STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 3658 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY February 3, 2023 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. MANKTELOW, BRABENEC, SMULLEN, DeSTEFANO, NORRIS, MORINELLO, REILLY, SAYEGH, FRIEND, TAGUE, MILLER, HAWLEY, COLTON, MIKULIN, J. M. GIGLIO, RA, McDONOUGH, K. BROWN, PALMESANO, BARCLAY, REYES, DURSO, LEMONDES, TANNOUSIS, ANGELINO -- read once and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs AN ACT establishing the veterans' memorials preservation act The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as 2 the "veterans' memorials preservation act". 3 § 2. Definitions. For the purposes of this act: 4 (a) a "memorial" is any park, monument, field, open land, grove of 5 trees, building, structure, artwork, tablet, plaque, wall, or any other 6 structure that has been donated to, or constructed by, a public entity 7 as a memorial to veterans of any war, conflict, or police action engaged 8 in by the armed forces of the United States, or any state of the United 9 States, or the New York national guard. 10 (b) a "public entity" is any governmental body of any kind, including, 11 but not limited to, the state, a city, town, village, borough, school 12 district or public authority. 13 § 3. Memorials shall be preserved and be open to the public. (a) Any 14 public entity that has created or received a gift of a memorial shall 15 not alter, destroy, reconfigure, adjust, change, modify or move such 16 memorial, or cause or permit any person to commit such acts; provided, 17 however, that such acts are permitted when reasonably necessary. 18 (b) Any public entity that has created a memorial or accepted a gift 19 of a memorial shall maintain the memorial in a reasonable manner. 20 (c) A public entity shall not restrict access to a memorial except as 21 reasonably necessary. 22 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD04234-01-3