HB3815 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

  
  

 


 
102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
HB3815

 

Introduced 2/22/2021, by Rep. Thaddeus Jones

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
New Act
820 ILCS 315/2  from Ch. 48, par. 282
820 ILCS 315/3  from Ch. 48, par. 283
820 ILCS 315/4  from Ch. 48, par. 284

    Creates the COVID-19 Family Assistance Program. Provides for the Illinois Department of Public Health to administer a program for the payment of $25,000 to families of persons who die because of COVID-19. Authorizes the Department to adopt rules necessary for the administration of the Program. Requires annual reports to the Governor and General Assembly. Amends the Line of Duty Compensation Act. Creates a benefit of $50,000 for health care workers who die as a result of COVID-19. Defines terms. Effective immediately.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

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1    AN ACT concerning employment.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5COVID-19 Family Assistance Program Act.
 
6    Section 5. Findings. The General Assembly finds that:
7        (1) the coronavirus first began to impact Illinois in
8    January of 2020;
9        (2) across Illinois, the COVID-19 pandemic has taken
10    countless lives and created unprecedented challenges for
11    many others;
12        (3) there have been over 20,000 deaths in Illinois as
13    of January 2021;
14        (4) payments for current COVID-19 reimbursement
15    legislation will total over $200,000,000; and
16        (5) this Act will spread the financial burden out over
17    several years.
 
18    Section 10. Definitions.
19    "COVID-19" means the illness caused by the coronavirus
20SARS-CoV-2.
21    "Department" means the Illinois Department of Public
22health.
 

 

 

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1    Section 15. COVID-19 Family Assistance Program.
2    (a) There is established within the Department a COVID-19
3Family Assistance Program, which is charged with the
4responsibility of providing assistance to families of persons
5who die as a result of COVID-19.
6    (b) A family is entitled to assistance under this Act if,
7within one year after the death of a family member resulting
8from COVID-19, an application is filed, under oath, with the
9Department on a form prescribed by the Department.
 
10    Section 20. Amount of assistance. The amount of assistance
11under this Act is $25,000 payable in a lump sum. Payments under
12this Act are subject to appropriation. Payments with respect
13to persons who died in 2020 shall be made in fiscal year 2022.
14Payments with respect to persons who die in 2021 shall be made
15in fiscal year 2023.
 
16    Section 25. Rules. The Department shall adopt rules
17necessary for the administration of the COVID-19 Family
18Assistance Program.
 
19    Section 30. Annual report. On or before January 1 of each
20year, the Department shall report to the Governor and to the
21General Assembly the following information:
22        (1) the number of claims filed with the Department

 

 

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1    under this Act;
2        (2) the number of claims approved for payment by the
3    Department during the preceding calendar year; and
4        (3) other information as may be requested by the
5    Governor.
 
6    Section 35. Cessation of payments under the Act.
7Compensation under this Act shall not be paid with respect to a
8death that resulted from an exposure to COVID-19 occurring
9after the expiration of all Executive Orders issued by the
10Governor declaring an emergency as a result of COVID-19.
 
11    Section 90. The Line of Duty Compensation Act is amended
12by changing Sections 2, 3, and 4 as follows:
 
13    (820 ILCS 315/2)   (from Ch. 48, par. 282)
14    Sec. 2. As used in this Act, unless the context otherwise
15requires:
16    (a) "Law enforcement officer" or "officer" means any
17person employed by the State or a local governmental entity as
18a policeman, peace officer, auxiliary policeman or in some
19like position involving the enforcement of the law and
20protection of the public interest at the risk of that person's
21life. This includes supervisors, wardens, superintendents and
22their assistants, guards and keepers, correctional officers,
23youth supervisors, parole agents, aftercare specialists,

 

 

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1school teachers and correctional counsellors in all facilities
2of both the Department of Corrections and the Department of
3Juvenile Justice, while within the facilities under the
4control of the Department of Corrections or the Department of
5Juvenile Justice or in the act of transporting inmates or
6wards from one location to another or while performing their
7official duties, and all other Department of Correction or
8Department of Juvenile Justice employees who have daily
9contact with inmates.
10    The death of the foregoing employees of the Department of
11Corrections or the Department of Juvenile Justice in order to
12be included herein must be by the direct or indirect willful
13act of an inmate, ward, work-releasee, parolee, aftercare
14releasee, parole violator, aftercare release violator, person
15under conditional release, or any person sentenced or
16committed, or otherwise subject to confinement in or to the
17Department of Corrections or the Department of Juvenile
18Justice.
19    (b) "Fireman" means any person employed by the State or a
20local governmental entity as, or otherwise serving as, a
21member or officer of a fire department either for the purpose
22of the prevention or control of fire or the underwater
23recovery of drowning victims, including volunteer firemen.
24    (c) "Local governmental entity" includes counties,
25municipalities and municipal corporations.
26    (d) "State" means the State of Illinois and its

