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1 | AN ACT concerning employment.
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2 | WHEREAS, The State of Illinois is dedicated to the urgent | ||||||
3 | task of strengthening and expediting the national defense under | ||||||
4 | the emergent conditions which are threatening the peace and | ||||||
5 | security of this nation; and | ||||||
6 | WHEREAS, It is the considered judgment of the General | ||||||
7 | Assembly that the citizens of Illinois who respond to their | ||||||
8 | country's call to service are deserving of every benefit and | ||||||
9 | protection; and | ||||||
10 | WHEREAS, It is imperative that State government recognize | ||||||
11 | the State's citizens who have made the ultimate sacrifice to | ||||||
12 | protect the peace and security of this nation; and | ||||||
13 | WHEREAS, The Illinois Court of Claims should be equipped to | ||||||
14 | provide for and assist the survivors of fallen service members | ||||||
15 | by increasing accessibility to the Court of Claims and | ||||||
16 | providing outreach services to the community, which will serve | ||||||
17 | to educate survivors as to their benefits and protections under | ||||||
18 | State law; and | ||||||
19 | WHEREAS, By recognizing these sacrifices, the State of | ||||||
20 | Illinois encourages its citizens to participate to the fullest | ||||||
21 | extent in the national defense program and thereby heightens | ||||||
22 | the contribution of our State to the protection of our heritage |
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1 | of liberty and democracy; therefore | ||||||
2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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4 | Section 5. The Court of Claims Act is amended by changing | ||||||
5 | Section 24 and by adding Section 9.5 as follows: | ||||||
6 | (705 ILCS 505/9.5 new) | ||||||
7 | Sec. 9.5. Gold Star and Fallen Heroes Families Assistance | ||||||
8 | Program. | ||||||
9 | (a) Within the Court of Claims, there is established a Gold | ||||||
10 | Star and Fallen Heroes Families Assistance Program, which is | ||||||
11 | charged with the responsibility of assessing the needs of and | ||||||
12 | providing information to Illinois Gold Star and Fallen Heroes | ||||||
13 | Families with regard to claims filed pursuant to the Line of | ||||||
14 | Duty Compensation Act. | ||||||
15 | (b) As used in this Section, "Gold Star and Fallen Heroes | ||||||
16 | Family" means the family members of an
individual who was | ||||||
17 | killed in the line of duty and who was employed or serving in a | ||||||
18 | capacity defined in Section 2 of the Line of Duty Compensation | ||||||
19 | Act. | ||||||
20 | (c) Toll-free helpline. The Gold Star and Fallen Heroes | ||||||
21 | Families Assistance Program shall include a toll-free helpline | ||||||
22 | dedicated to families seeking information about the Line of | ||||||
23 | Duty Compensation Act, including, but not limited to, the |
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1 | status of claims filed pursuant to that Act. The helpline phone | ||||||
2 | number and information about the Gold Star and Fallen Heroes | ||||||
3 | Families Assistance Program shall be provided to each person | ||||||
4 | filing a claim under the Line of Duty Compensation Act. | ||||||
5 | (d) On or before January 1 of each year, the Court of | ||||||
6 | Claims shall report to the Governor, both houses of the General | ||||||
7 | Assembly, and the Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs the | ||||||
8 | following information: | ||||||
9 | (1) the number of claims filed with the Court of Claims | ||||||
10 | pursuant to the Line of Duty Compensation Act; | ||||||
11 | (2) the number of Line of Duty Compensation Act claims | ||||||
12 | approved for payment by the Court of Claims during the | ||||||
13 | preceding calendar year; | ||||||
14 | (3) the number and status of Line of Duty Compensation | ||||||
15 | Act claims pending in the Court of Claims; and | ||||||
16 | (4) other information as may be requested by the | ||||||
17 | Governor.
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18 | (705 ILCS 505/24) (from Ch. 37, par. 439.24)
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19 | Sec. 24. Payment of awards.
