BILL NUMBER: AB 1520 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 20, 2004
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JANUARY 15, 2004
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Kehoe
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Diaz and Longville)
(Coauthors: Senators Kuehl and Romero)
FEBRUARY 21, 2003
An act to add Chapter 8.7 (commencing with Section 1370) to
Division 6 of the Military and Veterans Code, relating to veterans'
memorials.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1520, as amended, Kehoe. Veterans' Memorials Commission.
Existing law establishes the California Mexican American Veterans'
Memorial Beautification and Enhancement Commission and provides for
its composition and duties. Existing law authorizes the
beautification and enhancement of an existing memorial on state
grounds, as defined, and authorizes the commission to establish a
schedule for its design, construction, and dedication; to solicit
designs and devise a process for selection of the final design; and
to monitor construction.
This bill would create the California Veterans' Memorials
Commission and would provide for its composition and duties. It
would authorize the design, construction, and dedication of memorials
approved by the commission at unspecified sites, as prescribed, and
would authorize the commission to review , consider, and
respond to requests for a memorial; hold public hearings in this
regard; and approve the appropriateness of a site for a memorial for
any specified group of veterans. The bill also would authorize the
commission, once the commission has determined the need for any
specific memorial, to establish a schedule for its design,
construction, and dedication; to solicit designs and devise a process
for selection of the final design; and to monitor construction.
This bill would require that the funding for the memorial be from
private contributions.
This bill would create the California Veterans' Memorials Fund in
the State Treasury, into which all moneys received pursuant to the
bill would be deposited.
This bill would require the commission to notify the Governor and
the Legislature whenever the design, construction, and dedication of
a memorial is complete.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) Veterans have served with great distinction and honor in
defending the United States and the constitutional rights of all
Americans. All veterans deserve to be honored for that service.
Veterans who have lost their lives should be honored for making the
ultimate sacrifice.
(b) At the federal, state, and local level there are memorials to
veterans based on service in a specific conflict or war. There are
also privately funded memorials to veterans. These memorials
recognize veterans who have served in virtually every conflict or war
in the history of the United States.
(c) There are also other memorials for veterans who are of a
certain cognizable group and those memorials are based on the unique
experience of that group in military service. In recognition of
Native Americans' unheralded history of military service, Congress
enacted in 1994 the Native American Veterans' Memorial Establishment
Act (Public Law 103-384; 20 U.S.C. Sec. 809 note) that authorized
the erection of a Native American veterans' memorial in Washington
D.C. at a site to be determined by the National Museum of the
American Indian. Congress in 1992 also authorized the Go for Broke
National Veterans Association Foundation to establish a memorial in
the District of Columbia or its environs to honor Japanese-American
patriotism in World War II (Public Law 102-502; 40 U.S.C. Sec. 1003
note). In Los Angeles, there is the Japanese American Veterans
Memorial Court at the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center
to recognize the service of Japanese-American veterans. There are
also monuments and memorials to recognize African-American veterans,
women veterans, Jewish veterans, disabled veterans, and others.
(d) State law already establishes the Mexican American Veterans'
Memorial Beautification and Enhancement Commission. However, there
is no process in place for the creation of other California state
memorials to other similar groups of veterans. Some veterans' groups
believe that the state needs to join federal, local, and private
organizations who have recognized various groups of veterans to
appropriately recognize the sacrifice of these veterans.
(e) To properly recognize all veterans, a process must be created
to review the need for and to create memorials, as appropriate.
These memorials may be based on service in a specific conflict or
war, or service by a specific cognizable group. The purpose of this
act is to create such a process.
SEC. 2. Chapter 8.7 (commencing with Section 1370) is added to
Division 6 of the Military and Veterans Code, to read:
CHAPTER 8.7. CALIFORNIA VETERANS' MEMORIALS COMMISSION
1370. (a) There is in state government, the California Veterans'
Memorials Commission composed of 11 members as follows:
(1) Two members appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly, at least
one of whom shall be a Member of the Assembly, and at least one of
whom shall be a veteran, as defined in Section 980.
