BILL ANALYSIS Ó SENATE COMMITTEE ON VETERANS AFFAIRS Senator Ben Hueso, Chair BILL NO: AB 1453 HEARING DATE: 6/24/14 AUTHOR: Quirk-Silva VERSION: 6/19/14 FISCAL: Yes VOTE: Majority SUBJECT Southern California Veterans Cemetery. DESCRIPTION Existing law: 1.Requires the California Department of Veterans Affairs (CalVet) - in voluntary cooperation with the Monterey County Board of Supervisors, City of Seaside, Fort Ord Reuse Authority, and surrounding counties, cities, and local agencies - to design, develop, and construct the state-owned and state-operated Central Coast Veterans Cemetery, to be located on the former Fort Ord Army post. 2.Requires CalVet - in voluntary cooperation with the Shasta County Board of Supervisors and the boards of supervisors of specified northern California counties - to design, develop, and construct a state-owned and state-operated Northern California Veterans Cemetery. 3.Federal law authorizes the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to make a financial grant to any state for the purpose of establishing, expanding, or improving a veterans' cemetery owned by the state and operating and maintaining a veterans' cemetery. This bill: Requires CalVet - in voluntary cooperation with local government entities in Orange County - to design, develop, construct, and equip the state-owned and state-operated Southern California Veterans Cemetery. Specifically, this bill: 1.Creates the Southern California Veterans Cemetery Master Development Fund (Development Fund), a continuously appropriated fund, and would require all moneys received for the design, development, construction, and equipment of the cemetery to be deposited in this fund. 2.Creates the Southern California Veterans Cemetery Perpetual Maintenance Fund (Maintenance Fund) and would direct all moneys received for the maintenance of the cemetery, including those moneys received for the interment of a spouse or child, to be deposited in this fund. 3.Makes proposals for the construction, placement, or donation of monuments and memorials to the cemetery subject to review by a specified advisory committee and subject to final approval by the Secretary. 4.Authorizes the cemetery administrator to accept donations of personal property to be used for the maintenance, beautification, or repair of the cemetery. Requires cash donations to be deposited into the Southern California Veterans Cemetery Donations Fund; a continuously appropriated fund created by this bill, and would require the cash donations to be expended for the maintenance, beautification, and repair of the cemetery, as specified. By creating a continuously appropriated fund, the bill would make an appropriation. AB 1453 (Quirk-Silva) 2 5.Declares the Legislature's intent to appropriate funds in the annual Budget Act to support CalVet in carrying out the provisions of this bill. Specifies that if no appropriation is made for these purposes, CalVet would not be required to comply with the provisions of this bill. 6.Requires CalVet to apply to the Veterans Cemetery Grants Program administered by the federal Department of Veterans Affairs for a grant of not more than an unspecified amount, which amount represents 100% of the estimated cost for designing, developing, constructing, and equipping the cemetery. 7.Declares the Legislature's intent to prohibit the expenditure of money appropriated to CalVet until that department has received written approval of the grant request and a commitment from the federal Grants Program that the funds appropriated under the grant are available for expenditure by the state, except as specified. 8.Extends eligibility for interment in the cemetery to all honorably discharged veterans and their spouses and children to the extent provided by federal law and regulation. 9.Requires CalVet to establish a fee to be charged for interment of veteran spouses and children. BACKGROUND National veterans cemeteries The federal VA's National Cemetery Administration maintains 131 national veterans cemeteries in 39 states and Puerto Rico. Nine are located in California as follows: AB 1453 (Quirk-Silva) 3 Southern California : Fort Rosecrans (San Diego), Miramar (San Diego), Los Angeles, and Riverside national cemeteries. Central California : Bakersfield, San Joaquin Valley (Santa Nella), and Golden Gate (San Bruno), and San Francisco (Presidio of San Francisco) national cemeteries. Northern California : Sacramento Valley National Cemetery (Dixon). State veterans cemeteries Recognizing that the national cemetery system leaves certain areas inadequately served, the federal government in 1978 established the federal VA's Cemetery Grants Program to help create