16 Pa.C.S. Ch. 155

16 Pa.C.S. Ch. 155
in effect

16 Pa.C.S. § 15501 Appropriation of money or land for National Guard Armories.

(a) Conveyance of land.--The county commissioners may convey land to the Commonwealth to assist the State Armory Board in the erection of armories for the use of the Pennsylvania National Guard. The county commissioners may acquire land for this purpose in a lawful manner. (b) Board.--The county commissioners may furnish water, light or fuel, free of cost to the Commonwealth, for use in an armory of the National Guard and may do all things necessary to accomplish this purpose.

16 Pa.C.S. § 15502 Appropriation for maintenance of National Guard.

(a) Authorization.--The county commissioners may make appropriations for the support, maintenance, discipline and training of one or more units of the National Guard. If units are organized as a battalion, regiment or similar organization, the total amount due may be paid to the commanding officer of the battalion, regiment or similar organization. (b) Requirements.--All money appropriated under subsection (a) shall be paid to the order of the commanding officer of the company, battalion, regiment or similar organization if the Adjutant General certifies to the county commissioners that the unit or units have satisfactorily passed the annual inspection provided by law. The money appropriated shall be used and expended solely and exclusively for the support, maintenance, discipline and training of the company, battalion, regiment or similar organization, and the commanding officer shall account by proper vouchers to the county each year for the expenditure of the money appropriated. (c) Subsequent expenditures.--The county commissioners may not make an appropriation under subsection (a) for a subsequent year until the commanding officer has duly and satisfactorily accounted for the expenditure of the previous year. (d) Inspection.--Accounts of expenditures shall be subject to the inspection of the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs and shall be audited by the auditors or the controller in the manner provided by law for the audit of accounts of county money.

16 Pa.C.S. § 15503 Appropriation to rifle clubs in time of war.

(a) Appropriation.--If a state of war exists, the county commissioners may appropriate money to civilian rifle clubs, duly chartered by the National Rifle Association of America, for the: (1) maintenance and rental of rifle ranges; (2) employment of competent instructors and necessary employees; and (3) equipment and uniforms for the members of clubs who volunteer for special military duty in the members' respective counties or answer a call of the Governor. (b) Restriction.--Money may not be appropriated to a club under this section unless practice by the members of the club on a rifle range is with a United States military rifle or arms approved by the Adjutant General.

16 Pa.C.S. § 15508 Definitions.

As used in this subchapter, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the context clearly indicates otherwise: "Deceased serviceperson." The term includes: (1) A deceased individual who, at the time of death, was serving, whether or not in a combat zone, in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard or a women's organization officially connected to those forces, during a war or armed conflict in which the United States has been, is now or shall be engaged, or who, at the time of death, was serving in a zone in which a campaign or state or condition of war or armed conflict then existed, in which the United States was, is or shall be a participant. The existence of a campaign or state or condition of war or armed conflict, and the participation of the United States in the conflict as well as the fact that the deceased person served in a zone in which a campaign or state or condition of war or armed conflict existed shall, in each case, be established by the records of the United States Department of Defense. (2) A deceased individual who served at any time during the individual's life and whose separation from service was honorable, whether by discharge or otherwise, or who, at the time of death, was continuing in service after the cessation of the war, armed conflict, campaign or state or condition of war during or in which the person served. (3) A deceased individual who was in active service in the militia of the Commonwealth under a proclamation issued by the Governor during the Civil War and who was not duly mustered into the service of the United States but was honorably discharged or relieved from service. "Legal residence." An actual residence, coupled with the intention that the residence shall be permanent, or a residence presently fixed with no definite intention of changing it or of returning to a former residence at some future period. Legal residence shall be determined by the abode of a person and the person's intention to abandon a former domicile and establish a new one. The legal residence of a deceased serviceperson shall be prima facie in the county in which the person resided at the time of death. Cross References. Section 15508 is referred to in section 705.1 of Title 51 (Military Affairs).

