1-1     By:  Lucio                                            S.B. No. 1202

 1-2           (In the Senate - Filed March 11, 1997; March 17, 1997, read

 1-3     first time and referred to Committee on Veteran Affairs and

 1-4     Military Installations; April 22, 1997, reported favorably by the

 1-5     following vote:  Yeas 5, Nays 0; April 22, 1997, sent to printer.)

 1-6                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-7                                   AN ACT

 1-8     relating to directing the Texas Veterans Commission to determine

 1-9     the need for establishing state cemeteries for veterans.

1-10           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

1-11           SECTION 1.  Subchapter A, Chapter 434, Government Code, is

1-12     amended by adding Section 434.0076 to read as follows:

1-13           Sec. 434.0076.  FINDINGS AND STUDY ABOUT STATE VETERANS

1-14     CEMETERIES.  (a)  The legislature finds that this state is one of

1-15     the few states that do not provide state cemeteries for veterans.

1-16     The legislature also finds that some federal cemeteries for

1-17     veterans in this state are closed and that many veterans in this

1-18     state live far from the nearest open veterans cemetery.  It is the

1-19     intent of the legislature to determine the extent to which there

1-20     exists in this state the need to provide state cemeteries for

1-21     veterans.

1-22           (b)  The commission shall contract with a qualified

1-23     consulting firm to study the need for and the feasibility of

1-24     establishing a system of state cemeteries for veterans under the

1-25     jurisdiction of the commission or of another agency of state

1-26     government.  The study must consider the existence of any federal

1-27     cemeteries for veterans in this state and the existence of any

1-28     county cemeteries for veterans established under Section 713.029,

1-29     Health and Safety Code.  The study must also consider whether any

1-30     land currently owned by the state is suitable for the establishment

1-31     of a veterans cemetery and the extent to which federal money is

1-32     available to pay for part of the construction cost of state

1-33     veterans cemeteries.  The commission shall present the written

1-34     findings of the study to the governor and the presiding officer of

1-35     each house of the legislature before December 1, 1999.

1-36           (c)  The commission is required to enter into a contract

1-37     under this section only if the legislature appropriates money for

1-38     that purpose.  If the legislature does not appropriate money for

1-39     the contract, the commission may use available resources to conduct

1-40     its own study of the issue.

1-41           (d)  This section expires June 1, 2001.

1-42           SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

1-43           SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the

1-44     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

1-45     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

1-46     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

1-47     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.

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