093_HB3021eng

 
HB3021 Engrossed                     LRB093 09972 DRJ 10222 b

 1        AN ACT in relation to public aid.

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

 4        Section  5.  The  Illinois  Public Aid Code is amended by
 5    changing Section 4-2 as follows:

 6        (305 ILCS 5/4-2) (from Ch. 23, par. 4-2)
 7        Sec. 4-2.  Amount of aid.
 8        (a)  The amount and nature  of  financial  aid  shall  be
 9    determined  in  accordance  with the grant amounts, rules and
10    regulations of the Illinois Department.  Due regard shall  be
11    given  to the self-sufficiency requirements of the family and
12    to the income, money  contributions  and  other  support  and
13    resources  available,  from  whatever  source.   However, the
14    amount and nature of any financial aid is not affected by the
15    payment of any grant under the "Senior Citizens and  Disabled
16    Persons  Property  Tax  Relief  and Pharmaceutical Assistance
17    Act" or any distributions or items of income described  under
18    subparagraph  (X)  of  paragraph  (2)  of  subsection  (a) of
19    Section 203 of the Illinois Income Tax Act.  The aid shall be
20    sufficient,  when  added   to   all   other   income,   money
21    contributions  and support to provide the family with a grant
22    in the amount established by Department regulation.
23        (b)  The  Illinois   Department   may   conduct   special
24    projects,  which  may  be  known as Grant Diversion Projects,
25    under which recipients of financial aid  under  this  Article
26    are  placed  in  jobs  and  their  grants are diverted to the
27    employer who in turn makes payments to the recipients in  the
28    form  of  salary  or other employment benefits.  The Illinois
29    Department shall by rule specify the terms and conditions  of
30    such Grant Diversion Projects.  Such projects shall take into
31    consideration   and   be   coordinated   with   the  programs
 
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 1    administered  under   the   Illinois   Emergency   Employment
 2    Development Act.
 3        (c)  The  amount  and  nature  of the financial aid for a
 4    child requiring care outside his own home shall be determined
 5    in accordance with the rules and regulations of the  Illinois
 6    Department,  with due regard to the needs and requirements of
 7    the child in the foster home or institution in which  he  has
 8    been placed.
 9        (d)  If  the  Department  establishes  grants  for family
10    units consisting exclusively of  a  pregnant  woman  with  no
11    dependent  child or including her husband if living with her,
12    the grant amount for such a unit shall be equal to the  grant
13    amount  for  an assistance unit consisting of one adult, or 2
14    persons if the husband is included.   Other  than  as  herein
15    described,   an   unborn   child  shall  not  be  counted  in
16    determining the size of an assistance unit or for calculating
17    grants.
18        Payments for basic maintenance requirements of a child or
19    children and the relative with whom the child or children are
20    living  shall  be  prescribed,  by  rule,  by  the   Illinois
21    Department.
22        Grants  under  this  Article shall not be supplemented by
23    General Assistance provided under Article VI.
24        (e)  Grants shall be paid to the parent or  other  person
25    with  whom  the child or children are living, except for such
26    amount as is paid in behalf of the child  or  his  parent  or
27    other  relative to other persons or agencies pursuant to this
28    Code or the rules and regulations of the Illinois Department.
29        (f)  Subject to subsection  (f-5),  an  assistance  unit,
30    receiving  financial  aid  under  this Article or temporarily
31    ineligible to receive aid under this Article under a  penalty
32    imposed by the Illinois Department for failure to comply with
33    the  eligibility  requirements  or  that voluntarily requests
34    termination of financial assistance under  this  Article  and
 
