BILL ANALYSIS Ó ------------------------------------------------------------ |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1225| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ------------------------------------------------------------ THIRD READING Bill No: AB 1225 Author: Assembly Veterans Affairs Committee Amended: 8/16/12 in Senate Vote: 21 SENATE VETERANS AFFAIRS COMMITTEE : 7-0, 4/10/12 AYES: Correa, Cannella, Berryhill, Calderon, Negrete McLeod, Rubio, Lieu NO VOTE RECORDED: Runner SENATE BUSINESS, PROF. & ECON. DEV. COMMITTEE : 8-0, 7/2/12 AYES: Price, Corbett, Correa, Hernandez, Negrete McLeod, Strickland, Vargas, Wyland NO VOTE RECORDED: Emmerson SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8 ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 75-0, 1/30/12 - See last page for vote SUBJECT : Cemeteries: veterans commemorative property SOURCE : Author DIGEST : This bill prohibits any person or entity from selling, trading, or transferring veterans commemorative property, and authorizes the sale, trade or transfer of all or any part of any veteran's commemorative property if certain conditions are met. Senate Floor Amendments of 8/16/12 clarify that the bill CONTINUED AB 1225 Page 2 does not prohibit sales of new veteran's commemorative property. Senate Floor Amendments of 8/9/12 delete language that states "not to exceed 100 days" from the bill. ANALYSIS : Existing law 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. This bill: 1. Prohibits the purchase, sale or transfer of a veteran's commemorative property, unless otherwise exempted. 2. Requires any person or entity, except a municipal corporation, as specified, that owns or controls a cemetery where veteran's commemorative property has been placed that wishes to sell, trade, or transfer veteran's commemorative property to petition the superior court in the county in which the veteran's commemorative property is located for permission to sell, trade, or transfer all or any part of the veteran's commemorative property. 3. Authorizes the court to approve the sale, trade or transfer of the commemorative property under certain conditions. 4. Requires the clerk to fix a date, time, and place of the hearing, within a reasonable time, after the petition is filed. 5. Provides that an order of the court granting the petition may specify the manner in which the petitioner is to use or apply the proceeds of the sale, trade, or transfer. 6. Provides that if the petitioner is an unincorporated association or corporation subject to the Nonprofit Corporation Law, as specified, the court is authorized CONTINUED AB 1225 Page 3 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. 7. 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. 8. Prohibits any person from selling, trading, or transferring veteran's commemorative property, as defined and requires any person or entity that owns or controls a cemetery where veteran's commemorative property has been placed that wishes to sell, trade, or transfer veteran's commemorative property to petition the Superior Court for permission to sell, trade, or transfer the veteran's commemorative property, as specified. Comments According to the author's office, 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. This 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 CONTINUED AB 1225 Page 4 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 commemorative property by making the sale or transfer of these items illegal. FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: Yes SUPPORT : (Verified 8/16/12) American Legion, Department of California AMVETS - Department of California California Association of County Veteran Service Officers California Association of Museums California Funeral Directors Association California Senior Legislature California State Commanders Veterans Council Vietnam Veterans of America - California State Council OPPOSITION : (Verified 8/16/12) Department of Consumer Affairs ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 75-0, 1/30/12 AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall, Bill Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos, Carter, Cedillo, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Davis, Dickinson, Eng, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Beth Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto, Gordon, Grove, Hagman, Halderman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Roger Hernández, Hill, Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mansoor, Miller, Mitchell, Monning, Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Pan, Perea, Portantino, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Swanson, Torres, Valadao, Wagner, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez NO VOTE RECORDED: Donnelly, Gorell, Lara, Mendoza, V. Manuel Pérez CONTINUED AB 1225 Page 5 RM:mk 8/17/12 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END **** CONTINUED