Public Act 095-0089
 
HB0979 Enrolled LRB095 07155 HLH 27283 b

    AN ACT concerning State government.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Illinois Act on the Aging is amended by
adding Section 4.14 as follows:
 
    (20 ILCS 105/4.14 new)
    Sec. 4.14. Rural Senior Citizen Program.
    (a) The General Assembly finds that it is in the best
interest of the citizens of Illinois to identify and address
the special challenges and needs faced by older rural
residents. The General Assembly further finds that rural areas
are often under-served and unserved to the detriment of older
residents and their families, which may require the allocation
of additional resources.
    (b) The Department shall identify the special needs and
problems of older rural residents and evaluate the adequacy and
accessibility of existing programs and information for older
rural residents. The scope of the Department's work shall
encompass both Older American Act services, Community Care
services, and all other services targeted in whole or in part
at residents 60 years of age and older, regardless of the
setting in which the service is provided.
    (c) The Older Rural Adults Task Force is established to
gather information and make recommendations in collaboration
with the Department on Aging and the Older Adult Services
Committee. The Task Force shall be comprised of 12 voting
members and 7 non-voting members. The President and Minority
Leader of the Illinois Senate and the Speaker and Minority
Leader of the Illinois House of Representatives shall each
appoint 2 members of the General Assembly and one citizen
member to the Task Force. Citizen members may seek
reimbursement for actual travel expenses. Representatives of
the Department on Aging and the Departments of Healthcare and
Family Services, Human Services, Public Health, and Commerce
and Economic Opportunity, the Rural Affairs Council, and the
Illinois Housing Development Authority shall serve as
non-voting members. The Department on Aging shall provide staff
support to the Task Force.
    Co-chairs shall be selected by the Task Force at its first
meeting. Both shall be appointed voting members of the Task
Force. One co-chair shall be a member of the General Assembly
and one shall be a citizen member. A simple majority of those
appointed shall constitute a quorum. The Task Force may hold
regional hearings and fact finding meetings and shall submit a
report to the General Assembly no later than January 1, 2009.
The Task Force is dissolved upon submission of the report.
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.