FLAGS ON VETERANS' GRAVES H.B. 6315 (H-1): COMMITTEE SUMMARY
House Bill 6315 (Substitute H-1 as passed by the House)
Sponsor: Representative David Farhat
House Committee: Local Government and Urban Policy
Senate Committee: Senior Citizens and Veterans Affairs
Date Completed: 12-12-06
CONTENT
The bill would amend Public Act 63 of 1915, which provides for local units of government to furnish and pay for flag holders and United States flags for the graves of veterans, to do all of the following:
-- Allow a recognized veterans' organization to petition the legislative body of a city, village, township, or county to provide the flags and flag holders.
-- Require cities, villages, and townships upon petition, to provide the flag holders and flags in private as well as public cemeteries.
-- Allow a county's legislative body, upon petition, to provide flags and flag holders for graves in public or private cemeteries.
Currently, the legislative body of a Michigan city, village, or township, upon petition of five or more eligible voters, must procure for and furnish to the petitioners, at the expense of the city, village, or township, a suitable flag holder and U.S. flag for the grave of each veteran who served in the U.S. armed forces and who is buried within the limits of a cemetery belonging to the city, village, or township. Also, the legislative body of a city, village, or township, upon petition of five eligible voters, may take such action for the grave of each veteran buried in any cemetery located within the city, village, or township that does not belong to the local unit.
Under the bill, either a recognized veterans' organization or five eligible voters could petition the city's, village's, or township's legislative body, which then would be required to procure and furnish the flags and flag holders for the grave of each veteran buried within the limits of a public or private cemetery located within the city, village, or township. (The bill also would extend the requirement to a "municipality".)
In addition, the Act allows the legislative body of a Michigan county, upon petition of five eligible voters of the county, to procure for and furnish to the petitioners, at the county's expense, a suitable flag and flag holder for the grave of each veteran who served in the U.S. armed forces and who is buried in any cemetery located within the limits of the county that does not belong to the county. Under the bill, either a recognized veterans' organization or five eligible voters could petition the county's legislative body. The provision would apply to veterans' graves in any "public or private" cemetery located within the county, rather than any cemetery in the county "that does not belong to that county".
MCL 35.831 & 35.831a Legislative Analyst: Patrick Affholter
FISCAL IMPACT
The bill would have no effect on State revenue or expenditures. Local units' expenses could increase by an indeterminate amount, to the extent that a recognized veteran's organization requested flags that would not have been requested by five eligible voters within in the local unit. Local unit revenue would not be affected by the bill.
Fiscal Analyst: David Zin
Analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent. hb6315/0506