Kansas certifiers would note veterans' service-related causes of death

Kansas death certifiers would check a state roster and decide whether a veteran's death was related to a service-connected disability. This process covers a deceased veteran with a service-connected disability who resides in Kansas. Certifiers would use a preponderance of the evidence, meaning the evidence must show a connection is more likely than not. They may consult specified military and veterans' records as well as medical records and incident reports.

The registrar would create and maintain a roster of Kansas residents with service-connected disabilities. The roster would cover veterans with service-connected disabilities who reside in Kansas. The roster would be confidential and unavailable under the Kansas open records law. A veteran or next of kin could check whether the veteran is listed, and the registrar would add a missing veteran. Auditors could access it for authorized audits, but audit reports and testimony could not identify veterans. The roster's confidentiality protection would expire July 1, 2031, unless the legislature reviews and reenacts it before then.

Certifiers would consider certain presumptive illnesses when deciding whether to list a service-related condition on a death certificate. The provision covers Kansas veterans with a pending presumptive illness claim and veterans without a claim who served in a federally identified region and period. This applies if the veteran died before the federal evaluation of a claim was complete, or never filed a disability claim but served in a region and period tied to a federally published presumption. The Kansas Office of Veterans Services would maintain a list of approved illnesses and relevant service dates or geographic limits.

The veteran's next of kin would receive two certified copies of a qualifying death certificate without charge. The provision covers next of kin of a veteran with a service-connected disability whose death certificate is prepared under the described process. Additional copies would be subject to fees set by the Kansas health department's secretary.