Veterans cemetery: County of Orange.

Existing law requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to acquire, study, design, develop, construct, and equip a state-owned and state-operated Southern California Veterans Cemetery in the County of Orange at one of 2 possible sites, as specified. Existing law requires the department to, after completing acquisition studies on both sites, consult with the Department of General Services to determine which site to pursue based on the economic feasibility, benefits to veterans and City of Irvine residents, and availability of each location. Existing law makes honorably discharged veterans, their spouses, and dependent children eligible for interment in the cemetery, as specified. This bill would delete those site selection requirements and would instead require the department to acquire, study, design, develop, construct, and equip a state-owned and state-operated Southern California Veterans Cemetery in the County of Orange. The bill would require a site selected for these purposes to have been studied by the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of General Services. The bill would additionally create the Southern California Veterans Cemetery Study Donation Fund, and would authorize any local governmental entity or private organization in the County of Orange to donate to the fund. The bill would require the department, upon receipt of sufficient donations, to conduct a study of the feasibility of the Gypsum Canyon site in Anaheim for the purpose of establishing a Southern California Veterans Cemetery, as specified. The bill would continuously appropriate moneys in the fund to the department for these purposes.