103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
HB4141

 

Introduced , by Rep. Nabeela Syed

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
305 ILCS 20/6  from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 1406

    Amends the Energy Assistance Act. In a provision concerning energy assistance payments for qualifying applicants who are not the customer of record of an energy provider, who receive housing assistance under a rent subsidy or housing voucher program, or whose rental expenses for housing are a specified percentage of their household income, removes language making the provision inoperative after August 31, 2012.


LRB103 34085 KTG 63902 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB4141LRB103 34085 KTG 63902 b

1    AN ACT concerning public aid.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Energy Assistance Act is amended by
5changing Section 6 as follows:
 
6    (305 ILCS 20/6)  (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 1406)
7    Sec. 6. Eligibility, conditions of participation, and
8energy assistance.
9    (a) Any person who is a resident of the State of Illinois
10and whose household income is not greater than an amount
11determined annually by the Department, in consultation with
12the Policy Advisory Council, may apply for assistance pursuant
13to this Act in accordance with regulations promulgated by the
14Department. In setting the annual eligibility level, the
15Department shall consider the amount of available funding and
16may not set a limit higher than 150% of the federal nonfarm
17poverty level as established by the federal Office of
18Management and Budget or 60% of the State median income for the
19current State fiscal year as established by the U.S.
20Department of Health and Human Services; except that for the
21period from the effective date of this amendatory Act of the
22101st General Assembly through June 30, 2021, the Department
23may establish limits not higher than 200% of that poverty

 

 

HB4141- 2 -LRB103 34085 KTG 63902 b

1level. The Department, in consultation with the Policy
2Advisory Council, may adjust the percentage of poverty level
3annually in accordance with federal guidelines and based on
4funding availability.
5    (b) Applicants who qualify for assistance pursuant to
6subsection (a) of this Section shall, subject to appropriation
7from the General Assembly and subject to availability of funds
8to the Department, receive energy assistance as provided by
9this Act. The Department, upon receipt of monies authorized
10pursuant to this Act for energy assistance, shall commit funds
11for each qualified applicant in an amount determined by the
12Department. In determining the amounts of assistance to be
13provided to or on behalf of a qualified applicant, the
14Department shall ensure that the highest amounts of assistance
15go to households with the greatest energy costs in relation to
16household income. The Department shall include factors such as
17energy costs, household size, household income, and region of
18the State when determining individual household benefits. In
19setting assistance levels, the Department shall attempt to
20provide assistance to approximately the same number of
21households who participated in the 1991 Residential Energy
22Assistance Partnership Program. Such assistance levels shall
23be adjusted annually on the basis of funding availability and
24energy costs. In promulgating rules for the administration of
25this Section the Department shall assure that a minimum of 1/3
26of funds available for benefits to eligible households with

 

 

HB4141- 3 -LRB103 34085 KTG 63902 b

1the lowest incomes and that elderly households, households
2with children under the age of 6 years old, and households with
3persons with disabilities are offered a priority application
4period.
5    (c) If the applicant is not a customer of record of an
6energy provider for energy services or an applicant for such
7service, such applicant shall receive a direct energy
8assistance payment in an amount established by the Department
9for all such applicants under this Act; provided, however,
10that such an applicant must have rental expenses for housing
11greater than 30% of household income.
12    (c-1) This subsection shall apply only in cases where: (1)
13the applicant is not a customer of record of an energy provider
14because energy services are provided by the owner of the unit
15as a portion of the rent; (2) the applicant resides in housing
16subsidized or developed with funds provided under the Rental
17Housing Support Program Act or under a similar locally funded
18rent subsidy program, or is the voucher holder who resides in a
19rental unit within the State of Illinois and whose monthly
20rent is subsidized by the tenant-based Housing Choice Voucher
21Program under Section 8 of the U.S. Housing Act of 1937; and
22(3) the rental expenses for housing are no more than 30% of
23household income. In such cases, the household may apply for
24an energy assistance payment under this Act and the owner of
25the housing unit shall cooperate with the applicant by
26providing documentation of the energy costs for that unit. Any

 

 

HB4141- 4 -LRB103 34085 KTG 63902 b

1compensation paid to the energy provider who supplied energy
2services to the household shall be paid on behalf of the owner
3of the housing unit providing energy services to the
4household. The Department shall report annually to the General
5Assembly on the number of households receiving energy
6assistance under this subsection and the cost of such
7assistance. The provisions of this subsection (c-1), other
8than this sentence, are inoperative after August 31, 2012.
9    (d) If the applicant is a customer of an energy provider,
10such applicant shall receive energy assistance in an amount
11established by the Department for all such applicants under
12this Act, such amount to be paid by the Department to the
13energy provider supplying winter energy service to such
14applicant. Such applicant shall:
15        (i) make all reasonable efforts to apply to any other
16    appropriate source of public energy assistance; and
17        (ii) sign a waiver permitting the Department to
18    receive income information from any public or private
19    agency providing income or energy assistance and from any
20    employer, whether public or private.
21    (e) Any qualified applicant pursuant to this Section may
22receive or have paid on such applicant's behalf an emergency
23assistance payment to enable such applicant to obtain access
24to winter energy services. Any such payments shall be made in
25accordance with regulations of the Department.
26    (f) The Department may, if sufficient funds are available,

 

 

HB4141- 5 -LRB103 34085 KTG 63902 b

1provide additional benefits to certain qualified applicants:
2        (i) for the reduction of past due amounts owed to
3    energy providers;
4        (ii) to assist the household in responding to
5    excessively high summer temperatures or energy costs.
6    Households containing elderly members, children, a person
7    with a disability, or a person with a medical need for
8    conditioned air shall receive priority for receipt of such
9    benefits; and
10        (iii) for the installation of energy conservation
11    measures, health and safety measures, healthy home
12    measures, home improvement measures to help alleviate
13    deferrals from weatherization activities, and renewable
14    energy retrofits.
15(Source: P.A. 101-636, eff. 6-10-20; 102-16, eff. 6-17-21;
16102-176, eff. 6-1-22; 102-699, eff. 4-19-22.)