state-owned and state-operated veterans cemeteries to meet that need. In a cost-saving approach, the federal government offers to build state cemeteries, but then let states pay the maintenance costs in perpetuity. This approach was used successfully with California's first state veterans cemetery, the Northern California Veterans Cemetery (NCVC) near Redding dedicated in November 2005. The California Central Coast Veterans Cemetery (CCCVC) at the former Fort Ord -will be the second state cemetery under the federal Grants Program. [The state's historic Yountville Veterans Cemetery was funded by an earlier process. It is located on 11 acres in the northwest corner of the Yountville Veterans Home and currently accepts interments only from among the Veteran Home's residents and their eligible dependents.] Under the Grants Program, the federal government will reimburse up to 100% of the cost of establishing, expanding, or improving state veterans' cemeteries, including the acquisition of initial operating equipment, if the state agrees to cover the administrative and oversight costs. These administrative and oversight costs are offset eventually through federal veterans burial benefits. The federal VA does not pay any off-site costs, land purchases, demolition costs, or state employee costs that may be charged by the Department of General Services. The administrative, oversight and operational costs are offset AB 1453 (Quirk-Silva) 4 by a federal plot allowance paid to the state for the burial of veterans by the USDVA and the dependent fees charged by the state. The percentage of those costs depends on the type of cemetery operation. The federal Plot Allowance is currently $734 and NCVC dependent fees are currently $500. Proposed state cemetery in Southern California Considering federal guidelines and in conjunction with veteran stakeholder groups and local governments, CalVet has determined the need for a new state cemetery to serve the veteran population of Orange, Los Angeles and Ventura Counties. CalVet's analysis states the following: The burial rate must be determined and is the primary factor that will determine the size, type and cost of construction, as well as the operational costs of the Veterans Cemetery. We will consider the veterans population, veteran's death rate, and distance from cities to the proposed location of the cemetery and of existing active veteran's cemeteries. Riverside National Cemetery is the closest National Cemetery to Orange, Los Angeles and Ventura Counties, which is the area that the proposed Veterans Cemetery would serve. However, the locations of Bakersfield National Cemetery to the north and Miramar National Cemetery to the south were considered. The National Cemetery Administration uses a 75 mile radius to determine if a veteran is being served by an existing Veterans Cemetery. The flaw in their logic in determining if a veteran is being served within a 75 mile radius is that they do not consider natural barriers, location of roadways, traffic and public transportation, which are proven barriers in the actual use by veterans of veterans cemeteries. Much of the area that our proposed veteran's cemetery would serve is inside the 75 mile radius of Riverside National Cemetery, but this fact will not prevent the state from obtaining a federal grant to construct a State Veterans cemetery. However, it must be considered when determining our AB 1453 (Quirk-Silva) 5 facilities burial rate. For this reason we have not considered the veterans population in Riverside or San Bernardino Counties that may be closer to our proposed location. We are considering the entire veteran population of Orange, Los Angeles and Ventura counties as those veterans would reside closer to our proposed location than to the Riverside National Cemetery. The National Cemetery Administration inters 13.5% of the eligible veterans in their catchment areas (75 mile radius) nationwide. The Northern California Veterans Cemetery (NCVC) inters 27% of the eligible veterans within a 75 mile radius of the cemetery. When determining the burial rate for the California Central Coast Veterans Cemetery (CCCVC) CDVA and the USDVA agreed on a 25% interment rate based on our experience at NCVC. Understanding that there are so many unmeasurable factors in determining the percentage this is not a science, but an estimation of the actual number of veterans that will be interred in our proposed Veterans Cemetery. Casket and Cremated Interments at the Proposed Veterans Cemetery Federal VA Burial Rate Percentage - 13.5% = 2,124 veteran burials per year, including dependent burials = 2,974 NCVC Burial Rate Percentage - 27% = 4,247 veteran burials per year, including dependent burials = 5,746 CCCVC proposed Rate Percentage - 25% = 3,933 veterans burials per year, including dependent burials = 5,506 Dependent burials are not considered in the above figures and USDVA and CDVA agree that it averages an additional 40% to the total of veterans interred in veteran's cemeteries. AB 1453 (Quirk-Silva) 6 COMMENT Related Legislation SB 232 (Monning, Ch. 694, Stats. 