AN ACT CONCERNING THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS AND A CONNECTICUT VETERANS CEMETERY.

LCO No. 716 1 of 5

General Assembly Raised Bill No. 5293
February Session, 2026 LCO No. 716

Referred to Committee on VETERANS' AND MILITARY
AFFAIRS

Introduced by:
(VA)

AN ACT CONCERNING THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
AND A CONNECTICUT VETERANS CEMETERY.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:

Section 1. Section 27-122a of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2026): 2
(a) (1) The Commissioner of Mental Health and Addiction Services 3
shall transfer to the Veterans' Home and Hospital Commission two 4
certain pieces or parcels of land known as Plot # 6, containing thirty 5
acres, more or less, situated on the north side of River Road in the town 6
of Middletown, county of Middlesex, and state of Connecticut, and 7
being bounded and described as follows: As to the first piece or parcel; 8
Commencing at a point in the northerly side of River Road being the 9
southeast corner of the land herein described, thence running N 31 10
degrees E a distance of 286 feet, more or less, to the right -of-way of the 11
Penn Central Railroad (Valley Line), thence running westerly along said 12
right-of-way a distance of 2720 feet, more or less, thence running 13
southerly 80 feet, more or less, to River Road, thence running 14

Raised Bill No. 5293

LCO No. 716 2 of 5

southeasterly along the northern boundary of River Road a distance of 15
530 feet, more or less, to a brook, thence running N 80 degrees E along 16
the north side of River Road to a bend in said road a distance of 380 feet, 17
more or less, thence S 82 degrees E a distance of 1160 feet, more or less 18
along the northern side of River Road to the point and place of 19
beginning. As to the second piece or parcel of land being a small piece 20
or parcel located on the northerly side of the Penn Central Railroad 21
(Valley Line) right-of-way, bounded on the northerly and westerly side 22
by the Connecticut River and on the southerly side by said railroad 23
right-of-way and on the easterly side by property of the Feldspar 24
Corporation. Said two pieces or parcels of land contain a total area of 25
thirty acres, more or less, and are shown on a map or plan titled, "The 26
Connecticut State Hospital Middletown, Conn. Scale 1″ = 200′ 1922". 27
[(b)] (2) The Commissioner of Mental Health and Addiction Services 28
shall transfer to the Veterans' Home certain land in the city of 29
Middletown, under the supervision and control of said commissioner, 30
in exchange for the transfer by the Veterans' Home and Hospital 31
Commission to the Commissioner of Mental Health and Addiction 32
Services of certain land comprised of pieces and parcels of the land 33
described in subdivision (1) of this subsection [(a)] of equal acreage, the 34
exact boundaries of the lands to be exchanged to be decided by the 35
Commissioner of Administrative Services, with the advice and 36
assistance of all parties within the six -month period following June 14, 37
1979. 38
[(c)] (3) The land transferred to the commission under [subsections 39
(a) and (b)] subdivisions (1) and (2) of this [section] subsection and not 40
transferred to the Commissioner of Mental Health and Addiction 41
Services and the Connecticut Valley Hospital shall be used by the 42
Commissioner of Veterans Affairs for the establishment and 43
maintenance of a veterans' cemetery. 44
(b) Not later than July 1, 2027, the Commissioner of Veterans Affairs 45
shall designate one or more parcels of land already under the custody 46

