HB 53: Georgia veterans; allow certain persons to be buried in Georgia veterans cemeteries

Under current Georgia law, burial in a state veterans cemetery generally requires the same eligibility as burial in a national veterans cemetery, which excludes most National Guard and reserve component members who did not serve full-time federal careers. A 2021 federal law, the Burial Equity for Guards and Reserves Act, lets states expand eligibility for their own state-run cemeteries without losing federal cemetery grant money. HB 53 amends O.C.G.A. § 38-4-70 to take advantage of that federal law. It adds definitions for 'full term' of service and 'reserve component' (Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard Reserves, plus the Army and Air National Guard). It then allows reserve component members discharged under honorable conditions, ROTC members who died in honorable service, and their spouses and children to be buried in Georgia veterans cemeteries, as long as the service member completed a full term and died on or after August 1, 1990. The bill also lets the Department of Veterans Service charge burial fees for these interments.

• Adds new legal definitions for 'full term' of service and 'reserve component' to Georgia's veterans cemetery law (O.C.G.A. § 38-4-70).
• Expands cemetery eligibility beyond current national-cemetery standards to include honorably discharged reserve component members who completed a full term of service.
• Extends eligibility to Reserve Officers' Training Corps members who died under honorable conditions while serving.
• Allows spouses, minor children, and unmarried adult children of these newly eligible service members to also be buried in Georgia veterans cemeteries.
• Limits the new eligibility to deaths occurring on or after August 1, 1990.
• Authorizes the Department of Veterans Service to charge a fee for burial services in Georgia veterans cemeteries, set by the commissioner or based on national cemetery burial allowances.

Members and veterans of the National Guard and other reserve components (Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard Reserves), ROTC members, their spouses and children, and the Georgia Department of Veterans Service, which manages the state's veterans cemeteries and would administer the new eligibility rules and fees.

Many reserve and National Guard members and their families are currently turned away from Georgia veterans cemeteries because they don't meet national cemetery eligibility rules. This bill would open those cemeteries to them for the first time, while also letting the state charge burial fees to help cover the cost.

• Section 1 lays out legislative findings, including that about 25 other states have already updated their laws under the 2021 federal Burial Equity for Guards and Reserves Act.
• Section 2 rewrites O.C.G.A. § 38-4-70, adding definitions of 'full term' and 'reserve component' in new subsection (a).
• Section 2 keeps the existing rule that eligibility generally matches national cemetery standards, but adds a second eligibility path for reserve members, ROTC members, and their families.
• Section 2 requires that the qualifying service member completed a full term of service and died on or after August 1, 1990.
• Section 2 authorizes the Department of Veterans Service to charge a burial services fee, which may be based on national cemetery burial allowances or another amount set by the commissioner.
• Section 3 repeals any conflicting laws.

1. 2025-05-13Effective Date 2025-07-01
2. 2025-05-13Act 179
3. 2025-05-13House Date Signed by Governor (Cámara de Representantes)
4. 2025-04-07House Sent to Governor (Cámara de Representantes)
5. 2025-03-27House Agreed Senate Amend or Sub (Cámara de Representantes)
6. 2025-03-25Senate Passed/Adopted By Substitute (Senado)
7. 2025-03-25Senate Third Read (Senado)
8. 2025-03-21Senate Read Second Time (Senado)

• Josh Bonner (R, HD-073)Patrocinador principal
• Charles Cannon (R, HD-172)
• David Clark (R, HD-100)
• Bethany Ballard (R, HD-147)
• Brian Prince (D, HD-132)
• Noelle Kahaian (R, HD-081)
• Ricky Williams (R, SD-025)

1. AprobadaVotación: Cámara de Representantes20 de febrero de 2025

   164 a favor, 0 en contra (13 sin votar, 3 ausentes)

   Passage: House Vote #48

2. AprobadaVotación: Senado25 de marzo de 2025

   54 a favor, 0 en contra (1 sin votar, 1 ausentes)

   Passage By Substitute: Senate Vote #279

3. AprobadaVotación: Cámara de Representantes27 de marzo de 2025

   163 a favor, 0 en contra (4 sin votar, 13 ausentes)

   Agree To Senate Substitute: House Vote #327

• veterans cemeteries
• National Guard
• military reserves
• veterans benefits