Some new California laws will offer the state’s 1.6 million veterans more of what they need in life and also what they might want afterward.

More veterans can now obtain a CalVet Home loan at lower, more competitive interest rates. Disabled veterans’ estates will have an easier time securing local property tax exemptions. And finally, deceased veterans can have an American flag with them when cremated.

These are among the laws Governor Gavin Newsom signed in 2021 to take effect in 2022:

• CalVet’s century-old Veterans Home Loan Program got a legislative facelift that will allow the program to better serve a broader population of California veterans.  The changes also will allow CalVet Home Loans to offer more competitive market rates, which both increases the veteran’s buying power by lowering monthly payments, and helps to retain existing veteran borrowers by allowing them to refinance at rates closer to those offered by private sector lenders. Click here to read the entire text of the law.

• Another new law allows the executor, administrator or other legal representative of a living veteran’s estate, or a trustee of a deceased veteran’s trust, to file for a disabled veterans property tax exemption with the county assessor. Click here to read the entire text of the law.

• And a U.S. military veteran can now be cremated with an American flag. The request to the crematorium must be made by the person or persons with the authority to dispose of the veteran’s remains. The new law exempts the process from the United States Code, which otherwise dictates the protocol involving the retirement or disposal of an American flag. Click here to read the entire text of the law.