BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 1225 Page 1 ASSEMBLY THIRD READING AB 1225 (Veterans Affairs Committee) As Amended January 24, 2012 Majority vote BUSINESS & PROFESSIONS 8-0 APPROPRIATIONS 17-0 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Ayes:|Hayashi, Bill Berryhill, |Ayes:|Fuentes, Harkey, | | |Allen, Butler, Eng, Hill, | |Blumenfield, Bradford, | | |Ma, Smyth | |Charles Calderon, Campos, | | | | |Chesbro, Donnelly, Gatto, | | | | |Hall, Hill, Ammiano, | | | | |Mitchell, Nielsen, Norby, | | | | |Solorio, Wagner | ----------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY : Authorizes the sale, trade or transfer of all or any part of a veteran's commemorative property (Property), if certain conditions are met. Specifically, this bill : 1)Prohibits the purchase, sale or transfer of Property, unless otherwise exempted. 2)Authorizes an unincorporated association, cemetery corporation, or religious corporation, except a municipal corporation, as specified, that owns or controls a cemetery where any Property has been placed to petition the Cemetery and Funeral Bureau (Bureau) for permission to sell, trade or transfer all or any part of the Property. 3)Authorizes the Bureau to approve the sale, trade or transfer of the Property under certain conditions. 4)Requires the Bureau to fix a date, time, and place of the hearing, not exceeding 100 days after the petition is received. 5)Requires the Bureau to render its decision in writing within 60 days of the hearing and forward a copy of the decision to each person who appeared at the hearing. 6)Provides that an order or determination of the Bureau granting AB 1225 Page 2 the petition may specify the manner in which the petitioner is to use or apply the proceeds of the sale, trade, or transfer. 7)Provides that if the petitioner is an unincorporated association or corporation subject to the Nonprofit Corporation Law, as specified, the Bureau is authorized to direct the petitioner to deposit the proceeds of the sale, trade, or transfer in the permanent maintenance fund maintained by the petitioner pursuant to the Nonprofit Corporation Law. 8)Authorizes the Bureau to adopt any regulations related to petitions, hearings, and procedures to further the purposes of this bill. 9)Specifies that a person violating any provision of this bill is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of no less than $100 or more than $1,000; by imprisonment in a county jail for no less than 10 days or more than six months; or, by both that fine and imprisonment; and, in addition is liable for all costs, expenses, and disbursements paid or incurred by the person prosecuting the case. EXISTING LAW : 1)Establishes the Bureau within the Department of Consumer Affairs. 2)Prohibits a cemetery owned and operated by a city, county, or city and county from engaging in the business of selling monuments or markers, and also prohibits the cemetery's officers and employees who manage, operate, or otherwise maintain the cemetery from engaging in the private business of selling monuments or markets. FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee: 1)Costs of approximately $150,000 per year for the workload associated with the requirement that the Bureau approve any sales, trades, or transfers of commemorative property. The bill currently requires the funding for this legislation AB 1225 Page 3 to come from the State Funeral Directors and Embalmers Fund. The correct funding source is the Cemetery Fund. 2)Under correctional realignment instituted in 2011, the creation of new misdemeanors should be viewed in a new light. Counties are taking on significant new responsibilities for housing and supervising felons. New misdemeanors place additional pressure on counties to identify additional programs, including incarceration and probation, at a time when jail and program space - and attendant staffing - will be at a premium in many counties. While the fiscal and programmatic consequences of most new misdemeanors are likely to be relatively minor, any additional cumulative pressure on realignment efforts merits careful consideration. COMMENTS : According to the author, "In recent years, a market has developed for veteran commemorative cemetery property. This property includes monuments, headstones, markers, memorials, and plaques. They have become very valuable in the antiques market, and this has led to thieves stealing them from cemeteries. It started with Civil War property but has progressed to include property from the Vietnam War era. Additionally, some property is targeted because of the metal contained in it and later sold as scrap metal. "This bill prohibits the unauthorized sale, purchase, or transfer of any veteran commemorative cemetery property that is over 50 years old if such property is currently placed or located within a cemetery. The bill does allow authorized sales of the property through the Bureau." Metal theft has become increasingly common as prices for metals have recently risen dramatically. Commonly stolen metals include copper, aluminum, brass, and bronze. Thieves recently stole copper plaques commemorating Veterans from a Long Beach cemetery. This bill seeks to prevent the theft of Property by making the sale or transfer of these items illegal. Analysis Prepared by : Rebecca May / B.,P. & C.P. / (916) 319-3301 AB 1225 Page 4 FN: 0003037