Amended  IN  Senate  April 16, 2024
Amended  IN  Senate  March 20, 2024

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill
No. 1291

Introduced by Senator Grove

February 15, 2024

An act to amend Section 1200 of add Section 1200.5 to the Military and Veterans Code, relating to veterans.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 1291, as amended, Grove. Veterans: memorial districts.
Existing law allows memorial districts to be established and maintained for the purposes of providing and maintaining memorial halls, assembly halls, buildings, or meeting places, together with suitable indoor and outdoor park and recreation facilities, primarily for the use of veterans and veterans’ organizations. To this end, existing law allows a memorial district to levy special taxes and to incur bonded indebtedness. Existing law requires the secretary of a memorial district to annually prepare a financial report of all the district’s assets, liabilities, receipts, disbursements, and obligations. Existing law requires the county auditor to draw warrants against the memorial district fund and against the memorial district bond fund in payment of the district’s law claims. Existing law allows the county treasurer to pay moneys out of the district’s several funds only upon warrants drawn by the county auditor.

This bill would, notwithstanding existing law, require the county treasurer to pay moneys out of the several funds of the Clovis Veterans Memorial District in the County of Fresno upon request of the board of the memorial district.

This bill would, notwithstanding existing law, authorize the Clovis Veterans Memorial District in the County of Fresno to withdraw its funds from the control of the county treasurer. If it does so, the bill would require the board of directors of the Clovis Veterans Memorial District to adopt a resolution that includes, among other things, a procedure for the appointment of a memorial district treasurer. The bill would require the board and the board of supervisors of the principal county to determine a mutually acceptable date for the withdrawal of the memorial district’s funds from the county treasury that does not exceed 15 months from the date on which the board adopts its resolution. The bill would require the memorial district treasurer to make annual or more frequent written reports to the board, as the board determines, regarding the receipts, disbursements, and balances in the accounts controlled by the memorial district treasurer.
This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Clovis Veterans Memorial District in the County of Fresno.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: NO   Local Program: NO  

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


SECTION 1.Section 1200 of the Military and Veterans Code is amended to read:
1200.

(a)The moneys in the several funds of the district shall be paid out by the county treasurer only upon warrants drawn by the county auditor against the appropriate district fund. The county auditor shall draw warrants against the memorial district bond retirement fund, if that fund contains sufficient moneys, and if not, then, against any other funds of the district in payment of all valid and outstanding bonds of the district at maturity and of interest coupons thereon when due, upon presentation to the county auditor of the bonds or coupons by the owners thereof.

(b)Notwithstanding any other law, the moneys in the several funds of the Clovis Veterans Memorial District in the County of Fresno shall be paid out by the county treasurer upon request of the board against the appropriate district fund and shall not require a warrant to be drawn by the county auditor.

SECTION 1.

 Section 1200.5 is added to the Military and Veterans Code, to read:

1200.5.
 (a) Notwithstanding Section 1200, the Clovis Veterans Memorial District in the County of Fresno may withdraw its funds from the control of the county treasurer pursuant to this section.
(b) If the memorial district chooses to withdraw its funds pursuant to subdivision (a), the board of directors of the memorial district shall adopt a resolution that does all of the following:
(1) States its intent to withdraw its funds from the county treasury.
(2) Adopts a procedure for the appointment of a memorial district treasurer. The board may appoint the memorial district treasurer or the board may delegate the appointment of the memorial district treasurer to the memorial district’s general manager. The memorial district treasurer may be a member of the board, the secretary of the board, the general manager, or a memorial district employee.
(3) Fixes the amount of the bond for the memorial district treasurer and other memorial district employees who will be responsible for handling the memorial district’s finances.
(4) Adopts a system of accounting and auditing that shall completely and at all times show the memorial district’s financial condition. The system of accounting and auditing shall adhere to generally accepted accounting principles.
(5) Adopts a procedure for drawing and signing warrants, provided that the procedure adheres to generally accepted accounting principles. The procedures shall provide that bond principal and salaries shall be paid when due. The procedure may provide that warrants to pay claims and demands need not be approved by the board before payment if the memorial district treasurer determines that the claims and demands conform to the memorial district’s approved budget.
(6) Designates a bank or a savings and loan association as the depositary of the memorial district’s funds. A bank or savings and loan association may act as a depositary, paying agent, or fiscal agency for the holding or handling of the memorial district’s funds, notwithstanding the fact that a member of the board whose funds are on deposit in that bank or savings and loan association is an officer, employee, or stockholder of that bank or savings and loan association, or of a holding company that owns any of the stock of that bank or savings and loan association.
(c) The board and the board of supervisors of the principal county shall determine a mutually acceptable date for the withdrawal of the memorial district’s funds from the county treasury, not to exceed 15 months from the date on which the board adopts its resolution.
(d) In implementing this section, the memorial district shall comply with Article 1 (commencing with Section 53600) and Article 2 (commencing with Section 53630) of Chapter 4 of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5 of the Government Code. This section shall not preclude the memorial district treasurer from depositing the memorial district’s funds in the county treasury of the principal county or the State Treasury pursuant to Article 11 (commencing with Section 16429.1) of Chapter 2 of Part 2 of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
(e) The memorial district treasurer shall make annual or more frequent written reports to the board, as the board shall determine, regarding the receipts, disbursements, and balances in the accounts controlled by the memorial district treasurer. The memorial district treasurer shall sign the reports and file them with the secretary.

SEC. 2.

 The Legislature finds and declares that a special statute is necessary and that a general statute cannot be made applicable within the meaning of Section 16 of Article IV of the California Constitution because of the Clovis Veterans Memorial District’s specialized mission to serve a distinct demographic, necessitating local control, and the elected board’s discretion in financial management to ensure resources are optimized and fiduciary responsibilities are met.