--- title: HB 985. Veterans affairs; revise terms of eligibility for persons to be buried in Georgia veteran cemeteries collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hb985 cite_as: HB 985, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb985 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb985.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb985/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72245 date: 2026-05-11 status: passed corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13 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/hb984.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb986.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 1220 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb985.md?full=1 bill_number: HB 985 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: bill status_date: 2026-05-11 last_action: Effective Date 2026-07-01 sponsors: - Josh Bonner - Bill Hitchens - William Werkheiser - Danny Mathis - Sandy Donatucci - Brian Prince - Ricky Williams text_version: Enrolled has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB985/2025 upstream_id: 2083510 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - veterans cemeteries - veterans affairs - Hmong Laotian veterans - military burial eligibility - Georgia Department of Veterans Service --- # HB 985. Veterans affairs; revise terms of eligibility for persons to be buried in Georgia veteran cemeteries ## Text House Bill 985 (AS PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE) By: Representatives Bonner of the 73rd, Hitchens of the 161st, Werkheiser of the 157th, Mathis of the 133rd, Donatucci of the 105th, and others A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend Part 3 of Article 2 of Chapter 4 of Title 38 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to Georgia veterans cemeteries, so as to revise the terms of eligibility for persons to be buried in Georgia veterans cemeteries; to provide for a definition; to require an affidavit in certain circumstances; to provide for applicability; to provide for fees; to provide for the Veterans Service Board to have certain discretion; to provide for related matters; to provide for legislative findings; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA: SECTION 1. The General Assembly finds that: (1) There were members of a Hmong Laotian special guerilla unit that fought valiantly alongside American troops during the Vietnam War and were Georgians at the time of their death; (2) The federal Hmong Veterans Service Recognition Act of 2018 allows for the remains of these individuals to be buried in national veteran cemeteries and does not prohibit states from passing laws to include such persons in state veteran cemeteries; and (3) Authorizing the burial of the remains of such persons in this state would honor the service of Georgians and their families who served honorably during the Vietnam War. SECTION 2. Part 3 of Article 2 of Chapter 4 of Title 38 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to Georgia veterans cemeteries, is amended by revising Code Section 38-4-70, relating to cemeteries established and eligibility for interment, as follows: "38-4-70. (a) As used in this Code section, the term: (1) 'Full term of service' means the length of service agreed to by an enlisted or commissioned person in the armed forces of the United States United States armed forces or, if conscripted, for a period of not less than 24 consecutive months. (2) 'Reserve component' means, with respect to the United States armed forces, the Army Reserve, Navy Reserve, Marine Corps Reserve, Air Force Reserve, Space Force Reserve, Coast Guard Reserve, Army National Guard, and Air National Guard. (b) The Department of Veterans Service is authorized to establish, operate, and maintain Georgia veterans cemeteries in this state; provided, however, that the Georgia veterans cemetery in existence on July 1, 2002, shall be known as the 'Georgia Veterans Memorial Cemetery.' (c) The Department of Veterans Service has the primary responsibility for verifying eligibility for interment in a Georgia veterans cemetery. Eligibility criteria for interment in a Georgia veterans cemetery is as follows: (1) The same as required for interment in a national cemetery as provided by federal law and rules and regulations applicable thereto; or (2) The following individuals shall qualify An individual qualifying for interment in a Georgia veterans cemetery pursuant to the federal Burial Equity for Guards and Reserves Act of 2021, provided such individuals completed a full term of service and became deceased on or after August 1, 1990 who shall have entered service after January 1, 1973, and completed at least 24 months of honorable service and shall have been: (A) A member of a reserve component whose service was terminated who was discharged under honorable conditions or whose death occurred while his or her service was under honorable conditions; (B) A member of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps of the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Space Force who died under honorable conditions while a service member; or (C) A spouse, minor child, or unmarried adult child of any service member described in paragraph (1) or (2) of this subsection. in subparagraph (A) or (B) of this paragraph, as defined in U.S.C. Title 38 Part II Chapter 24, Section 2402(a)(5), in effect on January 1, 2026, where the member of a reserve component served under honorable conditions; (3) An individual who was a Georgia resident at the time of his or her death and served honorably with a Hmong Laotian special guerrilla unit in support of the United States Armed Forces at any time during the period beginning on February 28, 1961, and ending on May 7, 1975, and who was lawfully admitted to the United States as a permanent resident and whose family member submits the following to the Department of Veterans Service: (A) An affidavit stating when the person served, where the person served, the unit in which the person served, and the capacity in which the person served; (B) Any available corroborating witness