Minnesota Session Laws - 1986, Regular Session

  

                         Laws of Minnesota 1986 

                        CHAPTER 410-S.F.No. 1880 
           An act relating to veterans; establishing a veterans' 
          cemetery; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota 
          Statutes, chapter 197.  
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
    Section 1.  [197.235] [VETERANS' CEMETERY.] 
    Subdivision 1.  [ACQUISITION.] The department of veterans 
affairs shall acquire a site in this state to be used to 
establish a cemetery for the interment of veterans of the United 
States armed forces and for qualified family members of eligible 
veterans.  The approval of the governing body of the county in 
which the proposed site is to be located must be obtained prior 
to any acquisition of land for this purpose.  The department may 
receive any land granted to the state or any of its political 
subdivisions for this purpose. 
    Subd. 2.  [OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE.] The department of 
veterans affairs shall supervise and control the veterans' 
cemetery established under this section.  The department may 
contract for the maintenance and operation of the cemetery.  All 
personnel, equipment, and support necessary for maintenance and 
operation of the cemetery must be included in the department's 
budget. 
    Subd. 3.  [ELIGIBLE VETERANS.] Any veteran who received any 
discharge, other than a dishonorable discharge, from the armed 
forces of the United States is eligible for burial in the state 
veterans' cemetery and any indigent veteran is eligible for 
burial in the cemetery without charge, except that funds 
available from the social security burial allowance, if any, 
must be paid to the cemetery director. 
    Subd. 4.  [ALLOCATION OF PLOTS.] Any eligible veteran, 
qualified family member, or the survivors of an eligible veteran 
or qualified family member, or a county on the veteran's behalf, 
may apply for a burial plot in the state veterans' cemetery by 
submitting a request to the cemetery director on a form supplied 
by the department and available from the cemetery director.  The 
department shall allot available burial plots on a first come, 
first served basis.  There is no charge for a burial plot or for 
the interment of any eligible veteran.  The cemetery director 
shall apply to the veterans administration for payment of any 
allowable plot or interment allowance. 
    Subd. 5.  [SPOUSE; CHILD.] A spouse or a handicapped or 
minor child of a veteran who qualifies for burial under 
subdivision 3 may also qualify for burial in the state veterans' 
cemetery if the interment of the qualified family member is in 
the same burial plot as that provided for the veteran and the 
interment is either above or below the veteran.  The 
commissioner of veterans affairs shall establish a fee schedule 
which may be adjusted from time to time for burial of family 
members.  The fees shall cover as nearly as practicable the 
actual costs of interments.  The department may accept the 
social security burial allowance, if any, of the qualified 
family member in an amount not to exceed the actual cost of the 
interment. 
    Approved March 24, 1986