Bill Text: IL HB3129 | 2019-2020 | 101st General Assembly | Engrossed

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Bill Title: Amends the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Article of the Illinois Public Aid Code. Removes a provision requiring the Department of Human Services to increase TANF grant amounts in effect on June 30, 2008 by 15%. Provides that TANF grant amounts shall be apportioned as follows: 75% shall be designated for the child or children of the assistance unit; and 25% shall be designated for the adult member or members of the assistance unit. Removes a provision that permits the discontinuance of all or a part of a TANF recipient's grant amount as a penalty for noncompliance with TANF education, training, and employment programs. Requires the Department to, by rule, impose a 30% reduction of the portion of the grant amount designated for the adult member or members of an assistance unit when a member is found to be in noncompliance with program requirements without good cause. Provides that no sanction shall reduce the portion of the grant amount that is designated for any child of the assistance unit. Requires the full grant amount to be restored when an adult member or members are determined to be in compliance with program requirements. Provides that homelessness, receipt of an eviction notice, discontinued utilities, and other specified circumstances shall constitute good cause for failure to participate in required TANF education, training, and employment programs. Provides that beginning October 1, 2019, and each October 1 thereafter, the maximum TANF benefit levels shall be annually adjusted to remain equal to at least 30% of the most recent poverty guidelines updated periodically in the Federal Register by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for each family size. Effective immediately.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 32-0)

Status: (Passed) 2019-07-19 - Public Act . . . . . . . . . 101-0103 [HB3129 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2019-HB3129-Engrossed.html



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1 AN ACT concerning public aid.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 5. The Illinois Public Aid Code is amended by
5changing Sections 4-2, 4-21, 9A-7, and 12-4.11 as follows:
6 (305 ILCS 5/4-2) (from Ch. 23, par. 4-2)
7 Sec. 4-2. Amount of aid.
8 (a) The amount and nature of financial aid shall be
9determined in accordance with the grant amounts, rules and
10regulations of the Illinois Department. Due regard shall be
11given to the self-sufficiency requirements of the family and to
12the income, money contributions and other support and resources
13available, from whatever source. However, the amount and nature
14of any financial aid is not affected by the payment of any
15grant under the "Senior Citizens and Persons with Disabilities
16Property Tax Relief Act" or any distributions or items of
17income described under subparagraph (X) of paragraph (2) of
18subsection (a) of Section 203 of the Illinois Income Tax Act.
19The aid shall be sufficient, when added to all other income,
20money contributions and support to provide the family with a
21grant in the amount established by Department regulation.
22 Subject to appropriation, beginning on July 1, 2008, the
23Department of Human Services shall increase TANF grant amounts

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1in effect on June 30, 2008 by 15%. The Department is authorized
2to administer this increase but may not otherwise adopt any
3rule to implement this increase.
4 (a-5) For the purposes of this subsection, TANF grant
5amounts shall consist of the following portions:
6 (1) 75% shall be designated for the child or children
7 of the assistance unit; and
8 (2) 25% shall be designated for the adult member or
9 members of the assistance unit.
10 (b) The Illinois Department may conduct special projects,
11which may be known as Grant Diversion Projects, under which
12recipients of financial aid under this Article are placed in
13jobs and their grants are diverted to the employer who in turn
14makes payments to the recipients in the form of salary or other
15employment benefits. The Illinois Department shall by rule
16specify the terms and conditions of such Grant Diversion
17Projects. Such projects shall take into consideration and be
18coordinated with the programs administered under the Illinois
19Emergency Employment Development Act.
20 (c) The amount and nature of the financial aid for a child
21requiring care outside his own home shall be determined in
22accordance with the rules and regulations of the Illinois
23Department, with due regard to the needs and requirements of
24the child in the foster home or institution in which he has
25been placed.
26 (d) If the Department establishes grants for family units

