Full Text of SB2986 102nd General Assembly
SB2986sam001 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY | Sen. Jacqueline Y. Collins Filed: 2/7/2022
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| 1 | | AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 2986
| 2 | | AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 2986 by replacing | 3 | | everything after the enacting clause with the following:
| 4 | | "Section 1. Short title; references to Act. | 5 | | (a) Short title. This Act may be cited as the Funeral and | 6 | | Burial Assistance Program for Murdered Children Act. | 7 | | (b) References to Act. This Act may be referred to as the | 8 | | Mychal
Moultry, Jr. Funeral and Burial Assistance Act. | 9 | | Section 5. Purpose; findings.
| 10 | | (a) Gun violence is the leading cause of death for | 11 | | children
and teenagers in Illinois. | 12 | | (b) Parents and guardians who experience the death of a
| 13 | | child by gun violence face the painful process of bereavement | 14 | | while
also bearing the responsibilities of planning a funeral | 15 | | and paying
for funeral and burial expenses, usually through | 16 | | some form of debt. |
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| 1 | | (c) While the State assists the families of murdered
| 2 | | children with funeral and burial expenses, assistance is | 3 | | primarily
in the form of a reimbursement to the family after a | 4 | | formal
application is submitted. After submission, the | 5 | | application
undergoes a lengthy evaluation process by a review | 6 | | committee and a
subsequent hearing before an administrative | 7 | | court. The process
takes months, even years, before a final | 8 | | decision is rendered,
during which time the victim's family | 9 | | can incur an overwhelming
amount of debt. | 10 | | (d) This debt is particularly burdensome for low-income | 11 | | families, who struggle to repay the debt while continuing to | 12 | | provide
for the family's basic needs. Many families rely on | 13 | | in-kind
donations to support their basic needs while they work | 14 | | to pay off
funeral and burial expenses. | 15 | | (e) It is the intent of this Act to assist the families of
| 16 | | children murdered in Illinois with funeral and burial expenses | 17 | | by
having the State issue direct payments to funeral | 18 | | establishments
and cemetery authorities instead of having the | 19 | | victim's family
struggle to pay the cost and wait for | 20 | | reimbursement. Direct payments
will enable families to secure | 21 | | burial rights and proper
funeral and burial services and | 22 | | merchandise without enduring
significant financial hardship | 23 | | and debt. | 24 | | (f) This Act provides for expedited processing and
payment | 25 | | of all disbursement requests for child victim funeral and
| 26 | | burial expenses.
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| 1 | | Section 10. Definitions. In this Act:
| 2 | | "Burial rights" means rights of internment, inurment, or | 3 | | emtombment. | 4 | | "Cemetery authority" means any individual or legal entity
| 5 | | that owns or controls cemetery lands or property that provides
| 6 | | burial rights and burial services and merchandise to a child
| 7 | | victim consistent with the Cemetery Oversight Act.
| 8 | | "Child victim" means: | 9 | | (1) a person under 17 years of age killed in this State | 10 | | by a firearm as a result of a first degree or second degree | 11 | | murder, as defined in Section 9-1 or 9-2, respectively, of | 12 | | the Criminal Code of 2012, perpetrated against him or her; | 13 | | (2) a person under 17 years of age killed in this State | 14 | | as a result of attempting to assist a person against whom a | 15 | | first degree or second degree murder by a firearm is being | 16 | | perpetrated or attempted, if that attempt of assistance | 17 | | would be expected of a reasonable person under the | 18 | | circumstances; | 19 | | (3) a person under 17 years of age killed in this State | 20 | | while assisting a law enforcement official apprehend a | 21 | | person who has perpetrated a first degree or second degree | 22 | | murder by a firearm or prevent the perpetration of any | 23 | | such crime; or | 24 | | (4) a resident of this State under 17 years of age who | 25 | | is a victim of a first degree or second degree murder by a |
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| 1 | | firearm except, if the crime occurred outside this State, | 2 | | the victim's survivors who are residents of this State | 3 | | have the same rights under this Act as if the crime had | 4 | | occurred in this State upon a showing that the state, | 5 | | territory, country, or political subdivision of a country | 6 | | in which the crime occurred does not have a compensation | 7 | | of victims of homicide for which the survivors are | 8 | | eligible.