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20 | (1) From funds appropriated by the General Assembly for the | ||||||
21 | purposes
of this Section the Court may direct
immediate payment | ||||||
22 | of:
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23 | (a) All claims arising solely as a result of the | ||||||
24 | lapsing of an
appropriation out of which the obligation | ||||||
25 | could have been paid.
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1 | (b) All claims pursuant to the Line of Duty
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2 | Compensation Act.
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3 | (c) All claims pursuant to the "Illinois National | ||||||
4 | Guardsman's and
Naval Militiaman's Compensation Act", | ||||||
5 | approved August 12, 1971, as
amended.
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6 | (d) All claims pursuant to the "Crime Victims | ||||||
7 | Compensation Act",
approved August 23, 1973, as amended.
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8 | (e) All other claims wherein the amount of the award of | ||||||
9 | the Court
is less than $5,000.
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10 | (2) The court may, from funds specifically appropriated | ||||||
11 | from the General
Revenue Fund for this purpose, direct the | ||||||
12 | payment of awards less than $50,000
solely as a result
of the | ||||||
13 | lapsing of an appropriation originally made from any fund held | ||||||
14 | by the
State Treasurer. For any such award paid from the | ||||||
15 | General Revenue Fund, the
court
shall thereafter seek an | ||||||
16 | appropriation from the fund from which the liability
originally | ||||||
17 | accrued in reimbursement of the General Revenue Fund.
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18 | (3) In directing payment of a claim pursuant to the Line of | ||||||
19 | Duty
Compensation Act, the Court must direct the Comptroller to | ||||||
20 | add an interest penalty if payment of a claim is not made | ||||||
21 | within 6 months after a claim is filed in accordance with | ||||||
22 | Section 3 of the Line of Duty
Compensation Act and all | ||||||
23 | information has been submitted as required under Section 4 of | ||||||
24 | the Line of Duty
Compensation Act. If payment is not issued | ||||||
25 | within the 6-month period, an interest penalty of 1% of the | ||||||
26 | amount of the award shall be added for each month or fraction |
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1 | thereof after the end of the 6-month period, until final | ||||||
2 | payment is made. This interest penalty shall be added | ||||||
3 | regardless of whether the payment is not issued within the | ||||||
4 | 6-month period because of the appropriation process, the | ||||||
5 | consideration of the matter by the Court, or any other reason. | ||||||
6 | (3.5) The interest penalty payment provided for in | ||||||
7 | subsection (3) shall be added to all claims for which benefits | ||||||
8 | were not paid as of the effective date of P.A. 95-928. The | ||||||
9 | interest penalty shall be calculated starting from the | ||||||
10 | effective date of P.A. 95-928, provided that the effective date | ||||||
11 | of P.A. 95-928 is at least 6 months after the date on which the | ||||||
12 | claim was filed in accordance with Section 3 of the Line of | ||||||
13 | Duty Compensation Act. In the event that the date 6 months | ||||||
14 | after the date on which the claim was filed is later than the | ||||||
15 | effective date of P.A. 95-928, the Court shall calculate the | ||||||
16 | interest payment penalty starting from the date 6 months after | ||||||
17 | the date on which the claim was filed in accordance with | ||||||
18 | Section 3 of the Line of Duty Compensation Act. This subsection | ||||||
19 | (3.5) of this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly is | ||||||
20 | declarative of existing law. | ||||||
21 | (3.6) In addition to the interest payments provided for in | ||||||
22 | subsections (3) and (3.5), the Court shall direct the | ||||||
23 | Comptroller to add a "catch-up" payment to the claims of | ||||||
24 | eligible claimants. For the purposes of this subsection (3.6), | ||||||
25 | an "eligible claimant" is a claimant whose claim is not paid in | ||||||
26 | the year in which it was filed. For purposes of this subsection |
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1 | (3.6), "'catch-up' payment" is defined as the difference | ||||||
2 | between the amount paid to claimants whose claims were filed in | ||||||
3 | the year in which the eligible claimant's claim is paid and the | ||||||
4 | amount paid to claimants whose claims were filed in the year in | ||||||
5 | which the eligible claimant filed his or her claim. The | ||||||
6 | "catch-up" payment is payable simultaneously with the claim | ||||||
7 | award. | ||||||
8 | (4)
(3) From funds appropriated by the General Assembly for | ||||||
9 | the purposes of
paying claims under paragraph (c) of Section 8, | ||||||
10 | the court must direct payment
of each claim and the payment | ||||||
11 | must be received by the claimant within 60 days after the date | ||||||
12 | that the funds are appropriated for that purpose.