16 Pa.C.S. § 15509 Funeral expenses of deceased servicepersons.

(a) Contributions.--In accordance with subsection (b), each county shall contribute at least $75 towards the funeral expenses of each deceased serviceperson if application for the contribution is made within one year after the date of the deceased serviceperson's death. For a deceased serviceperson who died while in service, application may be made at any time. (b) Uniform contribution.--All contributions made under this section shall be uniform as to eligible deceased servicepersons within the same calendar year. (c) Payments.--Payments under this section shall be made under the following circumstances: (1) If the deceased serviceperson, at the time of death, had a legal residence in the county to which an application for a contribution under subsection (a) has been made, regardless of if the person died or was interred in the county. Every deceased serviceperson having a legal residence in this Commonwealth at the time of death shall be entitled to the benefits of this section, regardless of where the individual died or where the individual is interred, and the liability shall be on the county where the deceased serviceperson shall have had legal residence at the time of death. (2) If the deceased serviceperson died and was interred in the county to which an application for a contribution under subsection (a) has been made, but, at the time of death, did not have legal residence within this Commonwealth, if the county commissioners in the county in which the individual died are notified in writing by an organization of veterans, and upon investigation finds, that the body is unclaimed by relatives or friends. Cross References. Section 15509 is referred to in section 15511 of this title.

16 Pa.C.S. § 15510 Interment of spouses of deceased servicepersons.

(a) General rule.--Upon application and proof, the county shall contribute at least $75 towards the funeral expenses of a spouse of a deceased serviceperson who, at the time of death, had a legal residence in the county, regardless of if the individual died or is interred in the county. (b) Limitation.--The county may not contribute money toward the funeral expenses of a spouse of a deceased serviceperson who had remarried after the death of the deceased serviceperson. (c) Uniform contribution.--In each case, application for the contribution shall be made within one year after the date of the death of the spouse. All contributions made under this section shall be uniform as to eligible spouses within the same calendar year. Cross References. Section 15510 is referred to in section 15511 of this title.

16 Pa.C.S. § 15511 Payment.

(a) Funeral expenses.--The county shall make a payment in the amount authorized or required under section 15509 (relating to funeral expenses of deceased servicepersons) or 15510 (relating to interment of spouses of deceased servicepersons) for each deceased serviceperson or spouse of a deceased serviceperson in accordance with this subchapter. (b) Money.--A payment under this subchapter shall be paid out of the money of the county. (c) Payments.--Payments under this subchapter shall be made payable to the applicant if the application shows that the funeral expenses have been paid. Otherwise, payments shall be made to the funeral director performing the services, with notice to the applicant. (d) Applications.--Application for contributions under this subchapter shall be made by a personal representative or spouse of the deceased serviceperson. If no qualified personal representative is available, the application may be made by the next of kin of the deceased serviceperson, an individual or a veterans' organization, that shall assume responsibility for the cost of burial. The facts contained in the application shall be sustained by affidavit. An individual who knowingly files an application under this section that is false in any material manner commits a misdemeanor in accordance with 18 Pa.C.S. § 4903 (relating to false swearing). (e) Application.--The application shall be: (1) on a form prescribed by the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs and shall verify whether the funeral expenses have been paid; and (2) attached to a certified copy of the death certificate and an affidavit prepared by the funeral director who had charge of the interment, which certifies that the funeral director did render the service.

16 Pa.C.S. § 15512 Flagholders for graves.

(a) Flagholders.--The county commissioners shall, at the county commissioners' discretion, procure appropriate flagholders for the graves of deceased servicepersons and the graves of all other deceased individuals who served in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard or Merchant Marine during World War II or an organization officially connected to those forces and whose separation from service was honorable, whether by discharge or otherwise. (b) Material of flagholder.--A flagholder shall be of bronze, aluminum or other suitable weather-resistant material. (c) Requirement for flagholders.--The county commissioners shall place a flagholder under subsection (a) if the deceased individual: (1) had legal residence in the county, regardless of if the individual died or is interred in the county; or (2) did not have a legal residence within this Commonwealth. (d) Design of flagholders.-- (1) If a deceased serviceperson was a veteran of a war or campaign for which the Federal Government issued discharge buttons, the flagholder designated for the grave shall include a facsimile of the discharge button. (2) If a deceased serviceperson was a veteran of the Korean Conflict, the flagholder designated for the grave shall include a circular emblem with the words "Korea, U.S., 1950-1953" in the border and shall incorporate the insignia of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force or Coast Guard, as appropriate, in the form approved by the State Veterans' Commission. (e) Memorial certificate.--For a county of the second class A, in lieu of placing a flagholder on the grave, if the next of kin of a veteran so requests, a memorial certificate may be issued to the next of kin of a deceased serviceperson who, at the time of death, had legal residence in the county, regardless of if the individual died or is interred in the county. The memorial certificate shall indicate the deceased serviceperson's name and designate the war or campaign in which the deceased serviceperson served.

