HB 4573 — PUBLIC AID-APPLICATION-RIGHTS

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Sara Feigenholtz SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

ILCS 5/11-15 from Ch.

23, par.

11-15 ILCS 5/11-20.1 from Ch.

23, par.

11-20.1 Amends the Illinois Public Aid Code.

Provides that applications for aid shall be filed with any local office of the Department of Human Services (instead of with the county department of public aid).

Provides that the date of an application shall be the date it is submitted by the applicant.

Provides that an applicant has the right to have his or her case transferred to another local office of the Department of Human Services for his or her convenience, based on stated factors.

Provides that in food applicant’s or recipient’s employment shall be presumed to be a hardshipe for purposes of scheduling an in-person meeting with a representative of the Department of Human Services and an in-person meeting shall be waived.

LRB095 15577 DRJ 41576 b FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY A BILL FOR HB4573 LRB095 15577 DRJ 41576 b AN ACT concerning public aid.

The applicant HB4573 Engrossed - 2 - LRB095 15577 DRJ 41576 b shall also furnish information concerning all income, money contributions, and other support from any source, and the beneficiary and the amount or cash surrender or loan value of all insurance policies held by himself or herself or any member of his family for whom aid is requested.

Applications in behalf of persons specified in (c) shall be filed by any next of kin of the deceased who is not under legal disability or, if there are no such next of kin or they are unknown or unavailable, by a person, acceptable under the rules HB4573 Engrossed - 3 - LRB095 15577 DRJ 41576 b of the Illinois Department, who is able to furnish the required information.

HB4573 Engrossed - 4 - LRB095 15577 DRJ 41576 b (5) Once an applicant is determined eligible for aid, he or she has the right to request to have the case transferred to another local office of the Department of Human Services for his or her convenience based on one of the following factors:

(6) Notwithstanding any other rulemaking authority that may exist, neither the Governor nor any agency or agency head under the jurisdiction of the Governor has any authority to make or promulgate rules to implement or enforce the provisions of this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly.

If, however, the Governor believes that rules are necessary to implement or enforce the provisions of this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly, the Governor may suggest rules to the General Assembly by filing them with the Clerk of the House and Secretary of the Senate and by requesting that the General Assembly authorize such rulemaking by law, enact those HB4573 Engrossed - 5 - LRB095 15577 DRJ 41576 b suggested rules into law, or take any other appropriate action in the General Assembly’s discretion.

Nothing contained in this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly shall be interpreted to grant rulemaking authority under any other Illinois statute where such authority is not otherwise explicitly given.

For the purposes of this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly, "rules" is given the meaning contained in Section 1-70 of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act, and "agency" and "agency head" are given the meanings contained in Sections 1-20 and 1-25 of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act to the extent that such definitions apply to agencies or agency heads under the jurisdiction of the Governor.

HB4573 - 5 - LRB095 15577 DRJ 41576 b (1) An explanation of how the earned income will affect the recipient’s eligibility for a grant, and whether the HB4573 Engrossed - 6 - LRB095 15577 DRJ 41576 b recipient must engage in additional work activities to meet the recipient’s monthly work activities requirement and what types of activities may be approved for that purpose, and whether the employment is sufficient to cause months of continued receipt of a grant not to be counted against the recipient’s lifetime eligibility limit.

(5) An explanation of the recipient’s responsibilities to report income and household circumstances, the process by which quarterly reporting forms are sent to recipients, where and to whom the reports should be returned, the HB4573 - 6 - LRB095 15577 DRJ 41576 b deadline by which reports must be returned, instructions on how to fill out the reports, an explanation of what the HB4573 Engrossed - 7 - LRB095 15577 DRJ 41576 b recipient should do if he or she does not receive the form, advice on how to prove the report was returned by the recipient such as by keeping a copy, and an explanation of the effects of failure to file reports.

(9) An explanation of the availability of a child care subsidy to all families below the child care assistance program’s income limit, how to apply for the benefit through the Child Care Resource and Referral or site-administered child care program or both, the nature of the child care program’s sliding scale co-payments, the availability of the 10% earned income disregard in determining eligibility for child care assistance and the amount of the parent co-payment, the right to use the HB4573 - 7 - LRB095 15577 DRJ 41576 b subsidy for either licensed or license exempt legal care, and the availability of benefits when the parent is engaged HB4573 Engrossed - 8 - LRB095 15577 DRJ 41576 b in an education and training program.

(16) If the recipient will not continue to receive a cash grant and the recipient has assigned his or her right to child support to the Illinois Department, an explanation of the recipient’s right to continue to receive child support enforcement services, the recipient’s right to have all current support paid after grant cancellation forwarded promptly to the recipient, the procedures by HB4573 - 8 - LRB095 15577 DRJ 41576 b which child support will be forwarded, and the procedures by which the recipient will be informed of the collection HB4573 Engrossed - 9 - LRB095 15577 DRJ 41576 b and distribution of child support.

If the recipient informs the Illinois Department that an in-person meeting would be inconvenient, the Illinois Department may provide the information during a home visit, by telephone, or HB4573 - 9 - LRB095 15577 DRJ 41576 b by mail within 30 days of the date the recipient begins working, whichever the client prefers.

HB4573 Engrossed - 10 - LRB095 15577 DRJ 41576 b (c) At the conclusion of the meeting described in subsection (b), the Illinois Department shall ensure that all case transfers and calculations of benefits necessitated by the recipient’s employment or receipt of earned income have been performed, that applications have been made or provided for all benefits for which the person must apply or reapply, and that the person has received payment for initial expenses of employment.

(e) Notwithstanding any other rulemaking authority that may exist, neither the Governor nor any agency or agency head under the jurisdiction of the Governor has any authority to make or promulgate rules to implement or enforce the provisions of this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly.

If, however, the Governor believes that rules are necessary to implement or enforce the provisions of this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly, the Governor may suggest rules to the General Assembly by filing them with the Clerk of the House and Secretary of the Senate and by requesting that the General Assembly authorize such rulemaking by law, enact those suggested rules into law, or take any other appropriate action in the General Assembly’s discretion.

Nothing contained in this HB4573 Engrossed - 11 - LRB095 15577 DRJ 41576 b amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly shall be interpreted to grant rulemaking authority under any other Illinois statute where such authority is not otherwise explicitly given.

For the purposes of this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly, "rules" is given the meaning contained in Section 1-70 of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act, and "agency" and "agency head" are given the meanings contained in Sections 1-20 and 1-25 of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act to the extent that such definitions apply to agencies or agency heads under the jurisdiction of the Governor.