2013) (1) Repeals a budget allocation for a loan to the Central Coast State Veterans Cemetery at Fort Ord; (2) appropriates $1 million to the Central Coast State Veterans Cemetery at Fort Ord Endowment Fund for construction of the Cemetery; and (3) amends current statutory requirements of regarding the use of interest on a principal in the Fund. (4) Requires that any money transferred as part of the budget action granting a loan to the Fund be returned to the General Fund. SB 106 (Monning, Ch. 41, Stats. 2013) (1) Provides CalVet authorization to enter into a financial agreement to receive cash advances into the Endowment Fund, contingent upon that agreement not requiring the state to repay or make payments on cash advances. (2) Requires CalVet to develop and submit a State Veterans Cemetery Grant Program application to the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (USDVA) for the establishment of a veterans cemetery upon the determination of the State Controller, after consultation with the Secretary of CalVet (Secretary). (3) This bill specifies that if the Secretary or CalVet fails to submit a grant application to the Program, if USDVA denies the grant application, or if the grant funding is not received for any other reason, requires any amounts donated, received, or deposited to the Fund by specified entities to be refunded. AB 1842 (Monning, Ch. 745, Stats. 2012) (1) Authorizes the California Department of Veterans Affairs to enter into a financial agreement to receive cash advances in the existing Endowment Fund previously created to help the proposed California Central Coast State Veterans Cemetery at Fort Ord. (2) Provides such agreements are permissible so long as no obligations of repayment are made to the state, and each agreement is reviewed and performed in consultation with the AB 1453 (Quirk-Silva) 7 Department of Finance. (3) Authorizes CDVA to use money received from the prospective federal grant, which is transferred to the Fund, to reimburse the costs of developing and submitting the grant application, to reimburse any cash advances made to the Fund. AB 629 (Monning, Ch. 267, Stats. 2011) Prior law required CDVA, in voluntary cooperation with the Monterey County Board of Supervisors, the City of Seaside, the Fort Ord Reuse Authority (FORA), and local agencies to design, develop, and construct the California Central Coast Veterans Cemetery at Fort Ord, as specified. The State Contract Act requires projects that are not under the jurisdiction of specified departments to be under the charge and control of the Department of General Services (DGS). This bill authorizes CDVA, rather than DGS, to enter into an agreement with the FORA for the veterans cemetery project to be under the sole charge and direct control of the FORA. AB 1757 (Monning, Ch. 450 Stats. 2010) (1) Requires the California Department of Veterans Affairs (CDVA), in voluntary consultation with local governments and stakeholders, to construct the California Central Coast Veterans Cemetery at Ford Ord. (2) Authorizes CDVA to design, develop, and construct the cemetery in phases. (3) Requires the regulations established regarding burial eligibility to apply to all state-operated veterans cemeteries, and limits burial to dependent children of honorably discharged veterans. AB 3035 (Laird, Ch. 291 Stats. 2006) Creates the California Central Coast State Veterans Cemetery at Fort Ord Endowment Fund in the State Treasury and directs that moneys in the Fund be allocated, upon appropriation, to CalVet for annual administrative and oversight costs of the cemetery. SB 1815 (McPherson, Ch. 771, Stats. 2000) Ordered the development of the Central Coast Veterans Cemetery Master Plan and appropriated $140,000 for the creation of a AB 1453 (Quirk-Silva) 8 Cemetery Master Development Fund. POSITIONS Sponsor: Author. Support: American Legion, Department of California AMVETS, Department of California California Association of County Veterans Service Officer California State Commanders Veterans Council City of Irvine City of Lake Forest Orange, County of Veterans of Foreign Wars, Department of California Vietnam Veterans of America, California State Council Oppose: None on file. Analysis by: Wade Cooper Teasdale AB 1453 (Quirk-Silva) 9