SB1998sam001 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Sen. Wm. Sam McCann

Filed: 3/19/2014

09800SB1998sam001 LRB098 06517 KTG 57169 a

AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 1998

AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 1998 by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the following:

"Section 5. The Illinois Finance Authority Act is amended by adding Section 825-120 as follows:

(20 ILCS 3501/825-120 new)

Sec. 825-120. Propane Purchase Assistance Revolving Loan Program; special fund.

(a) In this Section, "propane" means a hydrocarbon whose chemical composition is predominantly C₃H₈, whether recovered from natural gas or crude oil, and includes liquefied petroleum gases and mixtures thereof.

(b) The Illinois Finance Authority shall administer a propane purchase assistance revolving loan program ("the program"). The program shall provide short-term low-interest or zero-interest loans to propane distributors and to small businesses and farmers that use propane.

(c) Funds for the loans shall be paid out of the Propane Purchase Assistance Revolving Loan Fund ("the Fund"), a special fund created in the State treasury. The moneys in the Fund shall consist of any moneys transferred or appropriated into the Fund as well as all repayments of loans made under the program. Moneys in the Fund may be used only for loans to propane distributors, small businesses, and farmers for the purchase of propane and for no other purpose. All interest earned on moneys in the Fund must be deposited into the Fund.

(d) No later than 5 business days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly, the State Comptroller shall direct and the Treasurer shall transfer $20,000,000 from the General Revenue Fund into the Propane Purchase Assistance Revolving Loan Fund.

(e) When loan repayments are made that are no longer needed for the purposes of the program, the State Comptroller shall direct and the Treasurer shall transfer those moneys from the Propane Purchase Assistance Revolving Loan Fund into the General Revenue Fund.

(f) The Authority, with the assistance of the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, shall adopt rules, including emergency rules adopted in accordance with Section 5-45 of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act, necessary to implement this Section.

Section 10. The State Finance Act is amended by adding Sections 5.855 and 5.856 as follows:

(30 ILCS 105/5.855 new)

Sec. 5.855. The Propane Purchase Assistance Revolving Loan Fund.

(30 ILCS 105/5.856 new)

Sec. 5.856. The Temporary Propane Purchase Assistance Fund.

Section 15. The Energy Assistance Act is amended by changing Section 6 and by adding Section 7.5 as follows:

(305 ILCS 20/6) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 1406)

Sec. 6. Eligibility, Conditions of Participation, and Energy Assistance.

(a) Any person who is a resident of the State of Illinois and whose household income is not greater than an amount determined annually by the Department, in consultation with the Policy Advisory Council, may apply for assistance pursuant to this Act in accordance with regulations promulgated by the Department. In setting the annual eligibility level, the Department shall consider the amount of available funding and may not set a limit higher than 150% of the federal nonfarm poverty level as established by the federal Office of Management and Budget; except as provided in Section 7.5, and except that for the period ending June 30, 2013, the Department may not establish limits higher than 200% of that poverty level or the maximum level provided for by federal guidelines.

(b) Applicants who qualify for assistance pursuant to subsection (a) of this Section shall, subject to appropriation from the General Assembly and subject to availability of funds to the Department, receive energy assistance as provided by this Act. The Department, upon receipt of monies authorized pursuant to this Act for energy assistance, shall commit funds for each qualified applicant in an amount determined by the Department. In determining the amounts of assistance to be provided to or on behalf of a qualified applicant, the Department shall ensure that the highest amounts of assistance go to households with the greatest energy costs in relation to household income. The Department shall include factors such as energy costs, household size, household income, and region of the State when determining individual household benefits. In setting assistance levels, the Department shall attempt to provide assistance to approximately the same number of households who participated in the 1991 Residential Energy Assistance Partnership Program. Such assistance levels shall be adjusted annually on the basis of funding availability and energy costs. In promulgating rules for the administration of this Section the Department shall assure that a minimum of 1/3 of funds available for benefits to eligible households with the lowest incomes and that elderly and disabled households are offered a priority application period.

(c) If the applicant is not a customer of record of an energy provider for energy services or an applicant for such service, such applicant shall receive a direct energy assistance payment in an amount established by the Department for all such applicants under this Act; provided, however, that such an applicant must have rental expenses for housing greater than 30% of household income.

