Committee approves bill allowing veterans-only columbariums with annual contribution to perpetual fund

At a meeting of the Veterans Affairs and The Military Committee chaired by State Senator Jim Toms, members voted to pass legislation sponsored by Senator Bush that would permit veterans-only columbariums operated by 501(c)(3) organizations and require those organizations to make a modest annual contribution to cemetery perpetual-care funds.

The bill’s sponsor told the committee the measure grew out of a veterans memorial near his home in southwest Fort Wayne that has drawn local support. "They have a ... replica of the Vietnam wall" and other memorial pieces, the sponsor said, and some veterans asked that cremated remains be allowed to be interred at the site. The sponsor described a columbarium as "basically a big cement structure where you put those ashes behind cement and have that name there." He told the committee the nonprofit operator would not profit from internments and would pay $30 per interned veteran per year into a perpetual-care fund.

The bill is narrowly tailored to apply to nonprofit veterans memorials rather than full cemeteries, the sponsor said, and was developed in consultation with the cemetery association and legislators from both chambers. Jim Barley of the Military Veterans Coalition of Indiana told the committee private and municipal cemeteries in the state already use niches for cremains and said his group "strongly support[s] this." Barley also noted that Crown Hill and other cemeteries already have similar structures.

Chairman Jim Toms called for a motion and the committee proceeded to a roll call. Members responding in the transcript with affirmative votes included Senator Jim Toms, Senator Kreider, Senator Blake Dorio, Senator Randy Maxwell, Senator Buck, Senator Charbonneau, Senator Byrne, Senator Mark Spencer and Senator J.D. Ford. The committee recorded the bill as approved and the sponsor thanked members for passage before the panel moved to the next agenda item.

The measure as described in committee would: allow veterans-only columbariums operated by a 501(c)(3); require an annual contribution (described in testimony as $30 per internment) to a perpetual-care fund; and limit the authorization to memorials tailored to veterans rather than general cemeteries. The cemetery association was described in testimony as neutral on the bill language.

Committee members moved on to the next bill after approving the measure. No amendments were adopted during the committee’s consideration as recorded in the transcript.