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Committee advances bill expanding Georgia state cemetery eligibility for some Guard and Reserve members
Summary
The Defense & Veterans Affairs Committee passed House Bill 53 to allow additional members of the National Guard and reserve components to be buried in state cemeteries in Georgia, aligning state practice with a 2021 federal law. The bill passed out of committee to the rules committee.
Chairman Bonner of the Defense & Veterans Affairs Committee presented House Bill 53, saying the proposal would expand eligibility for burial in Georgia state cemeteries to certain members of the National Guard and reserve forces who previously were ineligible unless federalized or retired.
"This bill does simply expand that category," Chairman Bonner said, explaining that the measure follows the federal Burial Equity for Guard and Reserve Act signed in 2021 and would permit more service members in Georgia to be eligible for interment at state cemeteries.
The bill’s sponsor and supporters said the change does not impose a new state cost. Instead, families who use the service would pay at the same rate that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs reimburses for burial services. When Representative Scott asked about price, Bonner said, "that rate is right around $700," though he added the amount varies with VA rates.
Representative Floyd Griffin, a retired officer who helped secure a cemetery site in Milledgeville in earlier legislative work, said he was unaware of the prior limitation and supported giving Guard and reserve members the same opportunity to be interred in state cemeteries as other veterans.
Supporters told the committee that some families only discover in the midst of arranging a burial that a service member is not eligible, which causes distress. Committee members said other states that adopted similar laws saw relatively small numbers enroll but considered the change a meaningful recognition of service.
The committee moved the bill forward. After a motion and voice vote, committee leadership announced, "House Bill 53 passes to Rules."
The bill does not alter federal law, the presenters said, and does not create a state-funded burial benefit; rather it aligns state eligibility with the federal Burial Equity for Guard and Reserve Act and uses VA reimbursement rates to set family costs.
Background and context: witnesses from the Georgia Department of Veterans Services attended the hearing and were available to answer member questions. Members noted the change had been enacted in roughly two dozen other states.
Votes at a glance: House Bill 53 — Passed out of the committee to Rules (voice vote).