Raised Bill No. 5293

LCO No. 716 3 of 5

and control of the state, or newly acquire one or more parcels of land in 47
the state, for the establishment and maintenance of a veterans' cemetery 48
in addition to the veterans' cemetery established and maintained under 49
subsection (a) of this section. 50
Sec. 2. Section 27 -122b of the general statutes is repealed and the 51
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2027): 52
(a) As used in this section, "veteran" means any person who is a 53
veteran, as defined in section 27 -103, who (1) has completed at least 54
twenty years of qualifying service, as described in and computed under 55
10 USC Chapter 1223, as amended from time to time, in the Connecticut 56
National Guard; or (2) was killed in action, or who died as a result of 57
accident or illness sustained while performing active service, in the 58
United States Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Coast Guard or 59
Space Force or any women's auxiliary branch thereof, organized 60
pursuant to an Act of Congress, or in the Connecticut National Guard. 61
(b) (1) Any veteran may, by letter or other communication addressed 62
to the Commissioner of Veterans Affairs , or by will, request that upon 63
his or her death his or her body be buried in [a veterans' cemetery] one 64
of the veterans' cemeteries established pursuant to section 27 -122a, as 65
amended by this act , or (2) the spouse or other next of kin of any such 66
veteran may apply to the commissioner to have the body of such veteran 67
buried in [said veterans' cemetery, and in ] one of said veterans' 68
cemeteries. In either case under subdivision (1) or (2) of this subsection, 69
such request shall be granted. 70
(c) (1) Any member or former member of the armed forces, as defined 71
in subsection (a) of section 27 -103, who is a resident of this state and is 72
entitled to retirement pay under 10 USC Chapter 1223, as amended from 73
time to time, or would have been entitled to retirement pay under said 74
chapter [,] but for the fact that [the person ] such member or former 75
member is under sixty years of age, may by letter or other 76
communication addressed to the commissioner, or by will, request that 77

Raised Bill No. 5293

LCO No. 716 4 of 5

upon his or her death his or her body will be buried in [said veterans' 78
cemetery] one of the veterans' cemeteries established pursuant to 79
section 27-122a, as amended by this act , or (2) the spouse or other next 80
of kin of any such member or former member may apply to the 81
commissioner to have the body of such member or former member 82
buried in [said veterans' cemetery, and, in ] one of said veterans' 83
cemeteries. In either case under subdivision (1) or (2) of this subsection, 84
such request shall be granted. 85
(d) (1) (A) Any person who served in the Hmong Laotian special 86
guerilla units, which units served in the United States secret war in the 87
Kingdom of Laos during the Vietnam War, may, by letter or other 88
communication addressed to the commissioner, or by will, request that 89
upon his or her death his or her body be buried in [a veterans' cemetery] 90
one of the veterans' cemeteries established pursuant to section 27-122a, 91
as amended by this act, or (B) the spouse or other next of kin of any such 92
person may apply to the commissioner to have the body of such person 93
buried in [said veterans' cemetery, and in ] one of said veterans' 94
cemeteries. In either case under subparagraph (A) or (B) of this 95
subdivision, such request shall be granted. 96
(2) Such person who served in the Hmong Laotian special guerilla 97
units, or the spouse or next of kin of such person, shall provide to the 98
commissioner (A) an affidavit stating (i) when the person served, (ii) 99
where the person served, (iii) the unit in which the person served, and 100
(iv) the capacity in which the person served; (B) any available 101
corroborating witness affidavits; (C) any available official 102
documentation of service; and (D) any other documents supporting the 103
affidavit. 104
(e) The spouse of any veteran, or the spouse of any person who served 105
in the Hmong Laotian special guerilla units described in subsection (d) 106
of this section, shall, upon similar request or application made to the 107
commissioner, be buried in [said veterans' cemetery ] one of said 108
veterans' cemeteries, provided only one such request or application 109

Raised Bill No. 5293

LCO No. 716 5 of 5

shall be granted. 110
(f) The commissioner shall designate an area in [said veterans' 111
cemetery] one of said veterans' cemeteries for veterans and any persons 112
who served in the Hmong Laotian special guerilla units described in 113
subsection (d) of this section who, for religious reasons, require burial 114
in a consecrated area. 115
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:

Section 1 July 1, 2026 27-122a
Sec. 2 July 1, 2027 27-122b

Statement of Purpose:
To require the Department of Veterans Affairs to, not later than July 1,
2027, designate or acquire land as an appropriate final resting place for
deceased Connecticut veterans.

[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
underlined.]