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Public Act 093-0204


 

Public Act 93-0204 of the 93rd General Assembly


Public Act 93-0204

HB2221 Enrolled                      LRB093 06402 RCE 06524 b

    AN ACT concerning disabled persons.

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

    Section  5.  The  Illinois  Public Labor Relations Act is
amended by changing Sections 3 and 7 as follows:

    (5 ILCS 315/3) (from Ch. 48, par. 1603)
    Sec. 3.  Definitions.  As used in this  Act,  unless  the
context otherwise requires:
    (a)  "Board" means the Illinois Labor Relations Board or,
with  respect  to a matter over which the jurisdiction of the
Board is assigned to the State Panel or the Local Panel under
Section 5, the panel having jurisdiction over the matter.
    (b)  "Collective bargaining" means bargaining over  terms
and  conditions  of  employment,  including hours, wages, and
other conditions of employment, as detailed in Section 7  and
which are not excluded by Section 4.
    (c)  "Confidential  employee"  means  an employee who, in
the regular course of his or her duties, assists and acts  in
a  confidential capacity to persons who formulate, determine,
and effectuate  management  policies  with  regard  to  labor
relations or who, in the regular course of his or her duties,
has   authorized   access  to  information  relating  to  the
effectuation  or  review   of   the   employer's   collective
bargaining policies.
    (d)  "Craft  employees"  means skilled journeymen, crafts
persons, and their apprentices and helpers.
    (e)  "Essential services employees"  means  those  public
employees   performing   functions   so  essential  that  the
interruption or termination of the function will constitute a
clear and present danger to the  health  and  safety  of  the
persons in the affected community.
    (f)  "Exclusive  representative",  except with respect to
non-State fire  fighters  and  paramedics  employed  by  fire
departments  and  fire  protection districts, non-State peace
officers, and peace  officers  in  the  Department  of  State
Police,  means  the  labor  organization  that  has  been (i)
designated by the Board as the representative of  a  majority
of  public  employees  in  an  appropriate bargaining unit in
accordance with the procedures contained in  this  Act,  (ii)
historically  recognized  by  the  State  of  Illinois or any
political subdivision of the State before July 1,  1984  (the
effective  date  of this Act) as the exclusive representative
of the employees in an appropriate bargaining unit, or  (iii)
after   July  1,  1984  (the  effective  date  of  this  Act)
recognized by an employer upon evidence,  acceptable  to  the
Board, that the labor organization has been designated as the
exclusive representative by a majority of the employees in an
appropriate  bargaining  unit;  or  (iv)  recognized  as  the
exclusive  representative  of  personal  care  attendants  or
personal assistants under Executive Order 2003-8 prior to the
effective  date  of  this  amendatory Act of the 93rd General
Assembly, and the organization shall be considered to be  the
exclusive  representative  of the personal care attendants or
personal assistants as defined in this Section.
    With respect to non-State fire  fighters  and  paramedics
employed  by  fire departments and fire protection districts,
non-State  peace  officers,  and  peace   officers   in   the
Department  of State Police, "exclusive representative" means
the labor organization that has been (i)  designated  by  the
Board  as  the representative of a majority of peace officers
or  fire  fighters  in  an  appropriate  bargaining  unit  in
accordance with the procedures contained in  this  Act,  (ii)
historically  recognized  by  the  State  of  Illinois or any
political subdivision of the State  before  January  1,  1986
(the  effective  date  of this amendatory Act of 1985) as the
exclusive representative by a majority of the peace  officers
or  fire fighters in an appropriate bargaining unit, or (iii)
after January 1, 1986 (the effective date of this  amendatory
Act  of  1985)  recognized  by  an  employer  upon  evidence,
acceptable to the Board, that the labor organization has been
designated  as  the exclusive representative by a majority of
the  peace  officers  or  fire  fighters  in  an  appropriate
bargaining unit.
