Full Text of SB0008 95th General Assembly
SB0008eng 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| AN ACT concerning veterans.
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| Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| represented in the General Assembly:
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| Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the | 5 |
| Veterans' Home Nurses' Loan Repayment Act. | 6 |
| Section 5. Nurse Loan Repayment Program. There is created, | 7 |
| beginning July 1, 2007, the Nurse Loan Repayment Program to be | 8 |
| administered by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission in | 9 |
| consultation with the Department of Veterans' Affairs. The | 10 |
| program shall provide assistance, subject to appropriation, to | 11 |
| eligible nurses. | 12 |
| Section 10. Award; maximum time period; maximum amount.
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| Subject to appropriation, the Commission shall award a grant to | 14 |
| each qualified applicant for a maximum of 4 years. The amount | 15 |
| of this grant may not exceed $5,000 per year. The Commission | 16 |
| shall require the recipient of a grant awarded under the | 17 |
| program to use the grant award for payment of the recipient's | 18 |
| educational loan. | 19 |
| Section 15. Application. All applications for grant | 20 |
| assistance under the program must be made to the Commission in | 21 |
| a form and manner prescribed by the Commission. Applicants |
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| shall also submit any supporting documents deemed necessary by | 2 |
| the Commission at the time of application. | 3 |
| Section 20. Eligibility.
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| (a) The Commission shall, on an annual basis, receive and | 5 |
| consider applications for grant assistance under the program. | 6 |
| An applicant is eligible for a grant under the program if the | 7 |
| Commission finds that the applicant:
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| (1) is a United States citizen or permanent
resident;
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| (2) is a resident of Illinois;
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| (3) is working as a registered professional nurse or | 11 |
| licensed practical nurse in a State veterans' home;
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| (4) is a borrower with an outstanding balance due
on an | 13 |
| educational loan; and
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| (5) has not defaulted on an educational loan.
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| (b) Preference may be given to previous recipients of a | 16 |
| grant under the program, provided that the recipient continues | 17 |
| to meet the eligibility requirements set forth in this Section.
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| (c) A recipient of a grant under the program must fulfill a | 19 |
| separate 12-month period as a registered professional nurse or | 20 |
| licensed practical nurse in a State veterans' home for each | 21 |
| grant that he or she is awarded.
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| Section 900. The Department of Veterans Affairs Act is | 23 |
| amended by adding Sections 8 and 9 as follows: |
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| (20 ILCS 2805/8 new)
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| Sec. 8. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Outpatient | 3 |
| Counseling Program. Subject to appropriations for that | 4 |
| purpose, the Department, in consultation with the Department of | 5 |
| Human Services, shall contract with professional counseling | 6 |
| specialists to provide a range of confidential counseling and | 7 |
| direct treatment services to war-affected Southwest Asia | 8 |
| combat veterans and their family members, and to provide | 9 |
| additional treatment services to Viet Nam War veterans for | 10 |
| post-traumatic stress disorder, particularly those Viet Nam | 11 |
| veterans whose post-traumatic stress disorder has intensified | 12 |
| or initially emerged due to the war in the Middle East. In | 13 |
| consultation with the Department of Human Services, the | 14 |
| Department shall: | 15 |
| (1) develop an educational program designed to inform | 16 |
| and train primary health care professionals, including | 17 |
| mental health professionals, about the effects of | 18 |
| war-related stress and trauma; | 19 |
| (2) provide informational and counseling services for | 20 |
| the purpose of establishing and fostering peer-support | 21 |
| networks throughout the State for families of deployed | 22 |
| members of the reserves and the Illinois National Guard; | 23 |
| and | 24 |
| (3) provide for veterans' families a referral network | 25 |
| of mental health providers who are skilled in treating | 26 |
| deployment stress, combat stress, and post-traumatic |
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| stress. | 2 |
| As used in this Section, "Southwest Asia combat veteran" | 3 |
| means an Illinois resident who is, or who was honorably | 4 |
| discharged as, a member of the Armed Forces of the United | 5 |
| States, a member of the Illinois National Guard, or a member of | 6 |
| any reserve component of the Armed Forces of the United States | 7 |
| and who served on active duty in connection with Operation | 8 |
| Desert Storm, Operation Enduring Freedom, or Operation Iraqi | 9 |
| Freedom. | 10 |
| (20 ILCS 2805/9 new) | 11 |
| Sec. 9. Veterans Conservation Corps. Subject to | 12 |
| appropriations for that purpose, the Department shall create a | 13 |
| list of honorably discharged veterans, particularly those with | 14 |
| post-traumatic stress disorder and related conditions, who are | 15 |
| interested in working on a volunteer basis on projects that | 16 |
| restore Illinois' natural habitat. The list is referred to as | 17 |
| the Veterans Conservation Corps. The Department shall promote | 18 |
| the opportunity to volunteer for the Veterans Conservation | 19 |
| Corps through its field offices and through cooperating | 20 |
| veterans organizations. Only veterans who grant their approval | 21 |
| may be included on the list. The Department shall consult with | 22 |
| the Department of Natural Resources to determine the most | 23 |
| effective way to market the Veterans Conservation Corps to | 24 |
| State agencies and local governmental or not-for-profit | 25 |
| sponsors of habitat restoration projects. |
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| Section 905. The Property Tax Code is amended by changing | 2 |
| Section 15-165 and by adding Section 15-167 as follows:
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| (35 ILCS 200/15-165)
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| Sec. 15-165. Disabled veterans. Property up to an assessed | 5 |
| value of $70,000,
owned and used exclusively by a disabled | 6 |
| veteran, or the spouse or unmarried
surviving spouse of the | 7 |
| veteran, as a home, is exempt. As used in this
Section, a | 8 |
| disabled veteran means a person who has served in the Armed | 9 |
| Forces
of the United States and whose disability is of such a | 10 |
| nature that the Federal
Government has authorized payment for | 11 |
| purchase or construction of Specially
Adapted Housing as set | 12 |
| forth in the United States Code, Title 38, Chapter 21,
Section | 13 |
| 2101.