 

 

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1departments, divisions, boards, bureaus, commissions,
2authorities and colleges and universities.
3    (e) "Killed in the line of duty" means losing one's life as
4a result of injury received in the active performance of
5duties as a law enforcement officer, civil defense worker,
6civil air patrol member, paramedic, fireman, or chaplain if
7the death occurs within one year from the date the injury was
8received and if that injury arose from violence or other
9accidental cause. In the case of health care worker, "killed
10in the line of duty" means losing one's life as a result of
11COVID-19. In the case of a State employee, "killed in the line
12of duty" means losing one's life as a result of injury received
13in the active performance of one's duties as a State employee,
14if the death occurs within one year from the date the injury
15was received and if that injury arose from a willful act of
16violence by another State employee committed during such other
17employee's course of employment and after January 1, 1988. The
18term excludes death resulting from the willful misconduct or
19intoxication of the officer, civil defense worker, civil air
20patrol member, paramedic, fireman, chaplain, or State
21employee. However, the burden of proof of such willful
22misconduct or intoxication of the officer, civil defense
23worker, civil air patrol member, paramedic, fireman, chaplain,
24or State employee is on the Attorney General. Subject to the
25conditions set forth in subsection (a) with respect to
26inclusion under this Act of Department of Corrections and

 

 

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1Department of Juvenile Justice employees described in that
2subsection, for the purposes of this Act, instances in which a
3law enforcement officer receives an injury in the active
4performance of duties as a law enforcement officer include but
5are not limited to instances when:
6        (1) the injury is received as a result of a wilful act
7    of violence committed other than by the officer and a
8    relationship exists between the commission of such act and
9    the officer's performance of his duties as a law
10    enforcement officer, whether or not the injury is received
11    while the officer is on duty as a law enforcement officer;
12        (2) the injury is received by the officer while the
13    officer is attempting to prevent the commission of a
14    criminal act by another or attempting to apprehend an
15    individual the officer suspects has committed a crime,
16    whether or not the injury is received while the officer is
17    on duty as a law enforcement officer;
18        (3) the injury is received by the officer while the
19    officer is travelling to or from his employment as a law
20    enforcement officer or during any meal break, or other
21    break, which takes place during the period in which the
22    officer is on duty as a law enforcement officer.
23    In the case of an Armed Forces member, "killed in the line
24of duty" means losing one's life while on active duty in
25connection with the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on
26the United States, Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation

 

 

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1Freedom's Sentinel, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation New
2Dawn, or Operation Inherent Resolve.
3    (f) "Volunteer fireman" means a person having principal
4employment other than as a fireman, but who is carried on the
5rolls of a regularly constituted fire department either for
6the purpose of the prevention or control of fire or the
7underwater recovery of drowning victims, the members of which
8are under the jurisdiction of the corporate authorities of a
9city, village, incorporated town, or fire protection district,
10and includes a volunteer member of a fire department organized
11under the "General Not for Profit Corporation Act", approved
12July 17, 1943, as now or hereafter amended, which is under
13contract with any city, village, incorporated town, fire
14protection district, or persons residing therein, for fire
15fighting services. "Volunteer fireman" does not mean an
16individual who volunteers assistance without being regularly
17enrolled as a fireman.
18    (g) "Civil defense worker" means any person employed by
19the State or a local governmental entity as, or otherwise
20serving as, a member of a civil defense work force, including
21volunteer civil defense work forces engaged in serving the
22public interest during periods of disaster, whether natural or
23man-made.
24    (h) "Civil air patrol member" means any person employed by
25the State or a local governmental entity as, or otherwise
26serving as, a member of the organization commonly known as the

 

 

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1"Civil Air Patrol", including volunteer members of the
2organization commonly known as the "Civil Air Patrol".
3    (i) "Paramedic" means an Emergency Medical
4Technician-Paramedic certified by the Illinois Department of
5Public Health under the Emergency Medical Services (EMS)
6Systems Act, and all other emergency medical personnel
7certified by the Illinois Department of Public Health who are
8members of an organized body or not-for-profit corporation
9under the jurisdiction of a city, village, incorporated town,
10fire protection district or county, that provides emergency
11medical treatment to persons of a defined geographical area.
12    (j) "State employee" means any employee as defined in
13Section 14-103.05 of the Illinois Pension Code, as now or
14hereafter amended.
15    (k) "Chaplain" means an individual who:
16        (1) is a chaplain of (i) a fire department or (ii) a
17    police department or other agency consisting of law
18    enforcement officers; and
19        (2) has been designated a chaplain by (i) the fire
20    department, police department, or other agency or an
21    officer or body having jurisdiction over the department or
22    agency or (ii) a labor organization representing the
23    firemen or law enforcement officers.
24    (l) "Armed Forces member" means an Illinois resident who
25is: a member of the Armed Forces of the United States; a member
26of the Illinois National Guard while on active military

