HB4996eng 93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB4996 Engrossed LRB093 19385 DRJ 45123 b

AN ACT concerning veterans.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Global War on Terrorism Veterans Compensation Act.

Section 5. Compensation; eligibility.

(a) Every person who has served on active duty with the armed forces of the United States on or after September 11, 2001 and prior to such time as Congress declares such persons ineligible for the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal or the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal is entitled to receive compensation of $100 for such service if (i) he or she had been a resident of the State of Illinois for at least 12 months immediately preceding the time he or she entered such service, (ii) he or she is still in active service, is honorably separated or discharged from such service, has been furloughed to a reserve, or has been retired, and (iii) he or she has received the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal or the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal. Service in the merchant marine is not service in the armed forces for purposes of this Act.

(b) No payment may be made under this Section to any person who, though in such service, did civilian work at civilian pay or who has received from another State a bonus or compensation of like nature so provided by this Act.

Section 10. Relatives of deceased veterans.

(a) The widow or widower, child or children, mother, father, person standing in loco parentis, brothers and sisters, in the order named, of any deceased person shall be paid the compensation to which the deceased person would be entitled under Section 5 of this Act. If the deceased person would have qualified for compensation under Section 5 except for his or her death and his or her death was connected with such service and resulted from such service during the time period specified in Section 5, his or her survivors, in the order named in this Section, shall be paid $1000.

(b) If a preceding beneficiary fails to file a claim for compensation after the official notice of death, the Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs may proceed to process applications from succeeding beneficiaries, and those beneficiaries may then proceed to qualify upon submission of satisfactory proof of eligibility.

Section 15. Assessment of right or claim prohibited. No right or claim to compensation under this Act may be assigned.

Section 20. Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs.

(a) The Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs has complete charge and control of the general scheme of payments authorized by this Act and shall adopt general rules for the making of those payments, for the ascertainment and selection of proper beneficiaries and the amount to which those beneficiaries are entitled, and for procedure.

(b) If the person to whom compensation is payable under this Act is under legal disability, the compensation shall be paid to the person legally vested with the care of the legally disabled person under the laws of his or her state of residence. If no such person has been so designated for the legally disabled person, payment shall be made to the chief officer of any hospital or institution under the supervision or control of any state or of the Veterans Administration of the United States in which the legally disabled person is placed, if the officer is authorized to accept moneys for the benefit of the incompetent. Any payments so made shall be held or used solely for the benefit of the legally disabled person.

(c) As used in this Section, a person "under legal disability" means any person found to be so disabled by a court of competent jurisdiction of any state or the District of Columbia or by any adjudication officer of the Veterans Administration of the United States.

Section 25. Application for compensation. Any application for compensation under this Act must be made to the Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.