Bill Text: IL HB4680 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: 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.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-02-06 - Referred to Rules Committee [HB4680 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-HB4680-Introduced.html

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103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 HB4680 Introduced , 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.
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A BILL FOR
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AN ACT concerning veterans.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Veteran Service Organizations State Charter
Act is amended by changing the title of the Act and Sections 1,
5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, and 50 as follows:
(330 ILCS 46/1)
(This Section may contain text from a Public Act with a
delayed effective date)
Sec. 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Veteran
Service Organizations Equal State Charter Act.
(Source: P.A. 103-405, eff. 1-1-24.)
(330 ILCS 46/5)
(This Section may contain text from a Public Act with a
delayed effective date)
Sec. 5. Veteran service organization status State charter.
A veteran service organization shall be considered to have
veteran service organization status state chartered when the
organization meets all of the requirements listed in this Act
and the organization's application for veteran service
organization state charter status has been approved by the
Attorney General. Upon approval, the Attorney General shall

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

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

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

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

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

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(This Section may contain text from a Public Act with a
delayed effective date)
Sec. 45. Publication of state chartered veteran service
organizations. The Attorney General shall maintain a publicly
accessible list of state chartered veteran service
organizations that are granted status in accordance with this
Act.
(Source: P.A. 103-405, eff. 1-1-24.)