Amended in Senate August 19, 2014

Amended in Senate August 4, 2014

Amended in Senate June 19, 2014

Amended in Assembly April 22, 2014

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1453

Introduced by Assembly Member Quirk-Silva

(Coauthors: Assembly Members Daly, Mansoor, and Wagner)

(Coauthors: Senators Correa and Wyland)

January 9, 2014

An act to add Chapter 9.5 (commencing with Section 1410) to Division 6 of the Military and Veterans Code, relating to veterans, and making an appropriation therefor.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

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 insert to be located at a specified site in the City of Irvine end insert . Subject to specified requirements described in federal law, the bill would make begin delete all end delete honorably discharged begin delete veterans and end delete begin insert veterans, end insert their spouses begin insert , end insert and begin insert eligible dependent end insert 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 begin insert dependent end insert children.

The bill would create the Southern California Veterans Cemetery Master Development Fund begin delete , a continuously appropriated fund, end delete and would require all moneys received for the design, development, construction, and equipment of the cemetery to be deposited in this fund. begin delete By creating a continuously appropriated fund, the bill would make an appropriation. end delete 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 begin delete , including those moneys received for the interment of a spouse or child, end delete to be deposited in this fund. begin insert The bill would make expenditure of the moneys in those funds subject to appropriation by the Legislature. The bill would declare the intent of the Legislature to appropriate funds in the annual Budget Act to fund annual cemetery operations and maintenance and to enact other related necessary additional legislation. end insert

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.

begin delete

The bill would declare the intent of the Legislature to appropriate funds in the annual Budget Act to 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. 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.

end delete begin insert

The bill would appropriate $500,000 from the General Fund to the department to be used for the grant proposal, as described below. The bill would declare the intent of the Legislature to appropriate funds in the annual Budget Act to support the department in carrying out these provisions. The bill would specify that if no appropriation is made for those purposes, the department would not be required to comply with provisions of this bill.

end insert

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 100% of the estimated cost for designing, developing, constructing, and equipping the begin delete cemetery. end delete

begin delete The end delete begin insert cemetery. The end insert bill would declare the intent of the Legislature to prohibit the expenditure of begin insert specified end insert moneys appropriated to the department until the department has received written approval of the grant requested and a commitment from the federal Veterans Cemetery Grants Program that the funds appropriated under the grant are available for expenditure by the begin delete state, except as specified. end delete begin insert state. end insert

Vote:  begin delete majority end delete begin insert ²⁄₃ end insert . Appropriation: yes. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Chapter 9.5 (commencing with Section 1410) is
added to Division 6 of the Military and Veterans Code, to read:

 

Chapter  9.5. Southern California Veterans Cemetery

 

1410.  

(a) (1) The department, in voluntary cooperation with
local government entities in Orange County pursuant to Section
1412, shall design, develop, construct, and equip a state-owned
and state-operated Southern California Veterans Cemetery, which
shall be located begin delete in Orange County, California. end delete begin insert at the site of the
former Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, on 125 acres known as
the Amended and Restated Development Agreement Site in the
Great Park in the City of Irvine. end insert

(2) The department shall oversee and coordinate the design,
development, and construction of the cemetery.

(3) For purposes of this chapter, “department” means the
Department of Veterans Affairs.

(b) (1) Subject to the eligibility requirements described in
Section 2402 of Title 38 of the United States Code, as amended
from time to time, begin delete all end delete honorably discharged begin delete veterans and end delete begin insert veterans, end insert
their spouses begin insert , end insert and begin insert eligible dependent end insert children are eligible for
interment in the cemetery. The department shall establish a fee to
be charged for interment of veteran spouses and eligible begin insert dependent end insert
children. The amount of the fee shall not exceed the reasonable
costs to the department for interment in the cemetery.

(2) Subject to Section 1418, for the purposes of this subdivision,
the department shall adopt regulations to specify the eligibility
requirements for interment in the cemetery.

(3) All fees received pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be deposited
in the Southern California Veterans Cemetery Perpetual
Maintenance Fund created pursuant to Section 1412.

1412.  

(a) For the purposes of Section 1410, all local
government entities in Orange County may join together for the
purpose of cooperating with the department in the design,
development, construction, and equipment of the cemetery.