 

 

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1service pursuant to an order of the President of the United
2States; or a member of any reserve component of the Armed
3Forces of the United States while on active military service
4pursuant to an order of the President of the United States.
5    (m) "COVID-19" means the illness caused by the coronavirus
6SARS-CoV-2.
7    (n) "Health care worker" means a person who has the
8potential to be exposed to patients and infectious materials
9such as contaminated medical supplies, contaminated equipment,
10contaminated environmental surfaces,and contaminated air.
11"Health care worker" includes, but is not limited to,
12physicians, nurses, nursing assistants, technicians, emergency
13medical service personnel, laboratory personnel, and persons
14not directly involved in patient care such as dietary,
15housekeeping, laundry, security, maintenance, and volunteers,
16but who are potentially exposed to infectious diseases.
17(Source: P.A. 100-226, eff. 8-18-17.)
 
18    (820 ILCS 315/3)   (from Ch. 48, par. 283)
19    Sec. 3. Duty death benefit.
20    (a) If a claim therefor is made within one year of the date
21of death of a law enforcement officer, civil defense worker,
22civil air patrol member, paramedic, fireman, chaplain, or
23State employee killed in the line of duty, or if a claim
24therefor is made within 2 years of the date of death of an
25Armed Forces member killed in the line of duty, compensation

 

 

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1shall be paid to the person designated by the law enforcement
2officer, civil defense worker, civil air patrol member,
3paramedic, fireman, chaplain, State employee, or Armed Forces
4member. However, if the Armed Forces member was killed in the
5line of duty before October 18, 2004, the claim must be made
6within one year of October 18, 2004. In the case of a health
7care worker, if a claim therefor in made within one year of the
8date of death as a result of COVID-19, compensation shall be
9paid to the person designated by the deceased.
10    (b) The amount of compensation, except for an Armed Forces
11member or health care worker, shall be $10,000 if the death in
12the line of duty occurred prior to January 1, 1974; $20,000 if
13such death occurred after December 31, 1973 and before July 1,
141983; $50,000 if such death occurred on or after July 1, 1983
15and before January 1, 1996; $100,000 if the death occurred on
16or after January 1, 1996 and before May 18, 2001; $118,000 if
17the death occurred on or after May 18, 2001 and before July 1,
182002; and $259,038 if the death occurred on or after July 1,
192002 and before January 1, 2003. For an Armed Forces member
20killed in the line of duty (i) at any time before January 1,
212005, the compensation is $259,038 plus amounts equal to the
22increases for 2003 and 2004 determined under subsection (c)
23and (ii) on or after January 1, 2005, the compensation is the
24amount determined under item (i) plus the applicable increases
25for 2005 and thereafter determined under subsection (c). For a
26health care worker whose death is the result of COVID-19,

 

 

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1compensation shall be $50,000 and shall not be adjusted as
2provided in subsection (c). Compensation for the death of a
3health care worker shall not be paid with respect to a health
4care worker whose death resulted from an exposure to COVID-19
5occurring after the expiration of all Executive Orders issued
6by the Governor declaring an emergency as a result of
7COVID-19.
8    (c) Except as provided in subsection (b), for deaths
9occurring on or after January 1, 2003, the death compensation
10rate for death in the line of duty occurring in a particular
11calendar year shall be the death compensation rate for death
12occurring in the previous calendar year (or in the case of
13deaths occurring in 2003, the rate in effect on December 31,
142002) increased by a percentage thereof equal to the
15percentage increase, if any, in the index known as the
16Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: U.S. city
17average, unadjusted, for all items, as published by the United
18States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, for
19the 12 months ending with the month of June of that previous
20calendar year.
21    (d) If no beneficiary is designated or if no designated
22beneficiary survives at the death of the law enforcement
23officer, civil defense worker, civil air patrol member,
24paramedic, fireman, chaplain, or State employee killed in the
25line of duty or health care worker killed as a result of
26COVID-19, the compensation shall be paid in accordance with a

 

 

