AB 1453, as amended, Quirk-Silva. Southern California Veterans Cemetery.
The Department of Veterans Affairs (department) is created in state government and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs is the head of the department. Under existing law, the department, in voluntary cooperation with the Shasta County Board of Supervisors and the boards of supervisors of specified northern California counties, is required to design, develop, and construct a state-owned and state-operated Northern California Veterans Cemetery. Under existing law, the department, in voluntary cooperation with the Board of Supervisors of the County of Monterey, the City of Seaside, the Fort Ord Reuse Authority, and surrounding counties, cities, and local agencies, is required to design, develop, and construct the state-owned and state-operated veterans cemetery, which shall be located on the site of the former Fort Ord.
Existing federal law authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs of the federal Department of Veterans Affairs to make a grant to any state for the purpose of establishing, expanding, or improving a veterans’ cemetery owned by the state and operating and maintaining a veterans’ cemetery.
This bill would require the department, in voluntary cooperation with local government entities in Orange County, to design, develop, construct, and equip a state-owned and state-operated Southern California Veterans Cemetery.begin delete Theend deletebegin insert Subject to specified requirements described in federal law, theend insert bill would make all honorably discharged veterans and their spouses and children eligible for interment in the cemetery. The bill would require the department to establish a fee to be charged for interment of veteran spouses
andbegin insert eligibleend insert children.
The bill would create the Southern California Veterans Cemetery Master Development Fund, a continuously appropriated fund, and would require all moneys received for the design, development, construction, and equipment of the cemetery to be deposited in this fund. By creating a continuously appropriated fund, the bill would make an appropriation. The bill would also create the Southern California Veterans Cemetery Perpetual Maintenance Fund and would direct all moneys received for the maintenance of the cemetery, including those moneys received for the interment of a spouse or child, to be deposited in this fund.
The bill would make proposals for the construction, placement, or donation of monuments and memorials to the cemetery subject to review by a specified advisory committee and subject to final approval by the Secretary.
The bill would authorize the cemetery administrator to accept donations of personal property to be used for the maintenance, beautification, or repair of the cemetery. The bill would require cash donations to be deposited into the Southern California Veterans Cemetery Donations Fund, a continuously appropriated fund created by this bill, and would require the cash donations to be expended for the maintenance, beautification, and repair of the cemetery, as specified. By creating a continuously appropriated fund, the bill would make an appropriation.
The bill would require and authorize the department to adopt regulations, as specified.
The bill would declare the intent of the Legislature to appropriate funds in the annual Budget Act to support the department in carrying out the provisions of this bill. The bill would specify that if no appropriation is made for these purposes, the department would not be required to comply with the provisions of this bill.
The bill would require the department to apply to the Veterans Cemetery Grants Program of the federal Department of Veterans Affairs for a grant of not more than an unspecified amount, which amount represents 100% of the estimated cost for designing, developing, constructing, and equipping the cemetery.
The bill would declare the intent of the Legislature to prohibit the expenditure ofbegin delete moneyend deletebegin insert moneysend insert appropriated to the department until the department has received written approval of the grant request and a commitment from the federal Veterans Cemetery Grants Program that the funds appropriated under the grant are available for
expenditure by the state, except as specified.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: yes. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Chapter 9.5 (commencing with Section 1410) is
2added to Division 6 of the Military and Veterans Code, to read:
3
(a) (1) The department, in voluntary cooperation with
7local government entities in Orange County pursuant to Section
81412, shall design, develop, construct, and equip a state-owned
9and state-operated Southern California Veterans Cemetery, which
10shall be located in Orange County, California.
11(2) The department shall oversee and coordinate the design,
12development, and construction of the cemetery.
13(3) For purposes of this chapter, “department” means the
14Department of Veterans Affairs.
15(b) (1) begin deleteAll end deletebegin insertSubject
to the eligibility requirements described in
16Section 2402 of Title 38 of the United States Code, as amended
17from time to time, all end inserthonorably discharged veterans and their
18spouses and children are eligible for interment in the cemetery.
19The department shall establish a fee to be charged for interment
20of veteran spouses andbegin insert eligibleend insert children. The amount of the fee
21shall not exceed the reasonable costs to the department for
22interment in the cemetery.
P4 1(2) Subject to Section 1418, for the purposes of this subdivision,
2the department shall adopt regulations to specify the eligibility
3requirements for interment in the cemetery.
4(3) All fees received pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be
deposited
5in the Southern California Veterans Cemetery Perpetual
6Maintenance Fund created pursuant to Section 1412.
