BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



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          SENATE THIRD READING
          SB 725 (Anderson)
          As Amended  August 8, 2013
          Majority vote

           SENATE VOTE  :36-0  
           
           VETERANS AFFAIRS    8-0         LOCAL GOVERNMENT    9-0         
           
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
          |Ayes:|Muratsuchi, Chávez,       |Ayes:|Achadjian, Levine, Alejo, |
          |     |Atkins, Brown, Grove,     |     |Bradford, Gordon,         |
          |     |Melendez, Salas, Yamada   |     |Melendez, Mullin, Rendon, |
          |     |                          |     |Waldron                   |
          |-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
          |     |                          |     |                          |
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
           SUMMARY  :  Clarifies the conditions under which the dedicated use  
          of facilities by veterans organizations can be revoked by cities  
          and counties.  Specifically,  this bill  :   

          1)Directs that 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, veterans service organizations, or non-profit  
            veterans service agencies pursuant to current law, as  
            specified, the  provision of that facility and its acceptance  
            by the veterans association, veterans service organizations,  
            or non-profit veterans service agencies 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, veterans service  
            organizations, or non-profit veterans service agencies have  
            not violated the terms and conditions of the dedication, or  
            unless the city, county, or city and county dedicates  
            substitute facilities or unless the veterans associations,  
            veterans service organizations, or non-profit veterans service  
            agencies have either consented to the proposed city, county,  
            or city and county action or have abandoned their use of the  
            facilities.

          2)Clarifies that property shall not be considered abandoned if  
            the veterans association, veterans service organization, or  








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            non-profit veterans service agency is required to move from  
            the property in order for the property to undergo seismic  
            retrofitting or remodeling. 

          3)Makes a legislative finding and declaration that uniformly  
            enforcing veterans organizations' rights to use facilities  
            dedicated pursuant to Military and Veterans Code Section 1266  
            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.

           EXISTING LAW  : 

          1)States that whenever a county has provided, maintained, or  
            provided and maintained any place as specified for the use or  
            benefit of one or more veterans' associations, the provision  
            of that facility and its acceptance by the veterans  
            association constitutes a dedication of that property to a  
            public purpose.

          2)States that the county may not revoke the dedication, so long  
            as the veterans association has not violated the terms and  
            conditions of the dedication, unless:

             a)   The county dedicates substitute facilities;

             b)   The veterans organization has either consented to the  
               proposed county action; or

             c)   The veterans organization has abandoned its use of the  
               facilities.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  Unknown.  This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the  
          Legislative Counsel.

           COMMENTS  :  Shortly after World War I, California law authorized  
          counties and cities to provide and maintain buildings,  
          memorials, or meeting places for the use of veterans'  
          organizations (SB 935 (Irwin) of 1921 and AB 688 (Burns) of  
          1927).  

          In 2009, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a  
          $45.3 million renovation of the Bob Hope Patriotic Hall, which  
          was built in 1925.  According to the Los Angeles Times, the  








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          renovation included replacement of the building's mechanical,  
          electrical, plumbing, and ventilation systems.  Tenants were  
          moved out of the building into temporary quarters until the  
          renovation was completed.  In 2012, as the project neared  
          completion, several veterans groups, including the American  
          Legion, expressed concern that they would not be getting their  
          original office space back, creating concern that a veterans  
          organization's right of return could be in question. 

          According to the author:

          As aging public places throughout California gradually  
               require repair and upkeep, good intentions sometimes  
               suffer from confusion and uncertainty. One example is  
               described by LA Downtown News: "Patriotic Hall has  
               been home primarily to various veterans'  
               organizations. These groups moved out in 2006 when the  
               building was closed. Several of the groups, including  
               American Legion Post 8 are in temporary offices on  
               Grand Avenue and intend on returning to Patriotic Hall  
               when the renovations are complete in 2012. The  
               original deed specified that the building must remain  
               a veteran's facility as long as such groups wanted to  
               stay there, but with the dwindling amount of veterans  
               since World War II, the building has been used for  
               other things?"

               According to the Los Angeles Times, "On September 8,  
               2009, the County of Los Angeles Board of Supervisors  
               approved a $45.3 million project to renovate the  
               historic Bob Hope Patriotic Hall. The renovation  
               includes replacement of the building's mechanical,  
               electrical, plumbing, and ventilation systems;  
               renovation of the 10th floor gymnasium, full service  
               kitchen, and vertical transportation systems;  
               restoration of the 474-seat auditorium, American with  
               Disabilities Act upgrades, and landscaping and  
               reconfiguration of the existing surface parking lot.  
               The building's historic features have been restored in  
               accordance with the Secretary of the Interior's  
               Standards. The renovation is also anticipated to  
               achieve the Leadership in Energy and Environmental  
               Design (LEED) Silver Certification upon its  
               completion, which is anticipated in the Spring of  








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               2013.

          This bill makes it abundantly clear that a tenant's moving out  
          for purposes of remodeling or seismic retrofitting does not  
          constitute abandonment.  

          This bill modernizes the entities to which property may be  
          dedicated to reflect the various service groups which have  
          evolved to support veterans.  It will now be clear that property  
          may be dedicated for use of veterans associations, veterans  
          service organizations, and non-profit veterans service  
          organizations.

          Under existing law a county may revoke a dedication to a  
          veterans group in several ways.  A dedication may be revoked:

          1)By operation of its terms. For example, the dedication may be  
            only for a certain number of years;

          2)If the veterans group violates the terms of the dedication;

          3)If the veterans group consents;

          4)If the veterans group abandons the property; or

          5)If the County dedicates substitute facilities to the group.

          This bill represents a policy shift to limit the existing power  
          of a county to move veterans groups from dedicated property at  
          any time if substitute facilities are dedicated.  Cities and  
          counties will no longer be able to move veterans groups from a  
          location at any time by dedicating substitute facilities.  

          Under this proposal a dedication may be revoked:

          1)By operation of its terms.  For example, the dedication may be  
            only for a certain number of years;

          2)If the veterans group violates the terms of the dedication;

          3)If the veterans group consents; or

          4)If the veterans group abandons the property.









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          Analysis Prepared by  :    John Spangler / V.A. / (916) 319-3550


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