Public Act 103-0405
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AN ACT concerning military service.
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
Veteran Service Organizations State Charter Act.
Section 5. State charter. A veteran service organization
shall be considered state chartered when the organization
meets all of the requirements listed in this Act and the
organization's application for state charter status has been
approved by the Attorney General. Upon approval, the Attorney
General shall issue a letter granting state charter status to
the organization.
Section 10. Granting of state charter status. The Attorney
General shall grant state charter status to any organization
that has demonstrated that all requirements for obtaining
state charter status have been met.
Section 15. State charter requirements. To qualify for
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 a majority
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of the organization's expenses reflect support for
veterans; or (B) have a paid membership of at least 15
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 State
charter status.
Section 20. Application for state charter status. A
veteran service organization may submit an application for
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.
Section 25. Attestation of compliance. Any application for
state charter status shall include the following statement, on
organizational letterhead and signed by all officers: "All
officers for (insert lawful organizational name) do hereby
attest that all requirements for a state charter have been
met, that there are no past or ongoing 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 state charter
status."
Section 30. Denial of state charter. The Attorney General
shall deny an application for state charter status to any
organization that does not meet all the requirements for state
charter status in Section 15. Any organization whose state
charter application has been denied may resubmit that
application once all deficiencies have been corrected.
Section 35. Duration of state charter status. State
charter status shall be valid for 3 years. A veteran service
organization must reapply for state charter status at least
120 days prior to the expiration of its current state charter
status.
Section 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 state charter status no longer meets one
or more of the requirements of Section 15, the Attorney
General may revoke the 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 state charter status based on
other conduct not specifically listed in this Section.
Section 45. Publication of state chartered veteran service
organizations. The Attorney General shall maintain a publicly
accessible list of state chartered veteran service
organizations.
Section 50. Violation; remedies. It is a violation of
Section 9 of the Military Veterans Assistance Act for any
person, group, or entity to assert state charter status where
such status has not been granted in accordance with this Act or
where such status has been revoked. In addition to any other
remedies, a court may assess a civil penalty not to exceed
$5,000 for each violation of this Act.