SB2543

Regular Session

Relating to the amount of certain revenue that may be used for and the location of state veterans cemeteries.

LowStandard timeline

Low Cost

Effective:2025-09-01

Enforcing Agencies

Veterans Land Board (VLB) • Texas Veterans Commission

Compliance Analysis

Key implementation requirements and action items for compliance with this legislation

Implementation Timeline

Effective Date: September 1, 2025
Compliance Deadline: Immediate for Business Development. While there are no regulatory mandates to implement, procurement teams must adjust bid monitoring strategies immediately upon the effective date to capture new solicitations.
Agency Rulemaking: The VLB is not explicitly required to promulgate new public rules, but internal policy regarding site selection will likely be revised in Q4 2025. Watch for VLB meeting minutes regarding "site feasibility studies" to predict future project locations.

Immediate Action Plan

Update Search Parameters: Direct procurement teams to flag "Veterans Land Board" and "Cemetery" on the Electronic State Business Daily (ESBD) starting September 1, 2025.
Review Bonding Capacity: Contact your surety broker to ensure your firm can bond projects exceeding $7 million if you intend to bid on prime construction contracts.
Monitor Local Government: Track RFIs from municipalities seeking to donate land to the VLB; this is the precursor to construction contracts.
Verify Federal Certifications: Ensure your SAM.gov registration and federal contractor status are active, as federal grant-backed state projects often flow down federal compliance requirements.

Operational Changes Required

Contracts

Master Service Agreements (MSAs): The removal of the $7 million annual spending cap allows the VLB to solicit larger, consolidated contracts. Expect a shift from small, site-specific maintenance contracts to regional or statewide MSAs.
Bonding Requirements: Construction firms must review surety arrangements. With the spending cap removed, project scopes may exceed previous dollar-value limitations, requiring higher bonding capacity for prime contractors.

Hiring/Training

Bid Team Training: Procurement staff must be trained to identify solicitations tied to "Federal VA Grant" funding, as state authority to build is now statutorily contingent on these federal funds.
Prevailing Wage Compliance: As projects will rely on federal grants, strict adherence to Davis-Bacon Act wage requirements will be mandatory for all contractors and subcontractors.

Reporting & Record-Keeping

Vendor Performance: No new regulatory filings are required. However, ensure your Vendor Performance Tracking System (VPTS) score is optimized. With higher-value contracts available, state scrutiny on vendor past performance will intensify during the selection process.

Fees & Costs

No New Fees: This bill imposes no new levies on business.
Bid Preparation Costs: Anticipate increased overhead for proposal development, as the complexity and scale of VLB solicitations will likely increase.

Strategic Ambiguities & Considerations

Land Acquisition Funding: The statute explicitly prohibits using the specified VLB funds to *acquire* land. The VLB must rely on land donations or local government partnerships. Businesses should monitor municipal city council agendas for "land donation" resolutions, which will serve as the earliest indicator of a new cemetery project before a state RFP is issued.
"Funded by a Grant": The law restricts expansion to projects funded by the US Department of Veterans Affairs. It is unclear if the state can proceed if federal funding covers only a portion of the project. If federal grants freeze, state expansion freezes, regardless of state revenue availability.

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Legislative Timeline

This bill's path through the Texas Legislature

TopicsCemeteries Military & Veterans State Finances State Finances--management & Control Veterans' Land Board

Official Analysis

View HRO Analysis View All Bill Documents

BILL ANALYSIS

Senate Research Center	S.B. 2543
89R15676 CS-D	By: Hancock
	Veteran Affairs
	4/11/2025
	As Filed

AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT

Under the Texas Natural Resources Code, the Texas State Veteran Cemetery Committee is responsible for setting guidelines on the location, size, and eligibility requirements for Texas State Veterans Cemeteries. The committee may select up to seven sites, with selection criteria based on factors such as land donations, operational funding, federal grants, and grant funding requirements.

Today, Texas is home to 1.5 million veterans, and the state's veteran population continues to grow. To ensure every veteran has reasonable access to a state cemetery, there is increasing demand to establish additional locations. S.B. 2543 provides the committee with the flexibility to expand the cemetery system, allowing more families to honor their loved ones who dedicated their lives to serving our country.

As proposed, S.B. 2543 amends current law relating to the location of and the amount of certain revenue that may be used for state veterans cemeteries.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency.

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1. Amends Sections 164.005(f) and (h), Natural Resources Code, as follows:

(f) Requires the Veterans Land Board (VLB), the chairman of the Texas Veterans Commission (chairman), and two representatives of the veterans community selected by the chairman to perform certain duties, including selecting locations, rather than selecting up to seven locations, across the state for veterans cemeteries.

(h) Authorizes VLB to use funds available in certain funds assisting veterans that are authorized to be used for veterans cemeteries to perform certain work on veterans cemeteries. Deletes existing text providing that, of the funds available in certain funds assisting veterans that are authorized to be used for veterans cemeteries, VLB may spend not more than $7 million each fiscal year to perform certain work on veterans cemeteries.

SECTION 2. Effective date: September 1, 2025.

