BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1806|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1806
Author: Cook (R), et al.
Amended: 8/23/12 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE VETERANS AFFAIRS COMMITTEE : 7-0, 6/12/12
AYES: Correa, Cannella, Berryhill, Calderon, Negrete
McLeod, Rubio, Lieu
NO VOTE RECORDED: Runner
SENATE GOVERNANCE & FINANCE COMMITTEE : 9-0, 6/20/12
AYES: Wolk, Dutton, DeSaulnier, Fuller, Hernandez, Kehoe,
La Malfa, Liu, Yee
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-0, 8/16/12
AYES: Kehoe, Walters, Alquist, Dutton, Lieu, Price,
Steinberg
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 75-0, 5/17/12 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Veteran interment: veterans remains
organizations
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill requires a county public administrator
to make every reasonable effort to determine if the
unclaimed remains of a decedent belonging to a veteran or a
veteran's dependent. Refer to the public administrator if
there is reason to believe that the remains belong to a
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veteran or a veteran's dependent. This bill requires the
public administrator to work with 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 or a
veteran's dependent.
Senate Floor Amendments of 8/23/12 make technical changes.
ANALYSIS : Existing law authorizes a cemetery authority,
cemetery corporation or association, or other entity in
possession of the cremated remains of a veteran or
dependent of a veteran to release the remains to a
veterans' remains organization, as defined, for interment
after specified conditions are met, including possession of
the remains for at least one year.
This bill:
1. Requires a CVSO who determines that unclaimed remains
are those of a veteran or a veteran's dependent, and
that the remains meet the criteria for interment by a
veterans' remains organization pursuant to state law, to
report the following information to the Department of
Veterans Affairs:
The name, rank, and branch of service of the
deceased or, if the deceased is the dependent of a
veteran, the name of the deceased and the name, rank,
and branch of service of the eligible veteran.
Dates of service.
Location of the remains and a telephone number
and name for the contact at that location.
2. Requires the public administrator to report this
information to the CVSO, if a county public
administrator determines, without the involvement of the
CVSO, that the remains belong to a veteran or dependent
of a veteran who must report the information listed
above to the Department of Veterans Affairs.
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3. Requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to create
and maintain a list of veterans and veterans' dependents
whose remains are reported by CVSOs. This bill requires
this list to be available to the representatives of
veterans' remains organizations by telephone or in
person.
4. Updates references to the federal Veterans
Administration by referencing the United States
Department of Veterans Affairs.
Background
State law establishes numerous county officers, including a
public administrator. A county public administrator
investigates and administers the estates of people who die
without a will, any known relatives, or any other qualified
person willing or able to administer their estates. A
public administrator must provide for the interment of a
deceased person's remains, if there are no other qualified
individuals, as specified in state law, who are available
to assume that duty.
A county board of supervisors may appoint a CVSO to
administer specified veterans' benefits and to perform any
other veteran related services as requested by the county
board of supervisors (AB 3016 (Conroy), Chapter 1274,
Statutes of 1992). A CVSO must be a United States military
veteran.
Each county board of supervisors must designate an
honorably discharged United States military veteran or a
member of a veterans' remains organization (VRO) to be
responsible for interring the body of any qualified
indigent, abandoned, or unclaimed veteran or veterans'
dependents. State law defines a VRO as an entity,
including the entity's members and employees, recognized by
the Veterans Administration and the National Personnel
Records Center as an organization authorized to verify and
inter unclaimed cremated remains of American veterans. To
facilitate the proper interment of veterans' remains, the
Legislature authorized a VRO to take possession of
unclaimed remains in the possession of a cemetery
corporation or other entity, subject to specified
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conditions, for the purpose of interment (AB 164 (Nielsen),
Chapter 189, Statutes of 2010).
To make it easier for VROs to identify unclaimed remains
that need proper interment, veterans' advocates want the
Legislature to require the California Department of
Veterans Affairs to maintain a list of unclaimed remains of
veterans and veterans' dependents identified by county
officials.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Minor, absorbable costs to the DVA for creating and
maintaining the list (General)
Unknown, potentially minor state reimbursable costs to
counties (General)
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/24/12)
American Legion, Department of California
AMVETS, Department of California
California Association of County Veteran Service Officers
California Sate Commanders Veterans Council
Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, Department
of California
Vietnam Veterans of America, California State Council
OPPOSITION : (Verified 8/24/12)
Department of Finance
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW)
writes that this bill "would provide for the appropriate
internment of the unclaimed remains of a veteran or the
depended of a veteran. The VFW, Department of California
and its Ladies Auxiliary, with over 125,000 members, is
California's most prestigious veterans organization,
comprised of combat veterans who have served in World War
II, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan and other military
action in the war against terrorism, and every other action
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where our young men and women have been called to serve to
defend our nation's freedom. We are proud to speak up for
their interests."
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : The Department of Finance is
opposed to this bill unless it is amended because in its
current form, the
bill could create a potential reimbursable state mandate,
which would result in increased General Fund costs to the
state. We recommend amending this bill to authorize,
rather than require, county public administrators to
determine if unclaimed remains are those of a veteran or a
dependent of a veteran and to authorize, rather than
require, CVSOs to report specified information to the CDVA.
These amendments should remove the potential reimbursable
state mandate.
Existing law authorizes a cemetery authority, cemetery
corporation, or other entity in possession of the cremated
remains of veterans or their dependents to release the
remains to a VRO if unclaimed for one year. According to
the author's office, there is currently no requirement for
coroners and cemeteries to make inquiries to determine
whether an unclaimed body is that of a veteran or dependent
of a veteran. Therefore, many veterans do not receive a
proper military burial. Additionally, there is no
statewide list of
the unclaimed remains of veterans and veterans' dependents
that can be consulted by VROs.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 75-0, 5/17/12
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,
Donnelly, Eng, Feuer, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Beth
Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto, Gordon, Gorell, Grove,
Hagman, Halderman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Roger
Hern�ndez, Hill, Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones,
Knight, Lara, Logue, Ma, Mansoor, Mendoza, Miller,
Mitchell, Monning, Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen, Norby,
Olsen, Pan, V. Manuel P�rez, Portantino, Silva, Smyth,
Solorio, Swanson, Torres, Valadao, Wagner, Wieckowski,
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Williams, John A. P�rez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Fletcher, Bonnie Lowenthal, Perea,
Skinner, Yamada
RM:dn 8/24/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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