HB0979enr 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB0979 Enrolled LRB095 07155 HLH 27283 b

AN ACT concerning State government.

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

Section 5. The Illinois Act on the Aging is amended by adding Section 4.14 as follows:

(20 ILCS 105/4.14 new)

Sec. 4.14. Rural Senior Citizen Program.

(a) The General Assembly finds that it is in the best interest of the citizens of Illinois to identify and address the special challenges and needs faced by older rural residents. The General Assembly further finds that rural areas are often under-served and unserved to the detriment of older residents and their families, which may require the allocation of additional resources.

(b) The Department shall identify the special needs and problems of older rural residents and evaluate the adequacy and accessibility of existing programs and information for older rural residents. The scope of the Department's work shall encompass both Older American Act services, Community Care services, and all other services targeted in whole or in part at residents 60 years of age and older, regardless of the setting in which the service is provided.

(c) The Older Rural Adults Task Force is established to gather information and make recommendations in collaboration with the Department on Aging and the Older Adult Services Committee. The Task Force shall be comprised of 12 voting members and 7 non-voting members. The President and Minority Leader of the Illinois Senate and the Speaker and Minority Leader of the Illinois House of Representatives shall each appoint 2 members of the General Assembly and one citizen member to the Task Force. Citizen members may seek reimbursement for actual travel expenses. Representatives of the Department on Aging and the Departments of Healthcare and Family Services, Human Services, Public Health, and Commerce and Economic Opportunity, the Rural Affairs Council, and the Illinois Housing Development Authority shall serve as non-voting members. The Department on Aging shall provide staff support to the Task Force.

Co-chairs shall be selected by the Task Force at its first meeting. Both shall be appointed voting members of the Task Force. One co-chair shall be a member of the General Assembly and one shall be a citizen member. A simple majority of those appointed shall constitute a quorum. The Task Force may hold regional hearings and fact finding meetings and shall submit a report to the General Assembly no later than January 1, 2009. The Task Force is dissolved upon submission of the report.

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