Senate File 2064 - Introduced SENATE FILE BY BLACK Passed Senate, Date Passed House, Date Vote: Ayes Nays Vote: Ayes Nays Approved A BILL FOR 1 An Act relating to the transfer of veterans commemorative 2 property placed in a cemetery, recodifying a provision 3 regarding veteran markers, and providing a penalty. 4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 5 TLSB 5146SS 81 6 eg/je/5 PAG LIN 1 1 Section 1. Section 35A.5, Code Supplement 2005, is amended 1 2 by adding the following new subsection: 1 3 NEW SUBSECTION. 11. Authorize the sale, trade, or 1 4 transfer of veterans commemorative property pursuant to 1 5 chapter 37A. 1 6 Sec. 2. NEW SECTION. 37A.1 VETERANS COMMEMORATIVE 1 7 PROPERTY. 1 8 1. For purposes of this chapter, unless the context 1 9 otherwise requires: 1 10 a. "Cemetery" means as defined in section 523I.102, but 1 11 includes pioneer cemeteries. "Cemetery" does not include 1 12 religious cemeteries as defined in section 523I.102 that 1 13 commenced business prior to July 1, 2005. 1 14 b. "Department" means the Iowa department of veterans 1 15 affairs. 1 16 c. "Veteran" means a deceased person who served in the 1 17 armed forces of the United States during a war in which the 1 18 United States was engaged or served full=time in active duty 1 19 in a force of an organized state militia, excluding service in 1 20 the national guard when in an inactive status. 1 21 d. "Veterans commemorative property" means any memorial as 1 22 defined in section 523I.102, including a headstone, plaque, 1 23 statue, urn, decoration, flag holder, badge, shield, item of 1 24 memorabilia, or other embellishment, that meets all of the 1 25 following criteria: 1 26 (1) Is over seventy=five years old. 1 27 (2) Identifies or commemorates any veteran or group of 1 28 veterans, including any veterans organization or any military 1 29 unit, company, battalion, or division. 1 30 (3) Has been placed in a cemetery. 1 31 e. "Veterans organization" means the grand army of the 1 32 republic, sons of union veterans of the civil war, sons of 1 33 confederate veterans, veterans of foreign wars, disabled 1 34 American veterans, united Spanish war veterans, the Jewish war 1 35 veterans of the United States, inc., the catholic war 2 1 veterans, inc., American legion, American veterans of World 2 2 War II, Italian American war veterans of the United States, 2 3 inc., or other corporation or association of veterans. 2 4 2. A person who owns or controls a cemetery where any 2 5 veterans commemorative property has been placed shall not 2 6 sell, trade, or transfer any part of such veterans 2 7 commemorative property unless the department authorizes the 2 8 person to do so. The department may authorize the sale, 2 9 trade, or transfer based upon the following criteria: 2 10 a. The veterans commemorative property is at reasonable 2 11 risk of physically deteriorating so that it will become 2 12 unrecognizable as identifying or commemorating the veteran or 2 13 group of veterans originally identified or commemorated. 2 14 b. The veterans commemorative property is proposed to be 2 15 sold, traded, or transferred to a suitable person that will 2 16 preserve the current condition of the veterans commemorative 2 17 property and place it in a suitable place that will 2 18 commemorate the veteran or group of veterans. 2 19 c. The person needs to sell, trade, or transfer the 2 20 veterans commemorative property to ensure that sufficient 2 21 funds are available to suitably maintain the cemetery where 2 22 the veterans commemorative property is placed, and the 2 23 specific lot, plot, grave, burial place, niche, crypt, or 2 24 other place of interment of such veteran or group of veterans. 2 25 d. The veterans commemorative property that is to be sold, 2 26 traded, or transferred will be replaced at its original site 2 27 by a fitting replacement commemorative property, monument, or 2 28 marker that appropriately identifies and commemorates the 2 29 veteran or group of veterans. 