Senate Authors

Sen. Kelly HancockRepublican · Primary Author

Coauthors (2)

House Sponsor

Rep. Cole HefnerRepublican · Primary Sponsor

Bill Text(with markup)

S.B. No. 2543

View bill text in multiple formats on Texas Legislature website

Fiscal NoteView Original

	AN ACT
	relating to the amount of certain revenue that may be used for and
	the location of state veterans cemeteries.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1. Sections 164.005(f) and (h), Natural Resources
	Code, are amended to read as follows:
	(f) The board, the chairman of the Texas Veterans
	Commission, and two representatives of the veterans community
	selected by the chairman of the Texas Veterans Commission shall:
	(1) establish the guidelines for determining:
	(A) the location and size of state veterans
	cemeteries that are funded by a grant from the United States
	Department of Veterans Affairs [~~veterans cemeteries~~]; and
	(B) the eligibility for burial in a veterans
	cemetery; and
	(2) select [~~up to seven~~] locations across the state
	for state veterans cemeteries that are funded by a grant from the
	United States Department of Veterans Affairs [~~veterans~~
	~~cemeteries~~].
	(h) The board may use [~~Of the~~] funds available in the
	veterans' land fund, the veterans' housing assistance fund, and the
	veterans' housing assistance fund II that may be used for state
	veterans cemeteries that are funded by a grant from the United
	States Department of Veterans Affairs [~~veterans cemeteries, the~~
	~~board may spend not more than $7 million each fiscal year~~] to plan
	and design, operate, maintain, enlarge, or improve state veterans
	cemeteries that are funded by a grant from the United States
	Department of Veterans Affairs [~~veterans cemeteries~~]. The board
	may not use funds from the veterans' land fund, the veterans'
	housing assistance fund, or the veterans' housing assistance fund
	II to acquire land to be used for a veterans cemetery.
	SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.

LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
Austin, Texas

FISCAL NOTE, 89TH LEGISLATIVE REGULAR SESSION


April 14, 2025

TO:	Honorable Kelly Hancock, Chair, Senate Committee on Veteran Affairs

FROM:	Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board

IN RE:	SB2543 by Hancock (Relating to the location of and the amount of certain revenue that may be used for state veterans cemeteries.), As Introduced

The fiscal implications of the bill cannot be determined because the amount of funds that would be made available for any new state cemetery construction and operationfrom federal funds, legislative appropriations, or disbursements from the Veterans' Land Fund, the Veterans' Housing Assistance Fund, and the Veterans' Housing Assistance Fund II for the planning, operation, or maintenance of veterans' cemeteries are unknown.

The bill would make no appropriation but could provide the legal basis for an appropriation of funds to implement the provisions of the bill.

The bill would amend the Natural Resources Code related to the Veterans' Financial Assistance Program to remove the limits prohibiting the Veterans' Land Board (VLB) from selecting more than seven locations across the state for veterans cemeteries and spending more than $7,000,000 each fiscal year from funds available in the Veterans' Land Fund, the Veterans' Housing Assistance Fund, and the Veterans' Housing Assistance Fund II to plan, design, operate, maintain, enlarge, or improve veterans cemeteries.

Appropriations for the VLB are included in the bill pattern for the General Land Office and Veterans' Land Board (GLO/VLB) in the General Appropriations Act each biennium.

Based on information provided by the GLO/VLB, any new cemetery construction would be dependent on grants from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and available and sufficient ongoing funding to operate the cemetery in perpetuity. According to the agency, funding from the Veterans' Land Fund, the Veterans' Housing Assistance Fund, and the Veterans' Housing Assistance Fund II, used for the planning, operation, or maintenance of veterans' cemeteries, are generated from loan programs and would be used to the extent that sufficient funds are generated and available. Based on information provided by the GLO/VLB, this analysis assumes that any other costs to the agency associated with the bill could be absorbed using existing resources.

For the purposes of analysis, General Revenue Fund appropriations have also been used for this purpose in addition to federal grant funds and funding from the Veterans' Land Fund, the Veterans' Housing Assistance Fund, and the Veterans' Housing Assistance Fund II. For example, General Revenue Fund appropriations in the amount of $1,082,000 with 1.0 Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) position were provided each fiscal year of the 2024-25 biennium in the bill pattern of GLO/VLB to support operation and salary costs for the newly approved veterans cemetery in Lubbock, Texas.

Based on information provided by the Comptroller of Public Accounts, the fiscal impact to the state cannot be determined because the amount of funds that would be made available to the GLO/VLB from federal funds, legislative appropriations, or disbursements from the Veterans' Land Fund, the Veterans' Housing Assistance Fund, and the Veterans' Housing Assistance Fund II for the planning, operation, or maintenance of veterans' cemeteries are unknown.

Based on information provided by the Veterans Commission, there would be no fiscal impact to the agency.

Local Government Impact

No fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.

Source Agencies:

304 Comptroller of Public Accounts, 305 General Land Office and Veterans' Land Board, 403 Veterans Commission

LBB Staff:

JMc, KDw, MW, JDio

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Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about SB2543

What does Texas SB2543 do?

SB2543 removes the statutory cap limiting the Veterans Land Board (VLB) to seven cemeteries and eliminates the $7 million annual spending limit for cemetery planning and maintenance. This legislation effectively deregulates the scale of state veteran infrastructure, creating immediate, high-value procurement opportunities for construction, engineering, and facilities management firms, provided federal grant funding is secured. Implementation Timeline Effective Date: September 1, 2025 Compliance Deadline: Immediate for Business Development.

Who authored SB2543?

SB2543 was authored by Texas Senator Kelly Hancock during the Regular Session.

When was SB2543 signed into law?

SB2543 was signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott on June 20, 2025.

Which agencies enforce SB2543?

SB2543 is enforced by Veterans Land Board (VLB) and Texas Veterans Commission.

How urgent is compliance with SB2543?

The compliance urgency for SB2543 is rated as "low". Businesses and organizations should review the requirements and timeline to ensure timely compliance.

What is the cost impact of SB2543?

The cost impact of SB2543 is estimated as "low". This may vary based on industry and implementation requirements.

What topics does SB2543 address?

SB2543 addresses topics including cemeteries, military & veterans, state finances, state finances--management & control and veterans' land board.

Legislative data provided by LegiScanLast updated: November 25, 2025

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