Bill Text: CA SB232 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: California Central Coast State Veterans Cemetery at Fort
Sponsorship: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-1)
Status: (Passed) 2013-10-10 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 694, Statutes of 2013. [SB232 Detail]
Download: California-2013-SB232-Chaptered.html
BILL NUMBER: SB 232 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 694
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE OCTOBER 10, 2013
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR OCTOBER 10, 2013
PASSED THE SENATE SEPTEMBER 12, 2013
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 11, 2013
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 6, 2013
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 3, 2013
INTRODUCED BY Senator Monning
(Coauthors: Senators Cannella and Roth)
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Alejo and Stone)
FEBRUARY 11, 2013
An act to amend Sections 1450, 1451, 1452, 1453, 1454, and 1456 of
the Military and Veterans Code, and to amend the Budget Act of 2013
(Chapter 20 of the Statutes of 2013) by repealing Item 8955-011-0001
of Section 2.00 of that act, relating to veterans, making an
appropriation therefor, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take
effect immediately.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 232, Monning. California Central Coast State Veterans Cemetery
at Fort Ord Endowment Fund.
Existing law creates the California Central Coast State Veterans
Cemetery at Fort Ord Endowment Fund (Endowment Fund) in the State
Treasury, and requires moneys in the Endowment Fund to be allocated,
upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the Department of Veterans
Affairs for the annual administrative and oversight costs of the
veterans cemetery, as specified, and to generate funding through
interest for the veterans cemetery. Existing law requires moneys in
the Endowment Fund to be invested to generate ongoing earnings to
cover the estimated annual oversight and maintenance costs associated
with the veterans cemetery, as provided.
This bill would instead require any moneys to be allocated to the
department for the nonreimbursable costs of design and construction
and the annual operations and maintenance costs of the veterans
cemetery for the next 10 years. This bill would allow, but not
require, moneys in the fund to be invested to generate ongoing
earnings to offset the estimated annual operations and maintenance
costs associated with the veterans cemetery.
Existing law requires the department to develop and submit a State
Veterans Cemetery Grant Program application to the United States
Department of Veterans Affairs for the establishment of a veterans
cemetery upon the Controller's determination that the Endowment Fund
has adequate principal to yield sufficient investment earnings in
each year for the next 10 years, from the date of the determination,
to fully fund the respective year's administrative and oversight
costs, and to fund the estimated costs of developing and submitting
the application, as specified.
This bill would instead require the department to develop and
submit an application upon the Controller's determination that the
Endowment Fund has adequate amounts, in addition to funding the
estimated costs of developing and submitting the application, to
fully fund the nonreimbursable costs of design and construction and
the operations and maintenance costs for the next 10 years. This bill
would require the Controller to consider the estimated revenues from
specified fees expected to be deposited into the Endowment Fund in
making this determination.
This bill would allow any moneys, if awarded, received from the
State Veterans Cemetery Grant Program to be used to reimburse the
Endowment Fund for specified allowable costs as established by that
program.
Existing law authorizes the Director of Finance to transfer up to
$1,500,000 as a loan from the General Fund to the Endowment Fund, and
requires the loan to be repaid with interest, as provided.
This bill would repeal that authorization, and instead make an
appropriation of $1,000,000 from the General Fund to the Endowment
Fund for the construction of the California Central Coast State
Veterans Cemetery at Fort Ord. This bill would require any amounts
transferred by the Director of Finance as a loan from the General
Fund to the Endowment Fund to be returned to the General Fund.
This bill would make technical, conforming changes to change the
references to "administrative and oversight" to "operations and
maintenance."
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as
an urgency statute.
Appropriation: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 1450 of the Military and Veterans Code is
amended to read:
1450. For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions
apply:
(a) "Department" means the Department of Veterans Affairs.
(b) "Endowment Fund" means the California Central Coast State
Veterans Cemetery at Fort Ord Endowment Fund.
(c) "Nonreimbursable costs of design and construction" means the
costs of planning, design, and construction of the California Central
Coast State Veterans Cemetery at Fort Ord that are not reimbursable
from the moneys received from the State Veterans Cemetery Grant
Program as allowable costs as established by the United States
Department of Veterans Affairs State Veterans Cemetery Grant Program.
(d) "Operations and maintenance costs" means costs incurred by the
department for the operations and maintenance of the veterans
cemetery including, but not limited to, personnel costs, the opening
and closing of graves, the interment of remains, committal service
coordination, grounds keeping, landscaping, general maintenance, and
janitorial services.
(e) "Operations Fund" means the California Central Coast State
Veterans Cemetery at Fort Ord Operations Fund.
(f) "Phases" means the usual phases of a capital outlay project,
and includes studies, preliminary plans, working drawings, including
documents necessary to put the construction phase out to bid, and
construction.
(g) "Veterans cemetery" means the California Central Coast State
Veterans Cemetery at Fort Ord.
