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Public Act 103-0663 Public Act 0663 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
Public Act 103-0663 | HB4141 Enrolled | LRB103 34085 KTG 63902 b |
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| AN ACT concerning public aid.
| Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| represented in the General Assembly:
| Section 5. The Energy Assistance Act is amended by | changing Section 6 as follows:
| (305 ILCS 20/6) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 1406)
| Sec. 6. Eligibility, conditions of participation, and | energy assistance.
| (a) Any person who is a resident of the State of Illinois | and whose
household income is not greater than an amount | determined annually by the
Department, in consultation with | the Policy Advisory Council, may
apply for assistance pursuant | to this Act in accordance with regulations
promulgated by the | Department. In setting the annual eligibility level, the
| Department shall consider the amount of available funding and | may not set a
limit higher than 150% of the federal nonfarm | poverty level as established by
the federal Office of | Management and Budget or 60% of the State median income for the | current State fiscal year as established by the U.S. | Department of Health and Human Services; except that for the | period from the effective date of this amendatory Act of the | 101st General Assembly through June 30, 2021, the Department | may establish limits not higher than 200% of that poverty |
| level. The Department, in consultation with the Policy | Advisory Council, may adjust the percentage of poverty level | annually in accordance with federal guidelines and based on | funding availability.
| (b) Applicants who qualify for assistance pursuant to | subsection (a) of
this Section shall, subject to appropriation | from the General Assembly and
subject to availability of funds | to the Department, receive energy
assistance as provided by | this Act. The Department, upon receipt
of monies authorized | pursuant to this Act for energy assistance, shall commit
funds | for each qualified applicant in an amount determined by the
| Department. In determining the amounts of assistance to be | provided to or
on behalf of a qualified applicant, the | Department shall ensure that the
highest amounts of assistance | go to households with the greatest energy
costs in relation to | household income. The Department shall include
factors such as | energy costs, household size, household income, and region
of | the State when determining individual household benefits. In | setting
assistance levels, the Department shall attempt to | provide assistance to
approximately the same number of | households who participated in the 1991
Residential Energy | Assistance Partnership Program. Such assistance levels
shall | be adjusted annually on the basis of funding
availability and | energy costs. In promulgating rules for the
administration of | this
Section the Department shall assure that a minimum of 1/3 | of funds
available for benefits to eligible households with |
| the lowest incomes and that elderly households, households | with children under the age of 6 years old, and households with | persons with disabilities are offered a priority application
| period.
| (c) If the applicant is not a customer of record of an | energy provider for
energy services or an applicant for such | service, such applicant shall
receive a direct energy | assistance payment in an amount established by the
Department | for all such applicants under this Act; provided, however, | that
such an applicant must have rental expenses for housing | greater than 30% of
household income.
| (c-1) This subsection shall apply only in cases where: (1) | the applicant is not a customer of record of an energy provider | because energy services are provided by the owner of the unit | as a portion of the rent; (2) the applicant resides in housing | subsidized or developed with funds provided under the Rental | Housing Support Program Act or under a similar locally funded | rent subsidy program, or is the voucher holder who resides in a | rental unit within the State of Illinois and whose monthly | rent is subsidized by the tenant-based Housing Choice Voucher | Program under Section 8 of the U.S. Housing Act of 1937; and | (3) the rental expenses for housing are no more than 30% of | household income. In such cases, the household may apply for | an energy assistance payment under this Act and the owner of | the housing unit shall cooperate with the applicant by | providing documentation of the energy costs for that unit. Any |
| compensation paid to the energy provider who supplied energy | services to the household shall be paid on behalf of the owner | of the housing unit providing energy services to the | household. The Department shall report annually to the General | Assembly on the number of households receiving energy | assistance under this subsection and the cost of such | assistance. The provisions of this subsection (c-1), other | than this sentence, are inoperative after August 31, 2012. | (d) If the applicant is a customer of an energy provider, | such
applicant shall receive energy assistance in an amount | established by the
Department for all such applicants under | this Act, such amount to be paid
by the Department to the | energy provider supplying winter energy service to
such | applicant. Such applicant shall:
| (i) make all reasonable efforts to apply to any other | appropriate
source of public energy assistance; and
| (ii) sign a waiver permitting the Department to | receive income
information from any public or private | agency providing income or energy
assistance and from any | employer, whether public or private.
| (e) Any qualified applicant pursuant to this Section may | receive or have
paid on such applicant's behalf an emergency | assistance payment to enable
such applicant to obtain access | to winter energy services. Any such
payments shall be made in | accordance with regulations of the Department.
| (f) The Department may, if sufficient funds are available, |
| provide
additional benefits to certain qualified applicants:
| (i) for the reduction of past due amounts owed to | energy providers;
| (ii) to assist the household in responding to | excessively high summer
temperatures or energy costs. | Households containing elderly members, children,
a person | with a disability, or a person with a medical need for | conditioned air
shall receive priority for receipt of such | benefits; and
| (iii) for the installation of energy conservation
| measures, health and safety measures, healthy home | measures, home improvement measures to help alleviate | deferrals from weatherization activities, and renewable | energy retrofits. | (Source: P.A. 101-636, eff. 6-10-20; 102-16, eff. 6-17-21; | 102-176, eff. 6-1-22; 102-699, eff. 4-19-22.)
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Effective Date: 1/1/2025
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