Senate Bill No. 126
(By Senators Hunter, Kimble, Ball, Fanning and Anderson)
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[Introduced January 14, 1998; 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
seven, 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
seven, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 5. CEMETERIES.
§35-5-7. 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 two hundred fifty
dollars 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.