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Title II — Board of Veterans' Appeals and Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims

S. 928 · 113th Congress · May 9, 2013 · Lineage

II Board of Veterans' Appeals and Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims

Sec. 201 Modification of filing period for notice of disagreement to initiate appellate review of decisions of Department of Veterans Affairs

(a)
Filing of notice of disagreement by claimants—
(1)
In general— Paragraph (1) of section 7105(b) of title 38, United States Code, is amended—
(A)
by striking “one year” and inserting “180 days” in the first sentence; and
(B)
by striking “one-year” and inserting “180-day” in the third sentence.
(2)
Electronic filing— Such paragraph is further amended by inserting “or transmitted by electronic means” after “postmarked”.
(3)
Good cause exception for untimely filing of notices of disagreement— Such section 7105(b) is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

“(3)

“(A) A notice of disagreement not filed within the time prescribed by paragraph (1) shall be treated by the Secretary as timely filed if—

“(i) the Secretary determines that the claimant, legal guardian, or other accredited representative, attorney, or authorized agent filing the notice had good cause for the lack of filing within such time; and

“(ii) the notice of disagreement is filed not later than 186 days after the period prescribed by paragraph (1).

“(B) For purposes of this paragraph, good cause shall include the following:

“(i) Circumstances relating to any physical, mental, educational, or linguistic limitation of the claimant, legal guardian, representative, attorney, or authorized agent concerned (including lack of facility with the English language).

“(ii) Circumstances relating to significant delay in the delivery of the initial decision or of the notice of disagreement because of natural disaster or factors relating to geographic location.

“(iii) A change in financial circumstances, including the payment of medical expenses or other changes in income or net worth that are considered in determining eligibility for benefits and services on an annualized basis for purposes of needs-based benefits under chapters 13, 15, and 17 of this title.”

(b)
Application by Department for review on appeal— Section 7106 of such title is amended in the first sentence by striking “one-year period described in section 7105” and inserting “period described in section 7105(b)(1)”.
(c)
Effective date— The amendments made by this section shall apply with respect to claims for compensation and benefits under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs filed with the Secretary after the date of the enactment of this Act.

Sec. 202 Determination of manner of appearance for hearings before Board of Veterans' Appeals

(a)
In general— Section 7107 of title 38, United States Code, is amended—
(1)
by redesignating subsection (f) as subsection (g);
(2)
in subsection (a)(1), by striking “in subsection (f)” and inserting “in subsection (g)”; and
(3)
by striking subsections (d) and (e) and inserting the following new subsections:

“(d)

“(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), a hearing before the Board shall be conducted through picture and voice transmission, by electronic or other means, in such a manner that the appellant is not present in the same location as the members of the Board during the hearing.

“(2)

“(A) A hearing before the Board shall be conducted in person upon the request of an appellant.

“(B) In the absence of a request under subparagraph (A), a hearing before the Board may also be conducted in person as the Board considers appropriate.

“(e)

“(1) In a case in which a hearing before the Board is to be held as described in subsection (d)(1), the Secretary shall provide suitable facilities and equipment to the Board or other components of the Department to enable an appellant located at an appropriate facility within the area served by a regional office to participate as so described.

“(2) Any hearing conducted as described in subsection (d)(1) shall be conducted in the same manner as, and shall be considered the equivalent of, a personal hearing.

“(f)

“(1) In a case in which a hearing before the Board is to be held as described in subsection (d)(2), the appellant may request that the hearing be held at the principal location of the Board or at a facility of the Department located within the area served by a regional office of the Department.

“(2) A hearing to be held within an area served by a regional office of the Department shall (except as provided in paragraph (3)) be scheduled to be held in accordance with the place of the case on the docket under subsection (a) relative to other cases on the docket for which hearings are scheduled to be held within that area.

“(3) A hearing to be held within an area served by a regional office of the Department may, for cause shown, be advanced on motion for an earlier hearing. Any such motion shall set forth succinctly the grounds upon which the motion is based. Such a motion may be granted only—

“(A) if the case involves interpretation of law of general application affecting other claims;

“(B) if the appellant is seriously ill or is under severe financial hardship; or

“(C) for other sufficient cause shown.”

(b)
Effective date— The amendments made by subsection (a) shall apply with respect to cases received by the Board of Veterans' Appeals pursuant to notices of disagreement submitted on or after the date of the enactment of this Act.

Sec. 203 Disclosure of certain medical records in appellate proceedings in certain courts

Section 7332(b)(2) of title 38, United States Code, is amended—
(1)
by redesignating subparagraphs (E) through (G) as subparagraphs (F) through (H), respectively; and
(2)
by inserting after subparagraph (D) the following new subparagraph (E):

“(E) To the Supreme Court of the United States, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, or the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, and all parties of record, in a case that is appealed to such court and such records are included in the record on appeal. Upon disclosure of such records, the court concerned shall impose appropriate safeguards against unauthorized disclosure that are consistent with the provisions of section 7268 of this title.”