BILL NUMBER: SB 748	CHAPTERED  09/22/03

	CHAPTER  466
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE  SEPTEMBER 22, 2003
	APPROVED BY GOVERNOR  SEPTEMBER 20, 2003
	PASSED THE SENATE  SEPTEMBER 10, 2003
	PASSED THE ASSEMBLY  SEPTEMBER 8, 2003
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  SEPTEMBER 2, 2003
	AMENDED IN SENATE  APRIL 3, 2003

INTRODUCED BY   Senators McPherson and Denham
   (Principal coauthor:  Assembly Member Plescia)

                        FEBRUARY 21, 2003

   An act to add and repeal Chapter 11 (commencing with Section 1500)
of Division 6 of the Military and Veterans Code, relating to
veterans.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 748, McPherson.  Veterans' cemeteries.
   Existing law provides for the burial of veterans and veterans'
spouses and the care of veterans' graves, and requires the Department
of Veterans Affairs to develop certain state-owned and
state-operated cemeteries, as specified.
   This bill would, until January 1,  2006, create the Governor's
Commission on State Veterans Cemeteries within the Department of
Veterans Affairs, composed as prescribed.  It would require the
commission to establish the need for state veterans' cemeteries, and
locate and prioritize sites for the future construction of those
cemeteries.
   This bill would prohibit the department from implementing
recommendations made by the commission without statutory
authorization and specified federal funding.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


  SECTION 1.  Chapter 11 (commencing with Section 1500) is added to
Division 6 of the Military and Veterans Code, to read:

      CHAPTER 11.  COMMISSION ON STATE VETERANS CEMETERIES

   1500.  There is hereby created within the Department of Veterans
Affairs the Governor's Commission on State Veterans Cemeteries.
   1501.  The commission shall consist of seven members, as follows:

   (a) There shall be five voting members, as follows:
   (1) Two veterans, as defined in Section 980, appointed by the
Governor.
   (2) A veteran, as defined in Section 980, appointed by the Speaker
of the Assembly.
   (3) A veteran, as defined in Section 980, appointed by the Senate
Committee on Rules.
   (4) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs or the secretary's
authorized representative.
   (b) There shall be two nonvoting ex officio members, as follows:
   (1) The Chairperson of the Assembly Committee on Veterans Affairs.

   (2) The Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs.
   1502.  The commission shall have all of the following duties:
   (a) Establish the need for the creation of state veterans'
cemeteries and locate and prioritize sites for the future
construction of those cemeteries, in accordance with that need.
   (b) Give priority to cemetery sites that meet one or more of the
following criteria:
   (1) The site is available at no cost to the state.
   (2) The department has previously studied or prepared budget
packages, working drawings, or project cost summaries for the site.
   (3) The parcel size is large enough to support expected interments
for at least 20 years.
   (4) The site has unique patriotic or military significance.
   (5) There is a high concentration of veterans within the service
area of the site.
   (6) The site is uncompromised by nearby incompatible land uses.
   (c) Report its findings to the Governor and the Legislature not
later than May 31, 2005.
   1503.  The department may not implement any recommendation made
pursuant to Section 1502 without statutory authorization, and unless
the United States Department of Veterans Affairs State Cemetery
Grants Program, as described in Section 2408 of Title 38 of the
United States Code, provides 100 percent of the project construction
costs associated with the implementation of the commission's
recommendation.
   1504.  This chapter shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2006, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2006, deletes or extends
that date.