    (g)  "Fair share agreement" means  an  agreement  between
the  employer and an employee organization under which all or
any of the employees in  a  collective  bargaining  unit  are
required to pay their proportionate share of the costs of the
collective  bargaining  process, contract administration, and
pursuing matters affecting wages, hours, and other conditions
of employment, but not to exceed the amount of dues uniformly
required of members. The amount certified  by  the  exclusive
representative  shall  not include any fees for contributions
related to the election  or  support  of  any  candidate  for
political  office.  Nothing  in  this  subsection  (g)  shall
preclude   an   employee   from  making  voluntary  political
contributions in conjunction  with  his  or  her  fair  share
payment.
    (g-1)  "Fire fighter" means, for the purposes of this Act
only,  any person who has been or is hereafter appointed to a
fire department or fire protection district or employed by  a
state  university  and  sworn or commissioned to perform fire
fighter duties or paramedic duties, except that the following
persons are not included: part-time fire fighters, auxiliary,
reserve or voluntary fire fighters,  including  paid  on-call
fire  fighters,  clerks  and  dispatchers  or  other civilian
employees of a fire department or  fire  protection  district
who  are  not  routinely  expected  to  perform  fire fighter
duties, or elected officials.
    (g-2)  "General Assembly of the State of Illinois"  means
the  legislative  branch  of  the  government of the State of
Illinois,  as  provided  for  under   Article   IV   of   the
Constitution  of  the  State of Illinois, and includes but is
not limited to the House of Representatives, the Senate,  the
Speaker  of the House of Representatives, the Minority Leader
of the House of Representatives, the President of the Senate,
the Minority Leader of the Senate,  the  Joint  Committee  on
Legislative  Support  Services  and  any  legislative support
services  agency  listed  in   the   Legislative   Commission
Reorganization Act of 1984.
    (h)  "Governing  body"  means,  in the case of the State,
the State Panel of the Illinois Labor  Relations  Board,  the
Director  of  the  Department of Central Management Services,
and the Director of the Department of Labor; the county board
in the case of a county; the  corporate  authorities  in  the
case  of  a municipality; and the appropriate body authorized
to provide for expenditures of its funds in the case  of  any
other unit of government.
    (i)  "Labor organization" means any organization in which
public employees participate and that exists for the purpose,
in  whole  or  in  part,  of  dealing  with a public employer
concerning wages, hours, and other terms  and  conditions  of
employment, including the settlement of grievances.
    (j)  "Managerial  employee"  means  an  individual who is
engaged predominantly in executive and  management  functions
and  is  charged  with  the  responsibility  of directing the
effectuation of management policies and practices.
    (k)  "Peace officer" means, for the purposes of this  Act
only, any persons who have been or are hereafter appointed to
a   police   force,   department,  or  agency  and  sworn  or
commissioned  to  perform  police  duties,  except  that  the
following  persons  are  not   included:   part-time   police
officers,   special  police  officers,  auxiliary  police  as
defined by Section 3.1-30-20 of the Illinois Municipal  Code,
night watchmen, "merchant police", court security officers as
defined  by  Section 3-6012.1 of the Counties Code, temporary
employees, traffic guards or wardens, civilian parking  meter
and   parking   facilities  personnel  or  other  individuals
specially appointed to aid  or  direct  traffic  at  or  near
schools  or  public  functions  or to aid in civil defense or
disaster,  parking  enforcement   employees   who   are   not
commissioned  as peace officers and who are not armed and who
are not routinely expected to  effect  arrests,  parking  lot
attendants,   clerks   and   dispatchers  or  other  civilian
employees of  a  police  department  who  are  not  routinely
expected to effect arrests, or elected officials.
    (l)  "Person"  includes  one  or  more individuals, labor
organizations, public employees, associations,  corporations,
legal  representatives,  trustees,  trustees  in  bankruptcy,
receivers,   or  the  State  of  Illinois  or  any  political
subdivision of the State or  governing  body,  but  does  not
include  the General Assembly of the State of Illinois or any
individual employed by the General Assembly of the  State  of
Illinois.
