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HB0979 Engrossed |
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LRB095 07155 HLH 27283 b |
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| AN ACT concerning State government.
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| Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| represented in the General Assembly:
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| Section 5. The Illinois Act on the Aging is amended by |
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| adding Section 4.14 as follows:
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| (20 ILCS 105/4.14 new) |
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| Sec. 4.14. Rural Senior Citizen Program. |
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| (a) The General Assembly finds that it is in the best |
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| interest of the citizens of Illinois to identify and address |
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| the special challenges and needs faced by older rural |
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| residents. The General Assembly further finds that rural areas |
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| are often under-served and unserved to the detriment of older |
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| residents and their families, which may require the allocation |
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| of additional resources. |
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| (b) The Department shall identify the special needs and |
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| problems of older rural residents and evaluate the adequacy and |
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| accessibility of existing programs and information for older |
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| rural residents. The scope of the Department's work shall |
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| encompass both Older American Act services, Community Care |
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| services, and all other services targeted in whole or in part |
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| at residents 60 years of age and older, regardless of the |
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| setting in which the service is provided. |
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| (c) The Older Rural Adults Task Force is established to |
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HB0979 Engrossed |
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LRB095 07155 HLH 27283 b |
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| gather information and make recommendations in collaboration |
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| with the Department on Aging and the Older Adult Services |
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| Committee. The Task Force shall be comprised of 12 voting |
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| members and 7 non-voting members. The President and Minority |
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| Leader of the Illinois Senate and the Speaker and Minority |
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| Leader of the Illinois House of Representatives shall each |
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| appoint 2 members of the General Assembly and one citizen |
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| member to the Task Force. Citizen members may seek |
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| reimbursement for actual travel expenses. Representatives of |
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| the Department on Aging and the Departments of Healthcare and |
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| Family Services, Human Services, Public Health, and Commerce |
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| and Economic Opportunity, the Rural Affairs Council, and the |
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| Illinois Housing Development Authority shall serve as |
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| non-voting members. The Department on Aging shall provide staff |
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| support to the Task Force. |
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| Co-chairs shall be selected by the Task Force at its first |
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| meeting. Both shall be appointed voting members of the Task |
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| Force. One co-chair shall be a member of the General Assembly |
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| and one shall be a citizen member. A simple majority of those |
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| appointed shall constitute a quorum. The Task Force may hold |
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| regional hearings and fact finding meetings and shall submit a |
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| report to the General Assembly no later than January 1, 2009. |
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| The Task Force is dissolved upon submission of the report.
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| Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon |
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| becoming law.
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