organizations, including, but not limited to,
63 the Florida Department of Veterans’ Affairs, your
64 county or city veteran service office, and other
65 federally chartered veterans’ service organizations,
66 may be able to provide you with these services free of
67 charge. Products or services offered by this business
68 are not necessarily endorsed by any of these
69 organizations. You may qualify for other veterans’
70 benefits beyond the services that this business
71 offers.”
72
73 If such advertisement is written, including in an electronic
74 format, the disclosure must appear in a readily visible location
75 on the advertisement. If such advertisement is oral, the spoken
76 statement of the disclosure must be clear and intelligible.
77 (5)(a) A person who provides services in advising or
78 assisting an individual with regard to a veterans’ benefits
79 matter in return for compensation must, before providing such
80 services:
81 1. Enter into a written agreement with such individual
82 which provides the terms of the individual’s payment of fees for
83 the services provided, which adheres to all criteria specified
84 in 38 C.F.R. s. 14.636, and which is signed by both parties.
85 2. Provide the following disclosure to the individual, both
86 orally and in writing:
87
88 “This business is not sponsored by or affiliated with
89 the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, the
90 Florida Department of Veterans’ Affairs, or any other
91 federally chartered veterans’ service organization.
92 Other organizations, including, but not limited to,
93 the Florida Department of Veterans’ Affairs, your
94 county or city veteran service office, and other
95 federally chartered veterans’ service organizations,
96 may be able to provide you with this service free of
97 charge. Products or services offered by this business
98 are not necessarily endorsed by any of these
99 organizations. You may qualify for other veterans’
100 benefits beyond the benefits for which you are
101 receiving services here.”
102
103 The written disclosure must appear in at least 12-point font and
104 must appear in a readily noticeable and identifiable location in
105 the written agreement required under subparagraph 1. The
106 individual must verbally acknowledge understanding of the oral
107 disclosure and must sign the document in which the written
108 disclosure appears in order to represent understanding of the
109 disclosure. The person providing services must retain a copy of
110 the written disclosure while providing such services to the
111 individual and for at least 1 year after the date on which the
112 service relationship terminates.
113 (b) A person may not:
114 1. Guarantee, either directly or by implication, that an
115 individual is certain to receive specific veterans’ benefits or
116 that an individual is certain to receive a specific level,
117 percentage, or amount of veterans’ benefits.
118 2. Receive excessive or unreasonable fees as compensation
119 for advising or assisting an individual with regard to a
120 veterans’ benefits matter. The provisions of 38 C.F.R. s. 14.636
121 shall govern determinations of whether a fee is excessive or
122 unreasonable.
123 3. Receive compensation for referring an individual to
124 another person to advise or assist the individual with regard to
125 a veterans’ benefits matter.
126 (6) If an individual to whom a person provides services
127 under this section in return for compensation files a notice of
128 disagreement pursuant to Title 38 C.F.R., the person who
129 provided such services may not receive compensation for any
130 services provided to such individual before the date on which
131 the notice is filed.
132 (7) A violation of this section is a deceptive and unfair
133 trade practice and constitutes a violation of the Florida
134 Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act under part II of
135 chapter 501.
136 Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.