| 9 | | "Eligible survivor" means the parent or guardian of a | 10 | | child victim, or anyone living in the household of a child | 11 | | victim in a relationship with the victim that is substantially | 12 | | similar to that of a parent, who has a household income of less | 13 | | than 150% of the federal poverty level and qualifies for | 14 | | payment of funeral and burial expenses under this Act.
| 15 | | "Funeral and burial expenses" means expenses that include, | 16 | | but are not limited to, the transport of deceased human | 17 | | remains to
a funeral establishment; the preparation of | 18 | | deceased human
remains for burial, including cleaning, | 19 | | disinfecting, and embalming; the preparation, direction, and | 20 | | supervision of the
burial, cremation, or other disposition of | 21 | | deceased human
remains, including furnishing a casket, vault, | 22 | | mausoleum or urn;
the administration of funeral arrangements, | 23 | | including providing
printed materials, providing | 24 | | transportation of the deceased human
remains to the burial | 25 | | site, and furnishing necessary facilities
and equipment; and | 26 | | any other service related to the carrying out
of funeral or |
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| 1 | | burial services that the State Comptroller may allow, if
| 2 | | consistent with the law, up to the total allowable amount
of | 3 | | disbursement under Section 45.
| 4 | | "Funeral establishment" means a State-licensed funeral | 5 | | home, funeral chapel, funeral parlor, or other business that | 6 | | provides funeral and burial services to a child victim. | 7 | | Section 15. Felon as victim or survivor.
An eligible | 8 | | survivor's or child victim's criminal history
or felony status | 9 | | shall not automatically prevent an award for payment of the | 10 | | child victim's funeral and burial expenses.
| 11 | | Section 20. Additional powers; State Comptroller.
In | 12 | | addition to other powers and duties set forth in this Act
and | 13 | | other powers exercised by the State Comptroller,
the State | 14 | | Comptroller shall conduct a review of disbursement
requests | 15 | | submitted by a funeral establishment or cemetery
authority, | 16 | | which includes verification of the eligible survivor's
| 17 | | household income, verification of the child victim's death
| 18 | | certificate and autopsy or pathology report, and a review of | 19 | | the
statement of goods and services provided by the funeral
| 20 | | establishment or cemetery authority pursuant to the Cemetery
| 21 | | Oversight Act. Upon conclusion of the review, the State | 22 | | Comptroller shall provide the funeral establishment or | 23 | | cemetery authority with a payment determination letter. The | 24 | | State Comptroller shall disburse payment to a funeral |
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| 1 | | establishment or cemetery authority from the Illinois Funeral | 2 | | and Burial Assistance Program for Murdered Children Fund. | 3 | | Section 25. Funding of the Funeral and Burial
Assistance | 4 | | Program for Murdered Children. | 5 | | The Funeral and Burial Assistance Program for Murdered
| 6 | | Children shall be funded by grants awarded by the Office of | 7 | | Firearm
Violence Prevention to the State Comptroller and | 8 | | placed in the Funeral and Burial Assistance Program for | 9 | | Murdered Children Fund,
to be managed by the State | 10 | | Comptroller. | 11 | | Section 30. Right to disbursement.
| 12 | | (a)
With respect to the provision of burial rights and | 13 | | funeral and
burial services and merchandise within the | 14 | | applicable scope of
practice, a funeral establishment or | 15 | | cemetery authority is
entitled to disbursement under this Act | 16 | | if within one year of the occurrence of the crime upon
which a | 17 | | disbursement request is made, the funeral establishment or
| 18 | | cemetery authority submits the request to the State | 19 | | Comptroller
on a form prescribed in accordance with Section 35 | 20 | | as furnished by
the State Comptroller. | 21 | | (b) The State Comptroller may accept a request presented | 22 | | after
the period provided in subsection (a) if it determines | 23 | | that the
funeral establishment or cemetery authority had a | 24 | | good cause for a
delay.
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| 1 | | Section 35. Disbursement request requirements.