16 Pa.C.S. § 15513 Memorial benefit.

(a) Memorial.--The county commissioners shall provide, either directly or through reimbursement, a memorial designated in subsection (b) on the graves of deceased servicepersons who, at the time of death, had legal residence in the county as well as on the graves of all other deceased servicepersons who served in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard or Merchant Marine during World War II or an organization officially connected to those forces and whose separation from service was honorable, whether by discharge or otherwise. (b) Specifications.--The county commissioners shall provide a concrete or granite base for a headstone provided by the Federal Government or, if lettering only on an existing memorial is desired by the family, the county commissioners shall provide the lettering. (c) Commissioner requirements.--In the event the body of a deceased serviceperson either cannot or will not be returned to the United States, the county commissioners shall provide a memorial benefit in the family plot of the deceased serviceperson. If lettering of an existing memorial is desired by the family, the inscription shall include: (1) the name, rank and organization of the deceased serviceperson; (2) the name of the country, location or manner in which the person lost his or her life; and (3) the cemetery or other interment site where the deceased serviceperson is interred, if any. (d) Expense for benefit.--The expense for a benefit provided under this section shall be paid by the county in which the deceased serviceperson had legal residence at the time of death, regardless of if the individual died or is interred in the county. The expense may not exceed the actual cost of providing the concrete or granite base or lettering. The county commissioners shall pay from the treasury to the party furnishing the benefit. (e) Legal disputes.--In cases of dispute concerning the legal residence of a deceased serviceperson, the county in which a deceased serviceperson is interred shall perform the duties required under this section. Payment may not be made unless the application is approved by the county commissioners before the commencement of the project. (f) Offense.--An individual who intentionally or recklessly destroys, mutilates, removes or defaces a grave marker, headstone or flagholder commits an offense under 18 Pa.C.S. § 3903 (relating to grading of theft offenses). Cross References. Section 15513 is referred to in sections 15516, 15522 of this title.

16 Pa.C.S. § 15514 Burial plots.

(a) Authorization.--The county commissioners are authorized to purchase plots of ground in each cemetery or other interment site for the interment of deceased servicepersons whose bodies are entitled to be interred under this subchapter. (b) Costs.--Costs under this section shall be paid by the county commissioners from the county treasury. (c) Limitation.--The purchase price of plots of ground may not be charged against or allotted as part of the cost of interment of deceased servicepersons who may be interred in any of the plots under this subchapter.

16 Pa.C.S. § 15515 Care of graves and headstones.

(a) General rule.--The county commissioners may: (1) ensure that the graves and headstones of all deceased servicepersons and all other veterans who are buried in the county receive proper and fitting care; and (2) employ all necessary assistants to carry out the provisions of this section. (b) Expenses.--The expense of the care of the graves and headstones under subsection (a) may be paid for by the county in which the graves are located, except if suitable care is otherwise provided. (c) Spending of money.--Money appropriated may be expended directly by the board of county commissioners or paid over to the individual, firm, association or corporation owning or controlling a cemetery or other interment site in the county in which a grave is situated. (d) Limitation.--The amount paid to care for a grave each year under this section may not exceed the charge for the annual care and maintenance of similar graves in the same cemetery or, if no fixed charge is established in that cemetery, may not exceed the sum charged in other cemeteries in the same county for similar services.

