2007 Minnesota Statutes

197.236 VETERANS CEMETERY.
    Subdivision 1.[Repealed, 1999 c 86 art 2 s 6]
    Subd. 2.[Repealed, 1999 c 86 art 2 s 6]
    Subd. 3. Operation and maintenance. The commissioner of veterans affairs shall supervise
and control the veterans cemetery established under this section. The commissioner 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    Subd. 4.[Repealed, 2004 c 256 art 2 s 5]
    Subd. 5. Rules. The commissioner of veterans affairs may adopt rules regarding the
operation of the cemetery. If practicable, the commissioner shall require that upright granite
markers be used to mark all gravesites.
    Subd. 6. Permanent development and maintenance account. A veterans cemetery
development and maintenance account is established in the special revenue fund of the state
treasury. Receipts for burial fees, earnings from the veterans cemetery trust account, designated
appropriations, and any other cemetery receipts must be deposited into this account. The money
in the account, including interest earned, is appropriated to the commissioner to be used for
the development, operation, maintenance, and improvement of the cemetery. To the extent
practicable, the commissioner of veterans affairs must apply for available federal grants for the
development and operation of the cemetery.
    Subd. 7. Permanent trust account. A veterans cemetery trust account is established in
the special revenue fund of the state treasury. All designated appropriations and monetary
donations to the cemetery must be placed in this account. The principal of this account must be
invested by the State Board of Investment and may not be spent. The income from this account
must be transferred as directed by the account manager to the veterans cemetery development
and maintenance account.
    Subd. 8. Eligibility. Any person who is eligible for burial in a national veterans cemetery is
eligible for burial in the State Veterans Cemetery.
    Subd. 9. Burial fees. The commissioner of veterans affairs shall establish a fee schedule,
which may be adjusted from time to time, for the interment of eligible family members. The fees
shall cover as nearly as practicable the actual costs of interment, excluding the value of the plot.
The department may accept the Social Security burial allowance, if any, of the eligible family
members in an amount not to exceed the actual cost of the interment. The commissioner may
waive the fee in the case of an indigent eligible person.
No plot or interment fees may be charged for the burial of eligible veterans, members of the
National Guard, or military reservists, except that funds available from the Social Security or
veterans burial allowances, if any, must be paid to the commissioner in an amount not to exceed
the actual cost of the interment, excluding the value of the plot.
Prior to the interment of an eligible person, the commissioner shall request the cooperation
of the eligible person's next of kin in applying to the appropriate federal agencies for payment to
the cemetery of any allowable interment allowance.
    Subd. 10. Allocation of plots. A person, or survivor of a person, eligible for interment in the
State Veterans Cemetery may apply for a burial plot for the eligible person by submitting a request
to the commissioner of veterans affairs on a form supplied by the department. The department
shall allot plots on a first-come, first-served basis. To the extent that it is practical, plots must be
allocated in a manner permitting the burial of eligible family members above, below, or adjacent
to the eligible veteran, member of the National Guard, or military reservist.
History: 1994 c 632 art 3 s 53