102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
HB5857

 

Introduced 1/4/2023, by Rep. Denyse Wang Stoneback

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
New Act
35 ILCS 5/234 new
35 ILCS 5/235 new

    Creates the Building a Care in the Home Workforce Act. Provides that the Department of Public Health shall conduct a program to promote awareness in the general public of care in the home as an alternative to long-term care facilities and institutions. Creates income tax credits for home health agencies and home care staff. Creates the Advisory Council on Care in the Home Workforce within the Department of Public Health. Sets forth the membership of the Council and its duties. Amends the Illinois Income Tax Act to make conforming changes. Effective immediately.


LRB102 29390 HLH 41801 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB5857LRB102 29390 HLH 41801 b

1    AN ACT concerning State government.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5Building a Care in the Home Workforce Act.
 
6    Section 3. Definitions. As used in this Act:
7    "Agency" means: (i) an agency licensed under the Home
8Health, Home Services, and Home Nursing Agency Licensing Act,
9but not including a placement agency; (ii) a hospice program
10licensed under the Hospice Program Licensing Act; and (iii)
11in-home service providers participating in the Home Services
12Program operated by the Department of Human Services or the
13Community Care Program operated by the Department on Aging.
14    "Department" means the Department of Public Health.
15    "Home care staff" means an individual employed by or under
16contract with an agency to provide direct care to patients or
17clients in the home.
18    "Placement agency" has the meaning ascribed in Section
192.12 of the Home Health, Home Services, and Home Nurse Agency
20Licensing Act.
 
21    Section 5. Findings. The General Assembly Finds that:
22        (1) Home care staff are lifelines for millions of

 

 

HB5857- 2 -LRB102 29390 HLH 41801 b

1    Americans, keeping them safe, healthy, and engaged.
2        (2) The need for home care staff is growing in the
3    United States and in Illinois.
4        (3) Home care staff have been essential in the fight
5    against COVID-19.
6        (4) Home care staff have faced the challenge of
7    COVID-19 by not only caring for their patients and clients
8    but also risking their own personal health and safety.
9        (5) Most people want to age at home as long as possible
10    instead of going to a nursing home.
11        (6) Home care staff enable families to stay together
12    at home safely and with dignity as they age.
13        (7) At the same time, the home-based care industry
14    faces significant challenges, including a shortage of
15    workers, low wages, and a lack of training, continuing
16    education, and career development opportunities.
17        (8) Home care staff frequently serve chronically ill
18    patients with complex needs and clients with complex
19    needs, and these patients and clients can be a challenging
20    population for new entrants to the workforce. As a result,
21    home care staff often leave for better paying
22    opportunities with less strenuous work.
23        (9) Recognizing and providing financial support for
24    home care staff will help community-based agencies and
25    assist with recruiting and retaining professionals to work
26    as home care staff.

 

 

HB5857- 3 -LRB102 29390 HLH 41801 b

1        (10) Providing financial support for home care staff
2    will ensure continuity of patient and client care and
3    reduce turnover in the industry.
 
4    Section 10. Awareness of care in the home.
5    (a) The Department shall, subject to appropriation or
6other available funding, establish and administer a program to
7promote awareness in the general public of care in the home as
8an alternative to long-term care facilities and institutions.
9The program may include, but need not be limited to:
10        (1) the dissemination of information to assist people
11    in: (i) understanding the different types of available
12    care in the home, including, but not limited to,
13    non-medical home care, medical home care, and hospice
14    care; (ii) determining which care in the home options best
15    meet their needs; (iii) understanding how to access
16    home-based and community-based Medicaid waiver programs in
17    Illinois; (iv) understanding the coverage available from
18    Medicaid and Medicare for care in the home; and (v)
19    understanding the overlap between those programs;
20        (2) the production of materials that can be given to
21    social workers, case managers, discharge planners, health
22    care workers, and senior service organizations to assist
23    in identifying people who may benefit from care in the
24    home as an alternative to long-term care facilities and
25    institutions; and

 

 

HB5857- 4 -LRB102 29390 HLH 41801 b

1        (3) the provision of specific information about
2    situations in which care in the home, including
3    non-medical home care, medical home care, and hospice
4    care, may be appropriate.
5    (b) Beginning July 1, 2023, the program must include the
6development and dissemination, through print, digital, and
7broadcast media, of public service announcements that
8publicize care in the home as an alternative to long-term care
9facilities and institutions.
 
10    Section 15. Income tax credit for home health agencies.
11    (a) For tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2024,
12the Department shall award credits against the taxes imposed
13by subsections (a) and (b) of Section 201 of the Illinois
14Income Tax Act to agencies that employ home care staff in
15Illinois in part-time positions, full-time positions, or both
16part-time and full-time positions. The amount of the credit
17shall be the product of $1 times the number of hours worked by
18each person employed by the agency during the taxable year as
19home care staff in Illinois. The credit awarded under this Act
20for a taxable year may not exceed $2,000 for each person
21employed by the agency as home care staff in this State during
22that taxable year.
23    (b) Agencies that are eligible for a credit under this
24Section must apply annually to the Department, using the forms
25prescribed by the Department, to claim a credit under this

 

 

