STATE OF NEW YORK
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158
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE(Prefiled)
January 9, 2019
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Introduced by Sen. HELMING -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Veterans, Homeland Securi-
ty and Military Affairs
AN ACT establishing the veterans' memorials preservation act
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
2 the "veterans' memorials preservation act".
3 § 2. Definitions. For the purposes of this act:
4 (a) a "memorial" is any park, monument, field, open land, grove of
5 trees, building, structure, artwork, tablet, plaque, wall, or any other
6 structure that has been donated to, or constructed by, a public entity
7 as a memorial to veterans of any war, conflict, or police action engaged
8 in by the armed forces of the United States, or any state of the United
9 States, or the New York national guard.
10 (b) a "public entity" is any governmental body of any kind, including,
11 but not limited to, the state, a city, town, village, borough, school
12 district or public authority.
13 § 3. Memorials shall be preserved and be open to the public. (a) Any
14 public entity that has created or received a gift of a memorial shall
15 not alter, destroy, reconfigure, adjust, change, modify or move such
16 memorial, or cause or permit any person to commit such acts; provided,
17 however, that such acts are permitted when reasonably necessary.
18 (b) Any public entity that has created a memorial or accepted a gift
19 of a memorial shall maintain the memorial in a reasonable manner.
20 (c) A public entity shall not restrict access to a memorial except as
21 reasonably necessary.
22 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04984-01-9