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Public Act 096-1063
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| HB6059 Enrolled | LRB096 20602 RCE 36306 b |
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AN ACT concerning government.
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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 |
Illinois Holocaust and Genocide Commission Act.
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Section 5. Definitions. In this Act: |
"Commission" means the Illinois Holocaust and Genocide |
Commission.
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"Genocide" means any of the following acts committed with |
intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, |
racial, or religious group as such:
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(1) killing members of the group;
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(2) causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of |
the group;
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(3) deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of |
life calculated to bring about the group's physical |
destruction in whole or in part;
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(4) imposing measures intended to prevent births |
within the group; or
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(5) forcibly transferring children of the group to |
another group.
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"Holocaust" means the killing of approximately 6,000,000 |
Jews and millions of other persons during World War II by the |
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National Socialist German Workers' Party (Nazis) and Nazi |
collaborators as part of a state-sponsored, systematic program |
of genocide and other actions of persecution, discrimination, |
violence, or other human rights violations committed by the |
Nazis and Nazi collaborators against those persons.
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Section 10. Composition of the Commission. |
(a) The Commission is composed of 18 members as follows:
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(1) 15 public members appointed by the Governor; and
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(2) 3 ex officio members as follows:
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(A) the State Superintendent of Education;
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(B) the Executive Director of the Board of Higher |
Education; and
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(C) the Director of Veterans' Affairs.
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(b) The President and Minority Leader of the Senate shall |
each designate a member of the Senate and the Speaker and |
Minority Leader of the House of Representatives shall each |
designate a member of the House to advise the Commission.
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Section 15. Public members; eligibility; appointment; |
vacancy. |
(a) A person appointed as a public member of the Commission |
must be a resident of this State.
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(b) Public members of the Commission must include:
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(1) persons who have served prominently as leaders of |
or spokespersons for public or private organizations that |
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serve members of religious, ethnic, national heritage, or |
social groups that were subjected to the Holocaust or other |
genocides;
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(2) persons who have significant professional |
experience in the field of Holocaust or genocide education;
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(3) persons who represent liberators of Holocaust or |
other genocide victims; and
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(4) persons who have demonstrated a significant, |
particular interest in Holocaust or genocide education.
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(c) Appointments of public members to the Commission shall |
be made:
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(1) without regard to the race, color, disability, sex, |
religion, age, or national origin of an appointee; and
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(2) so that each geographic area of this State is |
represented on the Commission.
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(d) The original appointing authority shall fill any |
vacancy in an appointed position on the Commission for the |
unexpired portion of the term.
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Section 20. Ex officio members; eligibility; designation |
of representative.
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(a) An ex officio member of the Commission vacates the |
person's position on the Commission if the person ceases to |
hold the position that qualifies the person for service on the |
Commission.
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(b) An ex officio member may designate a representative to |
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serve on the Commission in the member's absence. A |
representative designated under this subsection must be an |
officer or employee of the State agency that employs the ex |
officio member.
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Section 25. Removal of a public member. |
(a) It is a ground for removal of a public member from the |
Commission if the member: |
(1) is ineligible for public membership under Section |
15(a);
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(2) cannot because of illness or disability discharge |
the member's duties for a substantial part of the term for |
which the member is appointed; or
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(3) is absent from more than 3 consecutive regularly |
scheduled Commission meetings that the member is eligible |
to attend during a calendar year unless the absence is |
excused by majority vote of the Commission.
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(b) The validity of an action of the Commission is not |
affected by the fact that it is taken when a ground for removal |
of a Commission member exists.
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(c) If a member of the Commission has knowledge that a |
potential ground for removal exists, the member shall notify |
the presiding officer of the Commission of the potential |
ground. The presiding officer shall then notify the Governor |
and the Attorney General that a potential ground for removal |
exists.
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Section 30. Term of public member. |
(a) A public member of the Commission serves a term of 4 |
years, except that the terms of the initial members shall |
expire on February 1, 2015.
