Full Text of HB0655 96th General Assembly
HB0655enr 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| AN ACT concerning State 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 | 5 |
| Employment and Economic Opportunity for Persons with | 6 |
| Disabilities Task Force Act. | 7 |
| Section 5. Findings. The General Assembly finds as follows: | 8 |
| (1) That there are many qualified persons with | 9 |
| disabilities in Illinois who are unable to obtain | 10 |
| competitive employment. | 11 |
| (2) That the unemployment rate for persons with | 12 |
| disabilities far exceeds the unemployment rate for persons | 13 |
| without disabilities. | 14 |
| (3) That millions of federal and State dollars are | 15 |
| invested each year in education, training, supported | 16 |
| employment, vocational training and other services related | 17 |
| to the employment and training of persons with disabilities | 18 |
| in Illinois without any significant gains in the rate of | 19 |
| competitive employment for persons with disabilities. | 20 |
| (4) That there has been a history of barriers to equal | 21 |
| employment opportunity for persons with disabilities in | 22 |
| Illinois, and those barriers continue to exist in the | 23 |
| public and the private sectors. |
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| (5) That it is in the best social and economic | 2 |
| interests of the State of Illinois to expand competitive | 3 |
| employment and economic opportunity for persons with | 4 |
| disabilities in Illinois. | 5 |
| (6) That competitive employment and other economic | 6 |
| opportunity for persons with disabilities will facilitate | 7 |
| self-sufficiency and independent living for more persons | 8 |
| with disabilities in Illinois. | 9 |
| Section 10. Employment and Economic Opportunity for | 10 |
| Persons with Disabilities Task Force. | 11 |
| (a) The Employment and Economic Opportunity for Persons | 12 |
| with Disabilities Task Force is created. | 13 |
| (b) The Employment and Economic Opportunity for Persons | 14 |
| with Disabilities Task Force shall be appointed and hold its | 15 |
| first meeting within 90 days after the effective date of this | 16 |
| Act, be convened by the Governor, and operate under the | 17 |
| auspices of the Governor's office. | 18 |
| (c) The Task Force shall be comprised of the following | 19 |
| representatives of State Government: a high-ranking member of | 20 |
| the Governor's management team, designated by the Governor; | 21 |
| representatives of each division of the Department of Human | 22 |
| Services, designated by the Secretary of Human Services; the | 23 |
| Director of Healthcare and Family Services, or his or her | 24 |
| designee; the Director of Veterans' Affairs or his or her | 25 |
| designee; the Director of Commerce and Economic Opportunity or |
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| his or her designee; the Director of Employment Security or his | 2 |
| or her designee; the Executive Director of the Illinois Council | 3 |
| on Developmental Disabilities or his or her designee; and the | 4 |
| State Superintendent of Education or his or her designee. | 5 |
| (d) The Task Force shall also consist of no more than 15 | 6 |
| public members who shall be appointed by the Governor and who | 7 |
| represent the following constituencies: statewide | 8 |
| organizations that advocate for persons with physical, | 9 |
| developmental and psychiatric disabilities, entities with | 10 |
| expertise in assistive technology devices and services for | 11 |
| persons with disabilities, advocates for veterans with | 12 |
| disabilities, centers for independent living, disability | 13 |
| services providers, organized labor, higher education, the | 14 |
| private sector business community, entities that provide | 15 |
| employment and training services to persons with disabilities, | 16 |
| and at least 5 persons who have a disability. | 17 |
| (e) The Task Force shall be co-chaired by the | 18 |
| representative of the Governor and a public member who shall be | 19 |
| chosen by the other public members of the Task Force. | 20 |
| (f) The Task Force members shall serve voluntarily and | 21 |
| without compensation. Persons with disabilities serving on the | 22 |
| Task Force shall be accommodated to enable them to fully | 23 |
| participate in Task Force activities. | 24 |
| (g) The co-chairs of the Task Force shall extend an | 25 |
| invitation to chairs and minority spokespersons of appropriate | 26 |
| legislative committees to attend all meetings of the Task |
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| Force, and may invite other individuals who are not members of | 2 |
| the Task Force to participate in subcommittees of the Task | 3 |
| Force or to take part in discussions of topics for which those | 4 |
| individuals have particular expertise. | 5 |
| (h) The Task Force shall coordinate its work with existing | 6 |
| State advisory bodies whose work may include employment and | 7 |
| economic opportunity for persons with disabilities. | 8 |
| Section 15. Task Force Responsibilities. The Task Force | 9 |
| shall analyze programs and policies of the State to determine | 10 |
| what changes, modifications, and innovations may be necessary | 11 |
| to remove barriers to competitive employment and economic | 12 |
| opportunity for persons with disabilities, including barriers | 13 |
| such as transportation, housing, program accessibility, and | 14 |
| benefit structure. The Task Force shall also analyze State | 15 |
| disability systems, including the mental health, developmental | 16 |
| disabilities, veterans' assistance, workforce investment, and | 17 |
| rehabilitation services systems, and their effect on | 18 |
| employment of persons with disabilities. The Task Force shall | 19 |
| review and analyze applicable research and policy studies, | 20 |
| innovations used in other states, and any federal policy | 21 |
| initiatives such as customized employment, and federal funding | 22 |
| opportunities that would increase competitive employment and | 23 |
| economic opportunity for persons with disabilities in | 24 |
| Illinois. |
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| Section 20. Reporting. The Task Force shall make | 2 |
| recommendations to the General Assembly and to the Governor, | 3 |
| including legislative proposals, regulatory changes, systems | 4 |
| changes, and budget initiatives, that would advance employment | 5 |
| and economic opportunity for persons with disabilities in | 6 |
| Illinois. The Task Force shall produce an annual report of its | 7 |
| activities and recommendations that shall be issued no later | 8 |
| than May 1st of each year, the first report being due no later | 9 |
| than May 1, 2010.
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| Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 11 |
| becoming law.
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