BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                      



           ------------------------------------------------------------ 
          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                  AB 1806|
          |Office of Senate Floor Analyses   |                         |
          |1020 N Street, Suite 524          |                         |
          |(916) 651-1520         Fax: (916) |                         |
          |327-4478                          |                         |
           ------------------------------------------------------------ 
           
                                         
                                 THIRD READING


          Bill No:  AB 1806
          Author:   Cook (R), et al.
          Amended:  6/26/12 in Senate
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE VETERANS AFFAIRS COMMITTEE :  7-0, 6/12/12
          AYES:  Correa, Cannella, Berryhill, Calderon, Negrete 
            McLeod, Rubio, Lieu
          NO VOTE RECORDED: Runner

           SENATE GOVERNANCE & FINANCE COMMITTEE  :  9-0, 6/20/12
          AYES:  Wolk, Dutton, DeSaulnier, Fuller, Hernandez, Kehoe, 
            La Malfa, Liu, Yee

           SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE  :  7-0, 8/16/12
          AYES:  Kehoe, Walters, Alquist, Dutton, Lieu, Price, 
            Steinberg
           
          ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  75-0, 5/17/12 - See last page for vote


           SUBJECT  :    Veteran interment:  veterans remains 
          organizations

           SOURCE  :     Author


           DIGEST  :    This bill requires a county public administrator 
          to make every reasonable effort to determine if the 
          unclaimed remains of a decedent belonging to a veteran or a 
          veteran's dependent.  Refer to the public administrator if 
          there is reason to believe that the remains belong to a 
                                                           CONTINUED





                                                               AB 1806
                                                                Page 
          2

          veteran or a veteran's dependent.  This bill requires the 
          public administrator to work with the county veteran 
          service officer (CVSO), a national veterans cemetery, the 
          United States Social Security Administration, the United 
          States Department of Veterans Affairs, or other applicable 
          entity to determine if the remains belong to a veteran or a 
          veteran's dependent.

           ANALYSIS  :    Existing law authorizes a cemetery authority, 
          cemetery corporation or association, or other entity in 
          possession of the cremated remains of a veteran or 
          dependent of a veteran to release the remains to a 
          veterans' remains organization, as defined, for interment 
          after specified conditions are met, including possession of 
          the remains for at least one year.

          This bill:

          1. Requires a CVSO who determines that unclaimed remains 
             are those of a veteran or a veteran's dependent, and 
             that the remains meet the criteria for interment by a 
             veterans' remains organization pursuant to state law, to 
             report the following information to the Department of 
             Veterans Affairs:

                   The name, rank, and branch of service of the 
                deceased or, if the deceased is the dependent of a 
                veteran, the name of the deceased and the name, rank, 
                and branch of service of the eligible veteran.

                   Dates of service.

                   Location of the remains and a telephone number 
                and name for the contact at that location.

          2. Requires the public administrator to report this 
             information to the CVSO, if a county public 
             administrator determines, without the involvement of the 
             CVSO, that the remains belong to a veteran or dependent 
             of a veteran who must report the information listed 
             above to the Department of Veterans Affairs.

          3. Requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to create 
             and maintain a list of veterans and veterans' dependents 







                                                               AB 1806
                                                                Page 
          3

             whose remains are reported by CVSOs.  This bill requires 
             this list to be available to the representatives of 
             veterans' remains organizations by telephone or in 
             person.

          4. Updates references to the federal Veterans 
             Administration by referencing the United States 
             Department of Veterans Affairs.

           Background
           
          State law establishes numerous county officers, including a 
          public administrator.   A county public administrator 
          investigates and administers the estates of people who die 
          without a will, any known relatives, or any other qualified 
          person willing or able to administer their estates.  A 
          public administrator must provide for the interment of a 
          deceased person's remains, if there are no other qualified 
          individuals, as specified in state law, who are available 
          to assume that duty.

          A county board of supervisors may appoint a CVSO to 
          administer specified veterans' benefits and to perform any 
          other veteran related services as requested by the county 
          board of supervisors (AB 3016 (Conroy), Chapter 1274, 
          Statutes of 1992).  A CVSO must be a United States military 
          veteran. 

