BILL NUMBER: SB 725 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 14, 2013
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 1, 2013
INTRODUCED BY Senator Anderson
FEBRUARY 22, 2013
An act to amend Sections 1260, 1261, 1262, 1264, and 1266 of the
Military and Veterans Code, relating to veterans.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 725, as amended, Anderson. Veterans buildings and memorials:
county and city property: veterans service organizations: retrofit
and remodel.
Under existing law, a county may not revoke the dedication of
specified facilities to a veterans' association, so long as the
veterans' association has not violated the terms and conditions of
the dedication, unless it dedicates substitute facilities or unless
the veterans' organization has either consented to the proposed
county action or has abandoned its use of the facilities.
This bill would extend this law to cities and a city and county.
This bill would also provide that a property is not considered
abandoned if the veterans association or veterans service
organization is required to move from the property in order for the
property to undergo seismic retrofitting or remodeling, and that the
veterans association or veterans service organization is to be
allowed to return to its previous space in the property upon
completion of any retrofit or remodeling.
This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to change
references to veterans' association to veterans association or
veterans service organization.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 1260 of the Military and Veterans Code is
amended to read:
1260. As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise
indicates:
(a) "Political subdivision" means any city, county, district, or
other local governmental agency.
(b) "Governing body" means the board of supervisors in the case of
a county, or the city council or board of trustees or other
governing board in the case of a city, district, or other local
governmental agency.
(c) "Veterans association" or "veterans service organization"
means any association or organization which is composed solely of
persons who served honorably in time of war or in time of peace in a
campaign or expedition for service in which a medal has been
authorized by the government of the United States, as members of the
Armed Forces of the United States, or who as citizens of the United
States served honorably in time of war as members of the armed forces
of any nation whose government was allied with the United States
during that war, and which is organized for patriotic, fraternal, and
benevolent objects.
SEC. 2. Section 1261 of the Military and Veterans Code is amended
to read:
1261. Any political subdivision may lease any lot or building or
part thereof belonging to it and not required for public use, for not
exceeding 20 years, or may acquire and lease or sublease any lot or
building or part thereof for not exceeding 20 years, to a veterans
association or veterans service organization organized in such
political subdivision, to be used for the purposes of such veterans
service organization. The rental shall be fixed by the governing body
of the political subdivisions, and may be nominal in amount.
SEC. 3. Section 1262 of the Military and Veterans Code is amended
to read:
1262. Any county may provide, maintain, or provide and maintain
buildings, memorial halls, meeting places, memorial parks, or
recreation centers for the use or benefit of one or more veterans
associations or veterans service organizations. For these purposes
the board of supervisors of any county may:
(a) Purchase, receive by donation, condemn, lease, or acquire real
or personal property necessary for such buildings, memorial parks,
or recreation centers, and improve, preserve, manage, and control the
same.
(b) Purchase, construct, lease, furnish, or repair such buildings,
and provide custodians, employees, attendants, and supplies for the
proper maintenance thereof.
(c) Clear, grade, plant, irrigate, fence, and improve such
memorial parks, or recreation centers, and provide custodians,
employees, attendants, and supplies for the proper maintenance
thereof.
(d) Furnish sites for such buildings to be built by or for such
organizations, and furnish sites for the erection thereon of such
buildings, the funds for which are supplied by county authorities or
from other sources. Any part or portion of any public lot, block, or
park may be used for such purpose.
(e) Levy a special tax pursuant to Article 3.5 (commencing with
Section 50075) of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 1 of Title 5 of the
Government Code, and spend the proceeds for the purposes of this
chapter.
(f) Establish a fund for the purposes hereof, and transfer from
the General Fund to such fund such moneys as the board deems
necessary.
(g) Incur, in the manner provided by law, a bonded indebtedness on
behalf of the county for any of the purposes hereof.
(h) Join with any incorporated city in the county in the
accomplishment of the above purposes and to that end hold jointly
with such city all property acquired, and expended money in
conjunction with such city in accomplishing the above purposes. Title
to any property jointly so acquired by a county and a city may at
any time be conveyed by either of the joint owners to the other
without consideration other than to carry out the purposes of this
section.
(i) Join with memorial districts in the purchase, acquisition, or
construction of memorial halls, assembly halls, buildings or meeting
places, or in the accomplishment of any other purpose for which a
memorial district has been organized, using the funds authorized to
be raised by this section. Title to any property so purchased,
acquired, or constructed may be taken in the name of the memorial
district, or jointly with the county, or the county may convey any
property so acquired, purchased, or constructed to the memorial
district without consideration to the county. The board of
supervisors may transfer to a memorial district funds raised pursuant
to this section to be expended by the district in furtherance of the
purposes of the district under terms and conditions consistent with
the purposes for which the funds were raised.
SEC. 4. Section 1264 of the Military and Veterans Code is amended
to read:
1264. The governing body maintaining any facilities constructed
or maintained pursuant to this chapter may provide for the use of
such facilities by persons or organizations other than veterans,
either free of charge or for stated compensation to aid in defraying
the cost of maintenance, for any purpose not inconsistent with the
continued use pursuant to this chapter, when such use will not unduly
interfere with the reasonable use of the facilities by veterans
associations or veterans service organizations.
SEC. 5. Section 1266 of the Military and Veterans Code is amended
to read:
1266. (a) Whenever a city, county, or city and county has
provided, maintained, or provided and maintained any building,
memorial hall, meeting place, memorial park, or recreation center for
the use or benefit of one or more veterans associations or veterans
service organizations, pursuant to Section 1262 or Section 37461
of the Government Code , the provision of that facility and
its acceptance by the veterans associations or veterans service
organizations constitutes a dedication of that property to a public
purpose, and the city, county, or city and county may not revoke the
dedication, so long as the veterans associations or veterans service
organizations have not violated the terms and conditions of the
dedication, unless it dedicates substitute facilities or unless the
veterans associations or veterans service organizations have either
consented to the proposed city, county, or city and county action or
have abandoned use of the facilities.
(b) For purposes of subdivision (a), a property shall not be
considered abandoned if the veterans association or veterans service
organization is required to move from the property in order for the
property to undergo seismic retrofitting or remodeling. Upon
completion of any retrofit or remodeling, the veterans association or
veterans service organization shall be allowed to return to its
previous space in the property.
SEC. 6. The Legislature finds and declares that
uniformly enforcing veterans organizations' rights to use
facilities dedicated pursuant to Section 1266 of the Military and
Veterans Code is a matter of statewide concern, and not a municipal
affair, as that term is used in Section 5 of Article XI of the
California Constitution.