Public Act 095-0736
 		





HB5368 Enrolled
LRB095 16838 RCE 42876 b






    AN ACT concerning military affairs.

 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
 
represented in the General Assembly:


 
    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the 
Military Family Interstate Compact Implementation Statute 
Drafting Advisory Committee Act.
 
    Section 5. Committee; created; mandate. The Military 
Family Interstate Compact Implementation Statute Drafting 
Advisory Committee is created as an interagency advisory 
committee to develop a comprehensive statute to implement the 
Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military 
Children, a document developed by the National Military Family 
Association.  The Lieutenant Governor is the chair of the 
Committee, which shall be composed of the following individuals 
or agency designees:
        (1) The Lieutenant Governor.


        (2) The Illinois State Board of Education.
        (3) The Department of Commerce and Economic 
    Opportunity.
        (4) The Department of Healthcare and Family Services.


        (5) The Housing Development Authority.


        (6) The Department of Veterans' Affairs.


        (7) The Department of Military Affairs.


        (8) The Department of Employment Security.


        (9) Any other interested stakeholder, at the 
    discretion of the chair.

    The Committee shall meet at a time and place designated by 
the chair, but in no case shall the Committee meet less often 
than once each month, until it has fulfilled all the 
obligations delineated in this Act.
    All meetings of the Committee are subject to the provisions 
of the Open Meetings Act.
    All proceedings of the Committee and documents produced by 
the Committee are subject to the provisions of the Freedom of 
Information Act.
    The Committee shall draft and submit to the General 
Assembly a model implementation statute and a report outlining 
all the issues raised by the implementation by no later than 
December 31, 2008 or within 90 days after the effective date of 
this Act, whichever is later.
    The Office of the Lieutenant Governor shall provide staff 
and administrative support to the Committee.
 
    Section 90. The Department of Veterans Affairs Act is 
amended  by adding Section 30 as follows:
 
    (20 ILCS 2805/30  new)
    Sec. 30. Task Force on Servicemember and Veterans 
Education.
    (a)  The Task Force on Servicemember and Veterans Education 
is created.  The Task Force shall be chaired by the Lieutenant 
Governor and shall consist of the following members:
        (1) one member appointed by the Governor; 
        (2) one member appointed by the President of the 
    Senate; 
        (3) one member appointed by the Senate Minority Leader; 
        (4) one member appointed by the Speaker of the House of 
    Representatives;
        (5) one member appointed by the House Minority Leader; 
        (6) one member appointed by the Director of Veterans' 
    Affairs; and 
        (7) one member designated by the Department of Military 
    Affairs, appointed by the Adjutant General. 
Vacancies in the Task Force shall be filled by the initial 
appointing authority. Task Force members shall serve without 
compensation, but may be reimbursed from appropriations 
available for that purpose for necessary expenses incurred in 
performing duties associated with the Task Force. 
    Within 60 days after the effective date of this amendatory 
Act of the 95th General Assembly, the Task Force must issue a 
report to the General Assembly, including draft legislative 
language and draft administrative rules, designed to do the 
following: 
        (1)  assist public universities and community colleges 
    throughout the State in developing an Internet-based 
    curriculum of higher education courses for credit, 
    tailored specifically to the needs of active duty 
    servicemembers and veterans of the United States Armed 
    Forces, with a particular emphasis on addressing the unique 
    needs of servicemembers who are stationed abroad; and 
        (2) create on-campus veterans' centers at each public 
    university and community college within the State to assist 
    veterans in applying for financial aid and other benefits 
    that may be available to them; on-campus centers shall be 
    staffed by veterans and those intimately familiar with the 
    needs and concerns of veterans. 
 