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| The exemption applies to housing where Federal funds have | 15 |
| been used to
purchase or construct special adaptations to suit | 16 |
| the veteran's disability.
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| The exemption also applies to housing that is specially | 18 |
| adapted to suit the
veteran's disability, and purchased | 19 |
| entirely or in part by the proceeds of a
sale, casualty loss | 20 |
| reimbursement, or other transfer of a home for which the
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| Federal Government had previously authorized payment for | 22 |
| purchase or
construction as Specially Adapted Housing.
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| However, the entire proceeds of the sale, casualty loss | 24 |
| reimbursement, or
other transfer of that housing shall be |
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| applied to the acquisition of
subsequent specially adapted | 2 |
| housing to the extent that the proceeds equal the
purchase | 3 |
| price of the subsequently acquired housing.
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| For purposes of this Section, "unmarried surviving spouse" | 5 |
| means the
surviving spouse of the veteran at any time after the | 6 |
| death of the veteran
during which such surviving spouse is not | 7 |
| married.
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| This exemption must be reestablished on an annual basis by
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| certification from the Illinois Department of Veterans' | 10 |
| Affairs to the
Department, which shall forward a copy of the | 11 |
| certification to local
assessing officials. | 12 |
| A taxpayer who claims an exemption under Section 15-167 may | 13 |
| not claim an exemption under this Section.
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| (Source: P.A. 94-310, eff. 7-25-05.)
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| (35 ILCS 200/15-167 new) | 16 |
| Sec. 15-167. Disabled veterans standard homestead | 17 |
| exemption. | 18 |
| (a) An annual homestead exemption, limited to the amounts | 19 |
| set forth in subsection (b), is granted for property that is | 20 |
| used as a qualified residence by a disabled veteran. | 21 |
| (b) The amount of the exemption under this Section is as | 22 |
| follows: | 23 |
| (1) for veterans with a service-connected disability | 24 |
| of 100%, as certified by the United States Department of | 25 |
| Veterans Affairs, the annual exemption is $15,000; |
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| (2) for veterans with a service-connected disability | 2 |
| of at least 50%, but less than 100%, as certified by the | 3 |
| United States Department of Veterans Affairs, the annual | 4 |
| exemption is $5,000; and | 5 |
| (3) for veterans with a service-connected disability | 6 |
| of at least 20%, but less than 50%, as certified by the | 7 |
| United States Department of Veterans Affairs, the annual | 8 |
| exemption is $2,000. | 9 |
| (c) The tax exemption under this Section carries over to | 10 |
| the benefit of the veteran's
surviving spouse as long as the | 11 |
| spouse holds the legal or
beneficial title to the homestead, | 12 |
| permanently resides
thereon, and does not remarry. If the | 13 |
| surviving spouse sells
the property, an exemption not to exceed | 14 |
| the amount granted
from the most recent ad valorem tax roll may | 15 |
| be transferred to
his or her new residence as long as it is | 16 |
| used as his or her
primary residence and he or she does not | 17 |
| remarry. | 18 |
| (d) The exemption under this Section applies for taxable | 19 |
| year 2007 and thereafter. A taxpayer who claims an exemption | 20 |
| under Section 16-165 may not claim an exemption under this | 21 |
| Section. | 22 |
| (e) For the purposes of this Section: | 23 |
| "Qualified residence" means real
property, but less any | 24 |
| portion of that property that is used for
commercial purposes, | 25 |
| with an equalized assessed value of less than $250,000. | 26 |
| Property rented for more than 6 months is
presumed to be used |
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| for commercial purposes. | 2 |
| "Veteran" means an Illinois resident who has served as a
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| member of the United States Armed Forces on active duty or
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| State active duty, a member of the Illinois National Guard, or
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| a member of the United States Reserve Forces and who has | 6 |
| received an honorable discharge.
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| Section 999. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 8 |
| becoming law.
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