California Senate Bill SB469 Amended / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: SB 469AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 22, 2009 INTRODUCED BY Senator Aanestad FEBRUARY 26, 2009 An act to  amend Section 1400   add Chapter 10.5 (commencing with Section 1480) to Division 6  of the Military and Veterans Code, relating to veterans. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 469, as amended, Aanestad.  Northern California Veterans Cemetery: fees.   Veterans' cemeteries: fees.  Existing law  requires the Department of Veterans Affairs, in voluntary cooperation with the Shasta County Board of Supervisors and the boards of supervisors of other participating northern California counties, as specified, to design, develop, and construct a state-owned and state-operated Northern California Veterans Cemetery located in Northern California   provides for the establishment and operation of certain state-owned and operated veterans' cemeteries  . Existing law authorizes honorably discharged veterans and their spouses and children to be interred at  the   cemetery, and requires a fee of $500   these   cemeteries, and provides for a fee  to be charged for each spouse or child interred at the cemetery  , as specified  . This bill would authorize the fee for the interment of the spouses and children of honorably discharged veterans  in these cemeteries  to be waived if the cemetery administrator determines that the families of the spouses or children do not have sufficient means to pay for the costs of interment, and would require any costs for these interments to be paid from nonstate funds. This bill would require the cemetery administrator to seek reimbursements, as specified, and would authorize the cemetery administrator to solicit private donations, to offset any fees lost as a result of this fee waiver. Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:  SECTION 1.   Chapter 10.5 (commencing with Section 1480) is added to Division 6 of the   Military and Veterans Code   , to read:   CHAPTER 10.5. STATE VETERANS CEMETERIES FEE WAIVER 1480. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the fee for the interment of the spouses or children of eligible veterans in a cemetery operated under this division may be waived if the cemetery administrator determines that the families of the spouses or children do not have sufficient means to pay for the costs of interment. (b) Any costs for the interment of the spouses or children of eligible veterans who received a waiver pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be paid from nonstate funds. (c) The cemetery administrator shall seek reimbursements, if any are available, from federal, county, and other local agencies to offset any fees lost as a result of the waiver authorized pursuant to subdivision (a). (d) The cemetery administrator may solicit private donations to offset any fees lost as a result of the waiver authorized pursuant to subdivision (a).   SECTION 1.   Section 1400 of the Military and Veterans Code is amended to read: 1400. (a) (1) The Department of Veterans Affairs, in voluntary cooperation with the Shasta County Board of Supervisors and the boards of supervisors of other participating northern California counties as specified in Section 1401, shall design, develop, and construct a state-owned and state-operated Northern California Veterans Cemetery that shall be located in northern California. (2) The department shall oversee and coordinate the design, development, and construction of the cemetery. (b) (1) Those eligible for interment in the cemetery are all honorably discharged veterans and their spouses and children. A fee of five hundred dollars ($500) shall be charged for each spouse or child interred in the cemetery. (2) For 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 Northern California Veterans Cemetery Perpetual Maintenance Fund created pursuant to Section 1401. (c) (1) Notwithstanding paragraph (1) of subdivision (b), the fee for the interment of the spouses or children of eligible veterans may be waived if the cemetery administrator determines that the families of the spouses or children do not have sufficient means to pay for the costs of interment. (2) Any costs for the interment of the spouses or children of eligible veterans who received a waiver pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be paid from nonstate funds. (3) The cemetery administrator shall seek reimbursements, if any are available, from federal, county, and other local agencies to offset any fees lost as a result of the waiver authorized pursuant to paragraph (1). (4) The cemetery administrator may solicit private donations to offset any fees lost as a result of the waiver authorized pursuant to paragraph (1). (5) Any moneys received pursuant to this subdivision to offset fees shall be deposited in the Northern California Veterans Cemetery Perpetual Maintenance Fund, in addition to the fees that are required to be deposited pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (b).