SB2986 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB102 22322 RLC 31459 b

102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
SB2986

Introduced 1/5/2022, by Sen. Jacqueline Y. Collins

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

New Act
30 ILCS 105/5.970 new

Creates the Funeral and Burial Assistance Program for Murdered Children Act. Provides that a parent or guardian of a child victim under 17 years of age or anyone living in the household of a child victim in relationship to the victim that is substantially similar to a parent who has a household income of less than 150% of the federal poverty level who is killed as a result of a firearm may apply for funeral and burial assistance from the Department of Human Services in an amount not to exceed $10,000, indexed to inflation, beginning January 1, 2023, according to the Consumer Price Index. Provides that the Office of Firearm Violence Prevention shall review disbursement requirements by funeral establishments and upon conclusion of the review, provide a funeral establishment with a payment determination letter. Provides that the delinquent or criminal history of a child victim or an eligible survivor, or his or her status as a justice-involved individual, shall not automatically prevent an award for payment of a child victim's funeral and burial expenses. Establishes criteria for disbursement. Defines "justice-involved individual" as an individual who is imprisoned, on parole, probation, conditional discharge, mandatory supervised release, aftercare release, or any other release from custody, and supervised by or under the jurisdiction of a county or the Department of Corrections. Provides that every hospital licensed under the laws of the State shall display prominently in its emergency room posters giving notification of the existence and general provisions of the Act. Provides that any law enforcement agency that investigates an offense committed in the State shall inform the parent or guardian of the child victim concerning the availability of assistance for funeral and burial expenses under the Act and advise such persons that any information concerning the Act may be obtained from the Office of Firearm Violence Prevention. Defines various terms. Amends the State Finance Act to make conforming changes. Effective immediately.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning firearm violence.

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

Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Funeral and Burial Assistance Program for Murdered Children Act.

Section 5. Purpose; findings.

(a) Firearm violence is the leading cause of death for children and teenagers in this State.

(b) Parents and guardians who experience the death of a child by firearm violence face the painful process of bereavement while also bearing the responsibilities of planning a funeral and paying for funeral and burial expenses, usually through some form of debt.

(c) While the State assists the families of murdered children with funeral and burial expenses, assistance is primarily in the form of a reimbursement to the family after a formal application is submitted. After submission, the application undergoes a lengthy evaluation process by a review committee and a subsequent hearing before an administrative court. The process takes months, even years, before a final decision is rendered, during which time the victim's family can incur an overwhelming amount of debt.

(d) This debt is particularly burdensome for low-income families, who struggle to repay the debt while continuing to provide for the family's basic needs. Many families rely on in-kind donations to support their basic needs while they work to pay off funeral and burial expenses.

(e) It is the intent of this Act to assist the families of children murdered in this State with funeral and burial expenses by having the State issue direct payments to funeral establishments instead of having the victim's family struggle to pay the cost and wait for reimbursement. Direct payments will enable families to conduct proper funeral and burial services without enduring significant financial hardship and debt.

Section 10. Definitions. In this Act:

"Child victim" means:

(1) a person under 17 years of age killed in this State by a firearm as a result of a first degree or second degree murder, as defined in Section 9-1 or 9-2, respectively, of the Criminal the Criminal Code of 2012, perpetrated against him or her;

(2) a person under 17 years of age killed in this State as a result of attempting to assist a person against whom a first degree or second degree murder by a firearm is being perpetrated or attempted, if that attempt of assistance would be expected of a reasonable person under the circumstances;

(3) a person under 17 years of age killed in this State while assisting a law enforcement official apprehend a person who has perpetrated a first degree or second degree murder by a firearm or prevent the perpetration of any such crime; or

(4) a resident of this State under 17 years of age who is a victim of a first degree or second degree murder by a firearm except, if the crime occurred outside this State, the victim's survivors who are residents of this State have the same rights under this Act as if the crime had occurred in this State upon a showing that the state, territory, country, or political subdivision of a country in which the crime occurred does not have a compensation of victims of homicide for which the survivors are eligible.

"Eligible survivor" means the parent or guardian of a child victim, or anyone living in the household of a child victim in a relationship with the victim that is substantially similar to that of a parent, who has a household income of less than 150% of the federal poverty level and qualifies for payment of funeral and burial expenses under this Act.

"Funeral and burial expenses" means payments to a funeral establishment for funeral and burial services. Funeral and burial services include but are not limited to the transport of deceased human remains to a funeral establishment; the preparation of deceased human remains for burial, including cleaning, disinfecting, and embalming; the preparation, direction, and supervision of the burial, cremation, or other disposition of deceased human remains, including furnishing a casket, vault, mausoleum or urn; and the administration of funeral arrangements, including providing printed materials, providing transportation of the deceased human remains to the burial site, and furnishing necessary facilities and equipment.

"Funeral establishment" means a State-licensed funeral home, funeral chapel, funeral parlor, or other business that provides funeral and burial services to a child victim.

"Justice-involved individual" means an individual who is imprisoned, on parole, probation, conditional discharge, mandatory supervised release, aftercare release, or any other release from custody, and supervised by or under the jurisdiction of a county or the Department of Corrections.

Section 15. Justice-involved individual as victim or survivor. The delinquent or criminal history of a child victim or an eligible survivor, or his or her status as a justice-involved individual, shall not automatically prevent an award for payment of a child victim's funeral and burial expenses.

