093_HB2984

 
                                     LRB093 06826 DRJ 06971 b

 1        AN ACT in relation to public aid.

 2        WHEREAS, The General Assembly finds that there  has  been
 3    no  general  adjustment in the grant amounts under Article IV
 4    of the Illinois Public Aid Code to  reflect  changes  in  the
 5    cost of subsistence needs since 1989.  The grant amounts have
 6    fallen  far  behind  the  cost  of  subsistence  needs.   The
 7    Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program under Article
 8    IV  of  the  Illinois  Public  Aid Code is now a time-limited
 9    program   with   vigorous   work    activity    requirements.
10    Participants  in  the  program  need to be able to meet their
11    subsistence needs  while  they  pursue  work  activities  and
12    endeavor   to  exit  the  program  as  quickly  as  possible.
13    Inability to meet subsistence  needs  interferes  with  these
14    work  efforts  and  delays  exit from the program, and, among
15    families with difficult problems inhibiting  the  ability  to
16    work,  such  as disabilities within the family, the inability
17    to meet subsistence needs also  threatens  their  health  and
18    well-being; therefore,

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

21        Section 5.  The Illinois Public Aid Code  is  amended  by
22    changing Section 12-4.11 as follows:

23        (305 ILCS 5/12-4.11) (from Ch. 23, par. 12-4.11)
24        Sec.  12-4.11.  Grant amounts.   The Department, with due
25    regard  for  and  subject  to  budgetary  limitations,  shall
26    establish  grant  amounts  for  each  of  the  programs,   by
27    regulation.   The  grant amounts may vary by program, size of
28    assistance unit and geographic area. Effective July 1,  2003,
29    the Department shall increase the grant amounts under Article
30    IV  of  this  Code  by  no less than 15% above the amounts in
31    effect on June 30, 2003.  Effective July  1,  2004  and  each
 
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 1    July  1  thereafter,  the Department shall increase the grant
 2    amounts under Article IV of this Code by  no  less  than  the
 3    increase  in  the "Employment Cost Index, Wages and Salaries,
 4    By Occupation and Industry Groups: State and Local Government
 5    Workers: Public Administration" as published by the Bureau of
 6    Labor Statistics of the U.S.  Department  of  Labor  for  the
 7    calendar  year  immediately  preceding  the year in which the
 8    July 1 grant amount increase  takes  effect.  On  January  1,
 9    2006,  and  on  January  1  every  2  years  thereafter,  the
10    Department  shall  issue  a  report  to  the Governor and the
11    General Assembly on  the  adequacy  of  grant  amounts  under
12    Article  IV  to  meet  the  subsistence needs of the families
13    participating in that program.
14        Aid payments shall not be reduced except: (1) for changes
15    in the cost of items included in the grant  amounts,  or  (2)
16    for  changes  in  the  expenses  of the recipient, or (3) for
17    changes  in  the  income  or  resources  available   to   the
18    recipient,  or  (4)  for  changes  in  grants  resulting from
19    adoption of a consolidated grant amount.
20        In fixing standards to govern payments or  reimbursements
21    for   funeral  and  burial  expenses,  the  Department  shall
22    establish a minimum allowable amount of not less than  $1,000
23    for  Department payment of funeral services and not less than
24    $500 for Department payment of burial or cremation  services.
25    In  establishing the minimum allowable amount, the Department
26    shall  take  into  account  the  services  essential   to   a
27    dignified, low-cost (i) funeral and (ii) burial or cremation,
28    including reasonable amounts that may be necessary for burial
29    space and cemetery charges, and any applicable taxes or other
30    required  governmental  fees  or  charges.  If  no person has
31    agreed to pay the total cost of  the  (i)  funeral  and  (ii)
32    burial  or  cremation  charges,  the Department shall pay the
33    vendor the actual costs of the (i) funeral and (ii) burial or
34    cremation, or the minimum allowable amount for  each  service
 
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 1    as established by the Department, whichever is less, provided
 2    that  the  Department  reduces  its  payments  by  the amount
 3    available from the following sources: the  decedent's  assets
 4    and  available  resources  and the anticipated amounts of any
 5    death  benefits  available  to  the  decedent's  estate,  and
 6    amounts paid and  arranged  to  be  paid  by  the  decedent's
 7    legally responsible relatives. A legally responsible relative
 8    is  expected  to pay (i) funeral and (ii) burial or cremation
 9    expenses unless financially unable to do so.
10        Nothing contained in this Section or in any other Section
11    of this Code shall be  construed  to  prohibit  the  Illinois
12    Department  (1)  from consolidating existing standards on the
13    basis of any standards which are or were  in  effect  on,  or
14    subsequent  to  July  1,  1969,  or  (2)  from  employing any
15    consolidated standards in determining need for public aid and
16    the  amount  of  money  payment  or  grant   for   individual
17    recipients or recipient families.
18    (Source: P.A. 91-24, eff. 7-1-99; 92-419, eff. 1-1-02.)

19        Section  99.   Effective  date.  This Act takes effect on
20    July 1, 2003.