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90_HB0184
320 ILCS 25/4 from Ch. 67 1/2, par. 404
Amends the Senior Citizens and Disabled Persons Property
Tax Relief and Pharmaceutical Assistance Act to increase the
maximum income for eligibility from $14,000 to $16,000.
Provides that the maximum grant for claimants with an income
of $14,000 or more but less than $16,000 is $70. Effective
January 1, 1998.
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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 $16,000 $14,000 and whose household is liable for
22 payment of property taxes accrued or has paid rent
23 constituting property taxes accrued and is domiciled in this
24 State at the time he files his claim is entitled to claim a
25 grant under this Act. With respect to claims filed by
26 individuals who will become 65 years old during the calendar
27 year in which a claim is filed, the amount of any grant to
28 which that household is entitled shall be an amount equal to
29 1/12 of the amount to which the claimant would otherwise be
30 entitled as provided in this Section, multiplied by the
31 number of months in which the claimant was 65 in the calendar
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1 year in which the claim is filed.
2 (b) Limitation. Except as otherwise provided in
3 subsections (a) and (f) of this Section, the maximum amount
4 of grant which a claimant is entitled to claim is the amount
5 by which the property taxes accrued which were paid or
6 payable during the last preceding tax year or rent
7 constituting property taxes accrued upon the claimant's
8 residence for the last preceding taxable year exceeds 3 1/2%
9 of the claimant's household income for that year but in no
10 event is the grant to exceed (i) $700 less 4.5% of household
11 income for that year if the household income is less than
12 $14,000 or (ii) $70 if the household income for that year is
13 $14,000 or more but less than $16,000.
14 (c) Public aid recipients. If household income in one
15 or more months during a year includes cash assistance in
16 excess of $55 per month from the Department of Public Aid or
17 the Department of Human Services (acting as successor to the
18 Department of Public Aid under the Department of Human
19 Services Act) which was determined under regulations of that
20 Department on a measure of need that included an allowance
21 for actual rent or property taxes paid by the recipient of
22 that assistance, the amount of grant to which that household
23 is entitled, except as otherwise provided in subsection (a),
24 shall be the product of (1) the maximum amount computed as
25 specified in subsection (b) of this Section and (2) the ratio
26 of the number of months in which household income did not
27 include such cash assistance over $55 to the number twelve.
28 If household income did not include such cash assistance over
29 $55 for any months during the year, the amount of the grant
30 to which the household is entitled shall be the maximum
31 amount computed as specified in subsection (b) of this
32 Section. For purposes of this paragraph (c), "cash
33 assistance" does not include any amount received under the
34 federal Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program.
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1 (d) Joint ownership. If title to the residence is held
2 jointly by the claimant with a person who is not a member of
3 his household, the amount of property taxes accrued used in
4 computing the amount of grant to which he is entitled shall
5 be the same percentage of property taxes accrued as is the
6 percentage of ownership held by the claimant in the
7 residence.
8 (e) More than one residence. If a claimant has occupied
9 more than one residence in the taxable year, he may claim
10 only one residence for any part of a month. In the case of
11 property taxes accrued, he shall pro rate 1/12 of the total
12 property taxes accrued on his residence to each month that he
13 owned and occupied that residence; and, in the case of rent
14 constituting property taxes accrued, shall pro rate each
15 month's rent payments to the residence actually occupied
16 during that month.
17 (f) There is hereby established a program of
18 pharmaceutical assistance to the aged and disabled which
19 shall be administered by the Department in accordance with
20 this Act, to consist of payments to authorized pharmacies, on
21 behalf of beneficiaries of the program, for the reasonable
22 costs of covered prescription drugs. Each beneficiary who
23 pays $40 for an identification card shall pay the first $15
24 of prescription costs each month. Each beneficiary who pays
25 $80 for an identification card shall pay the first $25 of
26 prescription costs each month. In addition, after a
27 beneficiary receives $800 in benefits during a State fiscal
28 year, that beneficiary shall also be charged 20% of the cost
29 of each prescription for which payments are made by the
30 program during the remainder of the fiscal year. To become a
31 beneficiary under this program a person must be: (1) (i) 65
32 years or older, or (ii) the surviving spouse of such a
33 claimant, who at the time of death received or was entitled
34 to receive benefits pursuant to this subsection, which
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1 surviving spouse will become 65 years of age within the 24
2 months immediately following the death of such claimant and
3 which surviving spouse but for his or her age is otherwise
4 qualified to receive benefits pursuant to this subsection, or
5 (iii) disabled, and (2) is domiciled in this State at the
6 time he files his or her claim, and (3) has a maximum
7 household income of less than $16,000 $14,000. In addition,
8 each eligible person must (1) obtain an identification card
9 from the Department, (2) at the time the card is obtained,
10 sign a statement assigning to the State of Illinois benefits
11 which may be otherwise claimed under any private insurance
12 plans, (3) present the identification card to the dispensing
13 pharmacist.
14 Any person otherwise eligible for pharmaceutical
15 assistance under this Act whose covered drugs are covered by
16 any public program for assistance in purchasing any covered
17 prescription drugs shall be ineligible for assistance under
18 this Act to the extent such costs are covered by such other
19 plan.
20 The fee to be charged by the Department for the
21 identification card shall be equal to $40 for persons below
22 the official poverty line as defined by the United States
23 Department of Health and Human Services and $80 for all other
24 persons.
25 In the event that 2 or more persons are eligible for any
26 benefit under this Act, and are members of the same
27 household, (1) each such person shall be entitled to
28 participate in the pharmaceutical assistance program,
29 provided that he or she meets all other requirements imposed
30 by this subsection and (2) each participating household
31 member contributes the fee required for that person by the
32 preceding paragraph for the purpose of obtaining an
33 identification card. Persons eligible for any benefit under
34 this Act due to become 65 in calendar year 1984 or any
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1 subsequent calendar year in which a claim is filed are
2 excluded from the benefit prescribed in this subsection (g)
3 for the calendar year in which they become 65.
4 (Source: P.A. 88-45; 89-507, eff. 7-1-97.)
5 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect
6 January 1, 1998.