affidavits; (C) Any available official documentation of service; (D) Any other documents supporting the affidavit; and (E) A copy of the person's United States Certificate of Naturalization with his or her Registration Number or Alien Registration Number to retrieve naturalization records or (4) Such other deceased person whose circumstances are in substantial but not complete compliance with the eligibility requirements of this Code section, if the Veterans Service Board or its designee decides to allow such person to be buried at a Georgia veterans cemetery. (d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Code section, the prohibitions for burial in a national veterans cemetery under 38 U.S.C. Section 2411, in effect on January 1, 2026, and concerning certain criminal offenses, shall also apply to Georgia veterans cemeteries. (d)(e) The Department of Veterans Service is authorized to charge a fee for burial services in Georgia veterans cemeteries for each person being buried. Such fees may be based on the allowance paid for the burial of an eligible veteran in a national veterans cemetery or such other amount as the commissioner of veterans service determines is appropriate. All such moneys collected shall be sent to the general fund of this state." SECTION 3. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed. ## 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 985 rewrites who qualifies for burial in Georgia's veterans cemeteries, adding Hmong Laotian Vietnam War guerrilla fighters and updating rules for reservists, ROTC members, and their families. ### Plain-language summary Georgia law currently sets eligibility rules for burial in state veterans cemeteries, largely mirroring federal rules for national cemeteries. This bill rewrites O.C.G.A. § 38-4-70 to update those rules. It aligns Georgia's eligibility for reserve component members and ROTC members with the federal Burial Equity for Guards and Reserves Act of 2021, requiring at least 24 months of honorable service after January 1, 1973, and covering spouses and children of qualifying service members. The bill also adds a new eligibility category for Georgians who served honorably with a Hmong Laotian special guerrilla unit alongside American forces during the Vietnam War (between February 28, 1961 and May 7, 1975) and were lawfully admitted as permanent residents. Their families must submit an affidavit and supporting documents. The bill gives the Veterans Service Board discretion to admit people in substantial but not complete compliance with the rules, applies federal criminal-offense burial bans to Georgia cemeteries, and directs burial fees to the state's general fund. ### What it does - Adds a new eligibility category letting Georgians who served in a Hmong Laotian special guerrilla unit during the Vietnam War be buried in Georgia veterans cemeteries, with required affidavits and documents. - Updates eligibility for reserve component and ROTC members and their families to match the federal Burial Equity for Guards and Reserves Act of 2021, requiring 24 months of honorable service after January 1, 1973. - Gives the Veterans Service Board or its designee discretion to approve burial for people who substantially, though not fully, meet the eligibility rules. - Applies federal rules barring burial in national cemeteries for certain criminal offenses (38 U.S.C. § 2411) to Georgia veterans cemeteries as well. - Directs that fees collected for burial services in Georgia veterans cemeteries be sent to the state's general fund instead of another account. - Clarifies the definition of 'full term of service' to include a minimum 24 consecutive months for conscripted service members. ### Who it affects Veterans and their spouses, minor children, and unmarried adult children seeking burial in Georgia veterans cemeteries; members of military reserve components and ROTC; Hmong Laotian Vietnam War veterans living in Georgia and their surviving family members; and the Department of Veterans Service, which verifies eligibility and collects burial fees. ### Why it matters The bill would let a specific group of Vietnam War-era allies, Hmong Laotian guerrilla fighters who later became Georgia residents, be buried in state veterans cemeteries for the first time, while also tightening and clarifying documentation and service-length rules for reservists and ROTC members seeking the same benefit. ### Key provisions - Section 1 states legislative findings recognizing Hmong Laotian special guerrilla unit veterans of the Vietnam War and citing the federal Hmong Veterans Service Recognition Act of 2018. - Section 2 revises O.C.G.A. § 38-4-70(a) to redefine 'full term of service' to include conscripted service of at least 24 consecutive months. - Section 2 updates eligibility under paragraph (c)(2) for reserve component and ROTC members to require honorable service after January 1, 1973 and at least 24 months, per the federal Burial Equity for Guards and Reserves Act of 2021. - Section 2 adds a new paragraph (c)(3) allowing burial for Hmong Laotian special guerrilla unit veterans who were Georgia residents, served between 1961 and 1975, and were lawfully admitted permanent residents, subject to submitting an affidavit, corroborating evidence, and naturalization documentation. - Section 2 adds paragraph (c)(4) giving the Veterans Service Board discretion to approve burial for people in substantial but incomplete compliance with eligibility rules. - Section 2 adds subsection (d) applying federal bans on burial for certain criminal offenses (38 U.S.C. § 2411) to Georgia veterans cemeteries. - Section 2 revises the fee provision so that fees collected for burial services go to the state's general fund. - Section 3 repeals conflicting laws. ## Status - Status: Passed (2026-05-11) - Last action: Effective Date 2026-07-01 (2026-05-11) - Sponsors: Josh Bonner, Bill Hitchens, William Werkheiser, Danny Mathis, Sandy Donatucci, Brian Prince, Ricky Williams - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72245 > The history, votes, and amendments (1,220 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb985.md?full=1