(a)
A | 2 | | disbursement request shall include: | 3 | | (1) the name and address of the eligible survivor and | 4 | | his or her relationship to the child victim; | 5 | | (2) the date and nature of the crime on which the
| 6 | | disbursement request is based; | 7 | | (3) the nature and extent of the injuries sustained by | 8 | | the child victim, and the names and addresses of those | 9 | | giving
any medical and hospitalization treatment to the | 10 | | child
victim;
| 11 | | (4) a copy of the child victim's death certificate or
| 12 | | of the autopsy or pathology report; | 13 | | (5) documentation verifying an eligible survivor's
| 14 | | household income; | 15 | | (6) a copy of the invoice detailing funeral and
burial | 16 | | expenses, including any applicable taxes, surcharges
and | 17 | | fees; | 18 | | (7) releases authorizing the surrender to the
State | 19 | | Comptroller of reports, documents and other information
| 20 | | relating to matters specified under this Act and rules
| 21 | | adopted in accordance with this Act; and | 22 | | (8) such other information as the State Comptroller
| 23 | | reasonably requires. | 24 | | (b) The State Comptroller may require that material
| 25 | | substantiating the facts stated in the disbursement request
be |
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| 1 | | submitted with that request. | 2 | | (c) A funeral establishment or cemetery authority, on
its | 3 | | own volition, may file an amended request or additional | 4 | | substantiating materials to correct inadvertent
errors or | 5 | | omissions at any time before the original request has been | 6 | | disposed of by the State Comptroller. In either case, the
| 7 | | filing of additional information or of an amended request | 8 | | shall
be considered for the purpose of this Act to have been | 9 | | filed at
the same time as the original request.
| 10 | | Section 40. Additional materials requested.
If a funeral | 11 | | establishment or cemetery authority does not
submit all | 12 | | materials substantiating its disbursement request as
requested | 13 | | by the State Comptroller, the State Comptroller shall notify | 14 | | the
establishment in writing of the specific additional items | 15 | | of
information or materials required and that it has 30 days in | 16 | | which
to furnish those items to the State Comptroller. No | 17 | | disbursement shall be made
for any portion of the request from | 18 | | a funeral establishment or
cemetery authority that is not | 19 | | substantiated by the establishment
or authority. An | 20 | | establishment or authority may request an extension
of time | 21 | | from the State Comptroller prior to the expiration of the | 22 | | 30-day
period.
| 23 | | Section 45. Amount of disbursement.
| 24 | | (a) The total amount of disbursement for funeral and |
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| 1 | | burial
expenses for a child victim shall be $10,000, to be | 2 | | apportioned
between the funeral establishment and cemetery | 3 | | authority by those
eligible survivors authorized to direct the | 4 | | disposition of remains
pursuant to the Disposition of Remains | 5 | | Act. | 6 | | (b) Upon submitting a disbursement request to the
State | 7 | | Comptroller, and upon the State Comptroller's review of such | 8 | | request
verifying that a survivor is an eligible survivor, a | 9 | | funeral
establishment and cemetery authority shall each | 10 | | receive
disbursement from the State Comptroller in the amount | 11 | | of the total
cost of burial rights and funeral services and | 12 | | merchandise
provided, up to the allocation amount. The State | 13 | | Comptroller shall
process all payment vouchers within 30 days | 14 | | of submission of a
complete disbursement request, and shall | 15 | | pay all such vouchers
within 30 days of receipt. All | 16 | | disbursement requests that are not
paid within 60 days shall | 17 | | thereafter accrue interest at the rate
set by the Prompt | 18 | | Payment Act. | 19 | | (c) Beginning on January 1, 2023, the maximum
allowable | 20 | | disbursement amount shall be increased by an amount equal to | 21 | | any increase in the general inflation, as determined by
the | 22 | | consumer price index, for each subsequent year of the program.
| 23 | | Section 50. Prohibition against double payment; | 24 | | recordkeeping; payment recapture.
