--- title: HB 53. Georgia veterans; allow certain persons to be buried in Georgia veterans cemeteries collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hb53 cite_as: HB 53, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb53 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb53.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb53/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69350 date: 2025-05-13 status: passed corpus_version: bills-2026-08-28 license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice. up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb52.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb54.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 1198 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb53.md?full=1 bill_number: HB 53 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: bill status_date: 2025-05-13 last_action: Effective Date 2025-07-01 sponsors: - Josh Bonner - Charles Cannon - David Clark - Bethany Ballard - Brian Prince - Noelle Kahaian - Ricky Williams text_version: Enrolled has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB53/2025 upstream_id: 1919187 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - veterans cemeteries - National Guard - military reserves - veterans benefits --- # HB 53. Georgia veterans; allow certain persons to be buried in Georgia veterans cemeteries ## Text 25 HB 53/AP House Bill 53 (AS PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE) By: Representatives Bonner of the 73rd, Cannon of the 172nd, Clark of the 100th, Ballard of the 147th, Prince of the 132nd, and others A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend Part 3 of Article 2 of Chapter 4 of Title 38 of the Of ficial Code of Georgia1 Annotated, relating to Georgia veterans cemeteries, so as to al low certain persons to be2 buried in Georgia veterans cemeteries; to provide for definitio ns; to provide for fees; to3 provide for legislative findings; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and4 for other purposes.5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:6 SECTION 1.7 The General Assembly finds the following:8 (1) At present, National Guard and other reserve component members of the United States9 armed forces, their spouses, and their children are generally not eligible to be buried in a10 national or state veterans cemetery;11 ( 2 ) T h e f e d e r a l B u r i a l E q u i t y f o r G u a r d s a n d R e s e r v e s A c t o f 2021 prohibits the12 Department of Veterans Affairs from establishing a condition for a federal cemetery grant13 that restricts the ability of states to bury certain reserve component members, their spouses,14 and their children at state owned veterans cemeteries solely because such individuals are15 ineligible for burial in a national veterans cemetery;16 H. B. 53 - 1 - 25 HB 53/AP (3) Consequently, this state may authorize certain reserve com ponent members, their17 spouses, and their children to be buried at a Georgia veterans cemetery without the threat18 of loss of federal veterans burial grants;19 (4) Approximately 25 other states have revised their laws sinc e the enactment of the20 federal Burial Equity for Guards and Reserves Act of 2021;21 (5) The Department of Veterans Affairs does not provide a plot allowance or marker for22 interment at Georgia veterans cemeteries; and23 (6) Legislation is needed to honor Georgians who honorably served in reserve components24 of the United States armed forces and their families and fees n eed to be charged for25 services provided.26 SECTION 2.27 Part 3 of Article 2 of Chapter 4 of Title 38 of the Official Co de of Georgia Annotated,28 relating to Georgia veterans cemeteries, is amended by revising Code Section 38-4-70,29 relating to cemeteries established and eligibility for interment, as follows: 30 "38-4-70.31 (a) As used in this Code section, the term:32 (1) 'Full term' means the length of service agreed to by an en listed or commissioned33 person in the armed forces of the United States.34 (2) 'Reserve component' means, with respect to the United States armed forces, the Army35 Reserve, Navy Reserve, Marine Corps Reserve, Air Force Reserve, Space Force Reserve,36 Coast Guard Reserve, Army National Guard, and Air National Guard.37 (a)(b) The Department of Veterans Service is authorized to establish, operate, and maintain38 Georgia veterans cemeteries in this state; provided, however, t hat the Georgia veterans39 cemetery in existence on July 1, 2002, shall be known as the 'Georgia Veterans Memorial40 Cemetery.'41 H. B. 53 - 2 - 25 HB 53/AP (b)(c) The Department of Veterans Service has the primary responsibi lity for verifying42 eligibility for interment in a Georgia veterans cemetery. Eligibility criteria for interment43 in a Georgia veterans cemetery is as follows:44 (1) The the same as required for interment in a national cemetery as provided by federal45 law and rules and regulations applicable thereto; or46 (2) The following individuals shall qualify for interment in a Georgia veterans cemetery47 