By: Lucio, Zaffirini S.B. No. 2135

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to a monument dedicated to members of the armed forces from this state who died in combat.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 2165.2561, Government Code, is amended by adding Subsection (v) to read as follows:

(v) The State Cemetery Committee shall erect a flagpole and an appropriate monument in the military monument area of the State Cemetery dedicated to military personnel from the state who are killed while serving in a combat zone. When the committee is notified by the Texas Veterans Commission that a member of the United States armed forces from the state was killed while serving in a combat zone, the committee shall ensure that the flag at the monument is displayed at half-staff for an appropriate period as a mark of respect to the memory of the deceased member of the armed forces.

SECTION 2. Subchapter A, Chapter 434, Government Code, is amended by adding Section 434.020 to read as follows:

Sec. 434.020. NOTICE TO STATE CEMETERY COMMITTEE OF SERVICEMEMBER'S DEATH. The Texas Veterans Commission shall notify the State Cemetery Committee as soon as practicable after the commission receives notice of the death of a member of the United States armed forces from the state who is killed while serving in a combat zone.

SECTION 3. The State Cemetery Committee shall consult with the standing committees of each house of the legislature with jurisdiction over military and veterans matters in planning the monument required under Subsection (v), Section 2165.2561, Government Code, as added by this Act.

SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2009.