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13 | (Source: P.A. 95-928, eff. 8-26-08; 95-970, eff. 9-22-08; | ||||||
14 | revised 10-14-08.)
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15 | Section 10. The Line of Duty Compensation Act is amended by | ||||||
16 | changing Sections 3 and 4 as follows:
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17 | (820 ILCS 315/3)
(from Ch. 48, par. 283)
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18 | Sec. 3. Duty death benefit. | ||||||
19 | (a) If a claim therefor is made within one
year of the date | ||||||
20 | of death of a law enforcement officer, civil
defense worker, | ||||||
21 | civil air patrol member, paramedic, fireman, chaplain, or
State | ||||||
22 | employee killed in the line of duty,
or if a claim therefor is | ||||||
23 | made within 2 years of the date of death of an Armed Forces | ||||||
24 | member killed in the line of duty, compensation shall be paid |
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1 | to the person designated by the law
enforcement officer, civil | ||||||
2 | defense worker, civil air patrol member, paramedic,
fireman, | ||||||
3 | chaplain, State employee, or Armed Forces member. However, if | ||||||
4 | the Armed Forces member was killed in the line of duty before
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5 | October 18, 2004, the
claim must be made within one year of | ||||||
6 | October 18, 2004.
| ||||||
7 | (b)
The amount of compensation, except for an Armed Forces | ||||||
8 | member, shall be $10,000 if the death in the
line of duty | ||||||
9 | occurred prior to January 1, 1974; $20,000 if
such death | ||||||
10 | occurred after December 31, 1973 and before July 1, 1983;
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11 | $50,000 if such death occurred on or after July 1, 1983 and | ||||||
12 | before January 1,
1996; $100,000 if the death occurred on or | ||||||
13 | after January 1, 1996 and
before May 18, 2001; $118,000 if the | ||||||
14 | death occurred on or after May
18, 2001 and before July 1, | ||||||
15 | 2002; and $259,038 if the death occurred on or after July 1, | ||||||
16 | 2002 and before January
1, 2003. For an Armed Forces member | ||||||
17 | killed in the line of duty (i) at any time before January 1, | ||||||
18 | 2005, the compensation is $259,038 plus amounts equal to the | ||||||
19 | increases for 2003 and 2004 determined under subsection (c) and | ||||||
20 | (ii) on or after January 1, 2005, the compensation is the | ||||||
21 | amount determined under item (i) plus the applicable increases | ||||||
22 | for 2005 and thereafter determined under subsection (c).
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23 | (c) Except as provided in subsection (b), for deaths | ||||||
24 | occurring on or after January 1, 2003, the death
compensation | ||||||
25 | rate for death in the line of duty occurring in a particular
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26 | calendar year shall be the death compensation rate for death |
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1 | occurring in the
previous calendar year (or in the case of | ||||||
2 | deaths occurring in 2003, the rate
in effect on December 31, | ||||||
3 | 2002) increased by a percentage thereof equal to
the percentage | ||||||
4 | increase, if any, in the index known as the Consumer Price
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5 | Index for All Urban Consumers: U.S. city average, unadjusted, | ||||||
6 | for all items,
as published by the United States Department of | ||||||
7 | Labor, Bureau of Labor
Statistics, for the 12 months ending | ||||||
8 | with the month of June of that previous
calendar year.