          Each county board of supervisors must designate an 
          honorably discharged United States military veteran or a 
          member of a veterans' remains organization (VRO) to be 
          responsible for interring the body of any qualified 
          indigent, abandoned, or unclaimed veteran or veterans' 
          dependents.  State law defines a VRO as an entity, 
          including the entity's members and employees, recognized by 
          the Veterans Administration and the National Personnel 
          Records Center as an organization authorized to verify and 
          inter unclaimed cremated remains of American veterans.  To 
          facilitate the proper interment of veterans' remains, the 
          Legislature authorized a VRO to take possession of 
          unclaimed remains in the possession of a cemetery 
          corporation or other entity, subject to specified 
          conditions, for the purpose of interment (AB 164 (Nielsen), 
          Chapter 189, Statutes of 2010).







                                                               AB 1806
                                                                Page 
          4


          To make it easier for VROs to identify unclaimed remains 
          that need proper interment, veterans' advocates want the 
          Legislature to require the California Department of 
          Veterans Affairs to maintain a list of unclaimed remains of 
          veterans and veterans' dependents identified by county 
          officials.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  Yes   
          Local:  Yes

          According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:

           Minor, absorbable costs to the DVA for creating and 
            maintaining the list (General)

           Unknown, potentially minor state reimbursable costs to 
            counties (General)

           SUPPORT :   (Verified  8/16/12)

          American Legion, Department of California
          AMVETS, Department of California
          California Association of County Veteran Service Officers
          California Sate Commanders Veterans Council
          Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, Department 
          of California
          Vietnam Veterans of America, California State Council

           OPPOSITION  :    (Verified  8/16/12)

          Department of Finance

           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT  :    The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) 
          writes that this bill "would provide for the appropriate 
          internment of the unclaimed remains of a veteran or the 
          depended of a veteran.  The VFW, Department of California 
          and its Ladies Auxiliary, with over 125,000 members, is 
          California's most prestigious veterans organization, 
          comprised of combat veterans who have served in World War 
          II, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan and other military 
          action in the war against terrorism, and every other action 
          where our young men and women have been called to serve to 
          defend our nation's freedom.  We are proud to speak up for 







                                                               AB 1806
                                                                Page 
          5

          their interests." 

           ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION  :    The Department of Finance is 
          opposed to this bill unless it is amended because in its 
          current form, the  
           bill could create a potential reimbursable state mandate, 
          which would result in increased General Fund costs to the 
          state.  We recommend amending this bill to authorize, 
          rather than require, county public administrators to 
          determine if unclaimed remains are those of a veteran or a 
          dependent of a veteran and to authorize, rather than 
          require, CVSOs to report specified information to the CDVA. 
           These amendments should remove the potential reimbursable 
          state mandate.

          Existing law authorizes a cemetery authority, cemetery 
          corporation, or other entity in possession of the cremated 
          remains of veterans or their dependents to release the 
          remains to a VRO if unclaimed for one year.  According to 
          the author's office, there is currently no requirement for 
          coroners and cemeteries to make inquiries to determine 
          whether an unclaimed body is that of a veteran or dependent 
          of a veteran.  Therefore, many veterans do not receive a 
          proper military burial.  Additionally, there is no 
          statewide list of
          the unclaimed remains of veterans and veterans' dependents 
          that can be consulted by VROs.


           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  75-0, 5/17/12
          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, 
            Donnelly, Eng, Feuer, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Beth 
            Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto, Gordon, Gorell, Grove, 
            Hagman, Halderman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Roger 
            Hernández, Hill, Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, 
            Knight, Lara, Logue, Ma, Mansoor, Mendoza, Miller, 
            Mitchell, Monning, Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen, Norby, 
            Olsen, Pan, V. Manuel Pérez, Portantino, Silva, Smyth, 
            Solorio, Swanson, Torres, Valadao, Wagner, Wieckowski, 
            Williams, John A. Pérez
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Fletcher, Bonnie Lowenthal, Perea, 







                                                               AB 1806
                                                                Page 
          6

            Skinner, Yamada


          RM:dn  8/20/12   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

                                ****  END  ****