BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 232
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 232 (Monning)
As Amended September 6, 2013
2/3 vote
SENATE VOTE :Vote not relevant
LABOR & EMPLOYMENT APPROPRIATIONS 12-0
(vote not relevant)
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| | |Ayes:|Gatto, Bocanegra, |
| | | |Bradford, |
| | | |Ian Calderon, Campos, |
| | | |Eggman, Gomez, Hall, |
| | | |Holden, Pan, Quirk, Weber |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Repeals a budget allocation for a loan to the Central
Coast State Veterans Cemetery at Fort Ord (Cemetery), requires
any money transferred as a loan to be returned, appropriates $1
million to the Central Coast State Veterans Cemetery at Fort Ord
Endowment Fund (Fund) for construction of the Cemetery, and
amends current statutory requirements of regarding the use of
interest on a principal in the Fund. Contains an urgency
clause. Specifically, this bill :
1)Deletes the definition of "Administrative and oversight costs"
found in California Military and Veterans Code (CMVC) Section
1450(a).
2)Inserts a new defined term into CMVC Section 1450 (c) ,
"Operations and maintenance costs." These are defined as
costs incurred by the California Department of Veterans
Affairs (Department) for the operations and maintenance of the
Cemetery including, but not limited to, personnel costs, the
opening and closing of graves, the interment of remains,
committal service coordination, grounds keeping, landscaping,
general maintenance, and janitorial services.
3)Alters CMVC Section 1451 regarding the Fund as follows:
a) Money in the Fund shall be allocated on appropriation by
the legislation for non-reimbursable costs of design and
construction and the annual operations and maintenance
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costs for the next 10 years.
b) Deletes the requirement that money in the Fund shall
first be invested with the goal of achieving capital
appreciation to create a balance sufficient to generate
ongoing earnings to cover the estimated annual oversight
and maintenance costs associated with the Cemetery.
c) Deletes the requirement that money in the Fund shall be
invested to generate earnings to fund annual oversight and
maintenance costs associated with the Cemetery.
d) States that money in the Fund may be invested to
generate earnings to offset annual operations and
maintenance costs associated with the Cemetery.
4)Deletes references to "annual administrative and oversight
costs" and substitutes the new term "operations and
maintenance costs" throughout CMVC Sections 1451, 1452, 1453,
1454, and 1456.
5)Changes the due date for a report on the status of the Fund
from July 1, 2007, to July 1, 2014 (Report).
6)Deletes the requirement that the Report include the amount of
additional principal needed to generate annual interest
revenue to cover administrative and oversight costs.
7)Requires the Report to include the estimated amount needed
that will sufficiently cover operations and maintenance costs.
8)Deletes the requirement that the Controller determine that the
Fund has adequate principal to yield sufficient investment
earnings in each year for the next 10 years, from the date of
the determination, to fully fund the respective year's
administrative and oversight costs, net of all other estimated
revenue sources, and to fund the estimated costs of developing
and submitting the State Veterans Cemetery Grant Program
(Grant Program) application.
9)Adds a requirement that the Controller determine that the Fund
have adequate amounts to fully fund the non-reimbursable
design and construction and the operations and maintenance
costs for the next 10 years.
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10)Adds a requirement that the Controller consider the estimated
revenues from the fees described in CMVC Section 1455
(internment and other similar fees) expected to be deposited
in the Fund in making the determination as to whether or not
the Fund has adequate amounts to fully fund the
non-reimbursable design and construction and the operations
and maintenance costs for the next 10 years.
11)Deletes the requirement that Department not proceed with
advertisement for construction bids until the Fund has
adequate principal to cover annual administrative and
oversight costs.
12)Adds a requirement that the Department not proceed with
advertisement for construction bids until the Fund has
adequate principal to cover annual administrative and
oversight costs.
13)Alters the requirement that money received from the Grant
Program be used to reimburse the Fund for costs of developing
the Grant Program application and other costs to state that
such money shall be used to reimburse the Fund for "allowable
costs as established by the United States Department of
Veterans Affairs State Veterans Cemetery Program."
14)Repeals the section of the Budget Act of 2013 that
transferred $1.5 million to the Fund as a loan and requires
that any money transferred as part of that budget action be
returned to the General Fund.
15)Appropriates $1 million from the General Fund to the Fund for
construction of the Cemetery.
16)Requires annual reporting by the Secretary of the Department
regarding expenditures from the Fund.
17)Contains an urgency clause stating that the funds are
necessary by October 1, 2013, so that the Cemetery project may
qualify to receive "millions of dollars in federal funds to
cover the cost of?" building the Cemetery.
18)Inserts a new defined term into CMVC 1450, "Nonreimburseable
costs of design and construction." These are defined as the
"?costs of planning, design, and construction of the
[Cemetery] that are not reimbursable from the moneys received
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from the [Grant Program] as allowable costs as established by
the [Grant Program]."
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, $1 million cost to the General Fund.
COMMENTS : The intent of this bill is to allow the Cemetery
project to continue to move forward. This bill is substantially
similar in intent to SB 106 (Monning) of the current legislative
session heard in the Assembly Veterans Affairs Committee on June
4, 2013, and which passed through both houses of the legislature
without a no vote. SB 106 was approved by the Governor on June
28, 2013. Further, there is a history of related legislation
enacted over more than a decade in support of the Cemetery
project.
According to the author:
The creation of the Central Coast Veteran's Cemetery,
California's second ever state veteran's cemetery, is
dependent upon millions of dollars in Federal
reimbursement funding from the United States
Department of Veteran's Affair's Veterans State
Cemetery Grants Program.
The changes in the use of the Fund, the conversion of the loan
to an appropriation, and the change in the amount of money going
to the Fund are all necessary, according to the author, to
permit the Cemetery to move forward with the Grant Program
process.
Finally, the loan deleted in this bill was a part of the Budget
Act of 2013, passed by the Assembly on June 14, 2013. If the
Assembly hears this bill it will have an opportunity to debate
the bill's changes to the Budget Act as well as the new
appropriation made when the bill is on the Assembly Floor.
Analysis Prepared by : John Spangler / V. A. / (916) 319-3550
FN: 0002467
SB 232
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