Public Act 095-0089
 		





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.




Effective Date:  8/13/2007