State of Illinois
90th General Assembly
Legislation

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90_SB1589

      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
      income limitation, beginning with the 1998 grant  year,  from
      $14,000  to  $18,000.   Provides  that  the maximum grant for
      claimants with an income of more than $14,000 but  less  than
      $18,000 is $70.  Effective January 1, 1999.
                                                    LRB9011274KDmgA
                                              LRB9011274KDmgA
 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 $14,000 for grant years before the 1998 grant  year  and
22    $18,000  for  the  1998  grant  year and thereafter and whose
23    household is liable for payment of property taxes accrued  or
24    has  paid  rent  constituting  property  taxes accrued and is
25    domiciled in this State at the time he  files  his  claim  is
26    entitled  to  claim  a  grant under this Act. With respect to
27    claims filed by individuals who  will  become  65  years  old
28    during  the  calendar  year  in  which  a claim is filed, the
29    amount of any grant to which that household is entitled shall
30    be an amount equal  to  1/12  of  the  amount  to  which  the
31    claimant  would  otherwise  be  entitled  as provided in this
                            -2-               LRB9011274KDmgA
 1    Section, multiplied by the number  of  months  in  which  the
 2    claimant  was  65  in the calendar year in which the claim is
 3    filed.
 4        (b)  Limitation.   Except  as   otherwise   provided   in
 5    subsections  (a)  and (f) of this Section, the maximum amount
 6    of grant which a claimant is entitled to claim is the  amount
 7    by  which  the  property  taxes  accrued  which  were paid or
 8    payable  during  the  last  preceding  tax   year   or   rent
 9    constituting  property  taxes  accrued  upon  the  claimant's
10    residence  for the last preceding taxable year exceeds 3 1/2%
11    of the claimant's household income for that year  but  in  no
12    event  is the grant to exceed (i) $700 less 4.5% of household
13    income for that year if the household  income  is  less  than
14    $14,000  or (ii) $70 if the household income for that year is
15    $14,000 or more but less than $18,000.
16        (c)  Public aid recipients.  If household income  in  one
17    or  more  months  during  a  year includes cash assistance in
18    excess of $55 per month from the Department of Public Aid  or
19    the  Department of Human Services (acting as successor to the
20    Department of  Public  Aid  under  the  Department  of  Human
21    Services Act)  which was determined under regulations of that
22    Department  on  a  measure of need that included an allowance
23    for actual rent or property taxes paid by  the  recipient  of
24    that  assistance, the amount of grant to which that household
25    is entitled, except as otherwise provided in subsection  (a),
26    shall  be  the  product of (1) the maximum amount computed as
27    specified in subsection (b) of this Section and (2) the ratio
28    of the number of months in which  household  income  did  not
29    include  such  cash assistance over $55 to the number twelve.
30    If household income did not include such cash assistance over
31    $55 for any months during the year, the amount of  the  grant
32    to  which  the  household  is  entitled  shall be the maximum
33    amount computed  as  specified  in  subsection  (b)  of  this
34    Section.    For   purposes   of  this  paragraph  (c),  "cash
                            -3-               LRB9011274KDmgA
 1    assistance" does not include any amount  received  under  the
 2    federal Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program.
 3        (d)  Joint  ownership.  If title to the residence is held
 4    jointly by the claimant with a person who is not a member  of
 5    his  household,  the amount of property taxes accrued used in
 6    computing the amount of grant to which he is  entitled  shall
 7    be  the  same  percentage of property taxes accrued as is the
 8    percentage  of  ownership  held  by  the  claimant   in   the
 9    residence.
10        (e)  More than one residence.  If a claimant has occupied
11    more  than  one  residence  in the taxable year, he may claim
12    only one residence for any part of a month.  In the  case  of
13    property  taxes  accrued, he shall pro rate 1/12 of the total
14    property taxes accrued on his residence to each month that he
15    owned and occupied that residence; and, in the case  of  rent
16    constituting  property  taxes  accrued,  shall  pro rate each
17    month's rent payments  to  the  residence  actually  occupied
18    during that month.
19        (f)  There   is   hereby   established   a   program   of
20    pharmaceutical  assistance  to  the  aged  and disabled which
21    shall be administered by the Department  in  accordance  with
22    this Act, to consist of payments to authorized pharmacies, on
23    behalf  of  beneficiaries  of the program, for the reasonable
24    costs of covered prescription drugs.   Each  beneficiary  who
25    pays  $40  for an identification card shall pay the first $15
26    of prescription costs each month.  Each beneficiary who  pays
27    $80  for  an  identification  card shall pay the first $25 of
28    prescription  costs  each  month.   In  addition,   after   a
29    beneficiary  receives  $800 in benefits during a State fiscal
30    year, that beneficiary shall also be charged 20% of the  cost
31    of  each  prescription  for  which  payments  are made by the
32    program during the remainder of the fiscal year.  To become a
33    beneficiary under this program a person must be: (1)  (i)  65
34    years  or  older,  or  (ii)  the  surviving  spouse of such a
                            -4-               LRB9011274KDmgA
 1    claimant, who at the time of death received or  was  entitled
 2    to  receive  benefits  pursuant  to  this  subsection,  which
 3    surviving  spouse  will  become 65 years of age within the 24
 4    months immediately following the death of such  claimant  and
 5    which  surviving  spouse  but for his or her age is otherwise
 6    qualified to receive benefits pursuant to this subsection, or
 7    (iii) disabled, and (2) is domiciled in  this  State  at  the
 8    time  he  files  his  or  her  claim,  and  (3) has a maximum
 9    household income of less than $14,000 for grant years  before
10    the  1998  grant year and $18,000 for the 1998 grant year and
11    thereafter. In addition, each eligible person must (1) obtain
12    an identification card from the Department, (2) at  the  time
13    the card is obtained, sign a statement assigning to the State
14    of Illinois benefits which may be otherwise claimed under any
15    private  insurance plans, (3) present the identification card
16    to the dispensing pharmacist.
17        Any  person   otherwise   eligible   for   pharmaceutical
18    assistance  under this Act whose covered drugs are covered by
19    any public program for assistance in purchasing  any  covered
20    prescription  drugs  shall be ineligible for assistance under
21    this Act to the extent such costs are covered by  such  other
22    plan.
23        The   fee  to  be  charged  by  the  Department  for  the
24    identification card shall be equal to $40 for  persons  below
25    the  official  poverty  line  as defined by the United States
26    Department of Health and Human Services and $80 for all other
27    persons.
28        In the event that 2 or more persons are eligible for  any
29    benefit   under  this  Act,  and  are  members  of  the  same
30    household,  (1)  each  such  person  shall  be  entitled   to
31    participate   in   the   pharmaceutical  assistance  program,
32    provided that he or she meets all other requirements  imposed
33    by  this  subsection  and  (2)  each  participating household
34    member contributes the fee required for that  person  by  the
                            -5-               LRB9011274KDmgA
 1    preceding   paragraph   for   the  purpose  of  obtaining  an
 2    identification card. Persons eligible for any  benefit  under
 3    this  Act  due  to  become  65  in  calendar year 1984 or any
 4    subsequent calendar year  in  which  a  claim  is  filed  are
 5    excluded  from  the benefit prescribed in this subsection (g)
 6    for the calendar year in which they become 65.
 7    (Source: P.A. 88-45; 89-507, eff. 7-1-97.)
 8        Section 99.   Effective  date.   This  Act  takes  effect
 9    January 1, 1999.

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