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9 | (d) If no beneficiary is designated or if no designated | ||||||
10 | beneficiary survives at the death of the law
enforcement | ||||||
11 | officer, civil defense worker, civil air patrol member,
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12 | paramedic, fireman, chaplain, or State employee
killed in the | ||||||
13 | line of
duty, the compensation shall be paid in accordance with | ||||||
14 | a legally binding will left by the law
enforcement officer, | ||||||
15 | civil defense worker, civil air patrol member,
paramedic, | ||||||
16 | fireman, chaplain, or State employee. If the law
enforcement | ||||||
17 | officer, civil defense worker, civil air patrol member,
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18 | paramedic, fireman, chaplain, or State employee did not leave a | ||||||
19 | legally binding will, the compensation shall be paid as | ||||||
20 | follows:
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21 | (1) when there is a surviving spouse, the entire sum | ||||||
22 | shall be paid to
the spouse;
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23 | (2) when there is no surviving spouse, but a surviving | ||||||
24 | descendant of the
decedent, the entire sum shall be paid to | ||||||
25 | the decedent's descendants per
stirpes;
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26 | (3) when there is neither a surviving spouse nor a |
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1 | surviving descendant,
the entire sum shall be paid to the | ||||||
2 | parents of the decedent in equal parts,
allowing to the | ||||||
3 | surviving parent, if one is dead, the entire sum; and
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4 | (4) when there is no surviving spouse, descendant or | ||||||
5 | parent of the
decedent, but there are surviving brothers or | ||||||
6 | sisters, or descendants of a
brother or sister, who were | ||||||
7 | receiving their principal support from the
decedent at his | ||||||
8 | death, the entire sum shall be paid, in equal parts, to the
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9 | dependent brothers or sisters or dependent descendant of a | ||||||
10 | brother or
sister. Dependency shall be determined by the | ||||||
11 | Court of Claims based upon
the investigation and report of | ||||||
12 | the Attorney General.
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13 | The changes made to this subsection (d) by this amendatory Act | ||||||
14 | of the 94th General Assembly apply to any pending case as long | ||||||
15 | as compensation has not been paid to any party before the | ||||||
16 | effective date of this amendatory Act of the 94th General | ||||||
17 | Assembly.
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18 | (d-1) For purposes of subsection (d), in the case of a | ||||||
19 | person killed in the line of duty who was born out of wedlock | ||||||
20 | and was not an adoptive child at the time of the person's | ||||||
21 | death, a person shall be deemed to be a parent of the person | ||||||
22 | killed in the line of duty only if that person would be an | ||||||
23 | eligible parent, as defined in Section 2-2 of the Probate Act | ||||||
24 | of 1975, of the person killed in the line of duty. This | ||||||
25 | subsection (d-1) applies to any pending claim if compensation | ||||||
26 | was not paid to the claimant of the pending claim before the |
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1 | effective date of this amendatory Act of the 94th General | ||||||
2 | Assembly.
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3 | (d-2) If no beneficiary is designated or if no designated | ||||||
4 | beneficiary survives at the death of the Armed Forces member | ||||||
5 | killed in the line of duty, the compensation shall be paid in | ||||||
6 | entirety according to the designation made on the most recent | ||||||
7 | version of the Armed Forces member's Servicemembers' Group Life | ||||||
8 | Insurance Election and Certificate ("SGLI"). | ||||||
9 | If no SGLI form exists at the time of the Armed Forces | ||||||
10 | member's death, the compensation shall be paid in accordance | ||||||
11 | with a legally binding will left by the Armed Forces member. | ||||||
12 | If no SGLI form exists for the Armed Forces member and the | ||||||
13 | Armed Forces member did not leave a legally binding will, the | ||||||
14 | compensation shall be paid to the persons and in the priority | ||||||
15 | as set forth in paragraphs (1) through (4) of subsection (d) of | ||||||
16 | this Section. | ||||||
17 | This subsection (d-2) applies to any pending case as long | ||||||
18 | as compensation has not been paid to any party before the | ||||||
19 | effective date of this amendatory Act of the 94th General | ||||||
20 | Assembly.
