HB4996enr 93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB4996 Enrolled 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 5. The Military Code of Illinois is amended by changing Section 22-9 as follows:

(20 ILCS 1805/22-9)

Sec. 22-9. Power to make grants from the Illinois Military Family Relief Fund. Subject to appropriation, the Department of Military Affairs shall have the power to make grants from the Illinois Military Family Relief Fund, a special fund created in the State treasury, to single persons who are members of the Illinois National Guard or Illinois residents who are members of the reserves of the armed forces of the United States and who have been called to active duty as a result of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and to families of persons who are members of the Illinois National Guard or Illinois residents who are members of the reserves of the armed forces of the United States and who have been called to active duty as a result of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The Department of Military Affairs shall establish eligibility criteria for the grants by rule.

In addition to amounts transferred into the Fund under Section 510 of the Illinois Income Tax Act, the State Treasurer shall accept and deposit into the Fund all gifts, grants, transfers, appropriations, and other amounts from any legal source, public or private, that are designated for deposit into the Fund.

(Source: P.A. 92-886, eff. 2-7-03; 93-506, eff. 8-11-03.)

Section 10. The Survivors Compensation Act is amended by adding Section 4 as follows:

(330 ILCS 100/4 new)

Sec. 4. Compensation in connection with deceased veterans of the Global War on Terrorism.

(a) The widow or widower, child or children, mother, father, persons standing in loco parentis, brothers and sisters, in the order named, of any deceased person if (i) that person was a resident of Illinois for at least 12 months immediately preceding entry into military service and (ii) that person's death was service-connected as a result of hostile action 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 shall be paid $3,000.

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

(c) No right or claim to compensation under this Section may be assigned.

(d) The Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs has complete charge and control of the general scheme of payments authorized by this Section 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.

(e) If the person to whom compensation is payable under this Section 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.

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