103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
HB4680

 

Introduced 2/6/2024, by Rep. Cyril Nichols

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
330 ILCS 46/1
330 ILCS 46/5
330 ILCS 46/10
330 ILCS 46/15
330 ILCS 46/20
330 ILCS 46/25
330 ILCS 46/30
330 ILCS 46/35
330 ILCS 46/40
330 ILCS 46/45
330 ILCS 46/50

    Amends the Veteran Service Organizations State Charter Act. Changes the name of the Act to the Veteran Service Organizations Equal Act. Provides that a veteran service organization shall be considered to have veteran service organization status (rather than shall be considered state chartered) when the organization meets all of the requirements listed in the Act and the organization's application for veteran service organization status (rather than state charter status) has been approved by the Attorney General. Makes corresponding changes throughout the Act. Provides that the Attorney General shall grant veteran service organization status (rather than state charter status) to any organization that has demonstrated that all requirements for obtaining veteran service organization status (rather than state charter status) have been met. Requires a veteran service organization to have annual expenditures that demonstrate that 20% (rather than a majority) of the organization's expenses reflect support for veterans in order to qualify for veteran service organization status. Requires an application for veteran service organization status to include a statement from the organization's Commander, President, or chief executive officer (rather than all officers of the organization) attesting that all requirements for a veteran service organization status have been met.


LRB103 35113 KTG 65070 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB4680LRB103 35113 KTG 65070 b

1    AN ACT concerning veterans.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Veteran Service Organizations State Charter
5Act is amended by changing the title of the Act and Sections 1,
65, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, and 50 as follows:
 
7    (330 ILCS 46/1)
8    (This Section may contain text from a Public Act with a
9delayed effective date)
10    Sec. 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Veteran
11Service Organizations Equal State Charter Act.
12(Source: P.A. 103-405, eff. 1-1-24.)
 
13    (330 ILCS 46/5)
14    (This Section may contain text from a Public Act with a
15delayed effective date)
16    Sec. 5. Veteran service organization status State charter.
17A veteran service organization shall be considered to have
18veteran service organization status state chartered when the
19organization meets all of the requirements listed in this Act
20and the organization's application for veteran service
21organization state charter status has been approved by the
22Attorney General. Upon approval, the Attorney General shall

 

 

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1issue a letter granting veteran service organization state
2charter status to the organization.
3(Source: P.A. 103-405, eff. 1-1-24.)
 
4    (330 ILCS 46/10)
5    (This Section may contain text from a Public Act with a
6delayed effective date)
7    Sec. 10. Granting of veteran service organization state
8charter status. The Attorney General shall grant veteran
9service organization state charter status to any organization
10that has demonstrated that all requirements for obtaining
11veteran service organization state charter status have been
12met.
13(Source: P.A. 103-405, eff. 1-1-24.)
 
14    (330 ILCS 46/15)
15    (This Section may contain text from a Public Act with a
16delayed effective date)
17    Sec. 15. Veteran service organization State charter
18requirements. To qualify for veteran service organization
19state charter status, a veteran service organization must:
20        (1)(A) Have been formed by and for veterans, have a
21    board where a majority of its members are veterans, and
22    have annual expenditures that demonstrate that 20% a
23    majority of the organization's expenses reflect support
24    for veterans; or (B) have a paid membership of at least 15

 

 

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1    individuals and be associated with a congressionally
2    chartered organization.
3        (2) Possess tax-exempt status from the Internal
4    Revenue Service either under Section 501(c)(3) or Section
5    501(c)(19) of the Internal Revenue Code and have the
6    primary charitable purpose of providing service or
7    assistance to veterans, their spouses, or their
8    dependents.
9        (3) Possess a current certificate of good standing as
10    an Illinois registered not-for-profit organization from
11    the Secretary of State.
12        (4) Obtain and maintain ongoing registration and
13    compliance under the Charitable Trust Act with the
14    Charitable Trust Bureau of the Attorney General's Office
15    or substantiation for an exemption.
16        (5) For organizations with veteran service officers,
17    demonstrate that each veteran service officer possesses a
18    valid U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs accreditation or
19    that such accreditation is pending.
20        (6) Comply with the methods and criteria set forth
21    under Section 9 of the Military Veterans Assistance Act if
22    the veteran service organization has delegates and
23    alternates or is in the process of selecting and
24    submitting delegates and alternates to a county Veterans
25    Assistance Commission at the time of application for
26    veteran service organization State charter status.

