Full Text of SB2271 96th General Assembly
SB2271eng 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| AN ACT concerning public aid.
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| Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| represented in the General Assembly:
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| Section 5. The Energy Assistance Act is amended by changing | 5 |
| Section 6 as follows:
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| (305 ILCS 20/6) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 1406)
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| Sec. 6. Eligibility, Conditions of Participation, and | 8 |
| Energy Assistance.
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| (a) Any person who is a resident of the State of Illinois | 10 |
| and whose
household income is not greater than an amount | 11 |
| determined annually by the
Department, in consultation with the | 12 |
| Policy Advisory Council, may
apply for assistance pursuant to | 13 |
| this Act in accordance with regulations
promulgated by the | 14 |
| Department. In setting the annual eligibility level, the
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| Department shall consider the amount of available funding and | 16 |
| may not set a
limit higher than 150% of the federal nonfarm | 17 |
| poverty level as established by
the federal Office of | 18 |
| Management and Budget. Notwithstanding any other provision of | 19 |
| this Section, in determining the amount of a household's annual | 20 |
| income, the Department may consider the household's | 21 |
| extraordinary medical expenses, as defined by the Department by | 22 |
| rule, including but not limited to expenses related to life | 23 |
| support equipment for a household member.
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| (b) Applicants who qualify for assistance pursuant to | 2 |
| subsection (a) of
this Section shall, subject to appropriation | 3 |
| from the General Assembly and
subject to availability of funds | 4 |
| to the Department, receive energy
assistance as provided by | 5 |
| this Act. The Department, upon receipt
of monies authorized | 6 |
| pursuant to this Act for energy assistance, shall commit
funds | 7 |
| for each qualified applicant in an amount determined by the
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| Department. In determining the amounts of assistance to be | 9 |
| provided to or
on behalf of a qualified applicant, the | 10 |
| Department shall ensure that the
highest amounts of assistance | 11 |
| go to households with the greatest energy
costs in relation to | 12 |
| household income. The Department shall include
factors such as | 13 |
| energy costs, household size, household income, and region
of | 14 |
| the State when determining individual household benefits. The | 15 |
| Department may also include factors such as extraordinary | 16 |
| medical needs of a household member, as defined by the | 17 |
| Department by rule, including but not limited to a need for | 18 |
| life support equipment, when determining individual household | 19 |
| benefits. In setting
assistance levels, the Department shall | 20 |
| attempt to provide assistance to
approximately the same number | 21 |
| of households who participated in the 1991
Residential Energy | 22 |
| Assistance Partnership Program. Such assistance levels
shall | 23 |
| be adjusted annually on the basis of funding
availability and | 24 |
| energy costs. In promulgating rules for the
administration of | 25 |
| this
Section the Department shall assure that a minimum of 1/3 | 26 |
| of funds
available for benefits to eligible households with the |
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| lowest incomes and that elderly and
disabled households are | 2 |
| offered a priority application
period.
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| (c) If the applicant is not a customer of an energy | 4 |
| provider for winter
energy services or an applicant for such | 5 |
| service, such applicant shall
receive a direct energy | 6 |
| assistance payment in an amount established by the
Department | 7 |
| for all such applicants under this Act; provided, however, that
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| such an applicant must have rental expenses for housing greater | 9 |
| than 30% of
household income.
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| (d) If the applicant is a customer of an energy provider, | 11 |
| such
applicant shall receive energy assistance in an amount | 12 |
| established by the
Department for all such applicants under | 13 |
| this Act, such amount to be paid
by the Department to the | 14 |
| energy provider supplying winter energy service to
such | 15 |
| applicant. Such applicant shall:
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| (i) make all reasonable efforts to apply to any other | 17 |
| appropriate
source of public energy assistance; and
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| (ii) sign a waiver permitting the Department to receive | 19 |
| income
information from any public or private agency | 20 |
| providing income or energy
assistance and from any | 21 |
| employer, whether public or private.
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| (e) Any qualified applicant pursuant to this Section may | 23 |
| receive or have
paid on such applicant's behalf an emergency | 24 |
| assistance payment to enable
such applicant to obtain access to | 25 |
| winter energy services. Any such
payments shall be made in | 26 |
| accordance with regulations of the Department.
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| (f) The Department may, if sufficient funds are available, | 2 |
| provide
additional benefits to certain qualified applicants:
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| (i) for the reduction of past due amounts owed to | 4 |
| energy providers;
and
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| (ii) to assist the household in responding to | 6 |
| excessively high summer
temperatures or energy costs. | 7 |
| Households containing elderly members, children,
a person | 8 |
| with a disability, or a person with a medical need for | 9 |
| conditioned air
shall receive priority for receipt of such | 10 |
| benefits.
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| (Source: P.A. 91-936, eff. 1-10-01; 92-690, eff. 7-18-02.)
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| Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect September | 13 |
| 1, 2009.
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