Chapter 9.5 - Southern California Veterans Cemetery

California Military and Veterans Code — §§ 1410-1418

Sections (5)

Amended by Stats. 2022, Ch. 579, Sec. 2. (AB 1595) Effective September 27, 2022.

(a)(1) Pursuant to Section 1412, the department, in voluntary cooperation with local government entities in the County of Orange, shall first study and then acquire, design, develop, construct, and equip a state-owned and state-operated Southern California Veterans Cemetery, which shall be located in the County of Orange. To qualify for this paragraph, a site shall have been studied by the department and the Department of General Services.

(2)The department shall conduct an acquisition study,

in consultation with the Department of General Services, to assess the feasibility and costs of construction of the Southern California Veterans Cemetery.

(3)The department shall oversee and coordinate the study and subsequent acquisition, design, development, and construction of the cemetery.

(4)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 it may be amended,

honorably discharged veterans and their spouses and eligible dependent children are eligible for interment in the cemetery. The department shall establish a fee to be charged for interment of veteran spouses and eligible dependent 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

Amended by Stats. 2022, Ch. 579, Sec. 3. (AB 1595) Effective September 27, 2022.

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

(b)(1) All moneys received for the study and subsequent acquisition, 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. Expenditure of those moneys shall be subject to appropriation by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act. Moneys appropriated by the Legislature for these purposes shall also be deposited in the fund.

(2)There is hereby created in the State Treasury the Southern California Veterans Cemetery Study Donation Fund. Notwithstanding paragraph (1), any local governmental entity or private organization in the County of Orange may donate moneys to the fund for the purpose of funding a study as described in paragraph (3). Moneys in the fund are continuously appropriated to the department for studies consistent with paragraph (3).

(3)(A) Upon receipt of sufficient moneys to complete a study, the department may study the feasibility of a site formally proposed by

a local government in the County of Orange for the purpose of establishing a Southern California Veterans Cemetery, as described in subdivision (a) of Section 1410.

(B)Upon completion of the study, any excess funds shall be returned to the donor if requested or used to reimburse the state for expenditures made by the state for the purposes described in subdivision (a) of Section 1410.

(C)Any study conducted pursuant to this paragraph shall include, but not be limited to, an analysis of cost, legal, logistical, environmental, and fire hazard factors in the evaluation of the site, and an analysis of whether the proposed site meets the basic federal requirements for a federally recognized veterans cemetery.

(c)(1) Except as otherwise provided in Section 1416, all moneys received for the operation and 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. Expenditure of those moneys shall be subject to appropriation by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act.

(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

Added by Stats. 2014, Ch. 646, Sec. 1. (AB 1453) Effective January 1, 2015.

(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

Amended by Stats. 2017, Ch. 28, Sec. 89. (SB 96) Effective June 27, 2017.

(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 preliminary or conceptual design, construction, maintenance, beautification, and repair of the cemetery, or to reimburse the state for expenditures made by the state for these purposes.

(b)Cash donations made pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be deposited into the Southern California Veterans Cemetery Donations Fund, which is hereby created.

(1)Except as provided in paragraph (2) and 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.

(2)Moneys deposited into the fund for the purpose of preliminary or conceptual design or for construction of the cemetery, or to reimburse the state for expenditures made by the state for the purposes described in subdivision (a), shall be made available only upon appropriation by the Legislature.

§ 1418

Added by Stats. 2014, Ch. 646, Sec. 1. (AB 1453) Effective January 1, 2015.

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).