BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON VETERANS AFFAIRS
LOU CORREA, CHAIRMAN
Bill No: AB 1842
Author: Monning
Version: As amended May 10, 2012
Hearing Date: June 12, 2012
Fiscal: Yes
Consultant: Donald E. Wilson
SUBJECT OF BILL
Endowment fund for Central Coast State Veterans Cemetery
PROPOSED LAW
1. Allow the California Department of Veterans Affairs
(CDVA) to enter into cash advance agreements to fund the
preliminary stages of a state-run veterans cemetery at the
now closed Fort Ord as long as
a) enough money is left in the fund for maintenance
and operating costs
b) the cash advance does not create an encumbrance or
"obligation of
repayment" for the State of California.
EXISTING LAW AND BACKGROUND
1. The United States Army base at Ford Ord was closed
in a previous round of the Base Realignment and
Closure Commission (BRAC).
2. Part of the Base Reuse Plan includes building a
veterans' cemetery.
3. Traditionally, veterans' cemeteries are federal
responsibilities, but as the last century came to a
close the federal government enacted a cost saving
measure by offering to build cemeteries but let states
pay the maintenance costs in perpetuity as was done
with the now completed Redding cemetery - California's
first.
4. The federal government is proposing the same
agreement for the Fort Ord cemetery, saying the
veterans' cemetery at Gustine in the Central Valley is
close enough -and has enough room- to relieve
Washington of any obligation to build on the central
coast.
5. As a result of Washington's cost saving stance, SB
2078 of 1998 (McPherson) offered to conduct a
feasibility study of building the veterans cemetery at
Fort Ord, but the legislation was vetoed by Governor
Wilson.
6. SB 1815 of 1999 (McPherson) ordered the development
of the Central Coast Veterans Cemetery Master Plan and
appropriated $140,000 for the creation of a Central
Coast Veterans Cemetery Master Development Fund.
7. SB 480 of 2005 (Denham) sought to add to the
Military and Veterans Code language creating the
Central Coast Cemetery Maintenance Fund within the
State Treasury. Funding would be provided by annual
Budget Act. Realizing the budget constraints that
both state and federal governments are facing, SB 480
sought to use inmate work crews made available under
the Penal Code for maintenance of the cemetery.
8. AB 922 of 2005 (Salinas) sought to build the
Central Coast Veterans Cemetery.
9. Both SB 480 and AB 922 of 2005 failed to get out of
their respective houses in spite of one being a
cost-saving measure.
10. This committee held a special hearing on
January 12, 2006 at Fort Ord to discuss the options
available for a state veterans' cemetery at Fort Ord.
11. AB 3035 of 2006 (Laird) established an
endowment fund that would enable the cemetery to be
built when enough of a corpus of funds had been
accumulated to allow the ongoing operation of the
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cemetery to be paid for by the interest generated by
the corpus within the endowment fund. (MVC section
1451)
12. AB 1757 of 2010 (Monning) broke up the
building process so the endowment fund could pay for
plans for developing and submitting the plans of the
cemetery without waiting to pay for the whole project
at one time.
13. When the Federal Government agrees to
fund the construction of a state-run veterans
cemetery, usually planning and design costs are paid
up front and then reimbursed by the federal government
by making the grant large enough to cover construction
costs and reimbursement of the planning costs that
have already been paid.
14. Funding is decided according to
nationwide priority, which is decided by need and
proximity to other veterans' cemeteries.
15. The feds can change the program and
priority list at any time.
COMMENT
1. This bill says that CDVA can enter into an agreement
for a cash advance "provided that obligations of repayment
are made to the state and the agreement is reviewed and
performed in consultation with the Department of Finance."
Presumably the person or entity giving the cash advance
makes it an advance because he, she, or it considers the
money to be repayable like a loan. If this is the case,
how can CDVA or DOF make that determination when it is The
Federal Government that will decide a) if the program
continues and b) even if the program continues what the
parameters of it will be? If The Federal Government
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changes the program, how do state entities guarantee that
there will be no obligation of repayment?
The author's office states, "There will be no repayment
obligation because any agreement with any person or entity
will be made with the foreknowledge that he, she, or it
will absorb the risk, which is why the last amendment to
this bill changed "encumbrance" to "financial obligation."
SUPPORT
American Legion, Department of California
AMVETS, Department of California
California Association of County Veteran Service Officers
California Sate Commanders Veterans Council
Vietnam Veterans of America, California State Council
OPPOSE
None received
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