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 1    becomes subsequently eligible for assistance within 9 months,
 2    shall not receive any increase in the amount of aid solely on
 3    account  of  the birth of a child; except that an increase is
 4    not prohibited when the birth is (i) of a child of a pregnant
 5    woman who became eligible for aid under this  Article  during
 6    the pregnancy, or (ii) of a child born within 10 months after
 7    the date of implementation of this subsection, or  (iii) of a
 8    child   conceived   after  a  family  became  ineligible  for
 9    assistance due to income or marriage and at least 3 months of
10    ineligibility   expired   before   any   reapplication    for
11    assistance.   This  subsection  does  not, however, prevent a
12    unit from receiving a general increase in the amount  of  aid
13    that is provided to all recipients of aid under this Article.
14        The  Illinois Department is authorized to transfer funds,
15    and shall use  any  budgetary  savings  attributable  to  not
16    increasing  the  grants  due  to  the  births  of  additional
17    children,  to  supplement existing funding for employment and
18    training services for recipients of aid  under  this  Article
19    IV.   The Illinois Department shall target, to the extent the
20    supplemental funding allows, employment and training services
21    to the families who do not receive a grant increase after the
22    birth of a child.  In addition, the Illinois Department shall
23    provide, to the extent the supplemental funding allows,  such
24    families  with  up  to  24  months of transitional child care
25    pursuant  to  Illinois  Department  rules.    All   remaining
26    supplemental  funds shall be used for employment and training
27    services or transitional child care support.
28        In making the transfers authorized  by  this  subsection,
29    the  Illinois  Department  shall first determine, pursuant to
30    regulations adopted by  the  Illinois  Department  for   this
31    purpose, the amount of savings attributable to not increasing
32    the   grants  due  to  the  births  of  additional  children.
33    Transfers   may   be   made   from   General   Revenue   Fund
34    appropriations  for  distributive  purposes   authorized   by
 
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 1    Article  IV  of  this  Code  only  to  General  Revenue  Fund
 2    appropriations   for   employability   development   services
 3    including  operating  and  administrative  costs  and related
 4    distributive purposes under Article IXA  of  this  Code.  The
 5    Director,  with  the  approval of the Governor, shall certify
 6    the amount and affected line item appropriations to the State
 7    Comptroller.
 8        Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prohibit
 9    the Illinois Department from using funds under  this  Article
10    IV  to provide assistance in the form of vouchers that may be
11    used to pay for goods and services  deemed  by  the  Illinois
12    Department,  by  rule,  as suitable for the care of the child
13    such as diapers, clothing, school supplies, and cribs.
14        (f-5) Subsection  (f)  shall  not  apply  to  affect  the
15    monthly  assistance  amount  of any family as a result of the
16    birth of a child on or after January 1,  2004.  As  resources
17    permit  after  January  1,  2004,  the  Department  may cease
18    applying subsection  (f)  to  limit  assistance  to  families
19    receiving  assistance  under this Article on January 1, 2004,
20    with respect to children born prior  to  that  date.  In  any
21    event,  subsection (f) shall be completely inoperative on and
22    after July 1, 2007.
23        (g)  (Blank).
24        (h)  Notwithstanding any other provision  of  this  Code,
25    the  Illinois  Department  is  authorized  to  reduce payment
26    levels used to determine cash grants under this Article after
27    December 31 of any fiscal year  if  the  Illinois  Department
28    determines  that  the  caseload upon which the appropriations
29    for the current fiscal year are based have increased by  more
30    than  5%  and  the  appropriation is not sufficient to ensure
31    that cash benefits under  this  Article  do  not  exceed  the
32    amounts  appropriated for those cash benefits.  Reductions in
33    payment levels may be accomplished by  emergency  rule  under
34    Section  5-45  of  the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act,
 
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 1    except that the limitation on the number of  emergency  rules
 2    that  may be adopted in a 24-month period shall not apply and
 3    the provisions of Sections 5-115 and 5-125  of  the  Illinois
 4    Administrative  Procedure  Act  shall not apply. Increases in
 5    payment levels shall be accomplished only in accordance  with
 6    Section  5-40  of  the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act.
 7    Before any rule to increase payment levels promulgated  under
 8    this  Section  shall  become  effective,  a  joint resolution
 9    approving the rule must be adopted by a roll call vote  by  a
10    majority  of  the  members  elected  to  each  chamber of the
11    General Assembly.
12    (Source: P.A. 91-676, eff. 12-23-99; 92-111, eff. 1-1-02.)

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