Veteran burial; requiring certain veteran to have been a resident of this state. Effective date.

An Act
ENROLLED SENATE
BILL NO. 1533 By: Stanley of the Senate

and

Smith of the House

An Act relating to veteran burial; amending 72 O.S.
2021, Sections 34 and 1, Chapter 90, O.S.L. 2022 (72
O.S. Supp. 2025, Section 36), which relate to
internment or cremation assistance for indigent
veterans and the Dignity in Burial Act; requiring
certain veteran to have been a resident of this
state; updating statutory language; updating
statutory references; and providing an effective
date.

SUBJECT: Burial assistance for indigent veterans

BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:

SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 72 O.S. 2021, Section 34, is
amended to read as follows:

Section 34. A. The Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs
shall establish a program to provide assistance for the proper
interment or cremation of honorably discharged indigent veterans of
the United States Armed Forces. The program shall aid in obtaining
any available burial benefits from the United States Department of
Veterans Affairs or through private organizations. The program
shall provide for a burial grant for any indigent veteran or any
person who qualifies for reimbursement as determined by the Oklahoma
Department of Veterans Affairs, for unpaid expenses directly
resulting from interment or cremation. Maximum reimbursement shall
not exceed One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) per indigent veteran
application.

ENR. S. B. NO. 1533 Page 2

B. Eligibility requirements for the program shall be as
follows:

1. The deceased shall be a veteran as defined by Section 2 of
this title;

2. No one shall have claimed the remains of the deceased
Veteran veteran;

3. The veteran shall have died in Oklahoma been a resident of
this state;

4. The veteran shall not have been in the custody of the
Department of Corrections at the time of death;

5. The applicant shall provide documentation establishing the
burial location of the deceased veteran’s remains in a cemetery or
the location where the deceased veteran’s cremains have been
permanently placed; and

6. The applicant shall provide documentation establishing that
the deceased veteran received a proper memorial headstone or marker
at the place of his or her interment as provided for in 38 U.S.C,
Section 2306 of Title 38 of the United States Code or that a
memorial headstone or marker meeting the same physical standards for
size, material, composition, placement, and informational content
was provided in the event the deceased veteran did not qualify under
the provisions of 38 U.S.C, Section 2306 of Title 38 of the United
States Code.

C. The Executive Director of the Oklahoma Department of
Veterans Affairs or his or her designee shall make final approval of
Indigent Veteran Burial Applications indigent veteran burial
applications, shall determine whether the deceased meets eligibility
criteria, and may approve funds to reimburse the costs of interment
or cremation.

D. Reimbursement shall be paid from the Indigent Veteran Burial
Revolving Fund. If there are insufficient resources in the Indigent
Veteran Burial Revolving Fund, payment shall be made from the
Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs Revolving Fund.

ENR. S. B. NO. 1533 Page 3

Once funds are available in the Indigent Veteran Burial
Revolving Fund, the Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs may be
reimbursed for payments made from the Oklahoma Department of
Veterans Affairs Revolving Fund.

E. Application processes for the implementation of this program
shall be developed by the Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs.

F. Rules for the implementation of this program shall be
promulgated by the Oklahoma Veterans Commission.

SECTION 2. AMENDATORY Section 1, Chapter 90, O.S.L. 2022
(72 O.S. Supp. 2025, Section 36), is amended to read as follows:

Section 36. A. This act shall be known and may be cited as the
“Dignity in Burial Act”.

B. The Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs shall establish
a program to ensure a dignified burial for honorably discharged
veterans of the United States Armed Forces who, prior to death,
lacked the financial capacity to prepare for or to provide for an
interment or cremation befitting a veteran of the United States
Armed Forces. The program shall aid in obtaining any available
burial benefits from the United States Department of Veterans
Affairs or through private organizations. The program shall provide
a burial grant for any veteran or any person who qualifies for
reimbursement, as determined by the Oklahoma Department of Veterans
Affairs, for unpaid expenses directly resulting from interment or
cremation. The maximum amount of reimbursement, not including
private funds, shall not exceed One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) per
application.

C. Eligibility requirements for the program shall be as
follows:

1. The deceased shall be a veteran as defined in Section 2 of
Title 72 of the Oklahoma Statutes this title;

2. The veteran shall have died in Oklahoma been a resident of
this state;

ENR. S. B. NO. 1533 Page 4
3. The veteran shall not have been in the custody of the
Department of Corrections at the time of death;

4. The applicant shall provide documentation establishing the
burial location of the deceased veteran’s remains in a cemetery or
the location where the deceased veteran’s cremains have been
permanently placed;

5. The applicant shall provide documentation establishing that
the deceased veteran was provided an appropriate casket if the
deceased veteran was interred; and

6. The applicant shall provide documentation establishing that
the deceased veteran received a proper memorial headstone or marker
at the place of his or her interment as provided in 38 U.S.C.,
Section 2306 or that a memorial headstone or marker meeting the same
physical standards for size, material, composition, placement, and
informational content was provided in the event the deceased veteran
did not qualify under the provisions of 38 U.S.C., Section 2306.

D. The Executive Director of the Oklahoma Department of
Veterans Affairs or his or her designee shall make final approval of
the Dignity in Burial Act applications, shall determine whether the
deceased meets eligibility criteria, and may approve funds to
reimburse the costs of interment or cremation.

E. Reimbursement shall be paid from the Indigent Veteran Burial
Revolving Fund as provided in Section 34 of Title 72 of the Oklahoma
Statutes this title. If there are insufficient resources in the
Indigent Veteran Burial Revolving Fund, payment shall be made from
the Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs Revolving Fund.

F. An application process for the implementation of this
program shall be developed by the Oklahoma Department of Veterans
Affairs.

G. Rules for the implementation of this program shall be
promulgated by the Oklahoma Veterans Commission.

SECTION 3. This act shall become effective November 1, 2026.

ENR. S. B. NO. 1533 Page 5
Passed the Senate the 3rd day of March, 2026.

Presiding Officer of the Senate

Passed the House of Representatives the 28th day of April, 2026.

Presiding Officer of the House
of Representatives

OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
Received by the Office of the Governor this ____________________
day of ___________________, 20_______, at _______ o'clock _______ M.
By: _________________________________
Approved by the Governor of the State of Oklahoma this _________
day of ___________________, 20_______, at _______ o'clock _______ M.

_________________________________
Governor of the State of Oklahoma

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE
Received by the Office of the Secretary of State this __________
day of __________________, 20 _______, at _______ o'clock _______ M.
By: _________________________________