2 30 e. If the person reasonably believes that the veterans 2 31 commemorative property to be sold, traded, or transferred was 2 32 donated by a veterans organization, the veterans organization 2 33 consents to the sale, trade, or transfer of the veterans 2 34 commemorative property. 2 35 f. If the person is not the owner of the veterans 3 1 commemorative property that is to be sold, traded, or 3 2 transferred, the person is authorized by the owner of such 3 3 veterans commemorative property, or by operation of law other 3 4 than this section, to sell, trade, or transfer the veterans 3 5 commemorative property and to retain and use the proceeds of 3 6 the sale, trade, or transfer. 3 7 3. A person who engages in the sale, trade, or transfer of 3 8 veterans commemorative property without the authorization of 3 9 the department pursuant to this section is guilty of a simple 3 10 misdemeanor. 3 11 4. The department may adopt rules in accordance with 3 12 chapter 17A to administer this chapter. 3 13 Sec. 3. CODE EDITOR DIRECTIVE. The Code editor is 3 14 directed to transfer section 714.7A regarding theft of a 3 15 veteran's grave marker to chapter 35B as section 35B.16A. 3 16 EXPLANATION 3 17 This bill prohibits the unauthorized sale, trade, or 3 18 transfer of veterans commemorative property; a person that 3 19 engages in an unauthorized sale, trade, or transfer of 3 20 veterans commemorative property is guilty of a simple 3 21 misdemeanor. A simple misdemeanor is punishable by 3 22 confinement for no more than 30 days or a fine of at least $50 3 23 but not more than $500 or by both. 3 24 Any type of memorial more than 75 years old that 3 25 commemorates or identifies a veteran or a group of veterans 3 26 and rests in a cemetery qualifies as veterans commemorative 3 27 property. The bill also contains definitions for "cemetery", 3 28 "veteran", and "veterans organization". "Cemetery" does not 3 29 include certain restricted private burial sites, but does 3 30 include pioneer cemeteries, i.e., a cemetery where there were 3 31 six or fewer burials in the preceding 50 years. The bill does 3 32 not apply to religious cemeteries, as defined in Code section 3 33 523I.102, that commenced operation prior to July 1, 2005; this 3 34 is consistent with the Iowa Cemetery Act passed in 2005. 3 35 A person who owns or controls a cemetery where any veterans 4 1 commemorative property is placed is required to obtain 4 2 authorization from the Iowa department of veterans affairs to 4 3 sell, trade, or transfer all or any part of such veterans 4 4 commemorative property. The department may authorize the 4 5 sale, trade, or transfer, based upon specific criteria as 4 6 follows. 4 7 1. The veterans commemorative property is at reasonable 4 8 risk of physically deteriorating so that the commemoration or 4 9 identification will become unrecognizable. 4 10 2. The person who owns or controls a cemetery needs to 4 11 sell, trade, or transfer veterans commemorative property in 4 12 order to adequately maintain the cemetery and place of 4 13 interment of the veteran or group of veterans. 4 14 3. The veterans commemorative property to be sold, traded, 4 15 or transferred will be replaced with a suitable replacement 4 16 that identifies and commemorates the veteran or group of 4 17 veterans. 4 18 4. If the veterans commemorative property was donated by a 4 19 veterans organization, such donor consents to the sale, trade, 4 20 or transfer. 4 21 5. The person, if not the owner of the veterans 4 22 commemorative property, is authorized to sell, trade, or 4 23 transfer such property and retain and use the resulting 4 24 proceeds. 4 25 The bill allows the department to adopt rules needed to 4 26 administer the new Code chapter. 4 27 The bill directs the Code editor to transfer Code section 4 28 714.7A to Code chapter 35B as section 35B.16A. This provision 4 29 deals with theft of a veteran's grave marker. Code chapter 4 30 35B provides for veteran markers and other veterans affairs 4 31 matters. Code chapter 714 covers theft, fraud, and related 4 32 offenses, in general. 4 33 LSB 5146SS 81 4 34 eg:rj/je/5