Senate Bill No. 31
(By Senators Redd, Fanning, Hunter, Edgell, Mitchell, Caldwell,
Unger, Ross, Sharpe and Minard)
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[Introduced February 14, 2001; referred to the Committee on
Military; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend article five, chapter thirty-five of the code of
West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated section
nine, relating to cemeteries; prohibiting any cemetery from
charging more than two hundred fifty dollars to set a United
States veterans' affairs grave marker; and requiring
cemeteries to set the markers.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article five, chapter thirty-five of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section nine, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 5. CEMETERIES.
§35-5-9. Charges for setting United States veterans' affairs
grave markers.
No public or private cemetery may deny a request to set a
United States department of veterans' affairs grave marker at the
grave of a deceased United States armed forces veteran. The
cemetery may not charge more than two hundred fifty dollars for
setting the marker, except that the cemetery may charge a
reasonable additional fee for installation off the premises. The
fee may be periodically adjusted to meet cost-of-living increases
at the discretion of the director of the state division of
veterans' affairs.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to prohibit public and
private cemeteries from charging more than $250 for setting a
United States department of veterans' affairs grave marker at the
grave of a deceased United States armed forces veteran within the
cemetery.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.