| 25 | | (a) An eligible survivor receiving an award for funeral |
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| 1 | | and
burial assistance for a child victim under this Act shall | 2 | | not receive an award for such assistance under the Crime
| 3 | | Victims Compensation Act or the Department of Human
Services | 4 | | Funeral and Burial Benefits Program, except for an amount
in | 5 | | excess of the award received under this Act up to the
total | 6 | | cost of funeral and burial expenses. | 7 | | (b) Except as provided in subsection (a), any individual,
| 8 | | eligible survivor, funeral establishment, or cemetery | 9 | | authority
under this Act shall not retain a duplicate award | 10 | | for funeral and
burial expenses for a child victim from any | 11 | | State agency or
agencies. For the purposes of this Section, a | 12 | | duplicate award is
one which results in a total award from the | 13 | | State for the cost of
funeral and burial expenses for a child | 14 | | victim in excess of that
authorized by the State Comptroller. | 15 | | To prevent such duplicate awards,
the State Comptroller shall | 16 | | maintain an electronic record of each
disbursement to a | 17 | | funeral establishment or cemetery authority
and provide access | 18 | | to such records to any State agency
providing funeral or | 19 | | burial assistance to Illinois residents. | 20 | | (c) The State Comptroller is authorized to contract with | 21 | | third-party entities to conduct payment recapture audits to | 22 | | detect and
recapture payments made in error or as a result of | 23 | | fraud or
abuse. A payment recapture audit shall include the | 24 | | process of
identifying improper payments paid to a funeral
| 25 | | establishment or cemetery authority or to an eligible survivor
| 26 | | whereby accounting specialists examine payment records and |
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| 1 | | uncover
duplicate payments, payments for services not | 2 | | rendered,
overpayments, payments for unauthorized services, | 3 | | and fictitious
vendors. This audit may include the use of | 4 | | professional and
specialized auditors on a contingency basis, | 5 | | with compensation tied
to the identification of misspent | 6 | | funds.
| 7 | | Section 55. Hospital and law enforcement notification. | 8 | | (a) Every hospital licensed under the laws of this State | 9 | | shall
display prominently in its emergency room posters giving
| 10 | | notification of the existence and general provisions of this | 11 | | Act. | 12 | | The posters may be displayed by physical or electronic | 13 | | means. The posters shall be provided by the State Comptroller. | 14 | | (b) Any law enforcement agency that investigates an | 15 | | offense
committed in this State shall inform the parent or | 16 | | guardian of the
child victim concerning the availability of | 17 | | assistance for funeral
and burial expenses under this Act and | 18 | | advise such persons that any
information concerning this Act | 19 | | may be obtained from the
State Comptroller.
| 20 | | Section 90. The State Finance Act is amended by adding | 21 | | Section 5.970 as follows: | 22 | | (30 ILCS 105/5.970 new) | 23 | | Sec. 5.970. The Funeral and Burial Assistance Program for |
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| 1 | | Murdered Children Fund. | 2 | | Section 95. The Reimagine Public Safety Act is amended by | 3 | | changing Section 35-20 as follows: | 4 | | (430 ILCS 69/35-20)
| 5 | | Sec. 35-20. Office of Firearm Violence Prevention. | 6 | | (a) On or before October 1, 2021, an Office of Firearm | 7 | | Violence Prevention is established within the Illinois | 8 | | Department of Human Services. The Assistant Secretary of | 9 | | Violence Prevention shall report his or her actions to the | 10 | | Secretary of Human Services and the Office of the Governor. | 11 | | The Office shall have the authority to coordinate and | 12 | | integrate all programs and services listed in this Act and | 13 | | other programs and services the Governor establishes by | 14 | | executive order to maximize an integrated approach to reducing | 15 | | Illinois' firearm violence epidemic and ultimately ending this | 16 | | public health crisis. | 17 | | (b) The Department of Human Services and the Office of | 18 | | Firearm Violence Prevention shall have grant making, | 19 | | operational, and procurement authority to distribute funds to | 20 | | violence prevention organizations, youth development | 21 | | organizations, high-risk youth intervention organizations, | 22 | | approved technical assistance and training providers, | 23 | | evaluation and assessment organizations, and other entities | 24 | | necessary to execute the functions established in this Act and |