16 Pa.C.S. § 15516 Determining eligibility for interment benefits.

(a) Proof required.--If application is made for a contribution toward the funeral expenses of a deceased serviceperson or the surviving spouse of a deceased serviceperson or for a memorial benefit under section 15513 (relating to memorial benefit), the county commissioners shall, before expending money, require proof of the following: (1) The service of the deceased serviceperson that entitles the individual or the surviving spouse to the benefits under this subchapter. Proof shall be made by the production of: (i) an honorable discharge or other official record showing service during a war in which the United States is or was engaged; or (ii) records of the United States Department of Defense, or copies filed in the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, showing the existence of a campaign or state or condition of war in which the United States participated and the service of the deceased serviceperson in a zone in which a campaign or state or condition of war existed. (2) The death of the deceased serviceperson. (3) In addition to paragraphs (1) and (2), for the interment of the surviving spouse of a deceased serviceperson, the death of the surviving spouse and the fact that the spouse was married to the deceased serviceperson at the time of the serviceperson's death and that the spouse has not since remarried. (4) Except for individuals who do not have legal residence within this Commonwealth and who are entitled to any of the benefits under this subchapter, the legal residence within the county of the deceased serviceperson or of the surviving spouse of a deceased serviceperson, as the case may be. (b) Documentation required.--Death shall, in all cases, be proven by a death certificate, if procurable, or by one of the following: (1) Affidavit of one or more individuals personally acquainted with the deceased and the fact of the individual's death. (2) Proof of the record of death kept by the attending physician. (3) Proof of the record of interment kept by the funeral director. (4) Records of the church burial association or cemetery company maintaining the graveyard, burial ground, cemetery or other interment site in which the deceased serviceperson was interred. (c) Satisfaction of proof.--If proof required by this subchapter has been furnished to the county commissioners, no further proof of the facts shall be required in order to obtain any other benefit under this subchapter.

16 Pa.C.S. § 15521 Appropriations to veterans' organizations for expenses of Memorial Day, Veterans' Day, Flag Day and Independence Day.

(a) Appropriations.--The board of commissioners of a county may make appropriations to aid in defraying the expenses of Memorial Day, Veterans' Day, Flag Day and Independence Day to each camp, post, detachment or organization in the county of the following: (1) The United Spanish War Veterans. (2) The American Legion. (3) The Veterans of Foreign Wars. (4) The Veterans of World War I of the USA, Inc. (5) AMVETS. (6) The Society of the Twenty-eighth Division, AEF, Incorporated. (7) Italian American War Veterans of the United States, Incorporated. (8) The Marine Corps League. (9) Each naval association. (10) The Grand Army of the Republic. (11) The Disabled American Veterans. (12) The American Gold Star Mothers. (13) The Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, the Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War or, in the absence of orders, a duly constituted organization that decorates graves of Union Veterans of the Civil War. (14) Any other nationally chartered veterans' organization or other veterans' organization recognized by the county. (b) Payments.--Payments under this section shall be made to defray actual expenses only. Before any payment is made, the organization receiving the payment shall submit verified accounts of their expenditures. Cross References. Section 15521 is referred to in section 15523 of this title.

16 Pa.C.S. § 15522 Flags to decorate graves.

(a) Memorial Day flags.--The board of county commissioners shall provide flags on each Memorial Day with which to decorate the graves of all deceased servicepersons and the graves of all other deceased individuals who served in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard or Merchant Marine during World War II or an organization officially connected to those forces, whose separation from service was honorable and who are interred within the county. Flags provided under this section shall be standard size, colorfast and American made and shall be purchased at the expense of the county from money in the county treasury. (b) Veterans' organizations.--A county may coordinate with local veterans' organizations to ensure that cemeteries are decorated in compliance with the provisions of this section. Flags required under this section shall be furnished to the various veterans' organizations in numbers required for their respective communities. (c) Appropriations.--Money expended by a county under this section shall be in addition to money appropriated by counties for Memorial Day purposes. (d) Maintenance.-- (1) Annually, the authorities in charge of each cemetery are authorized to remove flags as follows: (i) A cemetery may remove flags when flags become unsightly or weatherworn any time on or after the first working day after Veterans' Day. Prior to Veterans' Day, a cemetery may request replacement flags from the county which may be used by the cemetery to replace weatherworn flags, if replacement flags are available. (ii) Notwithstanding subparagraph (i), a cemetery may remove flags as a part of the cemetery's normal course of maintenance not before the first working day after Independence Day, but prior to Veterans' Day provided that the cemetery makes the flags available to family members, veterans' organizations or other community organizations for the purpose of decorating graves in recognition of Veterans' Day. (2) A cemetery may remove flagholders for annual storage upon the authorized removal of flags. (e) Removal of flags by family members.--A family member of an individual whose grave is decorated with a flag by the county for the purpose of Memorial Day may take and keep the flag after the first working day after Veterans' Day. (f) Offense.--Except as otherwise provided in this section, an individual, other than a family member removing the flag from a deceased relative's grave, who removes or causes the removal of flags prior to the first working day after Independence Day commits a summary offense and, upon conviction, shall be sentenced to pay a fine of $300 and, upon failure to pay a fine, to undergo imprisonment not to exceed 90 days. (g) Exception.--A cemetery or an owner, employee, agent or contractor of a cemetery who removes or causes the removal of a flag, grave marker, headstone, flagholder or other memorial in good faith in the course of maintenance, repair or mitigation of damage may not be subject to subsection (f) or section 15513(f) (relating to memorial benefit).