    Section 95. The Unemployment Insurance Act is amended  by 
changing Section 601 as follows:
 
    (820 ILCS 405/601)  (from Ch. 48, par. 431)
    Sec. 601. Voluntary leaving. 
      A. An individual shall be ineligible for
benefits for the 
week in which he has left work voluntarily without good
cause 
attributable to the employing unit and, thereafter, until he 
has become
reemployed and has had earnings equal to or in 
excess of his current weekly
benefit amount in each of four 
calendar weeks which are either for services
in employment, or 
have been or will be reported pursuant to the provisions
of the 
Federal Insurance Contributions Act by each employing unit for 
which
such services are performed and which submits a statement 
certifying to that fact.


    B.  The provisions of this Section shall not apply to an 
individual
who has left work voluntarily:


        1.  Because he is deemed physically unable to perform 
    his work by a licensed
and practicing physician, or has 
    left work voluntarily upon the advice of
a licensed and 
    practicing physician that assistance is necessary for the

    purpose of caring for his spouse, child, or parent who is 
    in poor physical
health and such assistance will not allow 
    him to perform the usual and customary
duties of his 
    employment, and he has notified the employing unit of the

    reasons for his absence;


        2. To accept other bona fide work and, after such 
    acceptance, the individual
is either not unemployed in each 
    of 2 weeks, or earns remuneration for such
work equal to at 
    least twice his current weekly benefit amount;


        3. In lieu of accepting a transfer to other work 
    offered to the individual
by the employing unit under the 
    terms of a collective bargaining agreement
or pursuant to 
    an established employer plan, program, or policy, if the

    acceptance of such other work by the individual would 
    require the separation
from that work of another individual 
    currently performing it;


        4. Solely because of the sexual harassment of the 
    individual by another
employee.  Sexual harassment means 
    (1) unwelcome sexual advances, requests
for sexual favors, 
    sexually motivated physical contact or other conduct
or 
    communication which is made a term or condition of the 
    employment or
(2) the employee's submission to or rejection 
    of such conduct or communication
which is the basis for 
    decisions affecting employment, or (3) when such
conduct or 
    communication has the purpose or effect of substantially 
    interfering
with an individual's work performance or 
    creating an intimidating, hostile,
or offensive working 
    environment and the employer knows or should know of
the 
    existence of the harassment and fails to take timely and 
    appropriate
action;


        5. Which he had accepted after separation from other 
    work, and the work
which he left voluntarily would be 
    deemed unsuitable under the provisions
of Section 603;


        6. (a) Because the individual left work due to 
    circumstances resulting
from
the individual being a victim 
    of domestic violence as defined in Section 103 of
the 
    Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986; and provided, such 
    individual has
made reasonable efforts to preserve the 
    employment.

        For the purposes of this paragraph 6, the individual 
    shall be treated as
being a victim of domestic violence if 
    the individual provides the following:


            (i) written notice to the employing unit of the 
        reason for the
individual's
voluntarily leaving; and


            (ii) to the Department provides:


                (A) an order of protection or other 
            documentation of equitable relief
issued by a 
            court of competent jurisdiction; or

                (B) a police report or criminal charges 
            documenting the domestic
violence; or


                (C) medical documentation of the domestic 
            violence; or


                (D) evidence of domestic violence from a 
            counselor, social worker,
health worker or 
            domestic violence shelter worker.

        (b) If the individual does not meet the provisions of 
    subparagraph (a), the
individual shall be held to have 
    voluntarily terminated employment for the
purpose of 
    determining the individual's eligibility for benefits 
    pursuant to
subsection A.


        (c) Notwithstanding any other provision to the 
    contrary, evidence of
domestic violence experienced by an 
    individual, including the individual's
statement and 
    corroborating evidence, shall not be disclosed by the 
    Department
unless consent for disclosure is given by the 
    individual.


        7. Because the individual left employment to accompany 
    a spouse who has been reassigned from one military 
    assignment to another. The employer's account, however, 
    shall not be charged for any benefits paid out to the 
    individual who leaves to accompany a spouse reassigned from 
    one military assignment to another. 
(Source: P.A. 93-634, eff. 1-1-04.)

 

    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 
becoming law.