S 6661: Establishes the "New York state veterans cemetery act"; directs the division to conduct an investigation and study on the issue of the establishment of a New York state veterans cemetery funding program.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 6661 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE March 19, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sens. GRIFFO, LANZA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Veterans, Homeland Security and Military Affairs AN ACT to amend the veterans' services law, in relation to the estab- lishment of the New York state veterans cemetery act The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as 2 the "New York state veterans cemetery act". 3 § 2. The veterans' services law is amended by adding a new section 4 24-a to read as follows: 5 § 24-a. Veterans cemetery funding promotion program. The department is 6 hereby directed to establish, produce and conduct a New York state 7 veterans cemetery funding promotion program. The purpose of the New York 8 state veterans cemetery funding promotion program would be to encourage 9 the giving of financial contributions, by individuals, groups and corpo- 10 rations, to the veterans remembrance and cemetery maintenance and opera- 11 tion fund, created pursuant to section ninety-seven-mmmm of the state 12 finance law, which was established to provide funding for veterans ceme- 13 teries pursuant to the New York state veterans cemetery program created 14 under section twenty-four of this article. In establishing the New York 15 state veterans cemetery funding promotion program, the department shall 16 establish, produce and conduct programs, projects, and materials 17 designed to encourage the giving of financial contributions, by individ- 18 uals, groups and corporations, to the veterans remembrance and cemetery 19 maintenance and operation fund. The department shall further seek, and 20 may apply on behalf of the state of New York, for grants and contrib- 21 utions, from governments and/or other institutional funding sources, for 22 deposit in, and use by, the veterans remembrance and cemetery mainte- 23 nance and operation fund, for the purpose of constructing, operating and 24 financing New York state veterans cemeteries. Every year, not later than EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD09914-01-5 
 S. 6661 2 1 the fifteenth of December, the department shall produce a report of the 2 activities and operation of the New York state veterans cemetery funding 3 promotion program, and shall deliver a copy of such report to the gover- 4 nor, the temporary president of the senate, the speaker of the assembly, 5 the chair of the senate standing committee on veterans, homeland securi- 6 ty and military affairs and the chair of the assembly standing committee 7 on veterans' affairs. Such report shall contain information on the oper- 8 ations and progress of the New York state veterans cemetery funding 9 promotion program, as well as recommendations to the legislature on the 10 New York state veterans cemetery funding promotion program, and estab- 11 lishing, maintaining and operating state veterans cemeteries in accord- 12 ance with the New York state veterans cemetery program. 13 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.