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1legally binding will left by the law enforcement officer,
2civil defense worker, civil air patrol member, paramedic,
3fireman, chaplain, health care worker, or State employee. If
4the law enforcement officer, civil defense worker, civil air
5patrol member, paramedic, fireman, chaplain, health care
6worker, or State employee did not leave a legally binding
7will, the compensation shall be paid as follows:
8        (1) when there is a surviving spouse, the entire sum
9    shall be paid to the spouse;
10        (2) when there is no surviving spouse, but a surviving
11    descendant of the decedent, the entire sum shall be paid
12    to the decedent's descendants per stirpes;
13        (3) when there is neither a surviving spouse nor a
14    surviving descendant, the entire sum shall be paid to the
15    parents of the decedent in equal parts, allowing to the
16    surviving parent, if one is dead, the entire sum; and
17        (4) when there is no surviving spouse, descendant or
18    parent of the decedent, but there are surviving brothers
19    or sisters, or descendants of a brother or sister, who
20    were receiving their principal support from the decedent
21    at his death, the entire sum shall be paid, in equal parts,
22    to the dependent brothers or sisters or dependent
23    descendant of a brother or sister. Dependency shall be
24    determined by the Court of Claims based upon the
25    investigation and report of the Attorney General.
26The changes made to this subsection (d) by this amendatory Act

 

 

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1of the 94th General Assembly apply to any pending case as long
2as compensation has not been paid to any party before the
3effective date of this amendatory Act of the 94th General
4Assembly.
5    (d-1) For purposes of subsection (d), in the case of a
6person killed in the line of duty who was born out of wedlock
7and was not an adoptive child at the time of the person's
8death, a person shall be deemed to be a parent of the person
9killed in the line of duty only if that person would be an
10eligible parent, as defined in Section 2-2 of the Probate Act
11of 1975, of the person killed in the line of duty. This
12subsection (d-1) applies to any pending claim if compensation
13was not paid to the claimant of the pending claim before the
14effective date of this amendatory Act of the 94th General
15Assembly.
16    (d-2) If no beneficiary is designated or if no designated
17beneficiary survives at the death of the Armed Forces member
18killed in the line of duty, the compensation shall be paid in
19entirety according to the designation made on the most recent
20version of the Armed Forces member's Servicemembers' Group
21Life Insurance Election and Certificate ("SGLI").
22    If no SGLI form exists at the time of the Armed Forces
23member's death, the compensation shall be paid in accordance
24with a legally binding will left by the Armed Forces member.
25    If no SGLI form exists for the Armed Forces member and the
26Armed Forces member did not leave a legally binding will, the

 

 

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1compensation shall be paid to the persons and in the priority
2as set forth in paragraphs (1) through (4) of subsection (d) of
3this Section.
4    This subsection (d-2) applies to any pending case as long
5as compensation has not been paid to any party before the
6effective date of this amendatory Act of the 94th General
7Assembly.
8    (e) If there is no beneficiary designated or if no
9designated beneficiary survives at the death of the law
10enforcement officer, civil defense worker, civil air patrol
11member, paramedic, fireman, chaplain, State employee, or Armed
12Forces member killed in the line of duty or health care worker
13killed as a result of COVID-19, and there is no other person or
14entity to whom compensation is payable under this Section, no
15compensation shall be payable under this Act.
16    (f) No part of such compensation may be paid to any other
17person for any efforts in securing such compensation.
18    (g) This amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly
19applies to claims made on or after October 18, 2004 with
20respect to an Armed Forces member killed in the line of duty.
21    (h) In any case for which benefits have not been paid
22within 6 months of the claim being filed in accordance with
23this Section, which is pending as of the effective date of this
24amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly, and in which
25there are 2 or more beneficiaries, at least one of whom would
26receive at least a portion of the total benefit regardless of

 

 

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1the manner in which the Court of Claims resolves the claim, the
2Court shall direct the Comptroller to pay the minimum amount
3of money which the determinate beneficiary would receive
4together with all interest payment penalties which have
5accrued on that portion of the award being paid within 30 days
6of the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 96th
7General Assembly. For purposes of this subsection (h),
8"determinate beneficiary" means the beneficiary who would
9receive any portion of the total benefit claimed regardless of
10the manner in which the Court of Claims adjudicates the claim.
11    (i) The Court of Claims shall ensure that all individuals
12who have filed an application to claim the duty death benefit
13for a deceased member of the Armed Forces pursuant to this
14Section or for a fireman pursuant to this Section, or their
15designated representative, shall have access, on a timely
16basis and in an efficient manner, to all information related
17to the court's consideration, processing, or adjudication of
18the claim, including, but not limited to, the following:
19        (1) a reliable estimate of when the Court of Claims
20    will adjudicate the claim, or if the Court cannot estimate
21    when it will adjudicate the claim, a full written
22    explanation of the reasons for this inability; and
23        (2) a reliable estimate, based upon consultation with
24    the Comptroller, of when the benefit will be paid to the
25    claimant.
26    (j) The Court of Claims shall send written notice to all

