Public Act 096-0093
 		





HB4212 Enrolled
LRB096 04705 AJO 14767 b






    AN ACT concerning military and veterans courts.

 
    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 
Military and Veterans Courts Act.
 
    Section 5. Purposes. The General Assembly recognizes that 
military members and military veterans may  have certain 
service-related conditions that may apply in a court of law. 
There is a critical need for a military and veterans justice 
system that will take into account service-related mental 
health problems as well as circumstances surrounding 
deployment. It is the intent of the General Assembly to create 
a Military and Veterans Court Task Force to investigate and 
develop a statutory basis for a specialized military and 
veterans court system with the necessary flexibility to meet 
unique service-related problems in the State of Illinois. The 
General Assembly recognizes that
the  use  and  abuse  of  alcohol 
or  drugs,  mental health conditions, and problematic social 
interactions that affect and confront some veterans and members 
of the armed services on active duty have a dramatic effect on 
the
justice system in the State of Illinois. There is  a

critical need for a military and veterans  justice system 
program that will
recognize and address the unique problems and 
circumstances faced by veterans and members of the armed forces 
on active duty and the legal issues that are impacted by those 
problems and circumstances so as to reduce  the incidence of 
violence, drug use, drug addiction, alcohol use, alcohol 
addiction, mental health conditions, and crimes
committed by 
some veterans and members of the armed services on active duty.  
It  is
the intent of the General Assembly to create the Military 
and  Veterans
Court Task Force  to address  these challenges 
facing the State of Illinois.

 
    Section 10. Task Force established. 
    (a) There is established the Military and Veterans Court 
Task Force.
    (b) The Governor's Office shall
provide administrative 
support to the Task Force as needed.
 
    Section 15. Membership; chair; meetings; quorum.      
    (a) The Military and Veterans Court Task Force shall be 
appointed as follows:
        One member appointed by the Governor;
        
        One member appointed by the
    Attorney General;
        One member  appointed by the President of the Senate;
        
        One member appointed by the Minority Leader of the
    
    Senate;
        
        One member  appointed by the Speaker of the House of
    
    Representatives;
        One member appointed by the Minority Leader of the
    
    House of Representatives;
        One member, with experience with the Veterans Court in 
    Cook County, appointed  by the Chief Judge of the Circuit 
    Court in Cook County;
        One member, with experience with the Veterans Court in 
    Madison County, appointed  by the Chief Judge of the Third 
    Judicial Circuit;
        One member, with experience with the John Marshall Law 
    School's Veterans Legal Support Center and Clinic, 
    appointed by the Dean of the John Marshall Law School;
        One member, with experience with the Southern Illinois 
    University School of Law's Veterans' Legal Assistance 
    Program, appointed by the Dean of the School of Law of 
    Southern Illinois University; and
        One member appointed by the Dean of the College of Law 
    at the University of Illinois.
    (b) The member appointed by the Governor shall serve as the 
chair of the Task Force.
    (c) The Task Force members shall receive no salary for

serving, but shall be reimbursed for reasonable expenses 
incurred as a result of their duties as members of the Task 
Force from funds appropriated by the General Assembly for that 
purpose, or from funds obtained from sources other than the 
General Assembly. 
    (d) A majority of the members of the Task Force shall 
constitute a quorum.
    (e)  The Task Force shall study and recommend to the General 
Assembly a system of military and veterans courts, which shall 
supplement and not replace the existing court system.   The Task 
Force shall make recommendations consistent with the goal that 
the

military and veterans courts can be established on or after 
June 1, 2010.  The Task Force shall make its report to the 
General Assembly on or before November 1, 2009.
    (f)  The Task Force shall meet at least once every 2 weeks, 
and more frequently as necessary, at the call of the chair, and 
shall report its findings to the General Assembly as 
expeditiously as possible.  Task Force meetings shall be held in 
a manner to accommodate participation by members in person or 
by use of telecommunication technology.
    (g)  Task Force recommendations shall take effect upon the 
effective date of a Public Act that enacts them.
    (h)  The Task Force is abolished June 1, 2010.
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 
becoming law.