Sec. II-1. 37-B MRSA §504, as amended by PL 1997, c. 783, §2, is further amended to read:
§504. Maine Veterans' Memorial Cemetery System
1. Land acquisition. The director may acquire by eminent domain in accordance with Title 35-A, chapter 65 and with approval of the Governor, or by purchase, gift or otherwise, real estate in fee simple, or any interest therein, for use as a Maine Veterans' Memorial Cemetery System. The land for at least one cemetery must be located near the center of population of the State.
2. Superintendent. The director, with approval of the appointing authority, shall appoint a competent and trustworthy cemetery superintendent and shall arrange for personnel, material and equipment necessary for adequate maintenance of the cemetery cemeteries. The superintendent must be an honorably discharged war veteran or a war veteran currently a member of the armed services in nonactive or reserve status.
3. Monuments, buildings and markers. The director shall erect a suitable monument in the center of the each cemetery.
A. The monument must be suited to the topography of the land and display, on suitable flag poles, the national emblem and the state flag in accordance with the Flag Code.
B. The immediate area surrounding the monument must be prepared and reserved as a suitable place for commemorating Memorial Day and other appropriate observances. The remaining grounds must be laid out in a wheel-like pattern around the monument, expanding from the center as required. Suitable buildings may be erected for purposes the director determines necessary.
C. All grave markers must be flat-type granite, as furnished by the United States Department of the Army, Memorial Division, or flat-type granite facsimiles of a marker. All boxes used for burial must be protected with permanent vaults or grave liners. Stones and vaults may not be provided at state expense.
4. Burials. Burials in the cemetery shall cemeteries must be as follows.
A-1. As used in this subsection, unless the context indicates otherwise, the following terms have the following meanings.
(1) "Eligible dependent" means the wife, husband, surviving spouse, unmarried minor child, unmarried dependent child enrolled in secondary school or unmarried adult child who became incapable of self-support before reaching 18 years of age on account of mental or physical defects.
(2) "Eligible veteran" means any person who:
(a) Served on active duty in the United States Armed Forces during any federally recognized period of conflict, served on active duty in the United States Armed Forces at any time during the period December 22, 1961 to August 5, 1964 or was eligible for an Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal or campaign medal, and who:
(i) If discharged, received an honorable discharge or a general discharge under honorable conditions, provided that the discharge was not upgraded through a program of general amnesty; and
(ii) Was a resident of the State at the time of entering military service, death or the death of an eligible dependent;
(b) Served in the Maine National Guard and died as a result of injury, disease or illness sustained while serving on state active duty as provided in chapter 3, subchapter III; or
(c) Served in the Armed Forces in the United States at any time and was killed or died as a result of hostile action and was a resident of the State at the time of entering military service, at the time of death or at the time of the death of an eligible dependent.
(3) "Federally recognized period of conflict" means World War I, April 6, 1917 to November 11, 1918, or March 31, 1920 if service was in Russia; World War II, December 7, 1941 to December 3l, 1946; Korean Conflict, June 27, 1950 to January 31, 1955; the Vietnam War, August 5, 1964 to May 7, 1975; and the Persian Gulf War, August 7, 1990 to April 11, 1991.
B. The director must allow the earth burial in one of the cemetery cemeteries of any eligible veteran who requests burial in the cemetery system. The director must allow the veteran the option of crypt burial if crypt space exists. All burials must be without charge.
C. At the dependent's request, the director must allow an eligible dependent of a veteran to be buried in one of the cemetery cemeteries if, at the date of the dependent's death, the veteran would be eligible for burial. Dependents may be buried in the earth or placed in a crypt adjacent to the veteran without charge, provided that so long as:
(1) If the veteran dies first, the dependents specify in writing their intention to be so buried;
(2) If the dependent dies first, the veteran specifies in writing the intention to be buried in one of the cemetery cemeteries; or
(3) Eligible family members of members of the armed services or veterans who are permanently buried overseas, buried at sea, missing in action and declared dead, or whose bodies are inaccessible for other reasons, may be buried in this cemetery, provided that one of the cemeteries if the deceased member of the armed services or veteran was eligible for the burial at the time of death.
D. The plots shall must be reserved as necessary and a permanent record of all burials shall must be kept.
E. Remains of eligible veterans previously buried in other locations may be reinterred in one of the cemetery cemeteries upon request, provided that no cost other than that which would be incurred in an original burial is borne by the State.
F. This subsection shall may not be construed to obligate the State beyond the furnishing of a grave site, opening and closing of the grave and maintenance of the grave and the cemetery cemeteries thereafter in perpetuity.
5. Weekend visitation. The superintendent shall arrange visiting hours to provide public access to the cemetery cemeteries at least one Saturday or Sunday each month. Regularly scheduled weekly visiting hours may be adjusted to provide for the weekend hours.
Sec. II-2. Appropriation. The following funds are appropriated from the General Fund to carry out the purposes of this Part.
1999-00
DEFENSE, VETERANS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF
Veterans Services
Capital Expenditures $300,000
Provides for the appropriation of funds for architectural and engineering services and construction associated with the expansion of the Veterans' Memorial Cemetery. The amount must be repaid in full by a transfer of revenue from the Veterans Services program, Federal Expenditures Fund to the General Fund on or before June 30, 2001. Any balance of this appropriation remaining on June 30, 2000 may not lapse, but must be carried forward to June 30, 2001 to be used for the same purposes.
Veterans Services
All Other 15,000
Provides for the appropriation of funds for the development of property in Caribou that will be used as a veterans' cemetery.
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE, VETERANS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ____________
TOTAL $315,000
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