093_HB3021

 
                                     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 Sections 4-1.2c, 4-1.6, and 4-2 as follows:

 6        (305 ILCS 5/4-1.2c)
 7        Sec. 4-1.2c.  Residence of child who  is  pregnant  or  a
 8    parent.
 9        (a)  Notwithstanding any other provision of this Code, no
10    aid  shall  be  paid  under this Article shall be paid for no
11    more than 6 months on behalf of a person under age 18 who has
12    never married and who has a child or is pregnant, unless that
13    person resides with a parent, legal guardian, or other  adult
14    relative  or  in  a  foster  home,  maternity  home, or other
15    adult-supervised living arrangement.
16        (b)  The Illinois Department may make an exception to the
17    requirement  of  subsection  (a)  in  any  of  the  following
18    circumstances:
19             (1)  The  person  has  no  living  parent  or  legal
20        guardian, or the parent's or legal guardian's whereabouts
21        are unknown.
22             (2)  The Illinois  Department  determines  that  the
23        physical  health  or safety of the person or the person's
24        child would be jeopardized.
25             (3)  The person has lived apart from the  parent  or
26        legal  guardian  for a period of at least one year before
27        the child's birth or before applying for aid  under  this
28        Article.
29        (c)  (Blank).
30    (Source: P.A. 92-111, eff. 1-1-02.)
 
                            -2-      LRB093 09972 DRJ 10222 b
 1        (305 ILCS 5/4-1.6) (from Ch. 23, par. 4-1.6)
 2        Sec.  4-1.6.  Need.   Income  available  to the family as
 3    defined by the Illinois Department by rule, or to  the  child
 4    in  the  case  of  a child removed from his or her home, when
 5    added to contributions in money, substance or  services  from
 6    other sources, including income available from parents absent
 7    from  the  home  or from a stepparent, contributions made for
 8    the benefit of the  parent  or  other  persons  necessary  to
 9    provide  care and supervision to the child, and contributions
10    from legally responsible relatives, must be  insufficient  to
11    equal  the  grant amount established by Department regulation
12    for such a person.
13        In  considering  income  to  be   taken   into   account,
14    consideration  shall  be  given  to  any  expenses reasonably
15    attributable to the earning  of  such  income.  The  Illinois
16    Department  may  also  permit all or any portion of earned or
17    other income to be set  aside  for  the  future  identifiable
18    needs of a child. The Illinois Department may provide by rule
19    and regulation for the exemptions thus permitted or required.
20    The  eligibility  of any applicant for or recipient of public
21    aid under this Article is not affected by the payment of  any
22    grant   under  the  "Senior  Citizens  and  Disabled  Persons
23    Property Tax Relief and Pharmaceutical Assistance Act" or any
24    distributions or items of income described under subparagraph
25    (X) of paragraph (2) of subsection (a) of Section 203 of  the
26    Illinois Income Tax Act.
27        The  Illinois Department may, by rule, set forth criteria
28    under  which  an  assistance  unit  is  ineligible  for  cash
29    assistance under this  Article  for  a  specified  number  of
30    months due to the receipt of a lump sum payment.
31    (Source: P.A. 91-676, eff. 12-23-99; 92-111, eff. 1-1-02.)

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

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