 

 

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1(Source: P.A. 103-405, eff. 1-1-24.)
 
2    (330 ILCS 46/20)
3    (This Section may contain text from a Public Act with a
4delayed effective date)
5    Sec. 20. Application for veteran service organization
6state charter status. A veteran service organization may
7submit an application for veteran service organization state
8charter status to the Attorney General. All supporting
9documentation demonstrating that each of the requirements
10listed in this Act have been met shall be provided with the
11application.
12(Source: P.A. 103-405, eff. 1-1-24.)
 
13    (330 ILCS 46/25)
14    (This Section may contain text from a Public Act with a
15delayed effective date)
16    Sec. 25. Attestation of compliance. Any application for
17veteran service organization state charter status shall
18include the following statement, from the Commander,
19President, or chief executive officer: "I, on organizational
20letterhead and signed by all officers: "All officers for
21(insert lawful organizational name of the Commander,
22President, or chief executive officer) do hereby attest that
23all requirements for a veteran service organization status
24state charter have been met, that there are no past or ongoing

 

 

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1enforcement actions or lawsuits against the organization or
2any of its officers for violations or suspected violations of
3the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act, or
4the Military Veterans Assistance Act, and that we will notify
5the Attorney General within 30 days if, at any point, the
6organization no longer meets one or more of the requirements
7for veteran service organization state charter status."
8(Source: P.A. 103-405, eff. 1-1-24.)
 
9    (330 ILCS 46/30)
10    (This Section may contain text from a Public Act with a
11delayed effective date)
12    Sec. 30. Denial of veteran service organization state
13charter. The Attorney General shall deny an application for
14veteran service organization state charter status to any
15organization that does not meet all the requirements for
16veteran service organization state charter status in Section
1715. Any organization whose veteran service organization state
18charter application has been denied may resubmit that
19application once all deficiencies have been corrected.
20(Source: P.A. 103-405, eff. 1-1-24.)
 
21    (330 ILCS 46/35)
22    (This Section may contain text from a Public Act with a
23delayed effective date)
24    Sec. 35. Duration of veteran service organization state

 

 

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1charter status. Veteran service organization State charter
2status shall be valid for 3 years. A veteran service
3organization must reapply for veteran service organization
4state charter status at least 120 days prior to the expiration
5of its current state charter status.
6(Source: P.A. 103-405, eff. 1-1-24.)
 
7    (330 ILCS 46/40)
8    (This Section may contain text from a Public Act with a
9delayed effective date)
10    Sec. 40. Revocation. If the Attorney General is made
11aware, either through notification as provided in Section 30
12or through other information or evidence, that an organization
13that has been granted veteran service organization state
14charter status no longer meets one or more of the requirements
15of Section 15, the Attorney General may revoke the veteran
16service organization state charter status. Nothing in this
17Section is intended to take away or limit any powers of the
18Attorney General under common law or other statutory law, and
19the Attorney General may, in his or her sole discretion,
20request that a court revoke veteran service organization state
21charter status based on other conduct not specifically listed
22in this Section.
23(Source: P.A. 103-405, eff. 1-1-24.)
 
24    (330 ILCS 46/45)

 

 

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1    (This Section may contain text from a Public Act with a
2delayed effective date)
3    Sec. 45. Publication of state chartered veteran service
4organizations. The Attorney General shall maintain a publicly
5accessible list of state chartered veteran service
6organizations that are granted status in accordance with this
7Act.
8(Source: P.A. 103-405, eff. 1-1-24.)
 
9    (330 ILCS 46/50)
10    (This Section may contain text from a Public Act with a
11delayed effective date)
12    Sec. 50. Violation; remedies. It is a violation of Section
139 of the Military Veterans Assistance Act for any person,
14group, or entity to assert veteran service organization state
15charter status where such status has not been granted in
16accordance with this Act or where such status has been
17revoked. In addition to any other remedies, a court may assess
18a civil penalty not to exceed $5,000 for each violation of this
19Act.
20(Source: P.A. 103-405, eff. 1-1-24.)