(a) It is hereby found and determined by the Seventy-Eighth Arkansas General Assembly that many thousands of Arkansans served in the armed services of the United States in World War I, World War II, the Korean Conflict, the Vietnam War, and, now, the War in the Persian Gulf, and that many of these veterans have not fully received the honors and recognition deserving of those citizens from a thankful state and nation and that an appropriate monument should be established on the State Capitol grounds as a symbol to honor those men and women who gave their lives and who served with honor in the military service of their nation during war.

(b) The Secretary of State is hereby authorized and directed to cause to be constructed and maintained on the State Capitol grounds an appropriate monument to all the Arkansas veterans of the wars and military conflicts of the twentieth century after an appropriate design has been selected and when adequate funds for the construction thereof are deposited into the Arkansas Military War Veterans Monument Fund herein created.

(c) (1) There is hereby created the Arkansas Military War Veterans Monument Design Selection Committee. The design selection committee shall consist of six (6) members designated as follows:

(A) Five (5) members shall be Arkansas military war veterans from a war or conflict in the Twentieth Century and selected by the Secretary of State. He or she shall select at least one (1) member each representing the military war veterans of World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the War in the Persian Gulf.

(B) One (1) member shall be the Secretary of State or his or her designee.

(2) The design selection committee shall meet at such times as it shall determine to be necessary to select a design and site for the Arkansas Military War Veterans Monument. The monument shall be of such size and design to provide for a specific place of honor for the Arkansas war veterans of each of the specific twentieth-century conflicts.

(3) The design and site selection shall be subject to the approval of the Capitol Zoning District Commission created under § 22-3-301 et seq.

(4) The Secretary of State is hereby authorized to accept gifts, grants, and donations from individuals and organizations, to be deposited as trust funds into the Arkansas Military War Veterans Monument Fund which is hereby created on the books of the Treasurer of State, the Auditor of State, and the Chief Fiscal Officer of the State. All funds deposited into the Arkansas Military War Veterans Monument Fund shall be used exclusively for the purpose of constructing and erecting a monument in the memory and recognition of the military war veterans of the State of Arkansas.