    (m)  "Professional  employee"  means any employee engaged
in work predominantly intellectual and  varied  in  character
rather  than  routine  mental, manual, mechanical or physical
work; involving the consistent  exercise  of  discretion  and
adjustment  in  its performance; of such a character that the
output  produced  or  the  result  accomplished   cannot   be
standardized  in  relation  to  a  given  period of time; and
requiring  advanced  knowledge  in  a  field  of  science  or
learning  customarily  acquired  by  a  prolonged  course  of
specialized  intellectual  instruction  and   study   in   an
institution   of   higher   learning   or   a   hospital,  as
distinguished from  a  general  academic  education  or  from
apprenticeship or from training in the performance of routine
mental,  manual,  or  physical processes; or any employee who
has  completed  the  courses  of   specialized   intellectual
instruction  and  study prescribed in this subsection (m) and
is  performing  related  work  under  the  supervision  of  a
professional person  to  qualify  to  become  a  professional
employee as defined in this subsection (m).
    (n)  "Public employee" or "employee", for the purposes of
this Act, means any individual employed by a public employer,
including  interns  and residents at public hospitals and, as
of the effective date of this  amendatory  Act  of  the  93rd
General  Assembly,  but  not before, personal care attendants
and personal  assistants  working  under  the  Home  Services
Program   under   Section   3   of   the   Disabled   Persons
Rehabilitation  Act,  subject to the limitations set forth in
this Act and in the Disabled Persons Rehabilitation Act,  but
excluding  all  of  the  following:  employees of the General
Assembly  of  the  State  of  Illinois;  elected   officials;
executive  heads  of  a  department;  members  of  boards  or
commissions;  employees  of  any  agency, board or commission
created by this Act; employees appointed to  State  positions
of  a  temporary or emergency nature; all employees of school
districts   and   higher   education   institutions    except
firefighters   and   peace   officers  employed  by  a  state
university;  managerial  employees;   short-term   employees;
confidential    employees;   independent   contractors;   and
supervisors except as provided in this Act.
    Personal care attendants and  personal  assistants  shall
not  be  considered  public  employees  for  any purposes not
specifically provided for in this amendatory Act of the  93rd
General  Assembly,  including but not limited to, purposes of
vicarious  liability  in  tort  and  purposes  of   statutory
retirement   or  health  insurance  benefits.  Personal  care
attendants and personal assistants shall not  be  covered  by
the  State  Employees  Group  Insurance  Act  of 1971 (5 ILCS
375/).
    Notwithstanding Section 9, subsection (c), or  any  other
provisions  of this Act, all peace officers above the rank of
captain  in   municipalities   with   more   than   1,000,000
inhabitants shall be excluded from this Act.
    (o)  "Public  employer"  or "employer" means the State of
Illinois; any political subdivision of  the  State,  unit  of
local  government  or  school district; authorities including
departments,  divisions,  bureaus,  boards,  commissions,  or
other agencies of the  foregoing  entities;  and  any  person
acting  within  the scope of his or her authority, express or
implied, on behalf of those  entities  in  dealing  with  its
employees. As of the effective date of this amendatory Act of
the  93rd  General  Assembly,  but  not  before, the State of
Illinois shall be considered the  employer  of  the  personal
care  attendants  and  personal  assistants working under the
Home Services Program under Section 3 of the Disabled Persons
Rehabilitation Act, subject to the limitations set  forth  in
this  Act and in the Disabled Persons Rehabilitation Act. The
State shall not be considered to be the employer of  personal
care  attendants and personal assistants for any purposes not
specifically provided for in this amendatory Act of the  93rd
General  Assembly,  including but not limited to, purposes of
vicarious  liability  in  tort  and  purposes  of   statutory
retirement   or  health  insurance  benefits.  Personal  care
attendants and personal assistants shall not  be  covered  by
the  State  Employees  Group  Insurance  Act  of 1971 (5 ILCS
375/). "Public employer" or "employer" as used in  this  Act,
however,  does  not  mean  and  shall not include the General
Assembly of the State of Illinois and  educational  employers
or  employers  as  defined  in the Illinois Educational Labor
Relations Act, except with respect to a state  university  in
its  employment  of  firefighters and peace officers.  County
boards and county sheriffs shall be designated  as  joint  or
co-employers  of  county  peace  officers appointed under the
authority of a county sheriff.  Nothing  in  this  subsection
(o)  shall  be  construed  to  prevent the State Panel or the
Local Panel from determining  that  employers  are  joint  or
co-employers.