 

 

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1claimants within 2 weeks of the initiation of a claim
2indicating whether or not the application is complete. For
3purposes of this subsection (j), an application is complete if
4a claimant has submitted to the Court of Claims all documents
5and information the Court requires for adjudicating and paying
6the benefit amount. For purposes of this subsection (j), a
7claim for the duty death benefit is initiated when a claimant
8submits any of the application materials required for
9adjudicating the claim to the Court of Claims. In the event a
10claimant's application is incomplete, the Court shall include
11in its written notice a list of the information or documents
12which the claimant must submit in order for the application to
13be complete. In no case may the Court of Claims deny a claim
14and subsequently re-adjudicate the same claim for the purpose
15of evading or reducing the interest penalty payment amount
16payable to any claimant.
17(Source: P.A. 95-928, eff. 8-26-08; 96-539, eff. 1-1-10;
1896-923, eff. 1-1-11.)
 
19    (820 ILCS 315/4)   (from Ch. 48, par. 284)
20    Sec. 4. Notwithstanding Section 3, no compensation is
21payable under this Act unless a claim therefor is filed,
22within the time specified by that Section with the Court of
23Claims on an application prescribed and furnished by the
24Attorney General and setting forth:
25        (a) the name, address and title or designation of the

 

 

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1    position in which the officer, civil defense worker, civil
2    air patrol member, paramedic, fireman, chaplain, State
3    employee, or Armed Forces member was serving at the time
4    of his death;
5        (b) the names and addresses of person or persons
6    designated by the officer, civil defense worker, civil air
7    patrol member, paramedic, fireman, chaplain, State
8    employee, health care worker, or Armed Forces member to
9    receive the compensation and, if more than one, the
10    percentage or share to be paid to each such person, or if
11    there has been no such designation, the name and address
12    of the personal representative of the estate of the
13    officer, civil defense worker, civil air patrol member,
14    paramedic, fireman, chaplain, State employee, health care
15    worker, or Armed Forces member;
16        (c) a full, factual account of the circumstances
17    resulting in or the course of events causing the death of
18    the officer, civil defense worker, civil air patrol
19    member, paramedic, fireman, chaplain, State employee,
20    health care worker, or Armed Forces member; and
21        (d) such other information as the Court of Claims
22    reasonably requires.
23    When a claim is filed, the Attorney General shall make an
24investigation for substantiation of matters set forth in such
25an application.
26    For the 2 years immediately following the effective date

 

 

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1of this amendatory act of the 96th General Assembly, the Court
2of Claims shall direct the Comptroller to pay a
3"Modified-Eligibility Line of Duty Benefit" to eligible late
4claimants who file a claim for the benefit. A claim for a
5Modified-Eligibility Line of Duty Benefit must include all the
6application materials and documents required for all other
7claims payable under this Act, except as otherwise provided in
8this Section 4. For purposes of this Section 4 only, an
9"eligible late claimant" is a person who would have been
10eligible, at any time after September 11, 2001, to apply for
11and receive payment of a claim pursuant to this Act in
12connection with the death of an Armed Forces member killed in
13the line of duty or a fireman killed in the line of duty, but
14did not receive the award payment because:
15        (1) the claim was rejected only because the claim was
16    not filed within the time limitation set forth in
17    subsection (a) of Section 3 of this Act; or
18        (2) having met all other preconditions for applying
19    for and receiving the award payment, the claimant did not
20    file a claim because the claim would not have been filed
21    within the time limitation set forth in subsection (a) of
22    Section 3 of this Act. For purposes of this Section 4 only,
23    the "Modified-Eligibility Line of Duty Benefit" is an
24    amount of money payable to eligible late claimants equal
25    to the amount set forth in Section 3 of this Act payable to
26    claimants seeking payment of awards under Section 3 of

 

 

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1    this Act for claims made thereunder in the year in which
2    the claim for the Modified-Eligibility Line of Duty
3    Benefit is made. Within 6 months of receiving a complete
4    claim for the Modified-Eligibility Line of Duty Benefit,
5    the Court of Claims must direct the Comptroller to pay the
6    benefit amount to the eligible late claimant.
7(Source: P.A. 96-539, eff. 1-1-10; 96-923, eff. 1-1-11.)
 
8    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
9becoming law.