Assembly Bill No. 1350
CHAPTER 684

An act to repeal and add Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 1300) of Division 6 of the Military and Veterans Code, relating to veterans, and making an appropriation therefor.

[ Approved by Governor  October 10, 2023. Filed with Secretary of State  October 10, 2023. ]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 1350, Soria. Veterans: memorials.
Existing law creates various memorials to veterans of the United States Armed Forces, including, among others, the memorial to California’s Vietnam veterans on the grounds of the State Capitol.
This bill would create the Capitol Park Veterans Memorial Fund. The bill would continuously appropriate the fund to the Department of Veterans Affairs for the purpose of the maintenance and rehabilitation of existing memorials in the State Capitol. The bill would make the department responsible for administering the fund. The bill would require the Department of Veterans Affairs to, in consultation with the California Veterans Board, prioritize memorials that do not have formal support from another body for their maintenance, including, but not limited to, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. The bill would require the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of General Services to collaborate pursuant to a memorandum of agreement to carry out these provisions.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: YES   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 1300) of Division 6 of the Military and Veterans Code is repealed.

SEC. 2.

 Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 1300) is added to Division 6 of the Military and Veterans Code, to read:
CHAPTER  4. Capitol Park Veterans Memorials

1300.
 There is hereby created within the State Treasury the Capitol Park Veterans Memorial Fund, for the purpose of the maintenance and rehabilitation of existing memorials in the State Capitol to veterans of the United States Armed Forces, and for receipt of private donations for that purpose.

1301.
 The Capitol Park Veterans Memorial Fund is hereby continuously appropriated to the Department of Veterans Affairs for the purpose of the maintenance and rehabilitation of existing memorials in the State Capitol to veterans of the United States Armed Forces.

1302.
 The Department of Veterans Affairs shall administer the Capitol Park Veterans Memorial Fund. The Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of General Services shall work collaboratively pursuant to a memorandum of agreement to carry out the duties and functions of this chapter.

1303.
 When administering the Capitol Park Veterans Memorial Fund, the Department of Veterans Affairs shall prioritize, in consultation with the California Veterans Board, those memorials that do not have formal support from another body, public or private, for their maintenance, including, but not limited to, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on the grounds of the State Capitol.