    (p)  "Security   employee"   means  an  employee  who  is
responsible for the supervision and  control  of  inmates  at
correctional   facilities.   The  term  also  includes  other
non-security  employees  in  bargaining  units   having   the
majority  of  employees being responsible for the supervision
and control of inmates at correctional facilities.
    (q)  "Short-term  employee"  means  an  employee  who  is
employed for less than 2 consecutive calendar quarters during
a calendar year and who does not have a reasonable  assurance
that  he  or she will be rehired by the same employer for the
same service in a subsequent calendar year.
    (r)  "Supervisor" is an employee whose principal work  is
substantially  different from that of his or her subordinates
and who has authority, in the interest of  the  employer,  to
hire, transfer, suspend, lay off, recall, promote, discharge,
direct,  reward,  or  discipline  employees,  to adjust their
grievances, or to effectively recommend any of those actions,
if the exercise of that authority is not of a merely  routine
or  clerical  nature,  but  requires  the  consistent  use of
independent  judgment.  Except   with   respect   to   police
employment,   the   term  "supervisor"  includes  only  those
individuals who devote a preponderance  of  their  employment
time   to   exercising   that  authority,  State  supervisors
notwithstanding.  In  addition,  in  determining  supervisory
status in police employment, rank shall not be determinative.
The  Board  shall  consider,  as  evidence of bargaining unit
inclusion or exclusion, the common law  enforcement  policies
and   relationships   between   police   officer   ranks  and
certification under applicable civil service law, ordinances,
personnel codes,  or  Division  2.1  of  Article  10  of  the
Illinois  Municipal  Code, but these factors shall not be the
sole or  predominant  factors  considered  by  the  Board  in
determining police supervisory status.
    Notwithstanding   the   provisions   of   the   preceding
paragraph,  in determining supervisory status in fire fighter
employment, no fire fighter shall be excluded as a supervisor
who has established representation rights under Section 9  of
this  Act.   Further,  in  new  fire fighter units, employees
shall consist of fire fighters of the rank of company officer
and below. If a company  officer  otherwise  qualifies  as  a
supervisor  under the preceding paragraph, however, he or she
shall not be included in the fire fighter unit.  If there  is
no  rank  between  that  of  chief  and  the  highest company
officer, the employer may designate a position on each  shift
as  a  Shift  Commander,  and  the  persons  occupying  those
positions  shall  be supervisors.  All other ranks above that
of company officer shall be supervisors.
    (s) (1)  "Unit" means a class of jobs or  positions  that
    are  held  by  employees  whose  collective interests may
    suitably be  represented  by  a  labor  organization  for
    collective  bargaining.  Except with respect to non-State
    fire fighters and paramedics employed by fire departments
    and fire protection districts, non-State peace  officers,
    and  peace  officers in the Department of State Police, a
    bargaining unit determined by the Board shall not include
    both employees  and  supervisors,  or  supervisors  only,
    except  as  provided  in paragraph (2) of this subsection
    (s) and except for bargaining units in existence on  July
    1,  1984  (the effective date of this Act).  With respect
    to non-State fire fighters  and  paramedics  employed  by
    fire departments and fire protection districts, non-State
    peace  officers,  and peace officers in the Department of
    State Police, a bargaining unit determined by  the  Board
    shall not include both supervisors and nonsupervisors, or
    supervisors  only, except as provided in paragraph (2) of
    this subsection (s) and except for  bargaining  units  in
    existence  on January 1, 1986 (the effective date of this
    amendatory Act of 1985).  A bargaining unit determined by
    the Board to contain  peace  officers  shall  contain  no
    employees  other  than  peace  officers  unless otherwise
    agreed to by the employer and the labor  organization  or
    labor  organizations involved.  Notwithstanding any other
    provision of this Act, a  bargaining  unit,  including  a
    historical   bargaining   unit,  containing  sworn  peace
    officers of the Department of Natural Resources (formerly
    designated the Department of Conservation) shall  contain
    no  employees  other  than such sworn peace officers upon
    the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1990 or upon
    the  expiration  date  of   any   collective   bargaining
    agreement  in  effect  upon  the  effective  date of this
    amendatory Act of 1990 covering  both  such  sworn  peace
    officers and other employees.
