BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 725
Author: Anderson (R)
Amended: 8/8/13
Vote: 21
SENATE VETERANS AFFAIRS COMMITTEE : 6-0, 4/9/13
AYES: Hueso, Knight, Block, Correa, Lieu, Nielsen
NO VOTE RECORDED: Roth, Vacancy
SENATE GOVERNANCE & FINANCE COMMITTEE : 7-0, 5/8/13
AYES: Wolk, Knight, Beall, DeSaulnier, Emmerson, Hernandez, Liu
SENATE FLOOR : 36-0, 5/20/13 (Consent)
AYES: Anderson, Beall, Berryhill, Block, Calderon, Cannella,
Corbett, Correa, De León, DeSaulnier, Evans, Fuller, Gaines,
Galgiani, Hancock, Hernandez, Hill, Hueso, Huff, Jackson,
Knight, Leno, Lieu, Liu, Monning, Nielsen, Padilla, Pavley,
Roth, Steinberg, Torres, Walters, Wolk, Wright, Wyland, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Emmerson, Lara, Price, Vacancy
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 9/3/13 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Veterans buildings and memorials: county and city
property:
retrofit remodel
SOURCE : American Legion Department of California
AMVETS Department of California
California Association of County Veterans Service
Officers
California State Commanders Veterans Council
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SB 725
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Veterans of Foreign Wars - Department of California
Vietnam Veterans of America - California State
Council
DIGEST : This bill expands the types of local governments that
cannot revoke the dedication of a specified veterans facility to
include a city, or city and county.
Assembly Amendments add nonprofit veteran service agency to the
types of entities whose dedications may not be revoked, as
specified, and re-inserts current law that allows cities and
counties to dedicate substitute space, and deletes language that
specifies that veterans agencies be allowed to return to their
previous space in properties that undergo retrofit or remodel or
be given comparable space in that same building, and make other
conforming changes.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1.Authorizes counties and cities to provide and maintain
buildings, memorials, or meeting places for the use of
veterans' organizations (SB 935, Irwin, 1921 and AB 688,
Burns, 1927).
2.Allows a county to act jointly with a city to provide and
maintain public spaces for veterans. Title to property
acquired for this purpose may be held jointly or transferred
to a county or a city.
3.Requires that when a county provides a facility for the use of
or benefit of veterans' organizations, its acceptance by the
veterans' organizations constitutes a dedication of that
property to a public purpose (SB 544, Dills, 1989). The
county may not revoke the dedication unless:
The veterans' organizations violate the terms and
conditions of dedication,
The county dedicates substitute facilities,
The veterans' organizations consent to the proposed
county action, or
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The veterans' organizations abandon the use of the
facility.
This bill:
1.Provides 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 nonprofit
veterans service agencies pursuant to current law, as
specified, the provision of that facility and its acceptance
by the veterans associations, veterans service organizations,
or nonprofit 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 nonprofit veterans service agencies have not
violated the terms and conditions of the dedication, unless
the city, county, or city and county dedicates substitute
facilities or unless the veterans associations, veterans
service organizations, or nonprofit veterans service agencies
have either consented to the proposed city, county, or city
and county action or have abandoned use of the facilities.
2.Clarifies that, for purposes of #1, above, a property shall
not be 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 remodeling.
3.Updates terms and definitions to include "veterans service
organization" in the current-law definition of "veterans'
association," and defines "nonprofit veteran service agency"
to mean a community-based organization that meets the
following requirements:
A. It is exempt from tax under Section 501(c)(3) of the
Internal Revenue Code; and,
B. Its principal purpose is to provide housing, substance
abuse, case management, and employment training services
for low-income veterans, disabled veterans, or homeless
veterans and their families.
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1.Incorporates "veterans service organization" and "nonprofit
veteran service agency" in statutes governing the provision of
facilities by local agencies for the use of veterans groups.
2.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.
Background
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
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, creating concern that a veterans'
organization's right of return could be in question.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local:
No
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/20/13)
American Legion Department of California (co-source)
AMVETS Department of California (co-source)
California Association of County Veterans Service Officers
(co-source)
California State Commanders Veterans Council (co-source)
Veterans of Foreign Wars - Department of California (co-source)
Vietnam Veterans of America - California State Council
(co-source)
California Association of Veterans Service Agencies
Veterans of Foreign Wars
Vietnam Veterans of California
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 09/03/13
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AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian
Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley,
Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox, Frazier,
Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gorell,
Gray, Grove, Hagman, Harkey, Roger Hernández, Holden, Jones,
Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal, Maienschein, Mansoor,
Medina, Melendez, Mitchell, Morrell, Mullin, Muratsuchi,
Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, V. Manuel
Pérez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Salas, Skinner, Stone,
Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams,
Yamada, John A. Pérez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Hall, Jones-Sawyer, Vacancy, Vacancy
AL:nl:d 9/3/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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