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. Subject to specified requirements described in federal law, the 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 and eligible 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 thebegin delete Secretaryend deletebegin insert secretaryend insert.
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 tobegin delete support the department in carrying out the provisions of this bill.end deletebegin insert
fund annual cemetery operations and maintenance and to enact any additional legislation that may be necessary to set dollar limits on funding for those operations and that maintenance.end insert 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 thanbegin delete an unspecified amount, which amount representsend deletebegin insert end insert 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 of moneys appropriated to the department until the department has received written approval of the grantbegin delete requestend deletebegin insert requestedend insert 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) Subject to the
eligibility requirements described in
16Section 2402 of Title 38 of the United States Code, as amended
17from time to time, all honorably 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
P4 1of veteran spouses and eligible children. The amount of the fee
2shall not exceed the reasonable costs to the department for
3interment in the cemetery.
4(2) Subject to Section 1418, for the purposes of this subdivision,
5the department shall adopt regulations to specify the eligibility
6requirements for interment in the cemetery.
7(3) All fees received pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be deposited
8in the Southern California Veterans Cemetery Perpetual
9Maintenance Fund created pursuant to Section
1412.
(a) For the purposes of Section 1410, all local
11government entities in Orange County may join together for the
12purpose of cooperating with the department in the design,
13development, construction, and equipment of the cemetery.
14(b) All moneys received for the design, development,
15construction, and equipment of the cemetery shall be deposited in
16the Southern California Veterans Cemetery Master Development
17Fund, which is hereby created in the State Treasury.
18Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code,
moneys
19in the fund are continuously appropriated to the department for
20the purpose of designing, developing, constructing, and equipping
21the cemetery. Moneys appropriated by the Legislature for these
22purposes shall also be deposited in the fund.
23(c) (1) Except as otherwise provided in Section 1416, all
24moneys received for the maintenance of the cemetery, including
25moneys received pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 1410, shall
26be deposited in the Southern California Veterans Cemetery
27Perpetual Maintenance Fund, which is hereby created in the State
28Treasury. Any state funding for the annual maintenance of the
29cemetery shall be appropriated by the Legislature in the annual
30Budget Act.
31(2) It is the intent of the Legislature that, after the
construction
32of the cemetery, an estimated ____ dollars ($____) should be
33appropriated annually by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act
34or the participating southern California counties, or both, to the
35department for the operating costs of the cemetery.
36(3) It is the intent of the Legislature that total expenditures for
37operations and maintenance should not be more than ____ dollars
38($____) per fiscal year, as appropriated in the annual Budget Act.
39(2) It is the intent of the Legislature to appropriate funds in the
40annual Budget Act to fund annual cemetery operations and
P5 1maintenance and to enact any additional
legislation that may be
2necessary to set dollar limits on funding for those operations and
3that maintenance.
(a) Proposals for the construction, placement, or donation
5of monuments and memorials to the cemetery shall be subject to
6review by an advisory committee comprised of the cemetery
7administrator, representatives from local government entities within
8Orange County, local veterans’ service organizations, and others
9as approved by the secretary.
10(b) All proposals for the construction, placement, or donation
11of monuments and memorials to the cemetery shall be subject to
12the final approval of the secretary.
13(c) Subject to Section 1418, the department shall adopt
14regulations for the policies and procedures to be
followed with
15respect to the construction, placement, donation, and approval of
16monuments and memorials proposed to be placed on the cemetery
17grounds.
(a) Notwithstanding Section 11005 of the Government
19Code, the cemetery administrator, subject to the approval of the
20secretary, may accept donations of personal property, including
21cash or other gifts, to be used for the maintenance, beautification,
22or repair of the cemetery.
23(b) Cash donations made pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be
24deposited into the Southern California Veterans Cemetery
25Donations Fund, which is hereby created. Notwithstanding Section
2613340 of the Government Code, moneys in the fund are
27continuously appropriated to the department for the maintenance,
28beautification, and repair of the cemetery or, subject to the approval
29of the secretary, for
a specified cemetery maintenance or
30beautification project designated by the donor.
For purposes of carrying out the provisions of this
32chapter, the department may adopt regulations. All regulations
33adopted pursuant to this chapter shall be adopted pursuant to the
34Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with
35Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government
36Code).
It is the intent of the Legislature to appropriate funds
38in the annual Budget Act to support the Department of Veterans
39Affairs in carrying out the provisions of Chapter 9.5 (commencing
40with Section 1410) of Division 6 of the Military and Veterans
P6 1Code. If no appropriation is made for these purposes, the
2Department of Veterans Affairs shall not be required to comply
3with the provisions of Chapter 9.5 (commencing with Section
41410) of Division 6 of the Military and Veterans Code.
(a) The Department of Veterans Affairs shall apply
6to the Veterans Cemetery Grants Program of the federal
7Department of Veterans Affairs for a grant of not more than 100
8percent of the estimated cost for designing, developing,
9constructing, and equipping the cemetery.
10(b) It is the intent of the Legislature that the moneys to be
11appropriated in the annual Budget Act under Section 2 of this act
12are not expended until the Department of Veterans Affairs has
13received written approval of the grant requested under subdivision
14(a) and a commitment from the federal Veterans Cemetery Grants
15Program that the funds appropriated under the grant
are available
16for expenditure by the state, except it is the intent of the Legislature
17that the department may expend an amount necessary for
18completion of the grant proposal from the funds intended by the
19Legislature to be appropriated under Section 2.
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