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21 | (e) If there is no beneficiary designated or if no | ||||||
22 | designated beneficiary survives at the death of the
law | ||||||
23 | enforcement officer, civil defense worker, civil air patrol | ||||||
24 | member,
paramedic, fireman, chaplain, State employee, or Armed | ||||||
25 | Forces member
killed in the line of duty
and there is no other | ||||||
26 | person or entity to whom compensation is payable under this |
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1 | Section, no compensation shall be payable
under this Act.
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2 | (f) No part of such compensation may be paid to any other | ||||||
3 | person for any
efforts in securing such compensation.
| ||||||
4 | (g) This amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly | ||||||
5 | applies to claims made on or after October 18, 2004 with | ||||||
6 | respect to an Armed Forces member killed in the line of duty.
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7 | (h) In any case for which benefits have not been paid | ||||||
8 | within 6 months of the claim being filed in accordance with | ||||||
9 | this Section, which is pending as of the effective date of this | ||||||
10 | amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly, and in which there | ||||||
11 | are 2 or more beneficiaries, at least one of whom would receive | ||||||
12 | at least a portion of the total benefit regardless of the | ||||||
13 | manner in which the Court of Claims resolves the claim, the | ||||||
14 | Court shall direct the Comptroller to pay the minimum amount of | ||||||
15 | money which the determinate beneficiary would receive together | ||||||
16 | with all interest payment penalties which have accrued on that | ||||||
17 | portion of the award being paid within 30 days of the effective | ||||||
18 | date of this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly. For | ||||||
19 | purposes of this subsection (h), "determinate beneficiary" | ||||||
20 | means the beneficiary who would receive any portion of the | ||||||
21 | total benefit claimed regardless of the manner in which the | ||||||
22 | Court of Claims adjudicates the claim. | ||||||
23 | (i) The Court of Claims shall ensure that all individuals | ||||||
24 | who have filed an application to claim the duty death benefit | ||||||
25 | for a deceased member of the Armed Forces pursuant to this | ||||||
26 | Section, or their designated representative, shall have |
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1 | access, on a timely basis and in an efficient manner, to all | ||||||
2 | information related to the court's consideration, processing, | ||||||
3 | or adjudication of the claim, including, but not limited to, | ||||||
4 | the following: | ||||||
5 | (1) a reliable estimate of when the Court of Claims | ||||||
6 | will adjudicate the claim, or if the Court cannot estimate | ||||||
7 | when it will adjudicate the claim, a full written | ||||||
8 | explanation of the reasons for this inability; and | ||||||
9 | (2) a reliable estimate, based upon consultation with | ||||||
10 | the Comptroller, of when the benefit will be paid to the | ||||||
11 | claimant. | ||||||
12 | (j) The Court of Claims shall send written notice to all | ||||||
13 | claimants within 2 weeks of the initiation of a claim | ||||||
14 | indicating whether or not the application is complete. For | ||||||
15 | purposes of this subsection (j), an application is complete if | ||||||
16 | a claimant has submitted to the Court of Claims all documents | ||||||
17 | and information the Court requires for adjudicating and paying | ||||||
18 | the benefit amount. For purposes of this subsection (j), a | ||||||
19 | claim for the duty death benefit is initiated when a claimant | ||||||
20 | submits any of the application materials required for | ||||||
21 | adjudicating the claim to the Court of Claims. In the event a | ||||||
22 | claimant's application is incomplete, the Court shall include | ||||||
23 | in its written notice a list of the information or documents | ||||||
24 | which the claimant must submit in order for the application to | ||||||
25 | be complete.