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1consisting exclusively of a pregnant woman with no dependent
2child or including her husband if living with her, the grant
3amount for such a unit shall be equal to the grant amount for
4an assistance unit consisting of one adult, or 2 persons if the
5husband is included. Other than as herein described, an unborn
6child shall not be counted in determining the size of an
7assistance unit or for calculating grants.
8 Payments for basic maintenance requirements of a child or
9children and the relative with whom the child or children are
10living shall be prescribed, by rule, by the Illinois
11Department.
12 Grants under this Article shall not be supplemented by
13General Assistance provided under Article VI.
14 (e) Grants shall be paid to the parent or other person with
15whom the child or children are living, except for such amount
16as is paid in behalf of the child or his parent or other
17relative to other persons or agencies pursuant to this Code or
18the rules and regulations of the Illinois Department.
19 (f) Subject to subsection (f-5), an assistance unit,
20receiving financial aid under this Article or temporarily
21ineligible to receive aid under this Article under a penalty
22imposed by the Illinois Department for failure to comply with
23the eligibility requirements or that voluntarily requests
24termination of financial assistance under this Article and
25becomes subsequently eligible for assistance within 9 months,
26shall not receive any increase in the amount of aid solely on

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1account of the birth of a child; except that an increase is not
2prohibited when the birth is (i) of a child of a pregnant woman
3who became eligible for aid under this Article during the
4pregnancy, or (ii) of a child born within 10 months after the
5date of implementation of this subsection, or (iii) of a child
6conceived after a family became ineligible for assistance due
7to income or marriage and at least 3 months of ineligibility
8expired before any reapplication for assistance. This
9subsection does not, however, prevent a unit from receiving a
10general increase in the amount of aid that is provided to all
11recipients of aid under this Article.
12 The Illinois Department is authorized to transfer funds,
13and shall use any budgetary savings attributable to not
14increasing the grants due to the births of additional children,
15to supplement existing funding for employment and training
16services for recipients of aid under this Article IV. The
17Illinois Department shall target, to the extent the
18supplemental funding allows, employment and training services
19to the families who do not receive a grant increase after the
20birth of a child. In addition, the Illinois Department shall
21provide, to the extent the supplemental funding allows, such
22families with up to 24 months of transitional child care
23pursuant to Illinois Department rules. All remaining
24supplemental funds shall be used for employment and training
25services or transitional child care support.
26 In making the transfers authorized by this subsection, the

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1Illinois Department shall first determine, pursuant to
2regulations adopted by the Illinois Department for this
3purpose, the amount of savings attributable to not increasing
4the grants due to the births of additional children. Transfers
5may be made from General Revenue Fund appropriations for
6distributive purposes authorized by Article IV of this Code
7only to General Revenue Fund appropriations for employability
8development services including operating and administrative
9costs and related distributive purposes under Article IXA of
10this Code. The Director, with the approval of the Governor,
11shall certify the amount and affected line item appropriations
12to the State Comptroller.
13 Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prohibit
14the Illinois Department from using funds under this Article IV
15to provide assistance in the form of vouchers that may be used
16to pay for goods and services deemed by the Illinois
17Department, by rule, as suitable for the care of the child such
18as diapers, clothing, school supplies, and cribs.
19 (f-5) Subsection (f) shall not apply to affect the monthly
20assistance amount of any family as a result of the birth of a
21child on or after January 1, 2004. As resources permit after
22January 1, 2004, the Department may cease applying subsection
23(f) to limit assistance to families receiving assistance under
24this Article on January 1, 2004, with respect to children born
25prior to that date. In any event, subsection (f) shall be
26completely inoperative on and after July 1, 2007.

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1 (g) (Blank).
2 (h) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Code, the
3Illinois Department is authorized to reduce payment levels used
4to determine cash grants under this Article after December 31
5of any fiscal year if the Illinois Department determines that
6the caseload upon which the appropriations for the current
7fiscal year are based have increased by more than 5% and the
8appropriation is not sufficient to ensure that cash benefits
9under this Article do not exceed the amounts appropriated for
10those cash benefits. Reductions in payment levels may be
11accomplished by emergency rule under Section 5-45 of the
12Illinois Administrative Procedure Act, except that the
13limitation on the number of emergency rules that may be adopted
14in a 24-month period shall not apply and the provisions of
15Sections 5-115 and 5-125 of the Illinois Administrative
16Procedure Act shall not apply. Increases in payment levels
17shall be accomplished only in accordance with Section 5-40 of
18the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act. Before any rule to
19increase payment levels promulgated under this Section shall
20become effective, a joint resolution approving the rule must be
21adopted by a roll call vote by a majority of the members
22elected to each chamber of the General Assembly.
23(Source: P.A. 99-143, eff. 7-27-15.)
24 (305 ILCS 5/4-21)
25 Sec. 4-21. Sanctions.

