Bill
HB 36
The bill directs the Department to improve operation, maintenance, and family-service policies at state veterans cemeteries to better honor veterans and assist families.
Status & sponsor
- Sponsor: Representative Wheatley.
- Status: Passed First Reading.
- Report requirement: Department must report by October 1, 2025.
- Effective date: “When it becomes law.”
Purpose
- Direct the Department of Veterans and Military Affairs to improve the operation, maintenance, and family service policies at the State’s veterans cemeteries so that they appropriately honor veterans and better serve families.
Key provisions
- Staffing and operations
- Require the Department to ensure all four State veterans cemeteries are staffed with employees capable of operating and maintaining the cemeteries to an appropriate standard.
- Grounds, markers, and infrastructure — identify and correct issues including:
- Undue delays in installing headstones.
- Damage to headstones, temporary markers, or graves caused by lawn equipment or vehicles.
- Drainage and flooding problems.
- Scattered debris and other items on cemetery grounds.
- Poor grounds appearance, including bare patches or lack of grass.
- Volunteer assistance
- Authorize the Department to permit auxiliary and active military groups and fraternal organizations (examples named: Veterans of Foreign Wars, the North Carolina National Guard, ROTC) to volunteer for cemetery maintenance projects.
- Funeral / family service policies
- Require the Department to review existing policies and the reasons for them concerning:
- “Chapel only” services,
- Time allotted for funeral services,
- Limits on number of attendees,
- Restrictions on visitation of gravesites while a funeral is being held.
- The bill directs the Department to adjust policies to better accommodate family requests where appropriate.
- Reporting
- By October 1, 2025 the Department must submit a report to the House and Senate Chairs of the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on General Government describing:
- Findings and corrective actions taken on the grounds/marker/infrastructure issues listed above; and
- Any changes made to funeral/service policies in response to the policy review.
Who is affected
- Department of Veterans and Military Affairs (primary implementation responsibility).
- Veterans and their families (beneficiaries of improved maintenance and revised service policies).
- Local and statewide veteran-affiliated volunteer organizations and military units (eligible to assist).
- Potentially cemetery staff and contractors (may face changed duties or standards).
Potential impacts and considerations
- Expected outcomes: improved cemetery appearance, timelier monument installation, fewer equipment-related damages, and more family-accommodating service practices.
- Cost/implementation: the bill mandates actions but does not appropriate funds; implementation may require reallocation of Department resources, hiring/retention of staff, new contracts, or increased use of volunteers. The required October 1, 2025 report will document actions taken and may identify resource needs.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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