SEC. 2. Section 1451 of the Military and Veterans Code is amended
to read:
1451. (a) The California Central Coast State Veterans Cemetery at
Fort Ord Endowment Fund is hereby created in the State Treasury.
Moneys in the Endowment Fund shall be allocated, upon appropriation
by the Legislature, to the department for the nonreimbursable costs
of design and construction and the annual operations and maintenance
costs of the veterans cemetery for the next 10 years.
(b) Moneys in the fund may be invested to generate earnings to
offset annual operations and maintenance costs associated with the
veterans cemetery.
(c) (1) The Endowment Fund may consist of donations from public
and private entities, partnerships between public and private
entities, fees, cash advances, and transfers from the state General
Fund as may be specified by law.
(2) The department may enter into any financial agreement to
receive cash advances in the Endowment Fund, provided that the
agreement does not require the state to repay or make payments on
cash advances and the agreement is reviewed and approved by the
Department of Finance.
(d) To the extent possible, donations made in-kind to the
Endowment Fund shall be monetized so as to offset the ongoing
operations and maintenance costs under Sections 1452 and 1453.
(e) Earnings generated by the Endowment Fund shall be retained by
the fund.
(f) Moneys deposited in the Endowment Fund are exempt from the
requirements of Sections 11270 through 11277 of the Government Code.
(g) Moneys in the Endowment Fund shall be invested by the
Treasurer, after consultation with the department, in a manner that
best meets the goals of the fund.
(h) If, through changes in state or federal law, additional
revenues are identified for the operations and maintenance of the
cemetery, including increases in federal burial allowances, so that
the amount of annual revenue exceeds the annual operations and
maintenance costs, the excess revenues shall be deposited in the
Endowment Fund.
SEC. 3. Section 1452 of the Military and Veterans Code is amended
to read:
1452. (a) On or before July 1, 2014, and annually thereafter, the
Controller, after consultation with the department, shall report to
the Assembly and Senate Committees on Veterans Affairs, Monterey
County, the City of Seaside, and the Fort Ord Reuse Authority on the
status of the Endowment Fund, the amount of any interest and
investment earnings generated by the Endowment Fund, and the
estimated amount needed that will sufficiently cover the estimated
annual operations and maintenance costs.
(b) The estimated annual operations and maintenance costs shall be
developed annually by the department and provided to the Controller
for purposes of the report required by subdivision (a) by no later
than June 15 of each year.
SEC. 4. Section 1453 of the Military and Veterans Code is amended
to read:
1453. (a) (1) Upon the determination of the Controller, after
consultation with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, that the
Endowment Fund has adequate amounts to fully fund the nonreimbursable
costs of design and construction and the operations and maintenance
costs for the next 10 years, and to fund the estimated costs of
developing and submitting the State Veterans Cemetery Grant Program
application, the department shall develop and submit a State Veterans
Cemetery Grant Program application to the United States Department
of Veterans Affairs for the establishment of a veterans cemetery. The
department shall consider cashflow needs when providing estimates to
the Controller in making this determination. The Controller shall
consider the estimated revenues from the fees described in Section
1455 expected to be deposited into the Endowment Fund in making this
determination.
(2) The Controller, upon appropriation by the Legislature, shall
transfer moneys from the Endowment Fund to the Operations Fund in an
amount equal to the estimated costs of developing and submitting the
State Veterans Cemetery Grant Program application to the United
States Department of Veterans Affairs.
(3) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the Controller, upon
appropriation by the Legislature, shall transfer funds from the
Endowment Fund to the Operations Fund in an amount at least equal to
the estimated costs to complete preliminary plans and working
drawings. Transfers shall be made only when sufficient funds, as
determined by the Director of Finance, exist to fully accomplish each
of these project phases.
(4) The department shall not proceed with advertisement for
construction bids until the Endowment Fund has adequate amounts to
cover annual operations and maintenance costs, in accordance with
paragraph (1).
(b) (1) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit the State
Veterans Cemetery Grant Program application to the United States
Department of Veterans Affairs within six months of the Controller's
determination pursuant to subdivision (a). The Secretary of Veterans
Affairs is authorized to act as the official representative of the
state in connection with the State Veterans Cemetery Grant Program
application, including providing the United States Department of
Veterans Affairs throughout the application process with all
necessary assurances that additional information shall be provided
when required. The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall have final
approval of all aspects of the cemetery design and operation.
(2) Upon transfer of funds pursuant to paragraphs (2) and (3) of
subdivision (a), the department is authorized to proceed with all
activities necessary to support the submission of the State Veterans
Cemetery Grant Program application.
(3) Upon the United States Department of Veterans Affairs'
certification of the grant award, the department is authorized to
proceed with construction and equipping of the veterans cemetery.
(c) (1) If awarded, the moneys received from the State Veterans
Cemetery Grant Program shall be used to reimburse the Endowment Fund
for the allowable costs as established by the United States
Department of Veterans Affairs State Veterans Cemetery Grant Program
of developing and submitting the State Veterans Cemetery Grant
Program application to the United States Department of Veterans
Affairs and other eligible costs, and to fund 100 percent of costs
allowed by the grant requirements, as well as the state's share of
any other costs for the design, construction, and equipping of the
veterans cemetery.
