88R14004 MCK-F
By: Lopez of Cameron H.B. No. 4739
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the establishment and operation of veterans cemeteries.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 164.005, Natural Resources Code, is
amended by amending Subsections (f) and (h) and adding Subsection
(i) to read as follows:
(f) The board, the chairman of the Texas Veterans
Commission, and two representatives of the veterans community
selected by the chairman of the Texas Veterans Commission shall:
(1) establish the guidelines for determining:
(A) the location and size of veterans cemeteries;
and
(B) the eligibility for burial in a veterans
cemetery; and
(2) select up to seven locations across the state for
veterans cemeteries one of which must be in a county that is
contiguous to an international border and the Gulf of Mexico.
(h) Of the funds available in the veterans' land fund, the
veterans' housing assistance fund, and the veterans' housing
assistance fund II that may be used for veterans cemeteries, the
board may spend not more than $10[7] million each fiscal year to
plan and design, operate, maintain, enlarge, or improve veterans
cemeteries. The board may not use funds from the veterans' land
fund, the veterans' housing assistance fund, or the veterans'
housing assistance fund II to acquire land to be used for a veterans
cemetery.
(i) In addition to using funds described by Subsection (h),
the board may plan and design, operate, maintain, enlarge, or
improve veterans cemeteries using funds available or appropriated
to the board for that purpose.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.