BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE COMMITTEE ON VETERANS AFFAIRS
LOU CORREA, CHAIRMAN
Bill No: AB 629
Author: Monning
Version: As amended April 4, 2011
Hearing Date: June 14, 2011
Fiscal: Yes
Consultant: Donald E. Wilson
SUBJECT OF BILL
Central Coast Veterans Cemetery
PROPOSED LAW
Allow the California Department of Veterans Affairs (CDVA)
to give the Ford Ord Reuse Authority (FORA) sole authority
for the building of the state veterans' cemetery rather
than the Department of General Services (DGS).
EXISTING LAW AND BACKGROUND
1. The United States Army base at Ford Ord was closed
in a previous round of the Base Realignment and
Closure Commission (BRAC).
2. Part of the Base Reuse Plan includes building a
veterans' cemetery.
3. Traditionally, veterans' cemeteries are federal
responsibilities, but as the last century came to a
close the federal government enacted a cost saving
measure by offering to build cemeteries but let states
pay the maintenance costs in perpetuity as was done
with the now completed Redding cemetery - California's
first.
4. The federal government is proposing the same
agreement for the Fort Ord cemetery, saying the
veterans' cemetery at Gustine in the Central Valley is
close enough -and has enough room- to relieve
Washington of any obligation to build on the central
coast.
5. As a result of Washington's cost saving stance, SB
2078 of 1998 (McPherson) offered to conduct a
feasibility study of building the veterans cemetery at
Fort Ord, but the legislation was vetoed by Governor
Wilson.
6. SB 1815 of 1999 (McPherson) ordered the development
of the Central Coast Veterans Cemetery Master Plan and
appropriated $140,000 for the creation of a Central
Coast Veterans Cemetery Master Development Fund.
7. SB 480 of 2005 (Denham) sought to add to the
Military and Veterans Code language creating the
Central Coast Cemetery Maintenance Fund within the
State Treasury. Funding would be provided by annual
Budget Act. Realizing the budget constraints that
both state and federal governments are facing, SB 480
sought to use inmate work crews made available under
the Penal Code for maintenance of the cemetery.
8. AB 922 of 2005 (Salinas) sought to build the
Central Coast Veterans Cemetery. Both SB 480 and AB
922 of 2005 failed to get out of their respective
houses in spite of one being a cost-saving measure.
9. This committee held a special hearing on January
12, 2006 at Fort Ord to discuss the options available
for a state veterans' cemetery at Fort Ord.
10. AB 3035 of 2006 (Laird) established an
endowment fund that would enable the cemetery to be
built when enough of a corpus of funds had been
accumulated to allow the ongoing operation of the
cemetery to be paid for by the interest generated by
the corpus within the endowment fund.
11. AB 1757 of 2010 (Monning) removed the
requirement that 100% of the endowment fund corpus
needed to be in hand before construction of the
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cemetery started and instituted a design-bid-build
process for the cemetery.
COMMENT
1. By eliminating the need for DGS to duplicate some
functions that have already been done locally, this bill
could save $558,000 in one-time costs on preliminary plans
and working drawings.
2. The cemetery will be funded by an endowment fund.
$558,000 is a significant amount of money to remove as a
barrier to building the cemetery.
3. DGS does not have a position on this bill.
SUPPORT
City of Seaside, Mayor's office
Fort Ord Reuse Authority
Monterey County Board of Supervisors
No opposition received
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