         (2)  Notwithstanding  the  exclusion  of supervisors
    from bargaining units as provided  in  paragraph  (1)  of
    this  subsection  (s),  a  public  employer  may agree to
    permit its supervisory employees to form bargaining units
    and may bargain with those units.  This Act  shall  apply
    if  the  public  employer  chooses  to bargain under this
    subsection.
(Source: P.A.  90-14,  eff.  7-1-97;  90-655,  eff.  7-30-98;
91-798, eff. 7-9-00.)

    (5 ILCS 315/7) (from Ch. 48, par. 1607)
    Sec. 7.  Duty to bargain.   A  public  employer  and  the
exclusive  representative  have the authority and the duty to
bargain collectively set forth in this Section.
    For the purposes of this Act, "to  bargain  collectively"
means  the performance of the mutual obligation of the public
employer   or   his   designated   representative   and   the
representative of the public employees to meet at  reasonable
times,  including  meetings  in  advance of the budget-making
process, and to negotiate  in  good  faith  with  respect  to
wages,   hours,  and  other  conditions  of  employment,  not
excluded by Section 4 of this Act, or the negotiation  of  an
agreement,   or  any  question  arising  thereunder  and  the
execution of a written contract incorporating  any  agreement
reached  if  requested  by  either party, but such obligation
does not compel either  party  to  agree  to  a  proposal  or
require the making of a concession.
    The  duty "to bargain collectively" shall also include an
obligation to negotiate  over  any  matter  with  respect  to
wages,   hours   and  other  conditions  of  employment,  not
specifically  provided  for  in  any   other   law   or   not
specifically  in  violation of the provisions of any law.  If
any other  law pertains, in part, to a matter  affecting  the
wages,  hours  and other conditions of employment, such other
law shall not be construed as limiting the duty  "to  bargain
collectively"   and   to  enter  into  collective  bargaining
agreements  containing  clauses  which   either   supplement,
implement,  or  relate  to  the  effect of such provisions in
other laws.
    The duty "to bargain  collectively"  shall  also  include
negotiations  as  to  the  terms  of  a collective bargaining
agreement. The parties may, by mutual agreement, provide  for
arbitration  of  impasses  resulting  from their inability to
agree  upon  wages,  hours  and  terms  and   conditions   of
employment   to   be  included  in  a  collective  bargaining
agreement. Such arbitration provisions shall  be  subject  to
the  Illinois  "Uniform Arbitration Act" unless agreed by the
parties.
    The duty "to bargain collectively" shall also  mean  that
no  party to a collective bargaining contract shall terminate
or modify such  contract,  unless  the  party  desiring  such
termination or modification:
    (1)  serves  a written notice upon the other party to the
contract of the proposed termination or modification 60  days
prior  to  the  expiration date thereof, or in the event such
contract contains no expiration date, 60 days  prior  to  the
time it is proposed to make such termination or modification;
    (2)  offers  to  meet and confer with the other party for
the purpose of negotiating  a  new  contract  or  a  contract
containing the proposed modifications;
    (3)  notifies  the Board within 30 days after such notice
of the existence of a dispute, provided no agreement has been
reached by that time; and
    (4)  continues  in  full  force   and   effect,   without
resorting  to strike or lockout, all the terms and conditions
of the existing contract for a period of 60 days  after  such
notice  is  given  to the other party or until the expiration
date of such contract, whichever occurs later.
    The duties imposed upon employers,  employees  and  labor
organizations  by  paragraphs  (2),  (3) and (4) shall become
inapplicable upon an intervening certification of the  Board,
under  which  the labor organization, which is a party to the
contract,  has  been  superseded  as  or  ceased  to  be  the
exclusive representative of the  employees  pursuant  to  the
provisions  of subsection (a) of Section 9, and the duties so
imposed shall not be construed as requiring either  party  to
discuss  or  agree  to  any  modification  of  the  terms and
conditions contained in a contract for  a  fixed  period,  if
such  modification  is  to become effective before such terms
and conditions can be reopened under the  provisions  of  the
contract.
