HB5370 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB095 15587 WGH 45276 b

95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2007 and 2008
HB5370

Introduced , by Rep. Michael P. McAuliffe

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

705 ILCS 505/22	from Ch. 37, par. 439.22
705 ILCS 505/24	from Ch. 37, par. 439.24
820 ILCS 315/3	from Ch. 48, par. 283

Amends the Line of Duty Compensation Act. Provides that compensation shall be paid to the person designated by an Armed Forces member killed in the line of duty if a claim is made within 5 years (instead of one year) after the date of death. Amends the Court of Claims Act to make changes conforming that Act to the Line of Duty Compensation Act. Effective immediately.

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning persons killed in the line of duty.

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

Section 5. The Court of Claims Act is amended by changing Sections 22 and 24 as follows:

(705 ILCS 505/22) (from Ch. 37, par. 439.22)

Sec. 22. Every claim cognizable by the Court and not otherwise sooner barred by law shall be forever barred from prosecution therein unless it is filed with the Clerk of the Court within the time set forth as follows:

(a) All claims arising out of a contract must be filed within 5 years after it first accrues, saving to minors, and persons under legal disability at the time the claim accrues, in which cases the claim must be filed within 5 years from the time the disability ceases.

(b) All claims cognizable against the State by vendors of goods or services under "The Illinois Public Aid Code", approved April 11, 1967, as amended, must file within one year after the accrual of the cause of action, as provided in Section 11-13 of that Code.

(c) All claims arising under paragraph (c) of Section 8 of this Act must be filed within 2 years after the person asserting such claim is discharged from prison, or is granted a pardon by the Governor, whichever occurs later, except as otherwise provided by the Crime Victims Compensation Act.

(d) All claims arising under paragraph (f) of Section 8 of this Act must be filed within the time set forth one year of the date of the death of the law enforcement officer or fireman as provided in Section 3 of the Line of Duty "Law Enforcement Officers and Firemen Compensation Act", approved September 30, 1969, as amended.

(e) All claims arising under paragraph (h) of Section 8 of this Act must be filed within one year of the date of the death of the guardsman or militiaman as provided in Section 3 of the "Illinois National Guardsman's and Naval Militiaman's Compensation Act", approved August 12, 1971, as amended.

(f) All claims arising under paragraph (g) of Section 8 of this Act must be filed within one year of the crime on which a claim is based as provided in Section 6.1 of the "Crime Victims Compensation Act", approved August 23, 1973, as amended.

(g) All claims arising from the Comptroller's refusal to issue a replacement warrant pursuant to Section 10.10 of the State Comptroller Act must be filed within 5 years after the issue date of such warrant.

(h) All other claims must be filed within 2 years after it first accrues, saving to minors, and persons under legal disability at the time the claim accrues, in which case the claim must be filed within 2 years from the time the disability ceases.

(i) The changes made by this amendatory Act of 1989 shall apply to all warrants issued within the 5 year period preceding the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1989.

(j) All time limitations established under this Act and the rules promulgated under this Act shall be binding and jurisdictional, except upon extension authorized by law or rule and granted pursuant to a motion timely filed.

(Source: P.A. 86-458.)

(705 ILCS 505/24) (from Ch. 37, par. 439.24)

Sec. 24. Payment of awards.

(1) From funds appropriated by the General Assembly for the purposes of this Section the Court may direct immediate payment of:

(a) All claims arising solely as a result of the lapsing of an appropriation out of which the obligation could have been paid.

(b) All claims pursuant to the Line of Duty "Law Enforcement Officers and Firemen Compensation Act", approved September 30, 1969, as amended.

(c) All claims pursuant to the "Illinois National Guardsman's and Naval Militiaman's Compensation Act", approved August 12, 1971, as amended.

(d) All claims pursuant to the "Crime Victims Compensation Act", approved August 23, 1973, as amended.

(e) All other claims wherein the amount of the award of the Court is less than $5,000.

(2) The court may, from funds specifically appropriated from the General Revenue Fund for this purpose, direct the payment of awards less than $50,000 solely as a result of the lapsing of an appropriation originally made from any fund held by the State Treasurer. For any such award paid from the General Revenue Fund, the court shall thereafter seek an appropriation from the fund from which the liability originally accrued in reimbursement of the General Revenue Fund.

(Source: P.A. 92-357, eff. 8-15-01.)

Section 10. The Line of Duty Compensation Act is amended by changing Section 3 as follows:

(820 ILCS 315/3) (from Ch. 48, par. 283)

Sec. 3. Duty death benefit.

(a) If a claim therefor is made within one year of the date of death of a law enforcement officer, civil defense worker, civil air patrol member, paramedic, fireman, chaplain, or State employee, or Armed Forces member killed in the line of duty, or if a claim therefor is made within 5 years of the date of death of an Armed Forces member killed in the line of duty, compensation shall be paid to the person designated by the law enforcement officer, civil defense worker, civil air patrol member, paramedic, fireman, chaplain, State employee, or Armed Forces member. However, if the Armed Forces member was killed in the line of duty before October 18, 2004, the claim must be made within one year of October 18, 2004.

