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91_HB4128
LRB9112187SMdv
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 (for
12 calendar years before 2000) or 55 years or older (for
13 calendar years 2000 and thereafter) or any individual who
14 will become 65 years old (for calendar years before 2000) or
15 55 years old (for calendar years 2000 and thereafter) during
16 the calendar year in which a claim is filed, and any
17 surviving spouse of such a claimant, who at the time of death
18 received or was entitled to receive a grant pursuant to this
19 Section, which surviving spouse will become 65 years of age
20 (for calendar years before 2000) or 55 years of age (for
21 calendar years 2000 and thereafter) within the 24 months
22 immediately following the death of such claimant and which
23 surviving spouse but for his or her age is otherwise
24 qualified to receive a grant pursuant to this Section, and
25 any disabled person whose annual household income is less
26 than $14,000 for grant years before the 1998 grant year, and
27 less than $16,000 for the 1998 and 1999 grant years, and less
28 than $20,000 for the 2000 grant year and thereafter and whose
29 household is liable for payment of property taxes accrued or
30 has paid rent constituting property taxes accrued and is
31 domiciled in this State at the time he files his claim is
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1 entitled to claim a grant under this Act. Beginning January
2 1, 2001, the amount of the household income of the applicant
3 shall be subject to annual adjustments equal to the
4 percentage of increase in the previous calendar year in the
5 Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers for all items
6 published by the United States Department of Labor. With
7 respect to claims filed by individuals who will become 65
8 years old (for calendar years before 2000) or 55 years old
9 (for calendar years 2000 and thereafter) during the calendar
10 year in which a claim is filed, the amount of any grant to
11 which that household is entitled shall be an amount equal to
12 1/12 of the amount to which the claimant would otherwise be
13 entitled as provided in this Section, multiplied by the
14 number of months in which the claimant was 65 (for calendar
15 years before 2000) or 55 (for calendar years 2000 and
16 thereafter) in the calendar year in which the claim is filed.
17 (b) Limitation. Except as otherwise provided in
18 subsections (a) and (f) of this Section, the maximum amount
19 of grant which a claimant is entitled to claim is the amount
20 by which the property taxes accrued which were paid or
21 payable during the last preceding tax year or rent
22 constituting property taxes accrued upon the claimant's
23 residence for the last preceding taxable year exceeds 3 1/2%
24 of the claimant's household income for that year but in no
25 event is the grant to exceed (i) $700 less 4.5% of household
26 income for that year for those with a household income of
27 $14,000 or less or (ii) $70 if household income for that year
28 is more than $14,000 but less than $16,000.
29 (c) Public aid recipients. If household income in one
30 or more months during a year includes cash assistance in
31 excess of $55 per month from the Department of Public Aid or
32 the Department of Human Services (acting as successor to the
33 Department of Public Aid under the Department of Human
34 Services Act) which was determined under regulations of that
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1 Department on a measure of need that included an allowance
2 for actual rent or property taxes paid by the recipient of
3 that assistance, the amount of grant to which that household
4 is entitled, except as otherwise provided in subsection (a),
5 shall be the product of (1) the maximum amount computed as
6 specified in subsection (b) of this Section and (2) the ratio
7 of the number of months in which household income did not
8 include such cash assistance over $55 to the number twelve.
9 If household income did not include such cash assistance over
10 $55 for any months during the year, the amount of the grant
11 to which the household is entitled shall be the maximum
12 amount computed as specified in subsection (b) of this
13 Section. For purposes of this paragraph (c), "cash
14 assistance" does not include any amount received under the
15 federal Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program.
16 (d) Joint ownership. If title to the residence is held
17 jointly by the claimant with a person who is not a member of
18 his household, the amount of property taxes accrued used in
19 computing the amount of grant to which he is entitled shall
20 be the same percentage of property taxes accrued as is the
21 percentage of ownership held by the claimant in the
22 residence.
