California Central Coast State Veterans Cemetery at Fort Ord Endowment Fund.

Existing law creates the California Central Coast State Veterans Cemetery at Fort Ord Endowment Fund (Endowment Fund) in the State Treasury, and requires moneys in the Endowment Fund to be allocated, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the Department of Veterans Affairs for the annual administrative and oversight costs of the veterans cemetery, as specified. Existing law also provides that the Endowment Fund is to generate funding through interest for the veterans cemetery. Existing law provides that the Endowment Fund may consist of, among other things, donations from public and private entities and fees. Existing law authorizes the department to enter into any financial agreement to receive cash advances in the Endowment Fund, provided that no obligations of repayment are made to the state and the agreement is reviewed and performed in consultation with the Department of Finance. This bill would instead authorize the department to enter into any financial agreement to receive cash advances in the Endowment Fund, provided that the agreement does not require the state to repay or make payments on cash advances and that the agreement is reviewed and approved by the Department of Finance. Existing law requires the department to develop and submit a State Veterans Cemetery Grant Program application to the United States Department of Veterans Affairs for the establishment of a veterans cemetery upon the determination of the Controller, after consultation with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, that the Endowment Fund has adequate principal to annually yield sufficient investment earnings from the date of the determination to cover the annual administrative and oversight costs and to fund the estimated costs of developing and submitting the application. This bill would instead require the department to develop and submit a State Veterans Cemetery Grant Program application to the United States Department of Veterans Affairs for the establishment of a veterans cemetery upon the determination of the Controller, after consultation with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, that the Endowment Fund has adequate principal to yield sufficient investment earnings in each year for the next 10 years from the date of the determination to fully fund the respective year's administrative and oversight costs, net of all other estimated revenue sources, and to fund the estimated costs of developing and submitting the application. This bill would, if the Secretary of Veterans Affairs or the department fails to submit a grant application to the State Veterans Cemetery Grant Program, if the United States Department of Veterans Affairs denies the grant application, or if the grant funding is not received for any other reason, require any amounts donated, received, or deposited to the Endowment Fund by specified entities to be refunded by the Controller to those entities, and would make an appropriation for the purpose of making those refunds. This bill would also require any amounts remaining in the Endowment Fund after making the refunds, if any, to be transferred to the General Fund. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.