    Collective  bargaining  for  personal care attendants and
personal assistants under the Home Services Program shall  be
limited  to  the terms and conditions of employment under the
State's control, as defined in this  amendatory  Act  of  the
93rd General Assembly.
(Source: P.A. 83-1012.)

    Section  10.  The  Disabled Persons Rehabilitation Act is
amended by changing Section 3 as follows:

    (20 ILCS 2405/3) (from Ch. 23, par. 3434)
    Sec. 3.  Powers and duties. The Department shall have the
powers and duties enumerated herein:
    (a)  To co-operate with the  federal  government  in  the
administration    of    the   provisions   of   the   federal
Rehabilitation Act of 1973,  as  amended,  of  the  Workforce
Investment  Act  of  1998, and of the federal Social Security
Act to the extent and in the manner provided in these Acts.
    (b)  To  prescribe  and   supervise   such   courses   of
vocational training and provide such other services as may be
necessary  for the habilitation and rehabilitation of persons
with one or more disabilities, including  the  administrative
activities  under  subsection  (e)  of  this  Section, and to
co-operate with State and local school authorities and  other
recognized  agencies  engaged in habilitation, rehabilitation
and comprehensive rehabilitation services; and  to  cooperate
with the Department of Children and Family Services regarding
the   care  and  education  of  children  with  one  or  more
disabilities.
    (c)  (Blank).
    (d)  To report in writing, to the Governor,  annually  on
or  before the first day of December, and at such other times
and in such manner and upon such subjects as the Governor may
require.  The annual report shall contain (1) a statement  of
the   existing   condition  of  comprehensive  rehabilitation
services, habilitation and rehabilitation in the State; (2) a
statement of suggestions and recommendations  with  reference
to  the development of comprehensive rehabilitation services,
habilitation and rehabilitation in  the  State;  and  (3)  an
itemized  statement  of  the  amounts  of money received from
federal, State and other sources,  and  of  the  objects  and
purposes  to  which  the  respective  items  of these several
amounts have been devoted.
    (e)  (Blank).
    (f)  To  establish  a  program  of  services  to  prevent
unnecessary institutionalization of persons with  Alzheimer's
disease and related disorders or persons in need of long term
care  who  are established as blind or disabled as defined by
the Social Security Act, thereby enabling them to  remain  in
their own homes or other living arrangements. Such preventive
services  may  include, but are not limited to, any or all of
the following:
         (1)  home health services;
         (2)  home nursing services;
         (3)  homemaker services;
         (4)  chore and housekeeping services;
         (5)  day care services;
         (6)  home-delivered meals;
         (7)  education in self-care;
         (8)  personal care services;
         (9)  adult day health services;
         (10)  habilitation services;
         (11)  respite care; or
         (12)  other  nonmedical  social  services  that  may
    enable the person to become self-supporting.
    The Department shall establish eligibility standards  for
such  services  taking into consideration the unique economic
and social needs of the population for whom they  are  to  be
provided.   Such  eligibility  standards  may be based on the
recipient's ability to pay for services;  provided,  however,
that  any  portion  of  a person's income that is equal to or
less  than  the  "protected  income"  level  shall   not   be
considered by the Department in determining eligibility.  The
"protected   income"   level   shall  be  determined  by  the
Department, shall never be  less  than  the  federal  poverty
standard,  and shall be adjusted each year to reflect changes
in the Consumer  Price  Index  For  All  Urban  Consumers  as
determined   by   the  United  States  Department  of  Labor.
Additionally,  in  determining  the  amount  and  nature   of
services  for which a person may qualify, consideration shall
not be given to the value of cash, property or  other  assets
held in the name of the person's spouse pursuant to a written
agreement  dividing  marital property into equal but separate
shares or pursuant to a transfer of the person's interest  in
a home to his spouse, provided that the spouse's share of the
marital  property is not made available to the person seeking
such services.
