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90_SB1324eng 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. LRB9010525KDpk SB1324 Engrossed LRB9010525KDpk 1 AN ACT to amend the Senior Citizens 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 SB1324 Engrossed -2- LRB9010525KDpk 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 SB1324 Engrossed -3- LRB9010525KDpk 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 SB1324 Engrossed -4- LRB9010525KDpk 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 SB1324 Engrossed -5- LRB9010525KDpk 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.