(c-1) This subsection shall apply only in cases where: (1) the applicant is not a customer of record of an energy provider because energy services are provided by the owner of the unit as a portion of the rent; (2) the applicant resides in housing subsidized or developed with funds provided under the Rental Housing Support Program Act or under a similar locally funded rent subsidy program, or is the voucher holder who resides in a rental unit within the State of Illinois and whose monthly rent is subsidized by the tenant-based Housing Choice Voucher Program under Section 8 of the U.S. Housing Act of 1937; and (3) the rental expenses for housing are no more than 30% of household income. In such cases, the household may apply for an energy assistance payment under this Act and the owner of the housing unit shall cooperate with the applicant by providing documentation of the energy costs for that unit. Any compensation paid to the energy provider who supplied energy services to the household shall be paid on behalf of the owner of the housing unit providing energy services to the household. The Department shall report annually to the General Assembly on the number of households receiving energy assistance under this subsection and the cost of such assistance. The provisions of this subsection (c-1), other than this sentence, are inoperative after August 31, 2012.

(d) If the applicant is a customer of an energy provider, such applicant shall receive energy assistance in an amount established by the Department for all such applicants under this Act, such amount to be paid by the Department to the energy provider supplying winter energy service to such applicant. Such applicant shall:

(i) make all reasonable efforts to apply to any other appropriate source of public energy assistance; and

(ii) sign a waiver permitting the Department to receive income information from any public or private agency providing income or energy assistance and from any employer, whether public or private.

(e) Any qualified applicant pursuant to this Section may receive or have paid on such applicant's behalf an emergency assistance payment to enable such applicant to obtain access to winter energy services. Any such payments shall be made in accordance with regulations of the Department.

(f) The Department may, if sufficient funds are available, provide additional benefits to certain qualified applicants:

(i) for the reduction of past due amounts owed to energy providers; and

(ii) to assist the household in responding to excessively high summer temperatures or energy costs. Households containing elderly members, children, a person with a disability, or a person with a medical need for conditioned air shall receive priority for receipt of such benefits.

(Source: P.A. 96-154, eff. 1-1-10; 96-157, eff. 9-1-09; 96-1000, eff. 7-2-10; 97-721, eff. 6-29-12.)

(305 ILCS 20/7.5 new)

Sec. 7.5. Temporary Propane Purchase Assistance Program; special fund.

(a) In this Section, "propane" means a hydrocarbon whose chemical composition is predominantly C₃H₈, whether recovered from natural gas or crude oil, and includes liquefied petroleum gases and mixtures thereof.

(b) The Department shall establish a temporary propane purchase assistance program ("the program") to ensure the availability and affordability of propane to low-income residents. Under the program, when an energy provider supplies winter energy in the form of propane to a program participant for use in the participant's residence, the State shall compensate the provider pursuant to rules adopted by the Department. The rules shall provide for participation in the program by homeowners, by renters of residential housing, and by persons who are not customers of record of an energy provider. The program shall provide assistance for the purchase of propane supplied by an energy provider on or after December 1, 2013, and before May 15, 2014. The program shall terminate on May 15, 2014.

(c) A person who is a resident of this State and whose annual household income is not greater than 186% of the poverty guidelines as updated for 2013 in the Federal Register by the United States Department of Health and Human Services under the authority of 42 U.S.C. 9902(2) may apply for assistance in the form of compensation to energy providers under the program for propane purchased from an energy provider. Persons eligible to participate in the program may apply at any time during the period beginning December 1, 2013 and ending May 15, 2014 for assistance in purchasing propane supplied by an energy provider for residential use during that period.

(d) Assistance under the program, consisting of compensation paid to energy providers as provided in subsection (b), shall be paid out of the Temporary Propane Purchase Assistance Fund ("the Fund"), a special fund created in the State treasury. The moneys in the Fund shall consist of any moneys transferred or appropriated into the Fund. Moneys in the Fund may be used only for compensation to providers of propane under the program and for no other purpose. All interest earned on moneys in the Fund shall be deposited into the Fund.

No later than 5 business days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly, the State Comptroller shall direct and the Treasurer shall transfer $10,000,000 from the General Revenue Fund into the Temporary Propane Purchase Assistance Fund.

No later than May 31, 2014, the State Comptroller shall direct and the Treasurer shall transfer all moneys remaining in the Temporary Propane Purchase Assistance Fund from that Fund into the General Revenue Fund.

(e) The Department shall adopt rules, including emergency rules adopted in accordance with Section 5-45 of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act, necessary to implement this Section.

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