    The services shall be provided  to  eligible  persons  to
prevent unnecessary or premature institutionalization, to the
extent that the cost of the services, together with the other
personal  maintenance expenses of the persons, are reasonably
related to the standards established  for  care  in  a  group
facility    appropriate    to    their    condition.    These
non-institutional services, pilot  projects  or  experimental
facilities may be provided as part of or in addition to those
authorized by federal law or those funded and administered by
the Illinois Department on Aging.
    Personal care attendants shall be paid:
         (i)  A  $5  per  hour minimum rate beginning July 1,
    1995.
         (ii)  A $5.30 per hour minimum rate  beginning  July
    1, 1997.
         (iii)  A  $5.40 per hour minimum rate beginning July
    1, 1998.
    Solely for the purposes of coverage  under  the  Illinois
Public  Labor  Relations  Act  (5  ILCS  315/), personal care
attendants and personal assistants providing  services  under
the Department's Home Services Program shall be considered to
be  public  employees  and  the  State  of  Illinois shall be
considered to be their employer as of the effective  date  of
this  amendatory  Act  of  the 93rd General Assembly, but not
before. The State shall engage in collective bargaining  with
an  exclusive  representative of personal care attendants and
personal assistants working under the Home  Services  Program
concerning  their terms and conditions of employment that are
within the State's control. Nothing in this  paragraph  shall
be  understood  to  limit  the right of the persons receiving
services defined in this Section to hire  and  fire  personal
care  attendants  and  personal  assistants or supervise them
within the limitations set by the Home Services Program.  The
State  shall not be considered to be the employer of personal
care attendants and personal assistants for any purposes  not
specifically  provided  in  this  amendatory  Act of the 93rd
General Assembly, including but not limited to,  purposes  of
vicarious   liability  in  tort  and  purposes  of  statutory
retirement  or  health  insurance  benefits.  Personal   care
attendants  and  personal  assistants shall not be covered by
the State Employees Group  Insurance  Act  of  1971  (5  ILCS
375/).
    The  Department  shall  execute,  relative to the nursing
home prescreening project, as authorized by Section  4.03  of
the   Illinois   Act   on  the  Aging,  written  inter-agency
agreements with the Department on Aging and the Department of
Public Aid, to effect the following:  (i)  intake  procedures
and  common  eligibility  criteria  for those persons who are
receiving   non-institutional   services;   and   (ii)    the
establishment  and  development of non-institutional services
in areas of the State where they are not currently  available
or  are  undeveloped.  On and after July 1, 1996, all nursing
home prescreenings for individuals 18 through 59 years of age
shall be conducted by the Department.
    The Department is authorized to  establish  a  system  of
recipient  cost-sharing  for  services  provided  under  this
Section.    The   cost-sharing   shall   be  based  upon  the
recipient's ability to pay for services, but in no case shall
the recipient's share exceed the actual cost of the  services
provided.   Protected  income  shall not be considered by the
Department in its determination of the recipient's ability to
pay  a  share  of  the  cost  of  services.   The  level   of
cost-sharing  shall  be adjusted each year to reflect changes
in the "protected income" level.  The Department shall deduct
from the recipient's share of the cost of services any  money
expended by the recipient for disability-related expenses.
    The    Department,   or   the   Department's   authorized
representative, shall recover the amount of  moneys  expended
for  services provided to or in behalf of a person under this
Section by a claim against the person's estate or against the
estate of the person's surviving spouse, but no recovery  may
be had until after the death of the surviving spouse, if any,
and  then  only at such time when there is no surviving child
who is under  age  21,  blind,  or  permanently  and  totally
disabled.   This  paragraph, however, shall not bar recovery,
at the death of the person, of moneys for  services  provided
to  the  person or in behalf of the person under this Section
to which the person was  not  entitled;  provided  that  such
recovery  shall not be enforced against any real estate while
it is occupied as a homestead  by  the  surviving  spouse  or
other  dependent,  if  no claims by other creditors have been
filed against the estate, or, if such claims have been filed,
they remain dormant for failure of prosecution or failure  of
the  claimant  to compel administration of the estate for the
purpose of payment.  This paragraph shall  not  bar  recovery
from  the estate of a spouse, under Sections 1915 and 1924 of
the Social Security Act  and  Section  5-4  of  the  Illinois
Public  Aid  Code,  who  precedes a person receiving services
under this Section in death.  All moneys for services paid to
or in behalf of  the  person  under  this  Section  shall  be
claimed  for  recovery  from  the  deceased  spouse's estate.
