BILL ANALYSIS �
------------------------------------------------------------
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1225|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|1020 N Street, Suite 524 | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
------------------------------------------------------------
THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1225
Author: Assembly Veterans Affairs Committee
Amended: 8/9/12 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE VETERANS AFFAIRS COMMITTEE : 7-0, 4/10/12
AYES: Correa, Cannella, Berryhill, Calderon, Negrete
McLeod, Rubio, Lieu
NO VOTE RECORDED: Runner
SENATE BUSINESS, PROF. & ECON. DEV. COMMITTEE : 8-0, 7/2/12
AYES: Price, Corbett, Correa, Hernandez, Negrete McLeod,
Strickland, Vargas, Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Emmerson
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 75-0, 1/30/12 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Cemeteries: veterans commemorative property
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill prohibits any person or entity from
selling, trading, or transferring veterans commemorative
property, and authorizes the sale, trade or transfer of all
or any part of any veteran's commemorative property if
certain conditions are met.
Senate Floor Amendments of 8/9/12 delete language that
CONTINUED
AB 1225
Page
2
states "not to exceed 100 days" from the bill.
ANALYSIS : Existing law prohibits a cemetery owned and
operated by a city, county, or city and county from
engaging in the business of selling monuments or markers,
and also prohibits the cemetery's officers and employees
who manage, operate, or otherwise maintain the cemetery
from engaging in the private business of selling monuments
or markets.
This bill:
1. Prohibits the purchase, sale or transfer of a veteran's
commemorative property, unless otherwise exempted.
2. Requires any person or entity, except a municipal
corporation, as specified, that owns or controls a
cemetery where veteran's commemorative property has been
placed that wishes to sell, trade, or transfer veteran's
commemorative property to petition the superior court in
the county in which the veteran's commemorative property
is located for permission to sell, trade, or transfer
all or any part of the veteran's commemorative property.
3. Authorizes the court to approve the sale, trade or
transfer of the commemorative property under certain
conditions.
4. Requires the clerk to fix a date, time, and place of the
hearing, within a reasonable time, after the petition is
filed.
5. Provides that an order of the court granting the
petition may specify the manner in which the petitioner
is to use or apply the proceeds of the sale, trade, or
transfer.
6. Provides that if the petitioner is an unincorporated
association or corporation subject to the Nonprofit
Corporation Law, as specified, the court is authorized
to direct the petitioner to deposit the proceeds of the
sale, trade, or transfer in the permanent maintenance
fund maintained by the petitioner pursuant to the
Nonprofit Corporation Law.
AB 1225
Page
3
7. Specifies that a person violating any provision of this
bill is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of
no less than $100 or more than $1,000; by imprisonment
in a county jail for no less than 10 days or more than
six months; or by both that fine and imprisonment; and,
in addition is liable for all costs, expenses, and
disbursements paid or incurred by the person prosecuting
the case.
Comments
According to the author's office, in recent years, a market
has developed for veteran commemorative cemetery property.
This property includes monuments, headstones, markers,
memorials, and plaques. They have become very valuable in
the antiques market, and this has led to thieves stealing
them from cemeteries. It started with Civil War property
but has progressed to include property from the Vietnam War
era. Additionally, some property is targeted because of
the metal contained in it and later sold as scrap metal.
This bill prohibits the unauthorized sale, purchase, or
transfer of any veteran commemorative cemetery property
that is over 50 years old if such property is currently
placed or located within a cemetery. This bill does allow
authorized sales of the property through the Bureau.
Metal theft has become increasingly common as prices for
metals have recently risen dramatically. Commonly stolen
metals include copper, aluminum, brass, and bronze.
Thieves recently stole copper plaques commemorating
veterans from a Long Beach cemetery.
This bill seeks to prevent the theft of commemorative
property by making the sale or transfer of these items
illegal.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/9/12)
American Legion, Department of California
AB 1225
Page
4
AMVETS-Department of California
California Association of County Veteran Service Officers
California Association of Museums
California Funeral Directors Association
California Senior Legislature
California State Commanders Veterans Council
Vietnam Veterans of America - California State Council
OPPOSITION : (Verified 8/9/12)
Department of Consumer Affairs
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 75-0, 01/30/12
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall, Bill
Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford,
Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos,
Carter, Cedillo, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Davis, Dickinson,
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, Knight, Logue,
Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mansoor, Miller, Mitchell, Monning,
Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Pan, Perea,
Portantino, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Swanson,
Torres, Valadao, Wagner, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada,
John A. P�rez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Donnelly, Gorell, Lara, Mendoza, V.
Manuel P�rez
RM:m 8/9/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
**** END ****