pursuant to the federal Burial Equity for Guards and Reserves Act of 2021, provided such48 individuals completed a full term of service and became deceased on or after August 1,49 1990:50 (A) A member of a reserve component whose service was terminated under honorable51 conditions;52 (B) A member of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps of the Army, Navy, Air Force,53 or Space Force who died under honorable conditions while a service member; or54 (C) A spouse, minor child, or unmarried adult child of any service member described55 in paragraph (1) or (2) of this subsection.56 (d) The Department of Veterans Service is authorized to charge a fee for burial services57 in Georgia veterans cemeteries for each person being buried. Such fees may be based on58 the allowance paid for the burial of an eligible veteran in a national veterans cemetery or59 such other amount as the commissioner of veterans service determines is appropriate."60 SECTION 3.61 All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.62 H. B. 53 - 3 - ## Summaries written by Georgia Commons The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the bill. Quote the text, not the summary. House Bill 53 would let certain National Guard and reserve members, along with their spouses and children, be buried in Georgia veterans cemeteries and lets the state charge burial fees for the service. ### Plain-language summary Currently, Georgia veterans cemeteries generally follow federal eligibility rules for burial, which exclude most National Guard and other reserve component members unless they meet stricter federal cemetery standards. A 2021 federal law, the Burial Equity for Guards and Reserves Act, lets states expand who can be buried in state-owned veterans cemeteries without losing federal cemetery grants, and about 25 other states have already updated their laws to take advantage of this. This bill amends Georgia's veterans cemetery law (O.C.G.A. § 38-4-70) to add reserve component members who completed a full term of honorable service, ROTC members who died honorably while serving, and their spouses and children as eligible for burial, as long as the death occurred on or after August 1, 1990. It also lets the Department of Veterans Service charge a burial fee, since the federal government does not provide a plot allowance or marker for these burials at state cemeteries. ### What it does - Adds reserve component members (Army Reserve, Navy Reserve, Marine Corps Reserve, Air Force Reserve, Space Force Reserve, Coast Guard Reserve, Army and Air National Guard) as eligible for burial in Georgia veterans cemeteries if they completed a full term of honorable service. - Extends eligibility to spouses, minor children, and unmarried adult children of qualifying reserve members and ROTC members. - Makes ROTC members of the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Space Force who died honorably while serving eligible for burial. - Limits this expanded eligibility to deaths occurring on or after August 1, 1990. - Authorizes the Department of Veterans Service to charge a fee for burial services, based on the national cemetery burial allowance or another amount the commissioner sets. - Adds legal definitions for 'full term' of service and 'reserve component' to the veterans cemetery law. ### Who it affects National Guard and reserve component members of the U.S. armed forces, ROTC members, and their spouses and children; the Department of Veterans Service, which manages eligibility and cemetery operations; and families seeking burial services at Georgia veterans cemeteries. ### Why it matters Reservists and National Guard members who serve honorably but do not qualify for national cemetery burial would gain access to Georgia veterans cemeteries, along with their families. Georgia would also start charging burial fees for these services, since the federal government doesn't cover plot allowances or markers for this group. ### Key provisions - Section 1 states legislative findings, including that federal law now allows states to expand veterans cemetery eligibility for reserve members without losing federal cemetery grants. - Section 2 rewrites O.C.G.A. § 38-4-70 to define 'full term' and 'reserve component' and to add reserve members, ROTC members, and their families as eligible for burial. - Section 2 restricts the new eligibility category to individuals who died on or after August 1, 1990 and completed a full term of service. - Section 2 authorizes the Department of Veterans Service to charge burial fees, tied to the national cemetery burial allowance or another amount set by the commissioner. - Section 3 repeals any conflicting laws. ## Status - Status: Passed (2025-05-13) - Last action: Effective Date 2025-07-01 (2025-05-13) - Sponsors: Josh Bonner, Charles Cannon, David Clark, Bethany Ballard, Brian Prince, Noelle Kahaian, Ricky Williams - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69350 > The history, votes, and amendments (1,198 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb53.md?full=1