Gov. Ron DeSantis signed several bills Friday during a news conference at the Douglas T. Jacobson State Veterans’ Nursing Home in Port Charlotte.
The bills were all focused on strengthening Florida’s support systems for veterans and their families.
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DeSantis was joined by Florida Department of Veterans Affairs Executive Director Gen. James “Hammer” Hartsell and several other speakers, including several veterans.
Among the bills DeSantis signed was the Veterans’ Benefits Assistance bill (CS/CS/SB 910), which he said cracks down on bad faith actors who try to take advantage of veterans as they navigate the often complicated benefits process.
“This legislation creates strong new protections for veterans by placing clear limits on unaccredited individuals who try to charge a particular price to ‘help’ with VA claims,” DeSantis said.
DeSantis said the bill requires anyone acting on behalf of a veteran to secure a genuine increase in benefits before they can be paid, and also caps the amount of pay they can receive.
It also prohibits referral kickbacks and misleading guarantees.
“I think people recognize that these veterans have earned this, (but) a cottage industry develops where these people are trying to skim off the top,” DeSantis said. “We want to make sure that veterans are not exploited.”
The bill became effective upon receiving the governor’s signature.
DeSantis also signed the Veteran and Spouse Nursing Home Beds bill (CS/HB 797), which he received from the Florida Legislature on Wednesday.
The bill authorizes certain licensed skilled nursing facilities to request to designate or alter the designation of certain beds as veteran & spouse nursing home beds if specific criteria are met. And it authorizes the executive director of the Florida DVA to approve such requests if specific criteria are met.
The bill also specifies conditions under which certain state veterans’ nursing homes or certain licensed skilled nursing facilities are exempt from having to receive a certificate of need from the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration.
The third bill DeSantis signed was a Veterans bill (CS/CS/SB 116), which, among other things, requires the Florida Department of Veterans’ Affairs to study how well veterans are aware of programs and services available to them.
It also revises the purpose of the Veteran Suicide Prevention Training Pilot Program to include specialized mental health training.
And it requires the DVA to develop a plan to establish adult day health care facilities across Florida to serve veterans and their families.
Both the Veterans bill and the Nursing Home Beds bill will take effect July 1.
For more information regarding benefits and services available to veterans in the state of Florida, please visit FloridaVets.org. To contact a State Veterans’ Service Officer, call (727) 319-7440 and they will return your call within 24 hours. You may also contact them via email at FDVA.vso@FDVA.fl.gov.
For 24/7 counsel, call the National Veteran Crisis Hotline at 988, then press 1. You may also call the Florida Veterans Support Line at 1-844-MyFL Vet (1-844-693-5838) or dial 211.
