ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Phoenix, Arizona
Allows the Arizona Department of Veterans Services (ADVS) to acquire property and to establish and operate veterans’ cemeteries in Arizona. Establishes a veterans’ cemetery in northern Arizona.
On November 11, 1998, President Clinton signed the Veterans’ Benefits Enhancement Act, which included a section amending the Department of Veterans’ Affairs cemetery grant program. The measure authorizes the federal government to pay all costs of establishing, improving or expanding state owned and operated veterans’ cemeteries. States, however, retain responsibility for costs associated with acquiring land and operational costs.
Laws 1999, Chapter 133
appropriated $500,000 from the state general fund to be used as start up monies
for the construction of the southern Arizona state veterans’ cemetery. An additional $252,300 was authorized from
the Department’s Veterans’ Home contingency special line item in Laws 2000,
Chapter 180. Pursuant to federal law
these monies are reimbursed by the federal government. It is expected that the contingency fund
will be reimbursed upon grant approval by the State Cemetery Grant
Service. It is unclear at this point
whether the state general fund will be reimbursed by ADVS for the $500,000
appropriation. Additionally, the Joint
Legislative Budget Committee staff estimates, based on an April 2002 opening
date, the operational cost of the southern Arizona veterans’ cemetery to be
$211,100 in FY 2001-2002 and $342,000 in FY 2002-2003.
The ADVS is proposing to
construct an additional state owned and operated veterans’ cemetery in northern
Arizona. H.B. 2336 grants the ADVS
statutory authority to operate cemeteries in Arizona. According to the fiscal note, the estimated impact on the state
general fund is the shift of $5,700 in FY 2001-2002 and $39,700 in FY 2002-2003
and thereafter from the state general fund to the state veterans’ cemetery
fund. Additional fiscal impacts related
to the operation of the northern Arizona cemetery are expected to develop in FY
2003-2004.
Provisions of this bill are also contained in S.B. 1121.
1. Allows the ADVS to acquire property, establish and operate veterans’ cemeteries.
2. Establishes the state veterans’ cemetery fund to be administered by the Arizona Department of Veterans’ Services and:
(a) Allows for the deposit
of state and federal monies, except for those federal monies intended to
reimburse the state general fund.
(b) Stipulates that money in
the fund must be used for acquiring property and establishing veterans’
cemeteries.
(c) Specifies that money in
the fund is continuously appropriated.
(d) Exempts the fund from
lapsing.
3. Provides for a general effective date.
APPROP 2/19/01
DPA 14-0-0-2-0
3rd Read 2/28/01 59-0-1-0-0
Prepared by Senate Staff
March 8, 2001