BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1453|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1453
Author: Quirk-Silva (D), et al.
Amended: 8/19/14 in Senate
Vote: 27
SENATE VETERANS AFFAIRS COMMITTEE : 6-0, 6/24/14
AYES: Hueso, Knight, Correa, Lieu, Nielsen, Roth
NO VOTE RECORDED: Block
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 5-0, 8/14/14
AYES: De Le�n, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
NO VOTE RECORDED: Walters, Gaines
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 78-0, 5/29/14 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Southern California Veterans Cemetery
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs
(CalVet), 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 and creates the Southern California Veterans
Cemetery Master Development Fund (and an associated maintenance
fund), and requires all monies received for the design,
development, construction, and equipment of the cemetery to be
deposited in this fund. This bill authorizes the cemetery
administrator to accept donations of personal property to be
used for the maintenance, beautification, or repair of the
CONTINUED
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cemetery and requires cash donations to be deposited into the
Southern California Veterans Cemetery Donations Fund and
requires CalVet to apply to the Veterans Cemetery Grants Program
of the federal Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for a grant.
Appropriations of $500,000 from the General Fund for preliminary
design work and other start up costs.
ANALYSIS : Federal law authorizes the VA to make a financial
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.
Existing state law:
1.Requires CalVet - in voluntary cooperation with the Monterey
County Board of Supervisors, City of Seaside, Fort Ord Reuse
Authority, and surrounding counties, cities, and local
agencies - to design, develop, and construct the state-owned
and state-operated Central Coast Veterans Cemetery, to be
located on the former Fort Ord Army post.
2.Requires CalVet - in voluntary cooperation with the Shasta
County Board of Supervisors and the boards of supervisors of
specified northern California counties - to design, develop,
and construct a state-owned and state-operated Northern
California Veterans Cemetery (NCVC).
This bill:
1.Creates the Southern California Veterans Cemetery Master
Development Fund (Development Fund), and requires all monies
received for the design, development, construction, and
equipment of the cemetery to be deposited in this fund.
2.Creates the Southern California Veterans Cemetery Perpetual
Maintenance Fund (Maintenance Fund) and directs all monies
received for the maintenance of the cemetery, including those
monies received for the interment of a spouse, child, or
eligible dependent, to be deposited in this fund.
3.Makes 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 CalVet Secretary.
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4.Authorizes the cemetery administrator to accept donations of
personal property to be used for the maintenance,
beautification, or repair of the cemetery. Requires cash
donations to be deposited into the Southern California
Veterans Cemetery Donations Fund; and requires the cash
donations to be expended for the maintenance, beautification,
and repair of the cemetery, as specified.
5.Declares the Legislature's intent to appropriate funds in the
annual Budget Act to fund annual cemetery operations and
maintenance, and to enact subsequent legislation if necessary.
Specifies that if no appropriation is made for these
purposes, CalVet would not be required to comply with the
provisions of this bill.
6.Requires CalVet to apply to the Veterans Cemetery Grants
Program administered by the VA 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.
7.Declares the Legislature's intent to prohibit the expenditure
of money appropriated to CalVet until that department has
received written approval of the grant requested and a
commitment from the federal Grants Program that the funds
appropriated under the grant are available for expenditure by
the state, except as specified.
8.Extends eligibility for interment in the cemetery to all
honorably discharged veterans and their spouses and children
and eligible dependents to the extent provided by federal law
and regulation.
9.Requires CalVet to establish a fee to be charged for interment
of veteran spouses and children.
10.Specifies that the location of the cemetery is "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."
Background
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National veterans cemeteries . The VA's National Cemetery
Administration maintains 131 national veterans' cemeteries in 39
states and Puerto Rico. Nine are located in California as
follows:
Southern California: Fort Rosecrans (San Diego), Miramar (San
Diego), Los Angeles, and Riverside national cemeteries.
Central California: Bakersfield, San Joaquin Valley (Santa
Nella), Golden Gate (San Bruno), and San Francisco (Presidio
of San Francisco) national cemeteries.
Northern California: Sacramento Valley National Cemetery
(Dixon).
State veterans cemeteries . Recognizing that the national
cemetery system leaves certain areas inadequately served, the
federal government in 1978 established the federal VA's Cemetery
Grants Program to help create state-owned and state-operated
veterans cemeteries to meet that need. In a cost-saving
approach, the federal government offers to build state
cemeteries, but then let states pay the maintenance costs in
perpetuity. This approach was used successfully with
California's first state veterans cemetery, the NCVC near
Redding dedicated in November 2005. The California Central
Coast Veterans Cemetery (CCCVC) at the former Fort Ord - will be
the second state cemetery under the federal Grants Program.
[The state's historic Yountville Veterans Cemetery was funded by
an earlier process. It is located on 11 acres in the northwest
corner of the Yountville Veterans Home and currently accepts
interments only from among the Veteran Home's residents and
their eligible dependents.]
Under the Grants Program, the federal government will reimburse
up to 100% of the cost of establishing, expanding, or improving
state veterans' cemeteries, including the acquisition of initial
operating equipment, if the state agrees to cover the
administrative and oversight costs. These administrative and
oversight costs are offset eventually through federal veterans'
burial benefits. The VA does not pay any off-site costs, land
purchases, demolition costs, or state employee costs that may be
charged by the Department of General Services.
