Stolen Valor Bill Now Heads To Governor’s Desk

Arizona veterans are celebrating the passage of the “Stolen Valor Bill” that has been the center of attention at the State Capitol for weeks.  Only two legislators stood in final opposition to a bill that honors Arizona’s veterans by cracking down on stolen valor and, in spite of Freedom Caucus members Senator Jake Hoffman and Representative Alex Kolodin’s loud opposition to the bill, it is now headed to the Governor’s desk, where it is expected to be signed into law.

After Representative Walt Blackman’s original bill (HB2030) was killed in a Senate Committee by State Senator Wendy Rogers, it found new life as a so-called Striker thanks to State Senator Shawnna Bolick, and the new amended version, SB1424, with some assistance from Senate President Warren Petersen, won bipartisan support from the Senate on Tuesday, shortly after doing the same in the House.

Arizona veterans were furious at Rogers for placing the original bill on her committee schedule, then announcing to a packed hearing room that she was killing the bill. Many of the veterans in attendance were disabled and had travelled a long way to support the bill, and social media accounts blasted Rogers for her actions, accusing her of covering for her 2024 running mate Steve Slaton, whose own campaign was widely exposed as being a case of stolen valor:

LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NZHrvb22Tg

The new and improved “Stolen Valor Bill” intends to punish individuals who fraudulently claim veteran status and awards for personal gain. Depending on the specifics of the case, those charged under the act could be charged with a class 6 felony.

“This is a huge win for Walt Blackman and for veterans in Arizona and nationally.” said one Capitol observer who has been following the bill closely. “There are veterans and lawmakers in other states watching this bill and I expect it will have plenty of copycats in other states next year!”

For her part, Wendy Rogers attempted to claim credit for the amended bill, but Arizona veterans and others were not having it.

Arizona Stolen Valor bill just passed the House 54-1, Rep Alex Kolodin @realAlexKolodin was the only NO vote on this bill, and his explanation for his no vote shows he didn’t understand the bill very much. Video of his “explanation” below.

The bill now passes to the Senate… pic.twitter.com/yjqc5RxHkM

— Stolen Valor (@StolenValor1) April 9, 2025

There were also questions around why Senator Jake Hoffman voted against veterans on this issue but in the absence of any official statement, speculation is that his vote was intended to give some political cover to State Representative Alex Kolodin, who is Hoffman’s choice for Secretary of State in 2026, and who was the only “No” vote in the State House when the measure was passed.