Section 20. Additional powers; Office of Firearm Violence Prevention. In addition to other powers and duties set forth in this Act and other powers exercised by the Office of Firearm Violence Prevention, the Office shall review disbursement requests submitted by a funeral establishment, including a verification of the eligible survivor's household income and of the child victim's death certificate or of the autopsy report or pathology report, and upon conclusion of the review, provide a funeral establishment with a payment determination letter.

Section 25. Additional powers; Department of Human Services. In addition to other powers and duties set forth in this Act and other powers exercised by the Department of Human Services, the Department shall disburse payment to a funeral establishment from the Funeral and Burial Assistance Program for Murdered Children Fund which is created in the State treasury.

Section 30. Right to disbursement. A funeral establishment is entitled to disbursement under this Act if:

(a) Within one year after the occurrence of the crime upon which a disbursement request is made, the funeral establishment shall submit the request to the Office of Firearm Violence Prevention on a form prescribed in accordance with Section 35 furnished by the Office of Firearm Violence Prevention.

(b) The Office of Firearm Violence Prevention may accept a request presented after the period provided in subsection (a) if it determines that the funeral establishment had a good cause for a delay.

Section 35. Disbursement request requirements.

(a) A disbursement request shall include:

(1) the name and address of the eligible survivor and his or her relationship to the child victim;

(2) the date and nature of the crime on which the disbursement request is based;

(3) the nature and extent of the injuries sustained by the child victim, and the names and addresses of those giving any medical and hospitalization treatment to the child victim;

(4) a copy of the child victim's death certificate or of the autopsy report or pathology report;

(5) documentation verifying an eligible survivor's household income;

(6) a copy of the invoice detailing funeral and burial expenses, including any applicable taxes, surcharges and fees;

(7) releases authorizing the surrender to the Office of Firearm Violence Prevention of reports, documents and other information relating to the matters specified under this Act and rules adopted in accordance with this Act; and

(8) such other information as the Office of Firearm Prevention reasonably requires.

(b) The Office of Firearm Violence Prevention may require that material substantiating the facts stated in the disbursement request be submitted with that request.

(c) A funeral establishment, on its own volition, may file an amended request or additional substantiating materials to correct inadvertent errors or omissions at any time before the original request has been disposed of by the Office of Firearm Prevention. In either case, the filing of additional information or of an amended request shall be considered for the purpose of this Act to have been filed at the same time as the original request.

Section 40. Additional materials requested. If a funeral establishment does not submit all materials substantiating its disbursement request as requested by the Office of Firearm Violence Prevention, the Office shall notify the establishment in writing of the specific additional items of information or materials required and that it has 30 days in which to furnish those items to the Office. No disbursement shall be made for any portion of the establishment's request that is not substantiated by the establishment. An establishment may request an extension of time from the Office of Firearm Violence Prevention prior to the expiration of the 30-day period.

Section 45. Amount of disbursement. Upon submitting a disbursement request to the Office of Firearm Violence Prevention and upon the Office's review of the request verifying that a survivor is an eligible survivor, a funeral establishment shall receive disbursement from the Department of Human Services in the amount of the total cost of funeral services provided, up to $10,000. Beginning on January 1, 2023, the maximum allowable disbursement amount shall be increased by an amount equal to any increase in the general inflation, as determined by the Consumer Price Index For All Urban Consumers as determined by the United States Department of Labor, for each subsequent year of the program.

Section 50. Prohibition against double payment; recordkeeping; payment recapture.

(a) An eligible survivor receiving an award for funeral and burial assistance for a child victim under this Act shall not receive an award for such assistance under the Crime Victims Compensation Act or the Department of Human Services Funeral and Burial Benefits Program, except for an amount in excess of the maximum award permitted under this Act, up to the total cost of funeral and burial expenses.

(b) Except as provided in subsection (a), any individual, eligible survivor, or funeral establishment under this Act shall not retain a duplicate award for funeral and burial expenses for a child victim from any State agency or agencies. For the purposes of this Section, a duplicate award is one that results in a total award from the State for the cost of funeral and burial expenses for a child victim in excess of that authorized by the Office of Firearm Violence Prevention. To prevent such duplicate awards, the Office of Firearm Violence Prevention shall maintain an electronic record of each disbursement to a funeral establishment and provide access to such records to any State agency providing funeral or burial assistance to residents of this State.

(c) The Office of Firearm Violence Prevention is authorized to contract with third-party entities to conduct payment recapture audits to detect and recapture payments made in error or as a result of fraud or abuse. A payment recapture audit shall include the process of identifying improper payments paid to a funeral establishment or to an eligible survivor whereby accounting specialists examine payment records and uncover duplicate payments, payments for services not rendered, overpayments, payments for unauthorized services, and fictitious vendors. This audit may include the use of professional and specialized auditors on a contingency basis, with compensation tied to the identification of misspent funds.

Section 55. Hospital and law enforcement notification.

(a) Every hospital licensed under the laws of this State shall display prominently in its emergency room posters giving notification of the existence and general provisions of this Act. The posters may be displayed by physical or electronic means. Such posters shall be provided by the Office of Firearm Violence Prevention.

(b) Any law enforcement agency that investigates an offense committed in this State shall inform the parent or guardian of the child victim concerning the availability of assistance for funeral and burial expenses under this Act and advise such persons that any information concerning this Act may be obtained from the Office of Firearm Violence Prevention.

Section 90. The State Finance Act is amended by adding Section 5.970 as follows:

(30 ILCS 105/5.970 new)

Sec. 5.970. The Funeral and Burial Assistance Program for Murdered Children Fund.

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