(b) The amount of compensation, except for an Armed Forces member, shall be $10,000 if the death in the line of duty occurred prior to January 1, 1974; $20,000 if such death occurred after December 31, 1973 and before July 1, 1983; $50,000 if such death occurred on or after July 1, 1983 and before January 1, 1996; $100,000 if the death occurred on or after January 1, 1996 and before May 18, 2001; $118,000 if the death occurred on or after May 18, 2001 and before July 1, 2002; and $259,038 if the death occurred on or after July 1, 2002 and before January 1, 2003. For an Armed Forces member killed in the line of duty (i) at any time before January 1, 2005, the compensation is $259,038 plus amounts equal to the increases for 2003 and 2004 determined under subsection (c) and (ii) on or after January 1, 2005, the compensation is the amount determined under item (i) plus the applicable increases for 2005 and thereafter determined under subsection (c).

(c) Except as provided in subsection (b), for deaths occurring on or after January 1, 2003, the death compensation rate for death in the line of duty occurring in a particular calendar year shall be the death compensation rate for death occurring in the previous calendar year (or in the case of deaths occurring in 2003, the rate in effect on December 31, 2002) increased by a percentage thereof equal to the percentage increase, if any, in the index known as the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: U.S. city average, unadjusted, for all items, as published by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, for the 12 months ending with the month of June of that previous calendar year.

(d) If no beneficiary is designated or if no designated beneficiary survives at the death of the law enforcement officer, civil defense worker, civil air patrol member, paramedic, fireman, chaplain, or State employee killed in the line of duty, the compensation shall be paid in accordance with a legally binding will left by the law enforcement officer, civil defense worker, civil air patrol member, paramedic, fireman, chaplain, or State employee. If the law enforcement officer, civil defense worker, civil air patrol member, paramedic, fireman, chaplain, or State employee did not leave a legally binding will, the compensation shall be paid as follows:

(1) when there is a surviving spouse, the entire sum shall be paid to the spouse;

(2) when there is no surviving spouse, but a surviving descendant of the decedent, the entire sum shall be paid to the decedent's descendants per stirpes;

(3) when there is neither a surviving spouse nor a surviving descendant, the entire sum shall be paid to the parents of the decedent in equal parts, allowing to the surviving parent, if one is dead, the entire sum; and

(4) when there is no surviving spouse, descendant or parent of the decedent, but there are surviving brothers or sisters, or descendants of a brother or sister, who were receiving their principal support from the decedent at his death, the entire sum shall be paid, in equal parts, to the dependent brothers or sisters or dependent descendant of a brother or sister. Dependency shall be determined by the Court of Claims based upon the investigation and report of the Attorney General.

The changes made to this subsection (d) by this amendatory Act of the 94th General Assembly apply to any pending case as long as compensation has not been paid to any party before the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 94th General Assembly.

(d-1) For purposes of subsection (d), in the case of a person killed in the line of duty who was born out of wedlock and was not an adoptive child at the time of the person's death, a person shall be deemed to be a parent of the person killed in the line of duty only if that person would be an eligible parent, as defined in Section 2-2 of the Probate Act of 1975, of the person killed in the line of duty. This subsection (d-1) applies to any pending claim if compensation was not paid to the claimant of the pending claim before the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 94th General Assembly.

(d-2) If no beneficiary is designated or if no designated beneficiary survives at the death of the Armed Forces member killed in the line of duty, the compensation shall be paid in entirety according to the designation made on the most recent version of the Armed Forces member's Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance Election and Certificate ("SGLI").

If no SGLI form exists at the time of the Armed Forces member's death, the compensation shall be paid in accordance with a legally binding will left by the Armed Forces member.

If no SGLI form exists for the Armed Forces member and the Armed Forces member did not leave a legally binding will, the compensation shall be paid to the persons and in the priority as set forth in paragraphs (1) through (4) of subsection (d) of this Section.

This subsection (d-2) applies to any pending case as long as compensation has not been paid to any party before the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 94th General Assembly.

(e) If there is no beneficiary designated or if no designated beneficiary survives at the death of the law enforcement officer, civil defense worker, civil air patrol member, paramedic, fireman, chaplain, State employee, or Armed Forces member killed in the line of duty and there is no other person or entity to whom compensation is payable under this Section, no compensation shall be payable under this Act.

(f) No part of such compensation may be paid to any other person for any efforts in securing such compensation.

(g) This amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly applies to claims made on or after October 18, 2004 with respect to an Armed Forces member killed in the line of duty.

(Source: P.A. 93-1047, eff. 10-18-04; 93-1073, eff. 1-18-05; 94-843, eff. 6-8-06; 94-844, eff. 6-8-06.)

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