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| 1 | AN ACT concerning veterans' affairs.
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| 2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| 3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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| 4 | Section 5. The Department of Veterans' Affairs Act is | |||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | amended by changing Section 38 as follows: | |||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | (20 ILCS 2805/38) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | (Section scheduled to be repealed on December 31, 2021) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Sec. 38. Veterans' Service-Related Ailments Task Force. | |||||||||||||||||||
| 9 | (a) The Veterans' Service-Related Ailments Task Force is | |||||||||||||||||||
| 10 | created. The Task Force shall review and make recommendations | |||||||||||||||||||
| 11 | regarding veterans' service-related ailments that are not | |||||||||||||||||||
| 12 | recognized by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, | |||||||||||||||||||
| 13 | including exploring why certain service-related ailments are | |||||||||||||||||||
| 14 | not recognized and determining what may be done to have them | |||||||||||||||||||
| 15 | recognized. | |||||||||||||||||||
| 16 | Additionally, the Task Force shall assess ways the State of | |||||||||||||||||||
| 17 | Illinois can improve the rate at which disability compensation | |||||||||||||||||||
| 18 | claims are approved by the federal government and correct the | |||||||||||||||||||
| 19 | disparity between the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' | |||||||||||||||||||
| 20 | approval of disability compensation for Illinois veterans and | |||||||||||||||||||
| 21 | that which is approved for veterans in other states. | |||||||||||||||||||
| 22 | (b) The Task Force shall have 15 members, comprised as | |||||||||||||||||||
| 23 | follows: | |||||||||||||||||||
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| 1 | (1) The Director of Veterans' Affairs or the Director's | ||||||
| 2 | designee, who shall serve as chairperson. | ||||||
| 3 | (2) 2 Members from the House of Representatives, | ||||||
| 4 | appointed one each by the Speaker of the House and the | ||||||
| 5 | House Minority Leader. | ||||||
| 6 | (3) 2 Members of the Senate, appointed one each by the | ||||||
| 7 | President of the Senate and the Senate Minority Leader. | ||||||
| 8 | (4) One veteran, appointed by the Director of Veterans' | ||||||
| 9 | Affairs. | ||||||
| 10 | (5) One medical professional with experience working | ||||||
| 11 | with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, appointed by | ||||||
| 12 | the Director of Veterans' Affairs. | ||||||
| 13 | (6) 4 representatives from a variety of veterans | ||||||
| 14 | organizations representing geographic diversity in the | ||||||
| 15 | State, appointed by the Director of Veterans' Affairs. | ||||||
| 16 | (7) 4 members, one of whom shall be appointed by the | ||||||
| 17 | chair of the Veterans' Affairs Committee of the House of | ||||||
| 18 | Representatives, one of whom shall be appointed by the | ||||||
| 19 | minority spokesperson of the Veterans' Affairs Committee | ||||||
| 20 | of the House of Representatives, one of whom shall be | ||||||
| 21 | appointed by the chair of the Veterans Affairs Committee of | ||||||
| 22 | the Senate, and one of whom shall be appointed by the | ||||||
| 23 | minority spokesperson of the Veterans Affairs Committee of | ||||||
| 24 | the Senate. Those appointed to the Task Force under this | ||||||
| 25 | paragraph shall be members of different Illinois counties' | ||||||
| 26 | Veterans Assistance Commissions, Veteran Service Officers, | ||||||
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| 1 | and VITAS officials. | ||||||
| 2 | Task Force members shall serve without compensation but
may | ||||||
| 3 | be reimbursed for their expenses incurred in performing their | ||||||
| 4 | duties. | ||||||
| 5 | (c) The Task Force shall meet at least once every 2 months | ||||||
| 6 | beginning January 1, 2021 July 1, 2019, and at other times as | ||||||
| 7 | determined by the Task Force. | ||||||
| 8 | (d) The Department of Veterans' Affairs shall provide | ||||||
| 9 | administrative and other support to the Task Force. | ||||||
| 10 | (e) The Task Force shall prepare a report that summarizes | ||||||
| 11 | its work and makes recommendations resulting from its study. | ||||||
| 12 | The Task Force shall submit the report of its findings and | ||||||
| 13 | recommendations to the Governor and the General Assembly by | ||||||
| 14 | December 31, 2022 2020. The Task Force is dissolved, and this | ||||||
| 15 | Section is repealed, on December 31, 2023 2021.
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| 16 | (Source: P.A. 101-225, eff. 8-9-19.)
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| 17 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||||||
| 18 | becoming law. | ||||||