Rep. Wayne Rosenthal

Filed: 5/16/2014

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 3222

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 3222 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
4    "Section 5. The Department of Veterans Affairs Act is
5amended by adding Section 37 as follows:
 
6    (20 ILCS 2805/37 new)
7    Sec. 37. Illinois Joining Forces Foundation.
8    (a) The General Assembly finds that service members and
9veterans across the State of Illinois are frequently
10overwhelmed by the sea of goodwill toward those who serve in
11uniform; service members, veterans, and their families have
12difficulty navigating a fragmented system of support and,
13therefore, end up unable to access many of the federal, State,
14and non-profit resources available to them. Recognizing this
15problem, the Department of Veterans' Affairs and the Department
16of Military Affairs acted to establish the Illinois Joining

 

 

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1Forces initiative, a public-private network of military and
2veteran-serving organizations that are working together, in
3person and online, to create a no-wrong-door system of support
4for the State's military and veteran communities. Illinois
5Joining Forces is a nation-leading model, awarded by the U.S.
6Department of Veterans Affairs and the National Association of
7State Directors of Veterans Affairs for its groundbreaking work
8in creating smarter, collaborative community support for those
9in uniform, past and present. The foundation created by this
10amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly will serve to
11ensure the long-term sustainability of Illinois Joining
12Forces, which is critically important for the support of the
13State's military and veteran communities.
14    (b) The Illinois Joining Forces Foundation shall benefit
15service members, veterans, and their families by:
16        (1) convening military and veteran support
17    organizations, through Illinois Joining Forces working
18    groups, to build cross-sector relationships and mutual
19    awareness;
20        (2) providing policy recommendations through Illinois
21    Joining Forces member working groups to the Illinois
22    Discharged Servicemember Task Force and the Illinois
23    Veterans' Advisory Council;
24        (3) facilitating the transfer of information and
25    knowledge among Illinois Joining Forces member
26    organizations;

 

 

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1        (4) maintaining and continuing to build the
2    no-wrong-door online navigation platform;
3        (5) educating Illinois Joining Forces members and
4    other community providers regarding military and veteran
5    culture and needs, thus improving the collective capacity
6    of the support system; and
7        (6) outreaching directly to service members, veterans,
8    and their families regarding the no-wrong-door system that
9    Illinois Joining Forces provides to them.
10    (c) The General Assembly authorizes the Department of
11Veterans' Affairs, in accordance with Section 10 of the State
12Agency Entity Creation Act, to create the Illinois Joining
13Forces Foundation as a not-for-profit foundation. The
14Department shall file articles of incorporation as required
15under the General Not For Profit Corporation Act of 1986 to
16create the Foundation. The Foundation's Board of Directors
17shall be appointed as follows: one member appointed by the
18Governor; one member appointed by the President of the Senate;
19one member appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate; one
20member appointed by the Speaker of the House of
21Representatives; one member appointed by the Minority Leader of
22the House of Representatives; and all of the members of the
23Illinois Joining Forces Executive Committee, who shall be
24appointed by the Director of Veterans' Affairs. The Director of
25Veterans' Affairs and a designee chosen by the Director of
26Military Affairs who is a senior management official of the

 

 

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1Department of Military Affairs with the authority to make
2decisions on behalf of the agency shall serve as members of the
3Foundation's Board of Directors. Board of Director
4appointments shall be for 2-year terms. Vacancies shall be
5filled by the official who made the recommendation for the
6vacated appointment. No member of the Board of Directors may
7receive compensation for his or her services to the Foundation.
8Upon appointment, the Board of Directors, as members of a
9public entity, shall be represented and indemnified pursuant to
10the requirements of the State Employee Indemnification Act.
11    (d) The purposes of the Foundation are to: promote,
12support, assist, and sustain Illinois Joining Forces
13operations; solicit and accept grants and private donations and
14disburse them for the stated intent of the Foundation or the
15private donor; solicit and generate public and private funding
16and donations that assist in enhancing the Illinois Joining
17Forces mission, services, programs, and operations; and engage
18generally in other lawful endeavors consistent with the
19foregoing purposes. The foundation shall operate within the
20provisions of the General Not For Profit Corporation Act of
211986.
22    (e) As soon as practicable after the Foundation is created,
23the Board of Directors shall meet, organize, and designate, by
24majority vote, a chairperson, a treasurer, a secretary, and any
25additional officers that may be needed to carry out the
26activities of the Foundation and shall adopt bylaws of the

 

 

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1Foundation. The Department of Veterans' Affairs, in
2consultation with the Department of Military Affairs, may adopt
3other rules deemed necessary to govern Foundation procedures.
4    (f) The Foundation may request and accept gifts, grants,
5donations, or bequests from the federal government or its
6agencies or officers or from any person, firm, or corporation,
7and may expend receipts on activities that it considers
8suitable to the performance of its duties under this Section
9and consistent with any requirement of the grant, gift,
10donation, or bequest. Funds collected by the Foundation shall
11be considered private funds and shall be held in an appropriate
12account outside of the State Treasury. Private funds collected
13by the Foundation are not subject to the Public Funds
14Investment Act. The treasurer of the Foundation shall be the
15custodian of all Foundation funds. The treasurer shall be
16required to obtain a fidelity or surety bond on satisfactory
17terms and in sufficient amounts to protect the interests of the
18Foundation, the cost of which shall be reimbursed by the
19Foundation. The Foundation and its officers shall be
20responsible for the approval of the recording of receipts,
21approval of payments, and the proper filing of required
22reports. The Foundation may be assisted in carrying out its
23functions by Department of Military Affairs and Department of
24Veterans' Affairs personnel. The Department of Military
25Affairs and the Department of Veterans' Affairs shall provide
26reasonable assistance to the Foundation to achieve the purposes

 

 

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1of the Foundation as determined by the respective Directors.
2The Foundation shall cooperate fully with the boards,
3commissions, agencies, departments, and institutions of the
4State. The funds held and made available by the Illinois
5Joining Forces Foundation shall be subject to financial and
6compliance audits in accordance with the Illinois State
7Auditing Act. The Foundation shall not have any power of
8eminent domain. The Foundation shall not construct or make any
9permanent improvements to any real property.
10    (g) The Foundation must provide a written notice to any
11entity providing a gift, grant, donation, or bequest to the
12Foundation that the Foundation is not subject to the provisions
13of the Public Funds Investment Act, which Act places
14limitations on the types of securities in which a public agency
15may invest public funds.
 
16    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
17becoming law.".