MICHAEL D.

DOVILLA
18 TH DISTRICT ______

VERNE R IFFE CENTER

77 S OUTH HIGH S TREET, 12 TH F LOOR COLUMBUS, OH 43215-6111
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ECONOMIC & SMALL B USINESS DEVELOPMENT STATE GOVERNMENT & E LECTIONS REDISTRICTING SUBCOMMITTEE W AYS & MEANS, V ICE -C HAIRMAN

T: (614) 466-4895
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F: (614) 719-6957

Ohio General Assembly

House of Representatives Columbus

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DISTRICT18@OHR .STATE.OH.US

Sponsor Testimony of Representative Mike Dovilla Regarding Veterans Service Reform (House Bill 490) Before the House Committee on Veterans Affairs Wednesday, March 28, 2012 Chairman Johnson, Vice-Chairman Rosenberger, Ranking Member Pillich and members of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, thank you for the opportunity to offer sponsor testimony on behalf of House Bill 490, which Representative Landis and I introduced last week. House Bill 490 is designed to improve the services we offer our veterans and their families. This legislation will make a number of important revisions to Ohio law. Specifically, it would: modify the annual report requirements in the Ohio Revised Code; enable county veteran service officers to be certified and trained to access discharge forms (DD-214s) which are required to receive access to veteran benefits and services; allow the electronic publication of county veteran service center information and increase representation on the Veterans Advisory Council; and assist the spouses and dependents of our deceased veterans. The Ohio Department of Veterans Services (DVS), established in 2008, is Ohios newest cabinet-level department. The DVS was created in order to modernize how we take care of and advocate for our veterans, while providing greater oversight of the 88 County Veteran Service Commissions. The Commissions remained largely unchanged since the mid-19th century, when they were established to care for Civil War veterans. With the creation of the DVS, the position of the State Commissioner of Soldiers Claims ceased to exist, yet reporting requirements for this position remained in the Revised Code. H.B. 490 cleans up this portion of the law by removing these reporting requirements since the Director of DVS already files a separate report in accordance with section 121.02. One of the more important changes in H.B. 490 would enable County Veteran Service Officers (CVSOs) to be certified and trained to access DD-214s. When a service member is discharged, he or she is provided with a discharge form, the DD-214. In order to apply for any veteran benefit, from health services to educational benefits to VA home loans, a veteran must supply a copy of the DD-214.

Currently, state law prevents accredited and certified CVSOs from being proactive in their assistance to veterans by limiting their ability to determine if a veteran may be eligible for certain benefits. Often, veterans themselves are not aware of the myriad federal, state and local resources available to them and dont even know to ask. This prohibition may also slow the development or processing of a veterans claim if the CVSO needs ready access to a record the veteran cannot provide. If a veteran misplaces his or her DD-214, it may take up to 280 days to receive a copy from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Two hundred and eighty days is the difference between a veteran closing on a house and moving into that new home with his or her family or being denied this opportunity. Quite simply, this lengthy delay in receiving a DD214 from the VA is unacceptable, and we have the ability to assist our veterans at the state level. Aside from providing more efficient and effective service to our honorably discharged veterans, allowing accredited and certified CVSOs to access DD-214s will also prevent fraud. Only honorably discharged veterans are able to apply for and receive federal and state services. However, with easily available computer software, any individual is able to change a DD-214 from a dishonorable discharge to an honorable discharge. In addition, individuals can add other fraudulent information such as designating the DD-214 holder as a prisoner of war, which expedites all medical claims. At this time, Mr. Chairman, I would yield to my colleague, Representative Landis, to offer his sponsor testimony, after which we would be happy to answer any questions the members of the Committee may have. Thank you, again, for this opportunity to testify on our legislation.