SB 725, as amended, Anderson. Veterans buildings and memorials: county and city property: veterans service organizations: nonprofit veteran service agencies: 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, cities and counties, and nonprofit veteran service agencies, as defined. This bill would also provide that a property is not considered abandoned if the veterans association, veterans service organization, or nonprofit veteran service agency is required to move from the property in order for the property to undergo seismic retrofitting or remodelingbegin delete, and that the veterans association, veterans service
organization, or nonprofit veteran service agency is to be allowed to return to its previous space in the property upon completion of any retrofit or remodelingend delete.
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 1260 of the Military and Veterans Code
2 is amended to read:
As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise
4indicates:
5(a) “Political subdivision” means any city, county, district, or
6other local governmental agency.
7(b) “Governing body” means the board of supervisors in the
8case of a county, or the city council or board of trustees or other
9governing board in the case of a city, district, or other local
10governmental agency.
11(c) “Veterans association” or “veterans service organization”
12means any association or organization which is composed solely
13of persons who served honorably in time of war or in time
of peace
14in a campaign or expedition for service in which a medal has been
15authorized by the government of the United States, as members
16of the Armed Forces of the United States, or who as citizens of
17the United States served honorably in time of war as members of
18the armed forces of any nation whose government was allied with
19the United States during that war, and which is organized for
20patriotic, fraternal, and benevolent objects.
21(d) “Nonprofit veteran service agency” shall have the meaning
22given in Section 999.51 of the Military and Veterans Code.
Section 1261 of the Military and Veterans Code is
24amended to read:
Any political subdivision may lease any lot or building
26or part thereof belonging to it and not required for public use, for
27not exceeding 20 years, or may acquire and lease or sublease any
28lot or building or part thereof for not exceeding 20 years, to a
29veterans association, veterans service organization, or nonprofit
30veteran service agency organized in such political subdivision, to
P3 1be used for the purposes of the veterans association, veterans
2service organization, or nonprofit veteran service agency. The
3rental shall be fixed by the governing body of the political
4subdivisions, and may be nominal in amount.
Section 1262 of the Military and Veterans Code is
6amended to read:
Any county may provide, maintain, or provide and
8maintain buildings, memorial halls, meeting places, memorial
9parks, or recreation centers for the use or benefit of one or more
10veterans associations, veterans service organizations, or nonprofit
11veteran service agencies.
For these purposes the board of
12supervisors of any county may:
13(a) Purchase, receive by donation, condemn, lease, or acquire
14real or personal property necessary for such buildings, memorial
15parks, or recreation centers, and improve, preserve, manage, and
16control the same.
17(b) Purchase, construct, lease, furnish, or repair such buildings,
18and provide custodians, employees, attendants, and supplies for
19the proper maintenance thereof.
20(c) Clear, grade, plant, irrigate, fence, and improve such
21memorial parks, or recreation centers, and provide custodians,
22employees, attendants, and supplies for the proper maintenance
23thereof.
24(d) Furnish sites
for such buildings to be built by or for such
25organizations, and furnish sites for the erection thereon of such
26buildings, the funds for which shall be supplied by county
27authorities or from other sources. Any part or portion of any public
28lot, block, or park may be used for such purpose.
29(e) Levy a special tax pursuant to Article 3.5 (commencing with
30Section 50075) of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 1 of Title 5 of
31the Government Code, and spend the proceeds for the purposes of
32this chapter.
33(f) Establish a fund for the purposes hereof, and transfer from
34the General Fund to such fund such moneys as the board deems
35necessary.
36(g) Incur, in the manner provided by law, a bonded indebtedness
37on behalf of the county
for any of the purposes hereof.
38(h) Join with any incorporated city in the county in the
39accomplishment of the above purposes and to that end hold jointly
40with such city all property acquired, and expend money in
P4 1conjunction with such city in accomplishing the above purposes.
2Title to any property jointly so acquired by a county and a city
3may at any time be conveyed by either of the joint owners to the
4other without consideration other than to carry out the purposes
5of this section.
6(i) Join with memorial districts in the purchase, acquisition, or
7construction of memorial halls, assembly halls, buildings, or
8meeting places, or in the accomplishment of any other purpose for
9which a memorial district has been organized, using the funds
10authorized to be raised by this section. Title
to any property so
11purchased, acquired, or constructed may be taken in the name of
12the memorial district or jointly with the county, or the county may
13convey any property so acquired, purchased, or constructed to the
14memorial district without consideration to the county. The board
15of supervisors may transfer to a memorial district funds raised
16pursuant to this section to be expended by the district in furtherance
17of the purposes of the district under terms and conditions consistent
18with the purposes for which the funds were raised.
Section 1264 of the Military and Veterans Code is
20amended to read:
The governing body maintaining any facilities
22constructed or maintained pursuant to this chapter may provide
23for the use of such facilities by persons or organizations other than
24veterans, either free of charge or for stated compensation to aid in
25defraying the cost of maintenance, for any purpose not inconsistent
26with the continued use pursuant to this chapter, when such use will
27not unduly interfere with the reasonable use of the facilities by a
28veterans association, veterans service
organization, or nonprofit
29veteran service agency.
Section 1266 of the Military and Veterans Code is
31amended to read:
(a) Whenever a city, county, or city and county has
33provided, maintained, or provided and maintained any building,
34memorial hall, meeting place, memorial park, or recreation center
35for the use or benefit of one or more veterans associations, veterans
36service organizations, or nonprofit veteran service agencies
37pursuant to Section 1262 or Section 37461 of the Government
38Code, the provision of that facility and its acceptance by the
39veterans associations, veterans service organizations, or nonprofit
40veteran service agencies constitutes a dedication of that property
P5 1to a public purpose, and the city, county, or city and county may
2not revoke the dedication, so long as the veterans associations,
3
veterans service organizations, or nonprofit veteran service
4agencies have not violated the terms and conditions of the
5dedication, unlessbegin insert the city, county, or city and county dedicates
6substitute facilities or unless end insert the veterans associations, veterans
7service organizations, or nonprofit veteran service agencies have
8either consented to the proposed city, county, or city and county
9action or have abandoned use of the facilities.
10(b) For purposes of subdivision (a), a property shall not be
11considered abandoned if the veterans association, veterans service
12organization, or nonprofit veteran service agency is required to
13move from the property in order for the property to undergo seismic
14retrofitting or remodeling.begin delete Upon completion of any retrofit or
15remodeling, the veterans associations, veterans service
16organizations, or nonprofit veteran service agencies shall be
17allowed to return to their previous space in the
property or be given
18comparable substitute space therein.end delete
The Legislature finds and declares that uniformly
20enforcing veterans organizations’ rights to use facilities dedicated
21pursuant to Section 1266 of the Military and Veterans Code is a
22matter of statewide concern, and not a municipal affair, as that
23term is used in Section 5 of Article XI of the California
24Constitution.
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