BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1453
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 1453 (Quirk-Silva)
As Amended August 19, 2014
2/3 vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |78-0 |(May 29, 2014) |SENATE: |33-0 |(August 21, |
| | | | | |2014) |
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Original Committee Reference: V.A.
SUMMARY : Requires the California Department of Veterans Affairs
(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 (Cemetery) to be located at a specified site
in the City of Irvine. Requires the department to apply to the
United States Department of Veterans Affairs (USDVA) Veterans
Cemetery Grants Program for a grant of up to 100% of the
estimated cost for designing, developing, constructing, and
equipping the cemetery.
The Senate Amendments :
1)Specify a site for the Cemetery. The Cemetery shall be
located 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.
2)Clarify that eligibility for interment at the Cemetery shall
conform with federal regulations pertaining to eligibility for
interment at National Cemeteries.
3)Remove the continuous appropriation language pertaining to the
Master Development Fund in the Assembly version of this bill.
4)Delete references to appropriations and expenditures for
operations and maintenance of the Cemetery and state 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
AB 1453
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maintenance.
5)Appropriate $500,000 from the General Fund to the department
for completion of the preliminary or conceptual design work
required during the pre-application phase of the grant
proposal required by this bill.
6)State the intent of the Legislature to appropriate funds in
the future to support the department in carrying out the
provisions of the Military and Veterans Code pertaining to the
Cemetery and further that if no appropriation is made for
these purposes, the Department of Veterans Affairs shall not
be required to comply with the provisions of the Military and
Veterans Code pertaining to the Cemetery.
7)Direct the department to apply to the Veterans Cemetery Grants
Program of the USDVA for a grant of not more than 100 percent
of the estimated cost for designing, developing, constructing,
and equipping the Cemetery.
8)State the intent of the Legislature that future moneys
appropriated to support the department in carrying out the
provisions of the Military and Veterans Code pertaining to the
Cemetery not be expended until the Department of Veterans
Affairs has received written approval of the grant from the
Veterans Cemetery Grants Program and a commitment from the
federal Veterans Cemetery Grants Program that the funds
appropriated under the grant are available for expenditure by
the state.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee:
1)Start-up costs of approximately $2 million ($500,000
appropriation), potentially reimbursed upon approval of
federal grant (General Fund).
2)Approximately $500,000 annually for annual maintenance upon
completion of the cemetery partially offset by interment fees
(General Fund).
3)One-time costs of approximately $75,000 for regulations
(General Fund).
COMMENTS : Several of the changes from the Assembly version are
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technical in nature. Some clarify that the cemetery would be
required to conform to applicable federal regulations and some
were the result of a site being identified after this bill left
the Assembly. Amendments were also made to clarify that the
department is explicitly directed to apply to the federal grant
program and to remove some continuous appropriation language to
ensure maximum legislative control over future spending for the
Cemetery.
When this bill left the Assembly, discussions were ongoing at
the local level in Orange County between cemetery proponents,
local governmental entities, and other stakeholders about
locations in Orange County that might be appropriate for the
Cemetery. The site designated in the bill had been one proposed
for a number of years by Cemetery proponents. The City of
Irvine resolved on July 22, 2014, to designate the Cemetery site
now referenced in the bill and Irvine's intent to convey the
site subject to passage of this bill, the Governor's signature
of this bill and other state and federal requirements.
Once the site was designated, discussions ensued between the
author's office, the department, and the Department of General
Services to estimate the cost for completion of the preliminary
or conceptual design work required during the pre-application
phase of the grant proposal required by this bill. The
resultant number was $500,000.
Analysis Prepared by : John Spangler / V.A. / (916) 319-3550
FN: 0005212