State of Illinois
91st General Assembly
Legislation

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91_HB3483

 
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 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    less than $16,000 for the 1998 and 1999 grant years, and less
23    than $25,000 for the 2000 grant year and thereafter and whose
24    household  is liable for payment of property taxes accrued or
25    has paid rent constituting  property  taxes  accrued  and  is
26    domiciled  in  this  State  at the time he files his claim is
27    entitled to claim a grant under this  Act.  With  respect  to
28    claims  filed  by  individuals  who  will become 65 years old
29    during the calendar year in  which  a  claim  is  filed,  the
30    amount of any grant to which that household is entitled shall
31    be  an  amount  equal  to  1/12  of  the  amount to which the
 
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 1    claimant would otherwise be  entitled  as  provided  in  this
 2    Section,  multiplied  by  the  number  of months in which the
 3    claimant was 65 in the calendar year in which  the  claim  is
 4    filed.
 5        (b)  Limitation.    Except   as   otherwise  provided  in
 6    subsections (a) and (f) of this Section, the  maximum  amount
 7    of  grant which a claimant is entitled to claim is the amount
 8    by which the  property  taxes  accrued  which  were  paid  or
 9    payable   during   the   last  preceding  tax  year  or  rent
10    constituting  property  taxes  accrued  upon  the  claimant's
11    residence for the last preceding taxable year exceeds 3  1/2%
12    of  the  claimant's  household income for that year but in no
13    event is the grant to exceed (i) $700 less 4.5% of  household
14    income  for  that  year  for those with a household income of
15    $14,000 or less or (ii) $70 if household income for that year
16    is more than $14,000 but less than $16,000.
17        (c)  Public aid recipients.  If household income  in  one
18    or  more  months  during  a  year includes cash assistance in
19    excess of $55 per month from the Department of Public Aid  or
20    the  Department of Human Services (acting as successor to the
21    Department of  Public  Aid  under  the  Department  of  Human
22    Services Act)  which was determined under regulations of that
23    Department  on  a  measure of need that included an allowance
24    for actual rent or property taxes paid by  the  recipient  of
25    that  assistance, the amount of grant to which that household
26    is entitled, except as otherwise provided in subsection  (a),
27    shall  be  the  product of (1) the maximum amount computed as
28    specified in subsection (b) of this Section and (2) the ratio
29    of the number of months in which  household  income  did  not
30    include  such  cash assistance over $55 to the number twelve.
31    If household income did not include such cash assistance over
32    $55 for any months during the year, the amount of  the  grant
33    to  which  the  household  is  entitled  shall be the maximum
34    amount computed  as  specified  in  subsection  (b)  of  this
 
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 1    Section.    For   purposes   of  this  paragraph  (c),  "cash
 2    assistance" does not include any amount  received  under  the
 3    federal Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program.
 4        (d)  Joint  ownership.  If title to the residence is held
 5    jointly by the claimant with a person who is not a member  of
 6    his  household,  the amount of property taxes accrued used in
 7    computing the amount of grant to which he is  entitled  shall
 8    be  the  same  percentage of property taxes accrued as is the
 9    percentage  of  ownership  held  by  the  claimant   in   the
10    residence.
11        (e)  More than one residence.  If a claimant has occupied
12    more  than  one  residence  in the taxable year, he may claim
13    only one residence for any part of a month.  In the  case  of
14    property  taxes  accrued, he shall pro rate 1/12 of the total
15    property taxes accrued on his residence to each month that he
16    owned and occupied that residence; and, in the case  of  rent
17    constituting  property  taxes  accrued,  shall  pro rate each
18    month's rent payments  to  the  residence  actually  occupied
19    during that month.
20        (f)  There   is   hereby   established   a   program   of
21    pharmaceutical  assistance  to  the  aged  and disabled which
22    shall be administered by the Department  in  accordance  with
23    this Act, to consist of payments to authorized pharmacies, on
24    behalf  of  beneficiaries  of the program, for the reasonable
25    costs of covered prescription drugs.   Each  beneficiary  who
26    pays  $40  for an identification card shall pay the first $15
27    of prescription costs each month.  Each beneficiary who  pays
28    $80  for  an  identification  card shall pay the first $25 of
29    prescription  costs  each  month.   In  addition,   after   a
30    beneficiary  receives  $800 in benefits during a State fiscal
31    year, that beneficiary shall also be charged 20% of the  cost
32    of  each  prescription  for  which  payments  are made by the
33    program during the remainder of the fiscal year.  To become a
34    beneficiary under this program a person must be: (1)  (i)  65
 
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 1    years  or  older,  or  (ii)  the  surviving  spouse of such a
 2    claimant, who at the time of death received or  was  entitled
 3    to  receive  benefits  pursuant  to  this  subsection,  which
 4    surviving  spouse  will  become 65 years of age within the 24
 5    months immediately following the death of such  claimant  and
 6    which  surviving  spouse  but for his or her age is otherwise
 7    qualified to receive benefits pursuant to this subsection, or
 8    (iii) disabled, and (2) is domiciled in  this  State  at  the
 9    time  he  files  his  or  her  claim,  and  (3) has a maximum
10    household income of less than $14,000 for grant years  before
11    the  1998  grant  year and less than $16,000 for the 1998 and
12    1999 grant years, and less than $25,000 for  the  2000  grant
13    year  and  thereafter. In addition, each eligible person must
14    (1) obtain an identification card from the Department, (2) at
15    the time the card is obtained, sign a statement assigning  to
16    the State of Illinois benefits which may be otherwise claimed
17    under   any   private   insurance   plans,  (3)  present  the
18    identification card to the dispensing pharmacist.
19        Any  person   otherwise   eligible   for   pharmaceutical
20    assistance  under this Act whose covered drugs are covered by
21    any public program for assistance in purchasing  any  covered
22    prescription  drugs  shall be ineligible for assistance under
23    this Act to the extent such costs are covered by  such  other
24    plan.
25        The   fee  to  be  charged  by  the  Department  for  the
26    identification card shall be equal to $40 for  persons  below
27    the  official  poverty  line  as defined by the United States
28    Department of Health and Human Services and $80 for all other
29    persons.
30        In the event that 2 or more persons are eligible for  any
31    benefit   under  this  Act,  and  are  members  of  the  same
32    household,  (1)  each  such  person  shall  be  entitled   to
33    participate   in   the   pharmaceutical  assistance  program,
34    provided that he or she meets all other requirements  imposed
 
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 1    by  this  subsection  and  (2)  each  participating household
 2    member contributes the fee required for that  person  by  the
 3    preceding   paragraph   for   the  purpose  of  obtaining  an
 4    identification card.  Persons eligible for any benefit  under
 5    this  Act  due  to  become  65  in  calendar year 1984 or any
 6    subsequent calendar year  in  which  a  claim  is  filed  are
 7    excluded  from  the benefit prescribed in this subsection (f)
 8    for the calendar year in which they become 65.
 9    (Source: P.A. 90-650, eff. 7-27-98; 91-357, eff. 7-29-99.)

10        Section 99.  Effective date.  This Act takes effect  upon
11    becoming law.

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