Full Text of SB0426 99th General Assembly
SB0426 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2015 and 2016 SB0426 Introduced 1/28/2015, by Sen. John J. Cullerton SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: | | 305 ILCS 20/6 | from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 1406 |
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Amends the Energy Assistance Act. Makes a technical change in a
Section concerning eligibility for and participation in the energy assistance
program.
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| | A BILL FOR |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning public aid.
| 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, | 3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
| 4 | | Section 5. The Energy Assistance Act is amended by changing | 5 | | Section 6 as follows:
| 6 | | (305 ILCS 20/6) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 1406)
| 7 | | Sec. 6. Eligibility, Conditions of Participation, and | 8 | | Energy Assistance.
| 9 | | (a) Any person who is a resident of the
the State of | 10 | | Illinois and whose
household income is not greater than an | 11 | | amount determined annually by the
Department, in consultation | 12 | | with the Policy Advisory Council, may
apply for assistance | 13 | | pursuant to this Act in accordance with regulations
promulgated | 14 | | by the Department. In setting the annual eligibility level, the
| 15 | | Department shall consider the amount of available funding and | 16 | | may not set a
limit higher than 150% of the federal nonfarm | 17 | | poverty level as established by
the federal Office of | 18 | | Management and Budget; except that for the period ending June | 19 | | 30, 2013, the Department may not establish limits higher than | 20 | | 200% of that poverty level or the maximum level provided for by | 21 | | federal guidelines. | 22 | | (b) Applicants who qualify for assistance pursuant to | 23 | | subsection (a) of
this Section shall, subject to appropriation |
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| 1 | | from the General Assembly and
subject to availability of funds | 2 | | to the Department, receive energy
assistance as provided by | 3 | | this Act. The Department, upon receipt
of monies authorized | 4 | | pursuant to this Act for energy assistance, shall commit
funds | 5 | | for each qualified applicant in an amount determined by the
| 6 | | Department. In determining the amounts of assistance to be | 7 | | provided to or
on behalf of a qualified applicant, the | 8 | | Department shall ensure that the
highest amounts of assistance | 9 | | go to households with the greatest energy
costs in relation to | 10 | | household income. The Department shall include
factors such as | 11 | | energy costs, household size, household income, and region
of | 12 | | the State when determining individual household benefits. In | 13 | | setting
assistance levels, the Department shall attempt to | 14 | | provide assistance to
approximately the same number of | 15 | | households who participated in the 1991
Residential Energy | 16 | | Assistance Partnership Program. Such assistance levels
shall | 17 | | be adjusted annually on the basis of funding
availability and | 18 | | energy costs. In promulgating rules for the
administration of | 19 | | this
Section the Department shall assure that a minimum of 1/3 | 20 | | of funds
available for benefits to eligible households with the | 21 | | lowest incomes and that elderly and
disabled households are | 22 | | offered a priority application
period.
| 23 | | (c) If the applicant is not a customer of record of an | 24 | | energy provider for
energy services or an applicant for such | 25 | | service, such applicant shall
receive a direct energy | 26 | | assistance payment in an amount established by the
Department |
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| 1 | | for all such applicants under this Act; provided, however, that
| 2 | | such an applicant must have rental expenses for housing greater | 3 | | than 30% of
household income.
| 4 | | (c-1) This subsection shall apply only in cases where: (1) | 5 | | the applicant is not a customer of record of an energy provider | 6 | | because energy services are provided by the owner of the unit | 7 | | as a portion of the rent; (2) the applicant resides in housing | 8 | | subsidized or developed with funds provided under the Rental | 9 | | Housing Support Program Act or under a similar locally funded | 10 | | rent subsidy program, or is the voucher holder who resides in a | 11 | | rental unit within the State of Illinois and whose monthly rent | 12 | | is subsidized by the tenant-based Housing Choice Voucher | 13 | | Program under Section 8 of the U.S. Housing Act of 1937; and | 14 | | (3) the rental expenses for housing are no more than 30% of | 15 | | household income. In such cases, the household may apply for an | 16 | | energy assistance payment under this Act and the owner of the | 17 | | housing unit shall cooperate with the applicant by providing | 18 | | documentation of the energy costs for that unit. Any | 19 | | compensation paid to the energy provider who supplied energy | 20 | | services to the household shall be paid on behalf of the owner | 21 | | of the housing unit providing energy services to the household. | 22 | | The Department shall report annually to the General Assembly on | 23 | | the number of households receiving energy assistance under this | 24 | | subsection and the cost of such assistance. The provisions of | 25 | | this subsection (c-1), other than this sentence, are | 26 | | inoperative after August 31, 2012. |
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| 1 | | (d) If the applicant is a customer of an energy provider, | 2 | | such
applicant shall receive energy assistance in an amount | 3 | | established by the
Department for all such applicants under | 4 | | this Act, such amount to be paid
by the Department to the | 5 | | energy provider supplying winter energy service to
such | 6 | | applicant. Such applicant shall:
| 7 | | (i) make all reasonable efforts to apply to any other | 8 | | appropriate
source of public energy assistance; and
| 9 | | (ii) sign a waiver permitting the Department to receive | 10 | | income
information from any public or private agency | 11 | | providing income or energy
assistance and from any | 12 | | employer, whether public or private.
| 13 | | (e) Any qualified applicant pursuant to this Section may | 14 | | receive or have
paid on such applicant's behalf an emergency | 15 | | assistance payment to enable
such applicant to obtain access to | 16 | | winter energy services. Any such
payments shall be made in | 17 | | accordance with regulations of the Department.
| 18 | | (f) The Department may, if sufficient funds are available, | 19 | | provide
additional benefits to certain qualified applicants:
| 20 | | (i) for the reduction of past due amounts owed to | 21 | | energy providers;
and
| 22 | | (ii) to assist the household in responding to | 23 | | excessively high summer
temperatures or energy costs. | 24 | | Households containing elderly members, children,
a person | 25 | | with a disability, or a person with a medical need for | 26 | | conditioned air
shall receive priority for receipt of such |
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| 1 | | benefits.
| 2 | | (Source: P.A. 96-154, eff. 1-1-10; 96-157, eff. 9-1-09; | 3 | | 96-1000, eff. 7-2-10; 97-721, eff. 6-29-12.)
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