23 (e) More than one residence. If a claimant has occupied
24 more than one residence in the taxable year, he may claim
25 only one residence for any part of a month. In the case of
26 property taxes accrued, he shall pro rate 1/12 of the total
27 property taxes accrued on his residence to each month that he
28 owned and occupied that residence; and, in the case of rent
29 constituting property taxes accrued, shall pro rate each
30 month's rent payments to the residence actually occupied
31 during that month.
32 (f) There is hereby established a program of
33 pharmaceutical assistance to the aged and disabled which
34 shall be administered by the Department in accordance with
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1 this Act, to consist of payments to authorized pharmacies, on
2 behalf of beneficiaries of the program, for the reasonable
3 costs of covered prescription drugs. Each beneficiary who
4 pays $40 for an identification card shall pay the first $15
5 of prescription costs each month. Each beneficiary who pays
6 $80 for an identification card shall pay the first $25 of
7 prescription costs each month. In addition, after a
8 beneficiary receives $800 in benefits during a State fiscal
9 year, that beneficiary shall also be charged 20% of the cost
10 of each prescription for which payments are made by the
11 program during the remainder of the fiscal year. To become a
12 beneficiary under this program a person must be: (1) (i) 65
13 years or older (for calendar years before 2000) or 55 years
14 or older (for calendar years 2000 and thereafter), or (ii)
15 the surviving spouse of such a claimant, who at the time of
16 death received or was entitled to receive benefits pursuant
17 to this subsection, which surviving spouse will become 65
18 years of age (for calendar years before 2000) or 55 years of
19 age (for calendar years 2000 and thereafter) within the 24
20 months immediately following the death of such claimant and
21 which surviving spouse but for his or her age is otherwise
22 qualified to receive benefits pursuant to this subsection, or
23 (iii) disabled, and (2) is domiciled in this State at the
24 time he files his or her claim, and (3) has a maximum
25 household income of less than $14,000 for grant years before
26 the 1998 grant year, and less than $16,000 for the 1998 and
27 1999 grant years, and less than $20,000 for the 2000 grant
28 year and thereafter. Beginning January 1, 2001, the amount of
29 the household income of the applicant shall be subject to
30 annual adjustments equal to the percentage of increase in the
31 previous calendar year in the Consumer Price Index for All
32 Urban Consumers for all items published by the United States
33 Department of Labor. In addition, each eligible person must
34 (1) obtain an identification card from the Department, (2) at
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1 the time the card is obtained, sign a statement assigning to
2 the State of Illinois benefits which may be otherwise claimed
3 under any private insurance plans, (3) present the
4 identification card to the dispensing pharmacist.
5 Any person otherwise eligible for pharmaceutical
6 assistance under this Act whose covered drugs are covered by
7 any public program for assistance in purchasing any covered
8 prescription drugs shall be ineligible for assistance under
9 this Act to the extent such costs are covered by such other
10 plan.
11 The fee to be charged by the Department for the
12 identification card shall be equal to $40 for persons below
13 the official poverty line as defined by the United States
14 Department of Health and Human Services and $80 for all other
15 persons.
16 In the event that 2 or more persons are eligible for any
17 benefit under this Act, and are members of the same
18 household, (1) each such person shall be entitled to
19 participate in the pharmaceutical assistance program,
20 provided that he or she meets all other requirements imposed
21 by this subsection and (2) each participating household
22 member contributes the fee required for that person by the
23 preceding paragraph for the purpose of obtaining an
24 identification card. Persons eligible for any benefit under
25 this Act due to become (i) 65 in calendar year 1984 or any
26 subsequent calendar year before 2000, or (ii) 55 in calendar
27 year 2000 or any subsequent calendar year in which a claim
28 is filed are excluded from the benefit prescribed in this
29 subsection (f) for the calendar year in which they become 65
30 (for calendar years before 2000) or 55 (for calendar years
31 2000 and thereafter).
32 (Source: P.A. 90-650, eff. 7-27-98; 91-357, eff. 7-29-99.)
33 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect on
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1 January 1, 2001.