HB5857- 5 -LRB102 29390 HLH 41801 b

1Section. To be approved for a credit under this Act, the agency
2must:
3        (1) agree to provide to the Department with the
4    information necessary to demonstrate that the agency has
5    satisfied program eligibility requirements and provided
6    all information requested or needed by the Department,
7    including the number of hours worked by home care staff
8    and other information necessary for the Department to
9    calculate the amount of credit permitted; and
10        (2) agree to provide names, employer identification
11    numbers, amounts that the employer may claim, and other
12    information necessary for the Department to calculate the
13    tax credit under this Section.
14    The Department shall award the tax credit by issuance of a
15certificate of tax credit to the agency. The agency shall
16attach the certificate of tax credit to its Illinois income
17tax return.
18    (c) The tax credit may not reduce the taxpayer's liability
19to less than zero. If the amount of the tax credit exceeds the
20tax liability for the year, the excess credit amount may be
21carried forward and applied to the tax liability of the 5
22taxable years following the excess credit year. The credit
23must be applied to the earliest year for which there is a tax
24liability. If there are credits from more than one tax year
25that are available to offset a liability, then the earlier
26credit must be applied first.

 

 

HB5857- 6 -LRB102 29390 HLH 41801 b

1    (d) For partners of partnerships and shareholders of
2Subchapter S corporations, there shall be allowed a credit
3under this Section to be determined in accordance with the
4determination of income and distributive share of income under
5Sections 702 and 704 and Subchapter S of the Internal Revenue
6Code.
7    (e) This Section is exempt from the provisions of Section
8250 of the Illinois Income Tax Act.
 
9    Section 20. Income tax credit for home care staff.
10    (a) For tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2024,
11the Department shall award credits against the taxes imposed
12by subsections (a) and (b) of Section 201 of the Illinois
13Income Tax Act to individuals who are employed as home care
14staff in part-time and full-time positions in Illinois during
15the taxable year. To qualify for the credit, the taxpayer must
16have been employed as home care staff, in a part-time or a
17full-time position, for a period of at least 12 consecutive
18months during the taxable year during which the credit is
19sought, whether that employment is with a single agency or
20more than one agency. Taxpayers who are eligible for a credit
21under this Section must apply to the Department, in the form
22and manner prescribed by the Department, to claim a credit
23under this Section. The Department shall award the tax credit
24by issuance of a certificate of tax credit to the taxpayer. The
25taxpayer shall attach the certificate of tax credit to his or

 

 

HB5857- 7 -LRB102 29390 HLH 41801 b

1her Illinois income tax return.
2    (b) The credit awarded under this Section may not exceed
320% of the portion of the taxpayer's federal adjusted gross
4income attributable to the taxpayer's employment in this State
5as home care staff during the taxable year, not to exceed
6$2,000 for any taxpayer in any taxable year. The aggregate
7amount of all credits the Department may award under this
8Section in any calendar year may not exceed $2,000,000.
9    (c) The tax credit may not reduce the taxpayer's liability
10to less than zero. If the amount of the tax credit exceeds the
11tax liability for the year, the excess credit amount may be
12refunded to the taxpayer.
13    (d) This Section is exempt from the provisions of Section
14250 of the Illinois Income Tax Act.
 
15    Section 25. Advisory Council on Care in the Home
16Workforce. The Advisory Council on Care in the Home Workforce
17is created within the Department of Public Health. The Council
18shall consist of 15 members appointed by the Governor, with
19the advice and consent of the Senate. The Council shall
20include a balanced representation of (i) recipients of home
21care or their family members, (ii) home care staff, (iii)
22employers, (iv) representatives of units of local government,
23(v) community and welfare advocacy groups, (vi) members of
24academia, (vii) a trade association representing agencies,
25(viii) representatives from State agencies, including the

 

 

HB5857- 8 -LRB102 29390 HLH 41801 b

1Department of Healthcare and Family Services, the Department
2of Human Services, and the Department on Aging, and (ix) the
3general public. The Council shall advise the Department of
4Public Health regarding the impact of this Act on the
5employment of home care staff.
6    Initial appointments shall be made within 6 months after
7the effective date of this Act. Of the initial members
8appointed under this Section, 8 members shall serve for 2-year
9terms, and 7 members shall serve for 4-year terms. Members
10shall serve without compensation but may be reimbursed for
11reasonable and necessary expenses actually incurred in the
12performance of their official duties as members of the
13Council. At its first meeting, the Council shall select a
14chair from among its members. The Council shall meet at least
15quarterly and at other times at the call of the chair.
 
16    Section 30. Rulemaking. The Department of Public Health
17may adopt rules for the implementation and administration of
18this Act.
 
19    Section 900. The Illinois Income Tax Act is amended by
20adding Sections 234 and 235 as follows:
 
21    (35 ILCS 5/234 new)
22    Sec. 234. Credit for home health agencies. Agencies that
23employ home care staff in Illinois are entitled to a credit

 

 

HB5857- 9 -LRB102 29390 HLH 41801 b

1against the taxes imposed by subsections (a) and (b) of
2Section 201 as provided in Section 15 of the Building a Care in
3the Home Workforce Act. This Section is exempt from the
4provisions of Section 250.
 
5    (35 ILCS 5/235 new)
6    Sec. 235. Credit for home care staff. Home care staff are
7entitled to a credit against the taxes imposed by subsections
8(a) and (b) of Section 201 as provided in Section 20 of the
9Building a Care in the Home Workforce Act. This Section is
10exempt from the provisions of Section 250.
 
11    Section 999. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
12becoming law.