Full Text of HB1368 103rd General Assembly
HB1368ham001 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY | Rep. Dave Vella Filed: 3/29/2023
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| 1 | | AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 1368
| 2 | | AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 1368 by replacing | 3 | | everything after the enacting clause with the following:
| 4 | | "Section 5. The Public Interest Attorney Assistance Act is | 5 | | amended by changing Section 20 as follows: | 6 | | (110 ILCS 916/20)
| 7 | | Sec. 20. Public Interest Attorney Loan Repayment | 8 | | Assistance Program. | 9 | | (a) The Commission shall establish and administer the | 10 | | Program for the primary purpose of providing loan repayment | 11 | | assistance to practicing attorneys to encourage them to pursue | 12 | | careers as public interest attorneys to protect the rights of | 13 | | this State's most vulnerable citizens or provide quality | 14 | | enforcement of State law. The Commission shall create an | 15 | | advisory committee composed of representatives from | 16 | | organizations with relevant expertise, including one person |
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| 1 | | from each of the following entities: | 2 | | (1) The Illinois State's Attorneys Association. | 3 | | (2) The An office of an Illinois Public Defender | 4 | | Association . | 5 | | (3) An office of an Illinois public guardian. | 6 | | (4) The Office of the Illinois Attorney General. | 7 | | (5) An Illinois metropolitan bar association. | 8 | | (6) An Illinois statewide bar association. | 9 | | (7) A public law school in this State. | 10 | | (b) The Public Interest Attorney Loan Repayment Assistance | 11 | | Fund is created as a special fund in the State treasury. The | 12 | | Fund shall consist of all moneys remitted to the Commission | 13 | | under the terms of this Act. All money in the Fund shall be | 14 | | used, subject to appropriation, by the Commission for the | 15 | | purposes of this Act. | 16 | | (c) Subject to the availability of appropriations and | 17 | | subsections (d) and (e) of this Section, the Commission shall | 18 | | distribute funds to eligible applicants. | 19 | | (d) The Commission is authorized to prescribe all rules, | 20 | | policies, and procedures necessary or convenient for the | 21 | | administration of the Program and all terms and conditions | 22 | | applicable to payments made under this Act. This shall be done | 23 | | with the guidance and assistance of the Committee. | 24 | | (e) The Commission shall administer the Program, | 25 | | including, but not limited to, establishing and implementing | 26 | | the following: |
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| 1 | | (1) An application process. Subject to the | 2 | | availability of appropriations, the Commission shall, each | 3 | | year, consider applications by eligible public interest | 4 | | attorneys for loan repayment assistance under the Program. | 5 | | (2) Eligibility requirements. The Commission shall, on | 6 | | an annual basis, receive and consider applications for | 7 | | loan repayment assistance under the Program if the | 8 | | Commission finds that the applicant: | 9 | | (i) is a citizen or permanent resident of the | 10 | | United States; | 11 | | (ii) is a licensed member of the Illinois Bar in | 12 | | good standing; | 13 | | (iii) has eligible debt in grace or repayment | 14 | | status; and | 15 | | (iv) is employed as a public interest attorney | 16 | | with a qualifying employer in Illinois. | 17 | | (3) A maximum amount of loan repayment assistance for | 18 | | each participant, which shall be $6,000 per year, up to a | 19 | | maximum of $30,000 during the participant's career. | 20 | | However, if the participant has been an assistant Public | 21 | | Defender for at least 4 years in one or more offices of an | 22 | | Illinois Public Defender, and the participant graduated | 23 | | from a law school in this State, then the maximum amount of | 24 | | loan repayment assistance during the participant's career | 25 | | shall be equal to the full tuition cost charged the | 26 | | participant while attending that law school or $30,000, |
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| 1 | | whichever is greater. | 2 | | (4) Prioritization. The Commission shall develop | 3 | | criteria for prioritization among eligible applicants in | 4 | | the event that there are insufficient funds available to | 5 | | make payments to all eligible applicants under this Act. | 6 | | The prioritization criteria shall include the timeliness | 7 | | of the application, the applicant's salary level, the | 8 | | amount of the applicant's eligible debt, the availability | 9 | | of other loan repayment assistance to the applicant, the | 10 | | applicant's length of service as a public interest | 11 | | attorney, and the applicant's prior participation in the | 12 | | Program. | 13 | | (f) The distribution of funds available after | 14 | | administrative costs must be made by the Commission to | 15 | | eligible public interest attorneys in the following manner: | 16 | | (1) Loan repayment assistance must be in the form of a | 17 | | forgivable loan. | 18 | | (2) To have the loan forgiven, the participant shall | 19 | | (i) complete a year of employment with a qualifying | 20 | | employer and (ii) make educational debt payments (interest | 21 | | or principal or both) that equal at least the amount of | 22 | | assistance received under the Program during the | 23 | | assistance year. | 24 | | (3) Each loan must be documented by means of a | 25 | | promissory note executed by the borrower in a form | 26 | | provided by the Commission and shall be forgiven when an |
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| 1 | | eligible participant meets the requirements set forth by | 2 | | the Commission.
| 3 | | (Source: P.A. 96-615, eff. 1-1-10; 96-768, eff. 1-1-10.)".
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