(b) All moneys received for the design, development,
construction, and equipment of the cemetery shall be deposited in
the Southern California Veterans Cemetery Master Development
Fund, which is hereby created in the State Treasury.
begin delete Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code, moneys
in the fund are continuously appropriated to the department for
the purpose of designing, developing, constructing, and equipping
the cemetery. end delete begin insert Expenditure of those moneys shall be subject to
appropriation by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act. end insert Moneys
appropriated by the Legislature for these purposes shall also be
deposited in the fund.

(c) (1) Except as otherwise provided in Section 1416, all
moneys received for the maintenance of the cemetery, including
moneys received pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 1410, shall
be deposited in the Southern California Veterans Cemetery
Perpetual Maintenance Fund, which is hereby created in the State
Treasury. begin delete Any state funding for the annual maintenance of the
cemetery shall be appropriated by the Legislature in the annual
Budget Act. end delete begin insert Expenditure of those moneys shall be subject to
appropriation by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act. end insert

(2) It is the intent of the Legislature to appropriate funds in the
annual Budget Act to 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.

1414.  

(a) Proposals for the construction, placement, or donation
of monuments and memorials to the cemetery shall be subject to
review by an advisory committee comprised of the cemetery
administrator, representatives from local government entities within
Orange County, local veterans’ service organizations, and others
as approved by the secretary.

(b) All proposals for the construction, placement, or donation
of monuments and memorials to the cemetery shall be subject to
the final approval of the secretary.

(c) Subject to Section 1418, the department shall adopt
regulations for the policies and procedures to be followed with
respect to the construction, placement, donation, and approval of
monuments and memorials proposed to be placed on the cemetery
grounds.

1416.  

(a) Notwithstanding Section 11005 of the Government
Code, the cemetery administrator, subject to the approval of the
secretary, may accept donations of personal property, including
cash or other gifts, to be used for the maintenance, beautification,
or repair of the cemetery.

(b) Cash donations made pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be
deposited into the Southern California Veterans Cemetery
Donations Fund, which is hereby created. Notwithstanding Section
13340 of the Government Code, moneys in the fund are
continuously appropriated to the department for the maintenance,
beautification, and repair of the cemetery or, subject to the approval
of the secretary, for a specified cemetery maintenance or
beautification project designated by the donor.

1418.  

For purposes of carrying out the provisions of this
chapter, the department may adopt regulations. All regulations
adopted pursuant to this chapter shall be adopted pursuant to the
Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with
Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government
Code).

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

end insert

begin insert The Legislature hereby appropriates five hundred
thousand dollars ($500,000) from the General Fund to the
Department of Veterans Affairs for completion of the preliminary
or conceptual design work required during the preapplication
phase of the grant proposal described in Section 4 of this act. end insert

begin delete SEC. 2. end delete
begin insert SEC. 3. end insert   

It is the intent of the Legislature to appropriate funds
in the annual Budget Act to support the Department of Veterans
Affairs in carrying out the provisions of Chapter 9.5 (commencing
with Section 1410) of Division 6 of the Military and Veterans
Code. If no appropriation is made for these purposes, the
Department of Veterans Affairs shall not be required to comply
with the provisions of Chapter 9.5 (commencing with Section
1410) of Division 6 of the Military and Veterans Code.

begin delete SEC. 3. end delete
begin insert SEC. 4. end insert   

(a) The Department of Veterans Affairs shall apply
to the Veterans Cemetery Grants Program of the federal
Department of Veterans Affairs for a grant of not more than 100
percent of the estimated cost for designing, developing,
constructing, and equipping the cemetery.

(b) It is the intent of the Legislature that the moneys to be
appropriated in the annual Budget Act under Section begin delete 2 end delete begin insert 3 end insert of this
act are not expended until the Department of Veterans Affairs has
received written approval of the grant requested under subdivision
(a) and a commitment from the federal Veterans Cemetery Grants
Program that the funds appropriated under the grant are available
for expenditure by the begin delete state, except it is the intent of the Legislature
that the department may expend an amount necessary for
completion of the grant proposal from the funds intended by the
Legislature to be appropriated under Section 2. end delete begin insert state. end insert