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90_SB1324
320 ILCS 25/4 from Ch. 67 1/2, par. 404
Amends the Senior Citizens and Disabled Persons Property
Tax Relief and Pharmaceutical Assistance Act to increase the
income limitation, beginning with the 1998 grant year, from
$14,000 to $16,000. Provides that the maximum grant for
claimants with an income of more than $14,000 but less than
$16,000 is $70. Effective immediately.
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1 AN ACT to amend the Senior Citizen and Disabled Persons
2 Property Tax Relief and Pharmaceutical Assistance Act by
3 changing Section 4.
4 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
5 represented in the General Assembly:
6 Section 5. The Senior Citizens and Disabled Persons
7 Property Tax Relief and Pharmaceutical Assistance Act is
8 amended by changing Section 4 as follows:
9 (320 ILCS 25/4) (from Ch. 67 1/2, par. 404)
10 Sec. 4. Amount of Grant.
11 (a) In general. Any individual 65 years or older or any
12 individual who will become 65 years old during the calendar
13 year in which a claim is filed, and any surviving spouse of
14 such a claimant, who at the time of death received or was
15 entitled to receive a grant pursuant to this Section, which
16 surviving spouse will become 65 years of age within the 24
17 months immediately following the death of such claimant and
18 which surviving spouse but for his or her age is otherwise
19 qualified to receive a grant pursuant to this Section, and
20 any disabled person whose annual household income is less
21 than $14,000 for grant years before the 1998 grant year and
22 $16,000 for the 1998 grant year and thereafter and whose
23 household is liable for payment of property taxes accrued or
24 has paid rent constituting property taxes accrued and is
25 domiciled in this State at the time he files his claim is
26 entitled to claim a grant under this Act. With respect to
27 claims filed by individuals who will become 65 years old
28 during the calendar year in which a claim is filed, the
29 amount of any grant to which that household is entitled shall
30 be an amount equal to 1/12 of the amount to which the
31 claimant would otherwise be entitled as provided in this
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1 Section, multiplied by the number of months in which the
2 claimant was 65 in the calendar year in which the claim is
3 filed.
4 (b) Limitation. Except as otherwise provided in
5 subsections (a) and (f) of this Section, the maximum amount
6 of grant which a claimant is entitled to claim is the amount
7 by which the property taxes accrued which were paid or
8 payable during the last preceding tax year or rent
9 constituting property taxes accrued upon the claimant's
10 residence for the last preceding taxable year exceeds 3 1/2%
11 of the claimant's household income for that year but in no
12 event is the grant to exceed (i) $700 less 4.5% of household
13 income for that year for those with a household income of
14 $14,000 or less or (ii) $70 if household income for that year
15 is more than $14,000 but less than $16,000.
16 (c) Public aid recipients. If household income in one
17 or more months during a year includes cash assistance in
18 excess of $55 per month from the Department of Public Aid or
19 the Department of Human Services (acting as successor to the
20 Department of Public Aid under the Department of Human
21 Services Act) which was determined under regulations of that
22 Department on a measure of need that included an allowance
23 for actual rent or property taxes paid by the recipient of
24 that assistance, the amount of grant to which that household
25 is entitled, except as otherwise provided in subsection (a),
26 shall be the product of (1) the maximum amount computed as
27 specified in subsection (b) of this Section and (2) the ratio
28 of the number of months in which household income did not
29 include such cash assistance over $55 to the number twelve.
30 If household income did not include such cash assistance over
31 $55 for any months during the year, the amount of the grant
32 to which the household is entitled shall be the maximum
33 amount computed as specified in subsection (b) of this
34 Section. For purposes of this paragraph (c), "cash
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1 assistance" does not include any amount received under the
2 federal Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program.
3 (d) Joint ownership. If title to the residence is held
4 jointly by the claimant with a person who is not a member of
5 his household, the amount of property taxes accrued used in
6 computing the amount of grant to which he is entitled shall
7 be the same percentage of property taxes accrued as is the
8 percentage of ownership held by the claimant in the
9 residence.
10 (e) More than one residence. If a claimant has occupied
11 more than one residence in the taxable year, he may claim
12 only one residence for any part of a month. In the case of
13 property taxes accrued, he shall pro rate 1/12 of the total
14 property taxes accrued on his residence to each month that he
15 owned and occupied that residence; and, in the case of rent
16 constituting property taxes accrued, shall pro rate each
17 month's rent payments to the residence actually occupied
18 during that month.
19 (f) There is hereby established a program of
20 pharmaceutical assistance to the aged and disabled which
21 shall be administered by the Department in accordance with
22 this Act, to consist of payments to authorized pharmacies, on
23 behalf of beneficiaries of the program, for the reasonable
24 costs of covered prescription drugs. Each beneficiary who
25 pays $40 for an identification card shall pay the first $15
26 of prescription costs each month. Each beneficiary who pays
27 $80 for an identification card shall pay the first $25 of
28 prescription costs each month. In addition, after a
29 beneficiary receives $800 in benefits during a State fiscal
30 year, that beneficiary shall also be charged 20% of the cost
31 of each prescription for which payments are made by the
32 program during the remainder of the fiscal year. To become a
33 beneficiary under this program a person must be: (1) (i) 65
34 years or older, or (ii) the surviving spouse of such a
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1 claimant, who at the time of death received or was entitled
2 to receive benefits pursuant to this subsection, which
3 surviving spouse will become 65 years of age within the 24
4 months immediately following the death of such claimant and
5 which surviving spouse but for his or her age is otherwise
6 qualified to receive benefits pursuant to this subsection, or
7 (iii) disabled, and (2) is domiciled in this State at the
8 time he files his or her claim, and (3) has a maximum
9 household income of less than $14,000 for grant years before
10 the 1998 grant year and $16,000 for the 1998 grant year and
11 thereafter. In addition, each eligible person must (1) obtain
12 an identification card from the Department, (2) at the time
13 the card is obtained, sign a statement assigning to the State
14 of Illinois benefits which may be otherwise claimed under any
15 private insurance plans, (3) present the identification card
16 to the dispensing pharmacist.
17 Any person otherwise eligible for pharmaceutical
18 assistance under this Act whose covered drugs are covered by
19 any public program for assistance in purchasing any covered
20 prescription drugs shall be ineligible for assistance under
21 this Act to the extent such costs are covered by such other
22 plan.
23 The fee to be charged by the Department for the
24 identification card shall be equal to $40 for persons below
25 the official poverty line as defined by the United States
26 Department of Health and Human Services and $80 for all other
27 persons.
28 In the event that 2 or more persons are eligible for any
29 benefit under this Act, and are members of the same
30 household, (1) each such person shall be entitled to
31 participate in the pharmaceutical assistance program,
32 provided that he or she meets all other requirements imposed
33 by this subsection and (2) each participating household
34 member contributes the fee required for that person by the
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1 preceding paragraph for the purpose of obtaining an
2 identification card. Persons eligible for any benefit under
3 this Act due to become 65 in calendar year 1984 or any
4 subsequent calendar year in which a claim is filed are
5 excluded from the benefit prescribed in this subsection (g)
6 for the calendar year in which they become 65.
7 (Source: P.A. 88-45; 89-507, eff. 7-1-97.)
8 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
9 becoming law.