(a) (1) Pursuant to Section 1412, the department, in voluntary cooperation with local government entities in the County of Orange, shall first study and then acquire, design, develop, construct, and equip a state-owned and state-operated Southern California Veterans Cemetery, which shall be located in the County of Orange. To qualify for this paragraph, a site shall have been studied by the department and the Department of General Services.

(2) The department shall conduct an acquisition study, in consultation with the Department of General Services, to assess the feasibility and costs of construction of the Southern California Veterans Cemetery.

(3) The department shall oversee and coordinate the study and subsequent acquisition, design, development, and construction of the cemetery.

(4) For purposes of this chapter, “department” means the Department of Veterans Affairs.

(b) (1) Subject to the eligibility requirements described in Section 2402 of Title 38 of the United States Code, as it may be amended, honorably discharged veterans and their spouses and eligible dependent children are eligible for interment in the cemetery. The department shall establish a fee to be charged for interment of veteran spouses and eligible dependent children. The amount of the fee shall not exceed the reasonable costs to the department for interment in the cemetery.

(2) Subject to Section 1418, for the purposes of this subdivision, the department shall adopt regulations to specify the eligibility requirements for interment in the cemetery.

(3) All fees received pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be deposited in the Southern California Veterans Cemetery Perpetual Maintenance Fund created pursuant to Section 1412.

(Amended by Stats. 2022, Ch. 579, Sec. 2. (AB 1595) Effective September 27, 2022.)