16 Pa.C.S. § 15523 Compilation of war records.

(a) Records required.--The county commissioners are authorized and directed, at the expense of the county, to compile a record of the interment sites within the county of deceased servicepersons and all other veterans. Records, so far as practicable, shall indicate the: (1) name of each deceased serviceperson; (2) service in which the individual was engaged; (3) number of the regiment, company or command in which the individual served; (4) individual's rank and period of service; (5) name and location of the cemetery or other place in which the individual's body is interred; and (6) location of the deceased individual's grave and the character of headstone or other marker, if any, at the grave. (b) Title of record.--The record shall be known as the Veterans' Grave Registration Record of ........................ County, and shall be a public record, open to inspection during business hours. (c) Record blanks.--The county commissioners shall ensure that record blanks are prepared, according to forms prescribed by the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, whereby the information required for the record may be transmitted to the county commissioners upon request. (d) Certificate required.--Every individual, firm, association or corporation, including a municipal corporation, owning or controlling a cemetery or interment site in this Commonwealth which inters bodies of deceased servicepersons shall file with the director of veterans' affairs of the county in which the cemetery is located a certificate, on the record blanks provided by the county commissioners, of the facts required for the record if the facts are within the knowledge of the individual, firm, association or corporation or a designated agent. (e) Offense.--The county commissioners shall ensure that record blanks are distributed to an individual, firm, association or corporation, as the county commissioners deem advisable, with the request that the information required under this section be transmitted to the county. An individual, firm, association or corporation, except municipal corporations, that refuses or neglects to fill out and transmit to the county commissioners the blanks or forms within six months after receipt of the blanks or forms commits a summary offense and, upon conviction, shall be sentenced to pay a fine of $100. (f) Location of interment sites.--For the purpose of locating the interment sites of individuals who have served in the armed forces of the United States during a war or armed conflict in which the United States was engaged, any veterans' organization listed in section 15521(a) (relating to appropriations to veterans' organizations for expenses of Memorial Day, Veterans' Day, Flag Day and Independence Day) or recognized by the county may, without expense to the county, collect the required data and prepare and file certificates with the county commissioners, including the information required under this section. (g) Written notice.--Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary, any organization that accepts remains under section 506.2 of the act of June 29, 1953 (P.L.304, No.66), known as the Vital Statistics Law of 1953, which allows certain veterans' service organizations to claim the remains of certain deceased veterans, shall give written notice of the location and manner of the final disposition of the remains to the director of veterans' affairs of the county in which the final disposition of the remains is made.

16 Pa.C.S. § 15524 Director of veterans' affairs.

(a) Appointment.--The county commissioners shall appoint an eligible individual under 51 Pa.C.S. § 1731(a) (relating to accreditation) to serve as the county's director of veterans' affairs, who shall receive compensation as fixed by the salary board. (b) Responsibility of director.--A county's director of veterans' affairs shall: (1) Assist all veterans and their families in securing rights relating to their person, property and care of family under any Federal or State laws. (2) Assist the county commissioners in administering the provisions of this subchapter which relate to the interment of deceased servicepersons and their surviving spouses and furnishing flagholders and placing headstones on graves. (3) Compile and maintain war records and records of interment sites of deceased servicepersons in accordance with the provisions of this subchapter. (4) Perform other duties provided by statute, including the duties required under 51 Pa.C.S. § 1731(c). (c) Compensation.--For services performed under subsection (b), the director of veterans' affairs of a county shall be entitled to expenses incurred and additional compensation. Both expenses and compensation shall be subject to the approval of the salary board.
Source: Open US Law by Vaquill AI (CC BY 4.0)URL: https://www.palegis.us/statutes/consolidated/view-statute?txtType=HTM&ttl=16Fetched: 10/16/2026