"Homestead", as used in this paragraph,  means  the  dwelling
house  and  contiguous  real  estate  occupied by a surviving
spouse or relative, as defined by the rules  and  regulations
of  the  Illinois Department of Public Aid, regardless of the
value of the property.
    The  Department  and  the  Department  on   Aging   shall
cooperate  in  the  development  and  submission of an annual
report on programs and services provided under this  Section.
Such  joint  report  shall be filed with the Governor and the
General Assembly on or before March 30 each year.
    The requirement for reporting  to  the  General  Assembly
shall  be  satisfied  by filing copies of the report with the
Speaker, the Minority Leader and the Clerk of  the  House  of
Representatives  and  the  President, the Minority Leader and
the Secretary of the  Senate  and  the  Legislative  Research
Unit,  as  required  by  Section  3.1 of the General Assembly
Organization Act, and filing additional copies with the State
Government  Report  Distribution  Center  for   the   General
Assembly  as required under paragraph (t) of Section 7 of the
State Library Act.
    (g)  To establish such subdivisions of the Department  as
shall be desirable and assign to the various subdivisions the
responsibilities  and  duties  placed  upon the Department by
law.
    (h)  To cooperate and enter into any necessary agreements
with the Department of Employment Security for the  provision
of  job placement and job referral services to clients of the
Department,  including  job  service  registration  of   such
clients  with Illinois Employment Security offices and making
job listings  maintained  by  the  Department  of  Employment
Security available to such clients.
    (i)  To  possess  all powers reasonable and necessary for
the exercise and administration of  the  powers,  duties  and
responsibilities  of the Department which are provided for by
law.
    (j)  To establish a procedure whereby  new  providers  of
personal care attendant services shall submit vouchers to the
State  for  payment  two  times  during  their first month of
employment and one time per month  thereafter.   In  no  case
shall  the  Department pay personal care attendants an hourly
wage that is less than the federal minimum wage.
    (k)  To provide adequate notice to providers of chore and
housekeeping services informing them that they  are  entitled
to  an  interest payment on bills which are not promptly paid
pursuant to Section 3 of the State Prompt Payment Act.
    (l)  To  establish,  operate  and  maintain  a  Statewide
Housing Clearinghouse of information on available, government
subsidized  housing  accessible  to  disabled   persons   and
available  privately  owned  housing  accessible  to disabled
persons.  The information shall include but not be limited to
the  location,  rental  requirements,  access  features   and
proximity to public transportation of available housing.  The
Clearinghouse  shall  consist  of  at  least  a  computerized
database  for  the storage and retrieval of information and a
separate or shared toll free  telephone  number  for  use  by
those seeking information from the Clearinghouse.  Department
offices  and personnel throughout the State shall also assist
in the operation  of  the  Statewide  Housing  Clearinghouse.
Cooperation  with  local,  State and federal housing managers
shall be sought and  extended  in  order  to  frequently  and
promptly update the Clearinghouse's information.
    (m)  To assure that the names and case records of persons
who  received  or are receiving services from the Department,
including persons receiving vocational  rehabilitation,  home
services,  or  other services, and those attending one of the
Department's schools or other supervised  facility  shall  be
confidential  and  not  be open to the general public.  Those
case records and reports  or  the  information  contained  in
those  records and reports shall be disclosed by the Director
only  to  proper  law  enforcement   officials,   individuals
authorized  by a court, the General Assembly or any committee
or commission of the General Assembly, and other persons  and
for  reasons  as the Director designates by rule.  Disclosure
by  the  Director  may  be  only  in  accordance  with  other
applicable law.
(Source: P.A. 91-540, eff. 8-13-99; 92-84, eff. 7-1-02.)

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

Effective Date: 07/16/2003