Rep. Michael W. Tryon

Filed: 3/31/2009

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 4212

2     AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 4212 by replacing
3 everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
4     "Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5 Military and Veterans Courts Act.
 
6     Section 5. Purposes. The General Assembly recognizes that
7 military members and military veterans may have certain
8 service-related conditions that may apply in a court of law.
9 There is a critical need for a military and veterans justice
10 system that will take into account service-related mental
11 health problems as well as circumstances surrounding
12 deployment. It is the intent of the General Assembly to create
13 a Military and Veterans Court Task Force to investigate and
14 develop a statutory basis for a specialized military and
15 veterans court system with the necessary flexibility to meet
16 unique service-related problems in the State of Illinois. The

 

 

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1 General Assembly recognizes that the use and abuse of alcohol
2 or drugs, mental health conditions, and problematic social
3 interactions that affect and confront some veterans and members
4 of the armed services on active duty have a dramatic effect on
5 the justice system in the State of Illinois. There is a
6 critical need for a military and veterans justice system
7 program that will recognize and address the unique problems and
8 circumstances faced by veterans and members of the armed forces
9 on active duty and the legal issues that are impacted by those
10 problems and circumstances so as to reduce the incidence of
11 violence, drug use, drug addiction, alcohol use, alcohol
12 addiction, mental health conditions, and crimes committed by
13 some veterans and members of the armed services on active duty.
14 It is the intent of the General Assembly to create the Military
15 and Veterans Court Task Force to address these challenges
16 facing the State of Illinois.
 
17     Section 10. Task Force established.
18     (a) There is established the Military and Veterans Court
19 Task Force.
20     (b) The Governor's office shall provide administrative
21 support to the Task Force as needed.
 
22     Section 15. Membership; chair; meetings; quorum.
23     (a) The Military and Veterans Court Task Force shall be
24 appointed as follows:

 

 

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1         One member appointed by the Governor;
2         One member appointed by the Attorney General;
3         One member appointed by the President of the Senate;
4         One member appointed by the Minority Leader of the
5     Senate;
6         One member appointed by the Speaker of the House of
7     Representatives;
8         One member appointed by the Minority Leader of the
9     House of Representatives;
10         One member, with experience with the Veterans Court in
11     Cook County, appointed by the Chief Judge of the Circuit
12     Court in Cook County;
13         One member, with experience with the Veterans Court in
14     Madison County, appointed by the Chief Judge of the Third
15     Judicial Circuit;
16         One member, with experience with the John Marshall Law
17     School's Veterans Legal Support Center and Clinic,
18     appointed by the Dean of the John Marshall Law School;
19         One member, with experience with the Southern Illinois
20     University School of Law's Veterans' Legal Assistance
21     Program, appointed by the Dean of the School of Law of
22     Southern Illinois University; and
23         One member appointed by the Dean of the College of Law
24     at the University of Illinois.
25     (b) The member appointed by the Governor shall serve as the
26 chair of the Task Force.

 

 

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1     (c) The Task Force members shall receive no salary for
2 serving, but shall be reimbursed for reasonable expenses
3 incurred as a result of their duties as members of the Task
4 Force from funds appropriated by the General Assembly for that
5 purpose, or from funds obtained from sources other than the
6 General Assembly.
7     (d) A majority of the members of the Task Force shall
8 constitute a quorum.
9     (e) The Task Force shall study and recommend to the General
10 Assembly a system of military and veterans courts, which shall
11 supplement and not replace the existing court system. The Task
12 Force shall make recommendations consistent with the goal that
13 the military and veterans courts can be established on or after
14 on June 1, 2010. The Task Force shall make its report to the
15 General Assembly on or before November 1, 2009.
16     (f) The Task Force shall meet at least once every 2 weeks,
17 and more frequently as necessary, at the call of the chair, and
18 shall report its findings to the General Assembly as
19 expeditiously as possible. Task Force meetings shall be held in
20 a manner to accommodate participation by members in person or
21 by use of telecommunication technology.
22     (g) Task Force recommendations shall take effect upon the
23 effective date of a Public Act that enacts them.
24     (h) The Task Force is abolished June 1, 2010.
 
25     Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon

 

 

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1 becoming law.".