(a) For the purposes of Section 1410, all local
8government entities in Orange County may join together for the
9purpose of cooperating with the department in the design,
10development, construction, and equipment of the cemetery.
11(b) All moneys received for the design, development,
12construction, and equipment of the cemetery shall be deposited in
13the Southern California Veterans Cemetery Master Development
14Fund, which is hereby created in the State Treasury.
15Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code,begin delete moneyend delete
16begin insert
moneysend insert in the fundbegin delete isend deletebegin insert areend insert continuously appropriated to the
17department for the purpose of designing, developing, constructing,
18and equipping the cemetery. Moneys appropriated by the
19Legislature for these purposes shall also be deposited in the fund.
20(c) (1) Except as otherwise provided in Section 1416, all
21moneys received for the maintenance of the cemetery, including
22moneys received pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 1410, shall
23be deposited in the Southern California Veterans Cemetery
24Perpetual Maintenance Fund, which is hereby created in the State
25Treasury. Any state funding for the annual maintenance of
the
26cemetery shall be appropriated by the Legislature in the annual
27Budget Act.
28(2) It is the intent of the Legislature that, after the construction
29of the cemetery, an estimated ____ dollars ($____) should be
30appropriated annually by the Legislature in the
annual Budget Act
31or the participating southern California counties, or both, to the
32department for the operating costs of the cemetery.
33(3) It is the intent of the Legislature that total expenditures for
34operations and maintenance should not be more than ____ dollars
35($____) per fiscal year, as appropriated in the annual Budget Act.
(a) Proposals for the construction, placement, or donation
37of monuments and memorials to the cemetery shall be subject to
38review by an advisory committee comprised of the cemetery
39administrator, representatives from local government entities within
P5 1Orange County, local veterans’ service organizations, and others
2as approved by the secretary.
3(b) All proposals for the construction, placement, or donation
4of monuments and memorials to the cemetery shall be subject to
5the final approval of the secretary.
6(c) Subject to Section 1418, the department shall adopt
7regulations for the policies and procedures to be
followed with
8respect to the construction, placement, donation, and approval of
9monuments and memorials proposed to be placed on the cemetery
10grounds.
(a) Notwithstanding Section 11005 of the Government
12Code, the cemetery administrator, subject to the approval of the
13secretary, may accept donations of personal property, including
14cash or other gifts, to be used for the maintenance, beautification,
15or repair of the cemetery.
16(b) Cash donations made pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be
17deposited into the Southern California Veterans Cemetery
18Donations Fund, which is hereby created. Notwithstanding Section
1913340 of the Government Code,begin delete moneyend deletebegin insert moneysend insert
in the fundbegin delete isend deletebegin insert areend insert
20 continuously appropriated to the department for the maintenance,
21beautification, and repair of the cemetery or, subject to the approval
22of the secretary, for a specified cemetery maintenance or
23beautification project designated by the donor.
For purposes of carrying out the provisions of this
25chapter, the department may adopt regulations. All regulations
26adopted pursuant to this chapter shall be adopted pursuant to the
27Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with
28Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government
29Code).
It is the intent of the Legislature to appropriate funds
31in the annual Budget Act to support the Department of Veterans
32Affairs in carrying out the provisions of Chapter 9.5 (commencing
33with Section 1410) of Division 6 of the Military and Veterans
34Code. If no appropriation is made for these purposes, the
35Department of Veterans Affairs shall not be required to comply
36with the provisions of Chapter 9.5 (commencing with Section
371410) of Division 6 of the Military and Veterans Code.
(a) The Department of Veterans Affairs shall apply
39to the Veterans Cemetery Grants Program of the federal
40Department of Veterans Affairs for a grant of not more than 100
P6 1percent of the estimated cost for designing, developing,
2constructing, and equipping the cemetery.
3(b) It is the intent of the Legislature that thebegin delete moneyend deletebegin insert moneysend insert to
4be appropriated in the annual Budget Act under Section 2 of this
5actbegin delete isend deletebegin insert
areend insert not expended until the Department of Veterans Affairs
6has received written approval of the grant requested under
7subdivision (a) and a commitment from the federal Veterans
8Cemetery Grants Program that the funds appropriated under the
9grant are available for expenditure by the state, except it is the
10intent of the Legislature that the department may expend an amount
11necessary for completion of the grant proposal from the funds
12intended by the Legislature to be appropriated under Section 2.
O
97