Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., speaks at DMI Companies in Monongahela, Pennsylvania, on Sept. 23, 2022. (AP photo — Barry Reeger)

U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Schuylerville, is an original co-sponsor of legislation that supporters say would protect the Second Amendment rights of veterans.

HR 705, which Rep. Mike Bost, R-Ill., introduced Feb. 11, would prohibit the Department of Veterans Affairs from sharing information with the Department of Justice criminal background check system.

Under the VA interpretation of current law, if the VA appoints a fiduciary to help a veteran or beneficiary manage benefits, the VA is required to send the name of the veteran to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System, according to a House Veterans Affairs Committee explanation of the legislation.

“As a result, they may be prohibited from legally purchasing or owning a firearm, despite there being no evidence that those who need a fiduciary are more prone to violence than others.”

The legislation had 55 co-sponsors, all Republicans, as of Tuesday.

“No VA bureaucrat should be able to instantly strip a veteran of their Second Amendment rights simply because they need help managing their benefits,” said Bost, the principle sponsor, in a news release. “This ludicrous policy is stopping veterans from going to VA for the care they need, and it must end now.”

In other regional political news:

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Electric buses

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State Sen. Dan Stec, R-Queensbury, said he spoke at a legislative budget hearing on education Feb. 8 in opposition to a proposed requirement that school districts convert to using only electric buses.

“Considering the distance and cost involved in busing in our rural school districts, I believed this proposal is infeasible and will only make it harder for our schools to afford the resources they need to focus on education,” Stec posted on Facebook.

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Volunteer tax credit

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Stec on Feb. 9 introduced bipartisan legislation to establish a state tax credit of up to $300 for volunteer instructors in state Department of Environmental Conservation-certified hunter safety programs.

Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther, D-Forestburgh, introduced companion legislation in the state Assembly.