§ 148 — Burial of members of the armed forces of the United States and their families; headstones

§ 148. Burial of members of the armed forces of the United States and\ntheir families; headstones. 1. Burial. (a) The board of supervisors in\neach of the counties, or the board of estimate in the city of New York,\nshall designate some proper person, association or commission, other\nthan that designated for the care of burial of public charges or\ncriminals, who shall cause to be interred the body of any member of the\nuniformed services of the United States who (i) was honorably discharged\nfrom such service or (ii) had a qualifying condition, as defined in\nsection one of the veterans' services law, and received a discharge\nother than bad conduct or dishonorable from such service, or (iii) was a\ndischarged LGBT veteran, as defined in section one of the veterans'\nservices law, and received a discharge other than bad conduct or\ndishonorable from such service, or the body of any minor child or either\nparent, or the spouse or unremarried surviving spouse of any such member\nof the uniformed services of the United States, if such person shall\nhereafter die in a county or in the city of New York without leaving\nsufficient means to defray his or her funeral expenses.\n (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, such counties\nor city, as the case may be, shall receive reimbursement for such\nexpense subject to the reimbursement limitations provided for in\nsubdivision five of section one hundred forty-one of the social services\nlaw, provided that such expense is otherwise eligible for state\nreimbursement pursuant to the provisions of such section.\n (c) If the deceased has relatives who desire to conduct the burial,\nbut are unable to pay the charge therefor, such sum shall be paid by the\ncounty treasurer or other fiscal officer, to the person, association or\ncommission so conducting such burial, upon due proof of the claim, made\nto such person, association or commission of the death or burial of such\nperson, and audit thereof.\n (d) Such interment shall not be made in a cemetery or cemetery plot\nused exclusively for the burial of needy persons deceased, and the board\nof supervisors of each county is hereby authorized and empowered to\npurchase and acquire lands, or to appropriate money for the purchase and\nacquisition of lands, for a cemetery or cemetery plot for the burial of\nany such persons and also to provide for the care, maintenance or\nimprovement of any cemetery or plot where such persons are buried or may\nhereafter be buried.\n 1-a. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, in the\ncase of a veteran, as defined in section one of the veterans' services\nlaw, or who has a qualifying condition as defined in section one of the\nveterans' services law and has received a discharge other than bad\nconduct or dishonorable, or is a discharged LGBT veteran as defined in\nsection one of the veterans' services law and has received a discharge\nother than bad conduct or dishonorable, who died in a county or the city\nof New York leaving no funds or insurance sufficient to pay funeral and\nburial expenses of such veteran and such veteran has no next of kin or\nperson of record previously designated to control his or her final\ndisposition pursuant to section four thousand two hundred one of the\npublic health law, such county or the city of New York shall request a\ncongressionally chartered veterans' organization within the county or\nthe city of New York where the decedent resided at the time of death, to\nengage the services of a funeral firm to conduct the funeral and burial\nservices.\n (b) Such organization shall incur the costs associated with such\nservices, which shall include but not be limited to, the purchase of a\nsuitable container for burial, the funeral director's prices for\nmerchandise and services furnished, cost of a grave site and a military\nfuneral service at the cemetery to which such body shall be interred.\n (c) The county or the city of New York shall endeavor to make such\nrequests to a diversity of congressionally chartered veterans'\norganizations within their jurisdiction, in an effort to share the costs\ndescribed in paragraph (b) of this subdivision in a fair and equitable\nmanner.\n (d) The state shall reimburse such congressionally chartered veterans'\norganization for such funeral and burial service expenses for veterans,\nexcept those expenses previously reimbursed pursuant to section one\nhundred forty-one of the social services law or any other law or those\nexpenses reimbursable or payable by the federal government; provided\nhowever, that the total reimbursement pursuant to this subdivision shall\nnot exceed two thousand dollars per burial. With respect to any state\nfiscal year, the commissioner of veterans' services shall provide a\npercentage increase in the maximum amount of funeral and burial service\nexpenses payable under this paragraph, equal to the percentage by which\n(i) the consumer price index (all items, United States city average) for\nthe twelve-month period ending on the March thirty-first preceding the\nbeginning of the state fiscal year for which the increase is made,\nexceeds (ii) the consumer price index for the twelve-month period\npreceding the twelve-month period described in subparagraph (i) of this\nparagraph. Such percentage increase shall be rounded up to the next\nhighest one-tenth of one percent and shall not be less than one percent\nnor more than four percent. Commencing in the year two thousand\ntwenty-six, the commissioner of veterans' services, not later than\nFebruary first of each year, shall publish the amount of the total\nreimbursement, as adjusted, payable under this section.\n (e) A congressionally chartered veterans' organization determining in\ngood faith that it cannot financially bear the costs of the requested\nfuneral and burial services as described in paragraph (b) of this\nsubdivision, and declaring in good faith to the requesting county or the\ncity of New York that the organization is unable to pay for these\nexpenses, shall not be required by the county or the city of New York to\ninitially fund these requested services.\n 2. Headstones. (a) The grave of any such person whose body has been\nheretofore or shall hereafter be so interred, or who shall have been\nheretofore buried in any of the counties of this state, but whose grave\nis not marked by a suitable headstone, if such person has died or shall\ndie without leaving means to defray the expense of such headstone, or\nwhose grave shall have remained unmarked for five years by a suitable\nheadstone, shall be marked by a headstone bearing the name of the\ndeceased, the war in which he served, and, if possible, the organization\nto which he belonged or in which he served.\n (b) The headstone at the grave of the spouse or surviving spouse of\nsuch member of the armed forces of the United States shall contain the\nname of the deceased, the war in which his or her spouse served and, if\npossible, the organization to which he or she belonged or in which he or\nshe served.\n (c) Such headstone shall be of such design and material as shall be\napproved by the board of supervisors.\n (d) Where a headstone or the foundation thereof as herein provided,\nshall have become damaged by accident or the elements, it may be\nrepaired, provided the expense is less than the cost of a new headstone.\n (e) The board of supervisors of the county of which such deceased\nperson was a resident at the time of his or her death is hereby\nauthorized and directed to audit the account and pay the expenses of\nsuch burial and headstone, and a reasonable sum for the services and\nnecessary expenses of the person or commission so designated. In case\nsuch person shall be at the time of his or her death an incarcerated\nindividual of any state institution, including state hospitals and\nsoldiers' homes, or any institution, supported by the state and\nsupported by public expense therein, the expense of such burial and\nheadstone shall be a charge upon the county of his or her legal\nresidence.\n (f) Where the providing of a headstone is authorized in any case\npursuant to this section, and in lieu of making such provision as\nhereinbefore set forth, the board responsible for payment of the cost\nthereof may make application for a headstone in such case to any\nofficer, board, body or agency of the United States required by or\npursuant to the laws thereof to furnish a headstone without charge to\nmark the grave of the deceased person in such case and, in the event\nsuch headstone is accordingly furnished, may audit the account and pay\nthe expense incident to the obtaining and for the erection thereof,\nincluding any necessary transportation charges, in an amount not in\nexcess of the maximum sum authorized to be expended for a headstone as\nprovided in paragraph (c) of this subdivision.\n 3. Reports. It shall be the duty of the person or commission in this\nsection provided, prior to the annual meeting of the board of\nsupervisors to make an annual report to such board of supervisors of all\nthe applications since the last annual report for burial and the\nerection of tombstones as provided herein, together with the amounts\nallowed. All applications herein referred to shall accompany said annual\nreport and be placed and kept on file with the board of supervisors.\n