(2) Any moneys received from the State Veterans Cemetery Grant
Program that are transferred to the Endowment Fund for the
reimbursement of the costs specified in paragraph (1) may be used by
the department to reimburse any cash advances made to the Endowment
Fund used for those costs to the extent allowed by grant
requirements, once it is determined by the California Department of
Veterans Affairs and certified by the Controller's office that
sufficient funds remain in the Endowment Fund to cover ongoing
operations and maintenance costs.
(3) (A) If the Secretary of Veterans Affairs or the department
fails to submit a grant application as described in paragraph (1) of
subdivision (b) to the United States Department of Veterans Affairs
State Veterans Cemetery Grant Program, the United States Department
of Veterans Affairs denies the grant application, or if the grant
funding pursuant to the United States Department of Veterans Affairs
State Veterans Cemetery Grant Program is not received for any other
reason, any amounts donated to, received by, or deposited to the
Endowment Fund by the entities described in subdivision (c) of
Section 1451 shall be refunded by the Controller to those entities,
and that amount is hereby appropriated from that fund the purpose of
making those refunds.
(B) Any amounts remaining in the Endowment Fund after making the
refunds described in subparagraph (A), if any, shall be transferred
to the General Fund.
(C) The Controller shall make the refunds to the entities,
including the Central Coast Veterans Cemetery Foundation, pursuant to
subparagraph (A) within six months from the date of the announcement
or receipt of the grant funding denial notification or any other
equivalent notification that the project will be unable to secure the
grant funds and proceed to construction. Any transfer to the General
Fund pursuant to subparagraph (B) shall also be made within that six
month period.
SEC. 5. Section 1454 of the Military and Veterans Code is amended
to read:
1454. (a) The Central Coast Veterans Cemetery Master Development
Fund is hereby renamed the California Central Coast State Veterans
Cemetery at Fort Ord Operations Fund. Moneys in the Operations Fund
may be transferred, upon appropriation by the Legislature, from the
Endowment Fund to the Operations Fund for expenditure by the
department, solely for the annual operations and maintenance costs of
the veterans cemetery.
(b) (1) The Controller shall reserve an amount, not to exceed 20
percent of the amount allocated pursuant to subdivision (a), in the
Operations Fund, which shall be used solely as a reserve for
unforeseen operations and maintenance costs.
(2) For purposes of this subdivision, "unforeseen operations and
maintenance costs" means any costs that could not have been
reasonably anticipated by the department when preparing its estimate
of annual operations and maintenance costs and that are needed to
carry out the purposes of this chapter.
SEC. 6. Section 1456 of the Military and Veterans Code is amended
to read:
1456. (a) Proposals for the construction, placement, or donation
of monuments or memorials, excluding headstones, and other amenities
to the veterans cemetery shall be subject to review by the California
Central Coast Veterans Cemetery Advisory Committee.
(b) All proposals for the construction, placement, or donation of
monuments, memorials, and amenities to the veterans cemetery shall be
subject to the approval of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
(c) The department shall adopt regulations for the policies and
procedures to be followed with respect to the design, placement, and
approval of monuments and memorials proposed to be placed on veterans
cemetery grounds.
(d) Endowment Fund balances exceeding that determined to be
sufficient to meet annual operations and maintenance costs, as
determined pursuant to Section 1453, may be expended, upon
appropriation by the Legislature, for the purpose of establishing
monuments, memorials, and amenities.
SEC. 7. Item 8955-011-0001 of Section 2.00 of the Budget Act of
2013 is repealed.
SEC. 8. (a) The amount of one million dollars ($1,000,000) is
hereby appropriated from the General Fund to the California Central
Coast State Veterans Cemetery at Fort Ord Endowment Fund for the
construction of the California Central Coast State Veterans Cemetery
at Fort Ord.
(b) Any amounts transferred by the Director of Finance as a loan
from the General Fund to the California Central Coast State Veterans
Cemetery at Fort Ord Endowment Fund pursuant to Item 8955-011-0001 of
Section 2.00 of the Budget Act of 2013 (Chapter 20 of the Statutes
of 2013) shall be returned to the General Fund.
(c) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall report annually, by
January 10 of each year, commencing January 10, 2015, to the Director
of Finance, the Chairperson of the Joint Legislative Budget
Committee, and the chairpersons of the fiscal committees of each
house of the Legislature on all expenditures made pursuant to
subdivision (a).
SEC. 9. This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate
preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the
meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate
effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
In order to raise necessary funds by October 1, 2013, to be able
to qualify to receive millions of dollars in federal funds to cover
the cost of building the California Central Coast State Veterans
Cemetery at Fort Ord, it is necessary that this act take effect
immediately.
