BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                      



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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                  AB 1225|
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                                 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 
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          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 

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             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 

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          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


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          RM:mk  8/17/12   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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