093_SB0462

 
                                     LRB093 10510 DRJ 10764 b

 1        AN ACT in relation to public aid.

 2        WHEREAS,  The  General Assembly finds that there has been
 3    no general adjustment in the grant amounts under  Article  IV
 4    of  the  Illinois  Public  Aid Code to reflect changes in the
 5    cost of subsistence needs since 1989.  The grant amounts have
 6    fallen  far  behind  the  cost  of  subsistence  needs.   The
 7    Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program under Article
 8    IV of the Illinois Public Aid  Code  is  now  a  time-limited
 9    program    with    vigorous   work   activity   requirements.
10    Participants in the program need to be  able  to  meet  their
11    subsistence  needs  while  they  pursue  work  activities and
12    endeavor  to  exit  the  program  as  quickly  as   possible.
13    Inability  to  meet  subsistence  needs interferes with these
14    work efforts and delays exit from  the  program,  and,  among
15    families  with  difficult  problems inhibiting the ability to
16    work, such as disabilities within the family,  the  inability
17    to  meet  subsistence  needs  also threatens their health and
18    well-being; therefore,

19        Be it enacted by the People of  the  State  of  Illinois,
20    represented in the General Assembly:

21        Section  5.  The  Illinois  Public Aid Code is amended by
22    changing Section 12-4.11 as follows:

23        (305 ILCS 5/12-4.11) (from Ch. 23, par. 12-4.11)
24        Sec. 12-4.11.  Grant amounts.   The Department, with  due
25    regard  for  and  subject  to  budgetary  limitations,  shall
26    establish   grant  amounts  for  each  of  the  programs,  by
27    regulation.  The grant amounts may vary by program,  size  of
28    assistance  unit and geographic area. Effective July 1, 2003,
29    the Department shall increase the grant amounts under Article
30    IV of this Code by no less than  15%  above  the  amounts  in
31    effect  on  June  30,  2003.  Effective July 1, 2004 and each
 
                            -2-      LRB093 10510 DRJ 10764 b
 1    July 1 thereafter, the Department shall  increase  the  grant
 2    amounts  under  Article  IV  of this Code by no less than the
 3    increase in the "Employment Cost Index, Wages  and  Salaries,
 4    By Occupation and Industry Groups: State and Local Government
 5    Workers: Public Administration" as published by the Bureau of
 6    Labor  Statistics  of  the  U.S.  Department of Labor for the
 7    calendar year immediately preceding the  year  in  which  the
 8    July  1  grant  amount  increase  takes effect. On January 1,
 9    2006,  and  on  January  1  every  2  years  thereafter,  the
10    Department shall issue a  report  to  the  Governor  and  the
11    General  Assembly  on  the  adequacy  of  grant amounts under
12    Article IV to meet the  subsistence  needs  of  the  families
13    participating in that program.
14        Aid payments shall not be reduced except: (1) for changes
15    in  the  cost  of items included in the grant amounts, or (2)
16    for changes in the expenses of  the  recipient,  or  (3)  for
17    changes   in   the  income  or  resources  available  to  the
18    recipient, or  (4)  for  changes  in  grants  resulting  from
19    adoption of a consolidated grant amount.
20        In  fixing standards to govern payments or reimbursements
21    for  funeral  and  burial  expenses,  the  Department   shall
22    establish  a minimum allowable amount of not less than $1,000
23    for Department payment of funeral services and not less  than
24    $500  for Department payment of burial or cremation services.
25    In establishing the minimum allowable amount, the  Department
26    shall   take   into  account  the  services  essential  to  a
27    dignified, low-cost (i) funeral and (ii) burial or cremation,
28    including reasonable amounts that may be necessary for burial
29    space and cemetery charges, and any applicable taxes or other
30    required governmental fees  or  charges.  If  no  person  has
31    agreed  to  pay  the  total  cost of the (i) funeral and (ii)
32    burial or cremation charges, the  Department  shall  pay  the
33    vendor the actual costs of the (i) funeral and (ii) burial or
34    cremation,  or  the minimum allowable amount for each service
 
                            -3-      LRB093 10510 DRJ 10764 b
 1    as established by the Department, whichever is less, provided
 2    that the  Department  reduces  its  payments  by  the  amount
 3    available  from  the following sources: the decedent's assets
 4    and available resources and the anticipated  amounts  of  any
 5    death  benefits  available  to  the  decedent's  estate,  and
 6    amounts  paid  and  arranged  to  be  paid  by the decedent's
 7    legally responsible relatives. A legally responsible relative
 8    is expected to pay (i) funeral and (ii) burial  or  cremation
 9    expenses unless financially unable to do so.
10        Nothing contained in this Section or in any other Section
11    of  this  Code  shall  be  construed to prohibit the Illinois
12    Department (1) from consolidating existing standards  on  the
13    basis  of  any  standards  which are or were in effect on, or
14    subsequent to  July  1,  1969,  or  (2)  from  employing  any
15    consolidated standards in determining need for public aid and
16    the   amount   of  money  payment  or  grant  for  individual
17    recipients or recipient families.
18    (Source: P.A. 91-24, eff. 7-1-99; 92-419, eff. 1-1-02.)

19        Section 99.  Effective date.  This Act  takes  effect  on
20    July 1, 2003.