093_HB3021eng HB3021 Engrossed LRB093 09972 DRJ 10222 b 1 AN ACT in relation to public aid. 2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 3 represented in the General Assembly: 4 Section 5. The Illinois Public Aid Code is amended by 5 changing Section 4-2 as follows: 6 (305 ILCS 5/4-2) (from Ch. 23, par. 4-2) 7 Sec. 4-2. Amount of aid. 8 (a) The amount and nature of financial aid shall be 9 determined in accordance with the grant amounts, rules and 10 regulations of the Illinois Department. Due regard shall be 11 given to the self-sufficiency requirements of the family and 12 to the income, money contributions and other support and 13 resources available, from whatever source. However, the 14 amount and nature of any financial aid is not affected by the 15 payment of any grant under the "Senior Citizens and Disabled 16 Persons Property Tax Relief and Pharmaceutical Assistance 17 Act" or any distributions or items of income described under 18 subparagraph (X) of paragraph (2) of subsection (a) of 19 Section 203 of the Illinois Income Tax Act. The aid shall be 20 sufficient, when added to all other income, money 21 contributions and support to provide the family with a grant 22 in the amount established by Department regulation. 23 (b) The Illinois Department may conduct special 24 projects, which may be known as Grant Diversion Projects, 25 under which recipients of financial aid under this Article 26 are placed in jobs and their grants are diverted to the 27 employer who in turn makes payments to the recipients in the 28 form of salary or other employment benefits. The Illinois 29 Department shall by rule specify the terms and conditions of 30 such Grant Diversion Projects. Such projects shall take into 31 consideration and be coordinated with the programs HB3021 Engrossed -2- LRB093 09972 DRJ 10222 b 1 administered under the Illinois Emergency Employment 2 Development Act. 3 (c) The amount and nature of the financial aid for a 4 child requiring care outside his own home shall be determined 5 in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Illinois 6 Department, with due regard to the needs and requirements of 7 the child in the foster home or institution in which he has 8 been placed. 9 (d) If the Department establishes grants for family 10 units consisting exclusively of a pregnant woman with no 11 dependent child or including her husband if living with her, 12 the grant amount for such a unit shall be equal to the grant 13 amount for an assistance unit consisting of one adult, or 2 14 persons if the husband is included. Other than as herein 15 described, an unborn child shall not be counted in 16 determining the size of an assistance unit or for calculating 17 grants. 18 Payments for basic maintenance requirements of a child or 19 children and the relative with whom the child or children are 20 living shall be prescribed, by rule, by the Illinois 21 Department. 22 Grants under this Article shall not be supplemented by 23 General Assistance provided under Article VI. 24 (e) Grants shall be paid to the parent or other person 25 with whom the child or children are living, except for such 26 amount as is paid in behalf of the child or his parent or 27 other relative to other persons or agencies pursuant to this 28 Code or the rules and regulations of the Illinois Department. 29 (f) Subject to subsection (f-5), an assistance unit, 30 receiving financial aid under this Article or temporarily 31 ineligible to receive aid under this Article under a penalty 32 imposed by the Illinois Department for failure to comply with 33 the eligibility requirements or that voluntarily requests 34 termination of financial assistance under this Article and HB3021 Engrossed -3- LRB093 09972 DRJ 10222 b 1 becomes subsequently eligible for assistance within 9 months, 2 shall not receive any increase in the amount of aid solely on 3 account of the birth of a child; except that an increase is 4 not prohibited when the birth is (i) of a child of a pregnant 5 woman who became eligible for aid under this Article during 6 the pregnancy, or (ii) of a child born within 10 months after 7 the date of implementation of this subsection, or (iii) of a 8 child conceived after a family became ineligible for 9 assistance due to income or marriage and at least 3 months of 10 ineligibility expired before any reapplication for 11 assistance. This subsection does not, however, prevent a 12 unit from receiving a general increase in the amount of aid 13 that is provided to all recipients of aid under this Article. 14 The Illinois Department is authorized to transfer funds, 15 and shall use any budgetary savings attributable to not 16 increasing the grants due to the births of additional 17 children, to supplement existing funding for employment and 18 training services for recipients of aid under this Article 19 IV. The Illinois Department shall target, to the extent the 20 supplemental funding allows, employment and training services 21 to the families who do not receive a grant increase after the 22 birth of a child. In addition, the Illinois Department shall 23 provide, to the extent the supplemental funding allows, such 24 families with up to 24 months of transitional child care 25 pursuant to Illinois Department rules. All remaining 26 supplemental funds shall be used for employment and training 27 services or transitional child care support. 28 In making the transfers authorized by this subsection, 29 the Illinois Department shall first determine, pursuant to 30 regulations adopted by the Illinois Department for this 31 purpose, the amount of savings attributable to not increasing 32 the grants due to the births of additional children. 33 Transfers may be made from General Revenue Fund 34 appropriations for distributive purposes authorized by HB3021 Engrossed -4- LRB093 09972 DRJ 10222 b 1 Article IV of this Code only to General Revenue Fund 2 appropriations for employability development services 3 including operating and administrative costs and related 4 distributive purposes under Article IXA of this Code. The 5 Director, with the approval of the Governor, shall certify 6 the amount and affected line item appropriations to the State 7 Comptroller. 8 Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prohibit 9 the Illinois Department from using funds under this Article 10 IV to provide assistance in the form of vouchers that may be 11 used to pay for goods and services deemed by the Illinois 12 Department, by rule, as suitable for the care of the child 13 such as diapers, clothing, school supplies, and cribs. 14 (f-5) Subsection (f) shall not apply to affect the 15 monthly assistance amount of any family as a result of the 16 birth of a child on or after January 1, 2004. As resources 17 permit after January 1, 2004, the Department may cease 18 applying subsection (f) to limit assistance to families 19 receiving assistance under this Article on January 1, 2004, 20 with respect to children born prior to that date. In any 21 event, subsection (f) shall be completely inoperative on and 22 after July 1, 2007. 23 (g) (Blank). 24 (h) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Code, 25 the Illinois Department is authorized to reduce payment 26 levels used to determine cash grants under this Article after 27 December 31 of any fiscal year if the Illinois Department 28 determines that the caseload upon which the appropriations 29 for the current fiscal year are based have increased by more 30 than 5% and the appropriation is not sufficient to ensure 31 that cash benefits under this Article do not exceed the 32 amounts appropriated for those cash benefits. Reductions in 33 payment levels may be accomplished by emergency rule under 34 Section 5-45 of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act, HB3021 Engrossed -5- LRB093 09972 DRJ 10222 b 1 except that the limitation on the number of emergency rules 2 that may be adopted in a 24-month period shall not apply and 3 the provisions of Sections 5-115 and 5-125 of the Illinois 4 Administrative Procedure Act shall not apply. Increases in 5 payment levels shall be accomplished only in accordance with 6 Section 5-40 of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act. 7 Before any rule to increase payment levels promulgated under 8 this Section shall become effective, a joint resolution 9 approving the rule must be adopted by a roll call vote by a 10 majority of the members elected to each chamber of the 11 General Assembly. 12 (Source: P.A. 91-676, eff. 12-23-99; 92-111, eff. 1-1-02.) 13 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 14 becoming law.