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(b) A public member is eligible for reappointment to |
another term or part of a term.
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(c) A public member may not serve more than 2 consecutive |
terms. For purposes of this prohibition, a member is considered |
to have served a term only if the member has served more than |
half of the term.
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Section 35. Officers; subcommittees. |
(a) The Governor shall designate a public member of the |
Commission as presiding officer to serve in that capacity at |
the pleasure of the Governor.
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(b) The presiding officer of the Commission may appoint a |
subcommittee for any purpose consistent with the duties of the |
Commission under this Act.
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Section 40. Compensation; expenses. |
(a) A public member of the Commission is not entitled to |
compensation but is entitled to reimbursement for the travel |
expenses incurred by the member while transacting Commission |
business, as provided in Section 50.
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(b) An ex officio member's service on the Commission is an |
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additional duty of the underlying position that qualifies the |
member for service on the Commission. The entitlement of an ex |
officio member to compensation or to reimbursement for travel |
expenses incurred while transacting Commission business is |
governed by the law that applies to the member's service in |
that underlying position, and any payment to the member for |
either purpose must be made from an appropriation that may be |
used for the purpose and is available to the State agency that |
the member serves in that underlying position.
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Section 45. Meetings; quorum; voting; public access. |
(a) The Commission shall meet at least quarterly at the |
times and places in this State that the Commission designates.
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(b) Seven voting members of the Commission constitute a |
quorum for transacting Commission business.
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(c) An ex officio member of the Commission may not vote on |
Commission business.
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(d) The Commission shall develop and implement policies |
that provide the public with a reasonable opportunity to appear |
before the Commission and speak on any issue under the |
jurisdiction of the Commission.
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Section 55. General powers and duties of the Commission. |
(a) The Commission shall:
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(1) provide advice and assistance to public and private |
elementary and secondary schools and institutions of |
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higher education in this State regarding implementation of |
Holocaust and genocide courses of study and awareness |
programs;
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(2) meet with appropriate representatives of public |
and private organizations, including service |
organizations, to provide information on and to assist in |
planning, coordinating, or modifying Holocaust and |
genocide courses of study and awareness programs;
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(3) determine which, if any, existing Holocaust or |
other genocide memorials, exhibits, or other resources |
could be included in or used to support Holocaust and |
genocide courses of study and awareness programs;
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(4) compile a list of volunteers, such as Holocaust or |
other genocide survivors, liberators of concentration |
camps, scholars, and members of the clergy, who have agreed |
to share, in classrooms, seminars, exhibits, or workshops, |
their verifiable knowledge and experiences regarding the |
Holocaust or other genocide;
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(5) coordinate events in this State memorializing the |
Holocaust and other genocides on January 27, International |
Holocaust Remembrance Day, on the Days of Remembrance |
established by the United States Congress, or on any other |
day designated by the Commission for that purpose; and
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(6) solicit volunteers to participate in commemorative |
events designed to enhance public awareness of the |
continuing significance of the Holocaust and other |
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genocides.
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(b) In implementing subsection (a)(3), the Commission may |
contact and cooperate with:
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(1) existing public or private Holocaust or other |
genocide resource organizations, including the United |
States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the Illinois |
Holocaust Museum and Education Center;
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(2) other museums, centers, and organizations based in |
this State;
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(3) the State Board of Education and the Board of |
Higher Education; and
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(4) members of the United States Congress and of the |
Illinois General Assembly.
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(c) The Commission shall adopt rules as necessary for its |
own procedures.
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(d) The Commission may appoint advisory committees to |
advise the Commission.
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Section 60. Funding. |
(a) The Commission may accept monetary gifts and grants |
from any public or private source, to be held in a |
non-appropriated trust fund by the State Treasurer and expended |
solely for the use of the Commission in performing the |
Commission's powers and duties under this Act.
The Commission |
may also accept in-kind gifts. |
(b) The Department of Natural Resources may cooperate with |