(2) Two members appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules, at
least one of whom shall be a Member of the Senate, and at least one
of whom shall be a veteran, as defined in Section 980.
(3) Seven members appointed by the Governor, at least three of
whom shall be veterans, as defined in Section 980.
(b) The members shall elect one of their members to serve as
chairperson.
1371. Members of the Legislature shall serve on the commission as
ex officio members without vote and shall participate in the
activities of the commission to the extent that the participation is
not incompatible with their legislative duties. Members of the
commission shall receive no compensation.
1372. The commission may request staff support and facilities for
its activities from the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the
department may provide that support and be reimbursed for the cost of
this support.
1373. The commission shall be responsible for setting policy
consistent with the purposes of this chapter. The staff hired by the
commission shall carry out that policy. That policy shall be
followed to fairly review and determine the need for the state to
recognize the service of veterans. That service may be recognized in
the form of a memorial as determined by the commission. Recognition
may be based on service in a specific war or conflict, or based on
service in the military as a member of a specific cognizable group.
1374. (a) The commission shall review and consider
, consider, and respond to any request for
approval of a memorial to any specific group of veterans.
(b) By majority vote, the commission may approve the
appropriateness of a memorial to any specific group of veterans.
(c) By majority vote, the commission may approve a specific site
for a memorial to any specific group of veterans.
(d) Within 30 days of taking a vote, the commission shall notify
the Legislature of any approval or disapproval of a request for a
memorial to any specific group of veterans.
(b) A request may come from any veteran, family member of a
veteran, veterans' organization, elected official, member of the
commission, or any state resident.
1375. (a) (1) The design, construction, and dedication of
memorials approved by the commission are hereby authorized. The
memorials shall be dedicated to the sacrifices and contributions that
veterans have made on behalf of their country.
(2) The actual site for the design, construction, and dedication
of a memorial shall be selected by the commission and may include
state grounds or other grounds.
(3) If located on state grounds, the commission shall obtain
final design and site orientation approval from the Department of
General Services.
(4) The commission may designate an existing memorial if the
memorial is designed, constructed, dedicated, and maintained in a
manner consistent with this chapter.
(b) Funds for the design, construction, and dedication of the
memorial shall be provided through private contributions.
1376. There is in the State Treasury, the California Veterans'
Memorials Fund to receive any private resources obtained by the
California Veterans' Memorials Commission for the purpose described
in subdivision (b) of Section 1375.
1377. (a) The commission may do all of the
following:
(1) Review and respond to any requests for a memorial.
(2)
(a) Hold timely public hearing
hearings to solicit public input on any requests for a memorial
and respond to public input.
(3)
(b) By majority vote, approve the appropriateness of a
memorial to any specific group of veterans.
(4)
(c) By majority vote, approve a specific site for a memorial
to any specific group of veterans.
(5)
(d) Receive private contributions for the purpose of
administering duties under this chapter.
(b) Requests may come from any veteran, family member of a
veteran, veterans' organization, elected official, member of the
commission, or any state resident.
1378. Once the commission has determined the need for
any specific memorial, it may do the following: commission may do
all approved a specific memorial, it shall do all
of the following:
(a) Establish a schedule for the design, construction, and
dedication of the memorial.
(b) Implement procedures to solicit designs for the design,
construction, and dedication of the memorial and devise a selection
process for the choice of the design.
(c) Select individuals or organizations to provide fundraising
services and to design and construct the memorial.
(d) Review and monitor the design and construction of the memorial
and establish a program for the dedication of the memorial.
(e) Consult with the Department of General Services to determine
parameters for the final size of the memorial , if located on
state grounds .
(f) Consult with and obtain final design and site orientation
approval from the Department of General Services.
1379. The design of a memorial shall be as politically neutral as
possible.
1380. The commission shall notify the Governor and the
Legislature whenever design, construction, and dedication of a
memorial pursuant to this chapter is complete.