BILL ANALYSIS �
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 629
Author: Monning (D)
Amended: 4/4/11 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE VETERANS AFFAIRS COMMITTEE : 7-0, 6/28/11
AYES: Correa, Cannella, Berryhill, Calderon, Negrete
McLeod, Rubio, Lieu
NO VOTE RECORDED: Runner
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 78-0, 5/19/11 (Consent) - See last page
for vote
SUBJECT : Veterans cemetery
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill authorizes the Department of Veterans
Affairs to contract with the Fort Ord Reuse Authority,
rather than the Department of General Services, for design
and construction of a state-owned and operated veterans'
cemetery on the site of Fort Ord.
ANALYSIS : Under existing law the design and construction
of the cemetery will be done by the Department of General
Services (DGS).
Background
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In 1991, Fort Ord was announced for closure by the United
States Base Realignment and Closure Commission. Prior to
closure, Fort Ord Reuse Authority (FORA) set aside 204
acres for a veteran's cemetery. Legislation enacted in
2006 created an endowment fund to support cemetery planning
and design. When the endowment is sufficiently funded to
design and plan the cemetery, the balance of the
construction costs will be paid by the U.S. Department of
Veterans Affairs.
Comments
The former Fort Ord site is the subject of reuse and
redevelopment plans by FORA. One portion of the former
site is planned as the cemetery and has been so dedicated
for approximately 10 years, however, little progress has
been made. In order to get the Cemetery started, private
donations must fully fund the Cemetery design and planning
costs in the form of an endowment (the Endowment). After
the Endowment is funded sufficiently to design and plan the
Cemetery, the balance of its costs for construction will be
paid by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.
The current cost estimate of the necessary design funding
(Preliminary Plans and Working Drawings) for the Endowment
is $2,090,000 if DGS were to oversee the cemetery project,
as will occur without this bill. If DGS is allowed,
pursuant to this bill, to subcontract this project to FORA,
the cost estimate for that same portion of the project is
$1,531,380. The difference in the cost of design fees
between FORA and DGS is $558,620.00. This is both a
substantial savings and a large reduction in the money
needed to fund the Endowment. Having a smaller "threshold"
amount needed to fund the Endowment should make it easier
to get the cemetery started.
Prior Legislation
AB 1757 (Monning), Chapter 450, Statutes of 2010, requires
DVA in cooperation with the County of Monterey, the City of
Seaside, FORA, and surrounding counties, cities, and local
agencies, to design and construct a state-owned and
operated veterans cemetery at Ford Ord. The design and
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construction of the cemetery could not move forward until a
determination was made that 100 percent of the funds
necessary for planning and design were raised.
AB 3035 (Laird), Chapter 291, Statutes of 2006, establishes
the California Central Coast State Veterans Cemetery at
Fort Ord Endowment Fund for the receipt of donations of
personal property, including cash or other gifts, to be
used for the maintenance of the veterans' cemetery.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/16/11)
AMVETS, Department of California
Mayor, City of Seaside
Fort Ord Reuse Authority
Monterey County Board of Supervisors
Citizens Cemetery Advisory Committee
Central Coast Veterans Cemetery Foundation
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The Monterey County Board of
Supervisors writes, "Your measure represents a win-win-win
for the state, for the FORA and ultimately for veterans and
their families who have waited so patiently for this
project to be realized.
"Your measure will relieve the state's General Fund of
nearly $2 million while providing jobs to local businesses
and authority to FOR A to use its familiarity of the
property and its ability to execute the design and planning
at a much lower costs."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Achadjian, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall, Bill
Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford,
Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos,
Carter, Cedillo, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Davis, Dickinson,
Donnelly, Eng, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani,
Beth Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto, Gordon, Grove,
Hagman, Halderman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Roger
Hern�ndez, Hill, Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones,
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Knight, Lara, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mansoor,
Mendoza, Miller, Mitchell, Monning, Morrell, Nestande,
Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel P�rez,
Portantino, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Swanson,
Torres, Valadao, Wagner, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada,
John A. P�rez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Alejo, Gorell
RM:do 8/16/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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