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The administrative, oversight and operational costs are offset
by a federal plot allowance paid to the state for the burial of
veterans by the VA and the dependent fees charged by the state.
The percentage of those costs depends on the type of cemetery
operation. The federal Plot Allowance is currently $734 and
NCVC dependent fees are currently $500.
Proposed state cemetery in Southern California . Considering
federal guidelines and in conjunction with veteran stakeholder
groups and local governments, CalVet has determined the need for
a new state cemetery to serve the veteran population of Orange,
Los Angeles and Ventura Counties. CalVet's analysis states the
following:
The burial rate must be determined and is the primary factor
that will determine the size, type and cost of construction,
as well as the operational costs of the Veterans Cemetery.
We will consider the veterans population, veteran's death
rate, and distance from cities to the proposed location of
the cemetery and of existing active veteran's cemeteries.
Riverside National Cemetery is the closest National Cemetery
to Orange, Los Angeles and Ventura Counties, which is the
area that the proposed Veterans Cemetery would serve.
However, the locations of Bakersfield National Cemetery to
the north and Miramar National Cemetery to the south were
considered.
The National Cemetery Administration uses a 75-mile radius
to determine if a veteran is being served by an existing
Veterans Cemetery. The flaw in their logic in determining
if a veteran is being served within a 75-mile radius is that
they do not consider natural barriers, location of roadways,
traffic and public transportation, which are proven barriers
in the actual use by veterans of veterans cemeteries.
Much of the area that our proposed veteran's cemetery would
serve is inside the 75-mile radius of Riverside National
Cemetery, but this fact will not prevent the state from
obtaining a federal grant to construct a state veterans
cemetery. However, it must be considered when determining
our facilities burial rate. For this reason we have not
considered the veterans population in Riverside or San
Bernardino Counties that may be closer to our proposed
location. We are considering the entire veteran population
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of Orange, Los Angeles and Ventura counties as those
veterans would reside closer to our proposed location than
to the Riverside National Cemetery.
The National Cemetery Administration inters 13.5% of the
eligible veterans in their catchment areas (75-mile radius)
nationwide. The NCVC inters 27% of the eligible veterans
within a 75-mile radius of the cemetery.
When determining the burial rate for the CCCVC, CalVet and
the VA agreed on a 25% interment rate based on our
experience at NCVC. Understanding that there are so many
unmeasurable factors in determining the percentage this is
not a science, but an estimation of the actual number of
veterans that will be interred in our proposed Veterans
Cemetery.
Casket and Cremated Interments at the Proposed Veterans
Cemetery .
VA Burial Rate Percentage - 13.5% = 2,124 veteran
burials per year, including dependent burials = 2,974
NCVC Burial Rate Percentage - 27% = 4,247 veteran
burials per year, including dependent burials = 5,746
CCCVC proposed Rate Percentage - 25% = 3,933
veterans burials per year, including dependent burials =
5,506
Dependent burials are not considered in the above figures and
the VA and CalVet agree that it averages an additional 40% to
the total of veterans interred in veterans' cemeteries.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: Yes Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Start-up costs of approximately $2 million ($500,000
appropriation), potentially reimbursed upon approval of
federal grant (General Fund).
Approximately $500,000 annually for annual maintenance upon
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completion of the cemetery partially offset by interment fees
(General Fund).
One-time costs of approximately $75,000 for regulations
(General Fund).
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/15/14)
American GI Forum of the United States - Rudy Escalante Chapter
American Legion - 29th District
American Legion - Department of California
American Legion Post #277
American Legion Riders Department of California
AMVETS - Department of California
California Association of County Veteran Service Officers
California Senior Legislature
California State Commanders Veterans Council
Cities of Anaheim, Brea, Buena Park, Cypress, Fullerton, Garden
Grove,
Huntington Beach, Irvine, La Habra, Laguna Beach, Laguna
Woods,
Los Alamitos, Mission Viejo, Placentia, Santa Ana, Stanton,
Tustin,
Villa Park and Westminster
Coast Community College District Board of Trustees
Disabled American Veterans - Department of California
Fullerton College
IBEW - Local 47
IBEW - Local 441
Laguna Woods Democratic Club
North Orange County Community College District
Orange County Board of Supervisors
Orange County Cemetery District
Orange County Employees Association
Orange County Veteran Employment Committee
Public Law Center
Republic of Korea Marine Corps Association of Orange County
Santa Ana LULAC - Council 147
Santa Ana Unified School District
Veterans of Foreign Wars - Department of California
Veterans of Foreign Wars - Post 3670
Vietnam Veterans of American - California State Council
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ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 78-0, 5/29/14
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian
Calderon, Campos, Chau, Ch�vez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley,
Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox,
Frazier, Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gorell,
Gray, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hern�ndez, Holden,
Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal,
Maienschein, Mansoor, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Muratsuchi,
Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, John A.
P�rez, V. Manuel P�rez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon,
Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting, Wagner,
Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams, Yamada, Atkins
NO VOTE RECORDED: Gordon, Vacancy
AL:e 8/18/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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