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| 1 | | other programs and services the Governor establishes by | 2 | | executive order for the Department and the Office. The Office | 3 | | of Firearm Violence Prevention shall also provide grants to | 4 | | the State Comptroller to administer the Funeral and Burial | 5 | | Assistance Program for Murdered Children. The grants shall be | 6 | | deposited into the Funeral and Burial Assistance Program for | 7 | | Murdered Children Fund. | 8 | | (c) The Assistant Secretary of Firearm Violence Prevention | 9 | | shall be appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent | 10 | | of the Senate. The Assistant Secretary of Firearm Violence | 11 | | Prevention shall report to the Secretary of Human Services and | 12 | | also report his or her actions to the Office of the Governor. | 13 | | (d) For Illinois municipalities with a 1,000,000 or more | 14 | | population, the Office of Firearm Violence Prevention shall | 15 | | determine the 10 most violent neighborhoods. When possible, | 16 | | this shall be determined by measuring the number of per capita | 17 | | fatal and nonfatal firearm-shot victims, excluding | 18 | | self-inflicted incidents, from January 1, 2016 through | 19 | | December 31, 2020. These 10 communities shall qualify for | 20 | | grants under this Act and coordination of other State services | 21 | | from the Office of Firearm Violence Prevention. The Office | 22 | | shall, after identifying the top 10 neighborhoods, identify an | 23 | | additional 7 eligible neighborhoods by considering the number | 24 | | of victims in rank order in addition to the per capita rate. If | 25 | | appropriate, and subject to appropriation, the Office shall | 26 | | have the authority to consider adding up to 5 additional |
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| 1 | | eligible neighborhoods or clusters of contiguous neighborhoods | 2 | | utilizing the same data sets so as to maximize the potential | 3 | | impact for firearm violence reduction. For Illinois | 4 | | municipalities with less than 1,000,000 residents and more | 5 | | than 35,000 residents, the Office of Firearm Violence | 6 | | Prevention shall identify the 10 municipalities or contiguous | 7 | | geographic areas that have the greatest concentrated firearm | 8 | | violence victims. When possible, this shall be determined by | 9 | | measuring the number of fatal and nonfatal firearm-shot | 10 | | victims, excluding self-inflicted incidents, from January 1, | 11 | | 2016 through December 31, 2020 divided by the number of | 12 | | residents for each municipality or area. These 10 | 13 | | municipalities or contiguous geographic areas and up to 5 | 14 | | additional municipalities or contiguous geographic areas | 15 | | identified by the Office of Firearm Violence Prevention shall | 16 | | qualify for grants under this Act and coordination of other | 17 | | State services from the Office of Firearm Violence Prevention. | 18 | | The Office of Firearm Violence Prevention shall consider | 19 | | factors listed in subsection (a) of Section 35-40 to determine | 20 | | up to 5 additional municipalities or contiguous geographic | 21 | | areas that qualify for grants under this Act. The Office of | 22 | | Firearm Violence Prevention may, subject to appropriation, | 23 | | identify up to 5 additional neighborhoods, municipalities, | 24 | | contiguous geographic areas, or other local | 25 | | government-identified boundary areas to receive funding under | 26 | | this Act after considering additional risk factors that |
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| 1 | | contribute to community firearm violence. The data analysis to | 2 | | identify new eligible neighborhoods and municipalities shall | 3 | | be updated to reflect eligibility based on the most recently | 4 | | available 5 full years of data no more frequently than once | 5 | | every 3 years. | 6 | | (e) The Office of Firearm Violence Prevention shall issue | 7 | | a report to the General Assembly no later than January 1 of | 8 | | each year that identifies communities within Illinois | 9 | | municipalities of 1,000,000 or more residents and | 10 | | municipalities with less than 1,000,000 residents and more | 11 | | than 35,000 residents that are experiencing concentrated | 12 | | firearm violence, explaining the investments that are being | 13 | | made to reduce concentrated firearm violence, and making | 14 | | further recommendations on how to end Illinois' firearm | 15 | | violence epidemic.
| 16 | | (Source: P.A. 102-16, eff. 6-17-21; 102-679, eff. 12-10-21.)
| 17 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 18 | | becoming law.".
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