100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2017 and 2018
SB1398

 

Introduced 2/9/2017, by Sen. Michael E. Hastings

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
20 ILCS 2805/37

    Amends the Department of Veterans Affairs Act. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning the Illinois Joining Forces Foundation.


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A BILL FOR

 

SB1398LRB100 11128 MJP 21394 b

1    AN ACT concerning State government.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Department of Veterans Affairs Act is
5amended by changing Section 37 as follows:
 
6    (20 ILCS 2805/37)
7    Sec. 37. Illinois Joining Forces Foundation.
8    (a) The General Assembly finds that that navigating the
9"sea of goodwill" for those who serve in uniform is one of the
10greatest challenges that transitioning veterans face; as a
11result, they risk being unable to access many of the federal,
12State, and non-profit resources available to them. Recognizing
13this problem, the Department of Veterans' Affairs and the
14Department of Military Affairs acted to establish the Illinois
15Joining Forces initiative, a public-private network of
16military and veteran-serving organizations that are working
17together, in person and online, to create a no-wrong-door
18system of support for the State's military and veteran
19communities. Illinois Joining Forces is a nation-leading
20model, awarded by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and
21the National Association of State Directors of Veterans Affairs
22for its groundbreaking work in creating smarter, collaborative
23community support for those in uniform, past and present. The

 

 

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1foundation created by this amendatory Act of the 98th General
2Assembly will serve to ensure the long-term sustainability of
3Illinois Joining Forces, which is critically important for the
4support of the State's military and veteran communities.
5    (b) The Illinois Joining Forces Foundation shall benefit
6service members, veterans, and their families by:
7        (1) convening military and veteran support
8    organizations, through Illinois Joining Forces working
9    groups, to build cross-sector relationships and mutual
10    awareness;
11        (2) providing policy recommendations through Illinois
12    Joining Forces member working groups to the Illinois
13    Discharged Servicemember Task Force and the Illinois
14    Veterans' Advisory Council;
15        (3) facilitating the transfer of information and
16    knowledge among Illinois Joining Forces member
17    organizations;
18        (4) maintaining and continuing to build the
19    no-wrong-door online navigation platform;
20        (5) educating Illinois Joining Forces members and
21    other community providers regarding military and veteran
22    culture and needs, thus improving the collective capacity
23    of the support system; and
24        (6) outreaching directly to service members, veterans,
25    and their families regarding the no-wrong-door system that
26    Illinois Joining Forces provides to them.

 

 

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1    (c) For the purpose of this Section, "veterans service
2organization" means an organization that meets all of the
3following criteria:
4        (1) The organization is formed by and for United States
5    military veterans.
6        (2) The organization is chartered by the United States
7    Congress and incorporated in the State of Illinois.
8        (3) The organization has maintained a State
9    headquarters office in Illinois for the 10-year period
10    immediately preceding the effective date of this
11    amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly.
12        (4) The organization maintains at least one office in
13    this State, staffed by a veterans service officer.
14        (5) The organization is capable of preparing a power of
15    attorney for a veteran and processing claims for veterans
16    services.
17        (6) The organization is not funded by the State of
18    Illinois or by any county in this State.
19    (d) The General Assembly authorizes the Department of
20Veterans' Affairs, in accordance with Section 10 of the State
21Agency Entity Creation Act, to create the Illinois Joining
22Forces Foundation as a not-for-profit foundation. The
23Department shall file articles of incorporation as required
24under the General Not For Profit Corporation Act of 1986 to
25create the Foundation. The Foundation's Board of Directors
26shall be appointed as follows: one member appointed by the

 

 

