BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �




                   Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
                           Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair


          AB 1806 (Cook) - Veteran Interment.
          
          Amended: June 26, 2012          Policy Vote: VA 7-0, GF 9-0
          Urgency: No                     Mandate: Yes
          Hearing Date: August 6, 2012                           
          Consultant: Maureen Ortiz       
          
          This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
          
          
          Bill Summary: AB 1806 requires county public administrators to 
          determine if unclaimed remains of a decedent belong to a veteran 
          or a dependent of a veteran; requires a county veteran services 
          officer to report data of the deceased veteran to the Department 
          of Veterans Affairs; and, requires the department to create and 
          maintain a list of those individuals.

          Fiscal Impact: 

              Minor, absorbable costs to the DVA for creating and 
              maintaining the list (General)

              Potentially significant state reimbursable costs to 
              counties in excess of $50,000 annually (General)

          Background: A county public administrator investigates and 
          administers the estates of people who die without a will, any 
          known relatives, or other person qualified to administer the 
          estate.  The public administrator must provide for the interment 
          of a deceased person's remains if there are no other qualified 
          individuals to assume that duty.

          Burial benefits are available to qualified veterans that include 
          a gravesite in any of the 131 national cemeteries, opening and 
          closing of the grave, perpetual care, a headstone or marker, a 
          burial flag, and a Presidential Memorial Certificate - all at no 
          cost to the family.

          Proposed Law: AB 1806 requires every county public administrator 
          to make a reasonable effort to determine if the unclaimed 
          remains of a decedent belong to a veteran or a dependent of a 
          veteran.  The public administrator will be required to work with 








          AB 1806 (Cook)
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          the county veteran service officer (CVSO), a national veterans 
          cemetery, the United States Social Security Administration, the 
          United States Department of Veterans Affairs, or other 
          applicable entity to determine if the remains belong to a 
          veteran.

          AB 1806 further requires the public administrator or the CVSO to 
          report to the Department of Veterans Affairs the following 
          information if it is determined that unclaimed remains belong to 
          a veteran or dependent of a veteran:

             a)   The name, rank, and branch of service of the deceased; 
               or of the eligible veteran if the deceased is a dependent.

             b)   Dates of service.

             c)   Location of the remains and a telephone number and name 
               for the contact at that location.

          Finally, AB 1806 requires the DVA to create and maintain a list 
          of veterans and dependents of veterans whose remains are 
          reported, and to make the list available to representatives of 
          veterans' remains organizations by telephone or in person.