In no case may the Court of Claims deny a claim | ||||||
26 | and subsequently re-adjudicate the same claim for the purpose |
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1 | of evading or reducing the interest penalty payment amount | ||||||
2 | payable to any claimant. | ||||||
3 | (Source: P.A. 94-843, eff. 6-8-06; 94-844, eff. 6-8-06; 95-928, | ||||||
4 | eff. 8-26-08.)
| ||||||
5 | (820 ILCS 315/4)
(from Ch. 48, par. 284)
| ||||||
6 | Sec. 4. Notwithstanding
Section 3, no compensation is | ||||||
7 | payable under this Act
unless a claim therefor is filed, within | ||||||
8 | the time specified by that
Section with the Court of Claims on | ||||||
9 | an application prescribed and
furnished by the Attorney General | ||||||
10 | and setting forth:
| ||||||
11 | (a) the name, address and title or designation of the | ||||||
12 | position in which
the officer, civil defense worker, civil air | ||||||
13 | patrol member, paramedic,
fireman, chaplain, State employee, | ||||||
14 | or Armed Forces member was
serving at
the time of his death;
| ||||||
15 | (b) the names and addresses of person or persons designated | ||||||
16 | by the
officer, civil defense worker, civil air patrol member, | ||||||
17 | paramedic, fireman,
chaplain,
State employee, or Armed Forces | ||||||
18 | member
to receive the compensation and,
if more than one, the | ||||||
19 | percentage or share to be paid to each such person,
or if there | ||||||
20 | has been no
such designation, the name and address of the | ||||||
21 | personal representative of
the estate of the officer, civil | ||||||
22 | defense worker, civil air patrol member,
paramedic, fireman, | ||||||
23 | chaplain, State employee, or Armed Forces
member;
| ||||||
24 | (c) a full, factual account of the circumstances resulting | ||||||
25 | in or the
course of events causing the death of the officer, |
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| |||||||
1 | civil defense worker,
civil air patrol member, paramedic, | ||||||
2 | fireman, chaplain, State employee,
or Armed Forces member;
and
| ||||||
3 | (d) such other information as the Court of Claims | ||||||
4 | reasonably requires.
| ||||||
5 | When a claim is filed, the Attorney General shall make an | ||||||
6 | investigation
for substantiation of matters set forth in such | ||||||
7 | an application.
| ||||||
8 | For the 2 years immediately following the effective date of | ||||||
9 | this amendatory act of the 96th General Assembly, the Court of | ||||||
10 | Claims shall direct the Comptroller to pay a | ||||||
11 | "Modified-Eligibility Line of Duty Benefit" to eligible late | ||||||
12 | claimants who file a claim for the benefit. A claim for a | ||||||
13 | Modified-Eligibility Line of Duty Benefit must include all the | ||||||
14 | application materials and documents required for all other | ||||||
15 | claims payable under this Act, except as otherwise provided in | ||||||
16 | this Section 4.
For purposes of this Section 4 only, an | ||||||
17 | "eligible late claimant" is a person who would have been | ||||||
18 | eligible, at any time after September 11, 2001, to apply for | ||||||
19 | and receive payment of a claim pursuant to this Act in | ||||||
20 | connection with the death of an Armed Forces member killed in | ||||||
21 | the line of duty, but did not receive the award payment | ||||||
22 | because: | ||||||
23 | (1) the claim was rejected only because the claim was | ||||||
24 | not filed within the time limitation set forth in | ||||||
25 | subsection (a) of Section 3 of this Act; or | ||||||
26 | (2) having met all other preconditions for applying for |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | and receiving the award payment, the claimant did not file | ||||||
2 | a claim because the claim would not have been filed within | ||||||
3 | the time limitation set forth in subsection (a) of Section | ||||||
4 | 3 of this Act.
For purposes of this Section 4 only, the | ||||||
5 | "Modified-Eligibility Line of Duty Benefit" is an amount of | ||||||
6 | money payable to eligible late claimants equal to the | ||||||
7 | amount set forth in Section 3 of this Act payable to | ||||||
8 | claimants seeking payment of awards under Section 3 of this | ||||||
9 | Act for claims made thereunder in the year in which the | ||||||
10 | claim for the Modified-Eligibility Line of Duty Benefit is | ||||||
11 | made.
Within 6 months of receiving a complete claim for the | ||||||
12 | Modified-Eligibility Line of Duty Benefit, the Court of | ||||||
13 | Claims must direct the Comptroller to pay the benefit | ||||||
14 | amount to the eligible late claimant. | ||||||
15 | (Source: P.A. 93-1047, eff. 10-18-04.)
|