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1Governor; one member appointed by the President of the Senate;
2one member appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate; one
3member appointed by the Speaker of the House of
4Representatives; one member appointed by the Minority Leader of
5the House of Representatives; and all of the members of the
6Illinois Joining Forces Executive Committee, who shall be
7appointed by the Director of Veterans' Affairs. In addition to
8any veterans service organization otherwise represented on the
9Board of Directors, a veterans service organization may
10designate in writing an ex officio, non-voting participant to
11the Board of Directors. Any veterans service organization
12appointee under this Section does not count towards a quorum.
13The Director of Veterans' Affairs and a designee chosen by the
14Director of Military Affairs who is a senior management
15official of the Department of Military Affairs with the
16authority to make decisions on behalf of the agency shall serve
17as members of the Foundation's Board of Directors. Board of
18Director appointments shall be for 2-year terms. Vacancies
19shall be filled by the official who made the recommendation for
20the vacated appointment. No member of the Board of Directors
21may receive compensation for his or her services to the
22Foundation. Upon appointment, the Board of Directors, as
23members of a public entity, shall be represented and
24indemnified pursuant to the requirements of the State Employee
25Indemnification Act.
26    (e) The purposes of the Foundation are to: promote,

 

 

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1support, assist, and sustain Illinois Joining Forces
2operations; solicit and accept grants and private donations and
3disburse them for the stated intent of the Foundation or the
4private donor; solicit and generate public and private funding
5and donations that assist in enhancing the Illinois Joining
6Forces mission, services, programs, and operations; and engage
7generally in other lawful endeavors consistent with the
8foregoing purposes. The foundation shall operate within the
9provisions of the General Not For Profit Corporation Act of
101986.
11    (f) As soon as practicable after the Foundation is created,
12the Board of Directors shall meet, organize, and designate, by
13majority vote, a chairperson, a treasurer, a secretary, and any
14additional officers that may be needed to carry out the
15activities of the Foundation and shall adopt bylaws of the
16Foundation. The Department of Veterans' Affairs, in
17consultation with the Department of Military Affairs, may adopt
18other rules deemed necessary to govern Foundation procedures.
19    (g) The Foundation may request and accept gifts, grants,
20donations, or bequests from the federal government or its
21agencies or officers or from any person, firm, or corporation,
22and may expend receipts on activities that it considers
23suitable to the performance of its duties under this Section
24and consistent with any requirement of the grant, gift,
25donation, or bequest. Funds collected by the Foundation shall
26be considered private funds and shall be held in an appropriate

 

 

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1account outside of the State treasury. Private funds collected
2by the Foundation are not subject to the Public Funds
3Investment Act. The treasurer of the Foundation shall be the
4custodian of all Foundation funds. The treasurer shall be
5required to obtain a fidelity or surety bond on satisfactory
6terms and in sufficient amounts to protect the interests of the
7Foundation, the cost of which shall be reimbursed by the
8Foundation. The Foundation and its officers shall be
9responsible for the approval of the recording of receipts,
10approval of payments, and the proper filing of required
11reports. The Foundation may be assisted in carrying out its
12functions by Department of Military Affairs and Department of
13Veterans' Affairs personnel. The Department of Military
14Affairs and the Department of Veterans' Affairs shall provide
15reasonable assistance to the Foundation to achieve the purposes
16of the Foundation as determined by the respective Directors.
17The Foundation shall cooperate fully with the boards,
18commissions, agencies, departments, and institutions of the
19State. The funds held and made available by the Illinois
20Joining Forces Foundation shall be subject to financial and
21compliance audits in accordance with the Illinois State
22Auditing Act. The Foundation shall not have any power of
23eminent domain. The Foundation shall not construct or make any
24permanent improvements to any real property.
25    (h) The Foundation must provide a written notice to any
26entity providing a gift, grant, donation, or bequest to the

 

 

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1Foundation that the Foundation is not subject to the provisions
2of the Public Funds Investment Act, which Act places
3limitations on the types of securities in which a public agency
4may invest public funds.
5    (i) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, the Foundation
6is not eligible for any grant administered or funded by the
7Department of Veterans' Affairs or the Department of Military
8Affairs.
9(Source: P.A. 98-986, eff. 8-18-14.)