Section 148. Burial of members of the armed forces of the United States and their families; headstones


Latest version.
  • 1. Burial. (a) The board of supervisors  in  each  of the counties, or the board of estimate in the city of New York,
      shall designate some proper person,  association  or  commission,  other
      than  that  designated  for  the  care  of  burial  of public charges or
      criminals, who shall cause to be interred  the  body  of  any  honorably
      discharged  member of the armed forces of the United States, or the body
      of any minor child or  either  parent,  or  the  spouse  or  unremarried
      surviving  spouse  of  any such member of the armed forces of the United
      States, if such person shall hereafter die in a county or in the city of
      New York without leaving sufficient means to defray his or  her  funeral
      expenses.
        (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, such counties
      or  city,  as  the  case  may  be,  shall receive reimbursement for such
      expense  subject  to  the  reimbursement  limitations  provided  for  in
      subdivision five of section one hundred forty-one of the social services
      law,  provided  that  such  expense  is  otherwise  eligible  for  state
      reimbursement pursuant to the provisions of such section.
        (c) If the deceased has relatives who desire to  conduct  the  burial,
      but are unable to pay the charge therefor, such sum shall be paid by the
      county  treasurer or other fiscal officer, to the person, association or
      commission so conducting such burial, upon due proof of the claim,  made
      to such person, association or commission of the death or burial of such
      person, and audit thereof.
        (d)  Such  interment  shall not be made in a cemetery or cemetery plot
      used exclusively for the burial of needy persons deceased, and the board
      of supervisors of each county is  hereby  authorized  and  empowered  to
      purchase and acquire lands, or to appropriate money for the purchase and
      acquisition  of lands, for a cemetery or cemetery plot for the burial of
      any such persons and also  to  provide  for  the  care,  maintenance  or
      improvement of any cemetery or plot where such persons are buried or may
      hereafter be buried.
        2.  Headstones.  (a)  The grave of any such person whose body has been
      heretofore or shall hereafter be so interred, or  who  shall  have  been
      heretofore  buried in any of the counties of this state, but whose grave
      is not marked by a suitable headstone, if such person has died or  shall
      die  without  leaving  means to defray the expense of such headstone, or
      whose grave shall have remained unmarked for five years  by  a  suitable
      headstone,  shall  be  marked  by  a  headstone  bearing the name of the
      deceased, the war in which he served, and, if possible, the organization
      to which he belonged or in which he served.
        (b) The headstone at the grave of the spouse or  surviving  spouse  of
      such  honorably  discharged  member  of  the  armed forces of the United
      States shall contain the name of the deceased, the war in which  his  or
      her  spouse served and, if possible, the organization to which he or she
      belonged or in which he or she served.
        (c) Such headstone shall be of such design and material  as  shall  be
      approved by the board of supervisors.
        (d)  Where  a  headstone or the foundation thereof as herein provided,
      shall have become damaged  by  accident  or  the  elements,  it  may  be
      repaired, provided the expense is less than the cost of a new headstone.
        (e)  The  board  of  supervisors  of the county of which such deceased
      person was a resident at  the  time  of  his  or  her  death  is  hereby
      authorized  and  directed  to  audit the account and pay the expenses of
      such burial and headstone, and a reasonable sum  for  the  services  and
      necessary  expenses  of  the person or commission so designated. In case
      such person shall be at the time of his or her death an  inmate  of  any
      state institution, including state hospitals and soldiers' homes, or any
    
      institution,  supported  by  the  state  and supported by public expense
      therein, the expense of such burial and headstone shall be a charge upon
      the county of his or her legal residence.
        (f)  Where  the  providing  of  a  headstone is authorized in any case
      pursuant to this section, and  in  lieu  of  making  such  provision  as
      hereinbefore  set  forth,  the board responsible for payment of the cost
      thereof may make application  for  a  headstone  in  such  case  to  any
      officer,  board,  body  or  agency  of  the United States required by or
      pursuant to the laws thereof to furnish a headstone  without  charge  to
      mark  the  grave  of  the deceased person in such case and, in the event
      such headstone is accordingly furnished, may audit the account  and  pay
      the  expense  incident  to  the  obtaining and for the erection thereof,
      including any necessary transportation charges,  in  an  amount  not  in
      excess  of  the maximum sum authorized to be expended for a headstone as
      provided in paragraph (c) of this subdivision.
        3. Reports. It shall be the duty of the person or commission  in  this
      section   provided,  prior  to  the  annual  meeting  of  the  board  of
      supervisors to make an annual report to such board of supervisors of all
      the applications since  the  last  annual  report  for  burial  and  the
      erection  of  tombstones  as  provided herein, together with the amounts
      allowed. All applications herein referred to shall accompany said annual
      report and be placed and kept on file with the board of supervisors.