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1 (a) The Illinois Department shall, by rule, establish a
2system of sanctions for persons who fail to cooperate, without
3good cause, with employment and training programs or other
4programs under this Article or Article IXA or who fail to
5cooperate with child support programs under this Article,
6Article X, or Title IV of the federal Social Security Act. The
7sanctions may discontinue all or part of the cash grant
8provided under this Article. The sanctions may be time limited
9or continue until the person cooperates in the program. The
10sanctions may be progressive in that a second, third, or
11further sanction may be progressively more severe or last
12longer.
13 (a-1) The Illinois Department shall, by rule, impose a 30%
14reduction of the portion of the grant amount designated for the
15adult member or members of the assistance unit when an adult
16member is found to be in noncompliance without good cause.
17 (a-2) No sanction shall reduce the portion of the grant
18amount that is designated for the child or children of the
19assistance unit.
20 (a-3) The full grant amount must be restored on the first
21day of the month following a determination that the adult
22member or members of the assistance unit are in compliance with
23program requirements and are otherwise eligible for
24assistance.
25 (b) The Illinois Department shall, by rule, define what
26constitutes failure to cooperate and what constitutes good

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1cause which would excuse that failure.
2(Source: P.A. 90-17, eff. 7-1-97.)
3 (305 ILCS 5/9A-7) (from Ch. 23, par. 9A-7)
4 Sec. 9A-7. Good Cause and Pre-Sanction Process.
5 (a) The Department shall establish by rule what constitutes
6good cause for failure to participate in education, training
7and employment programs, failure to accept suitable employment
8or terminating employment or reducing earnings.
9 The Department shall establish, by rule, a pre-sanction
10process to assist in resolving disputes over proposed sanctions
11and in determining if good cause exists. Good cause shall
12include, but not be limited to:
13 (1) temporary illness for its duration;
14 (2) court required appearance or temporary
15 incarceration;
16 (3) (blank);
17 (4) death in the family;
18 (5) (blank);
19 (6) (blank);
20 (7) (blank);
21 (8) (blank);
22 (9) extreme inclement weather;
23 (10) (blank);
24 (11) lack of any support service even though the
25 necessary service is not specifically provided under the

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1 Department program, to the extent the lack of the needed
2 service presents a significant barrier to participation;
3 (12) if an individual is engaged in employment or
4 training or both that is consistent with the employment
5 related goals of the program, if such employment and
6 training is later approved by Department staff;
7 (13) (blank);
8 (14) failure of Department staff to correctly forward
9 the information to other Department staff;
10 (15) failure of the participant to cooperate because of
11 attendance at a test or a mandatory class or function at an
12 educational program (including college), when an education
13 or training program is officially approved by the
14 Department;
15 (16) failure of the participant due to his or her
16 illiteracy;
17 (17) failure of the participant because it is
18 determined that he or she should be in a different
19 activity;
20 (18) non-receipt by the participant of a notice
21 advising him or her of a participation requirement. If the
22 non-receipt of mail occurs frequently, the Department
23 shall explore an alternative means of providing notices of
24 participation requests to participants;
25 (19) (blank);
26 (20) non-comprehension of English, either written or

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1 oral or both;
2 (21) (blank);
3 (22) (blank);
4 (23) child care (or day care for an incapacitated
5 individual living in the same home as a dependent child) is
6 necessary for the participation or employment and such care
7 is not available for a child under age 13;
8 (24) failure to participate in an activity due to a
9 scheduled job interview, medical appointment for the
10 participant or a household member, or school appointment;
11 (25) if an individual or family is experiencing
12 homelessness; an individual or family is experiencing
13 homelessness if the individual or family: (i) lacks a
14 fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence, or
15 shares the housing of other persons due to the loss of
16 housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason; (ii) is
17 living in a motel, hotel, trailer park, or camping ground
18 due to the lack of alternative accommodations; (iii) is
19 living in an emergency or transitional shelter; (iv)
20 resides in a primary nighttime residence that is a public
21 or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a
22 regular sleeping accommodation for human beings; or (v) is
23 living in a car, park, public space, abandoned building,
24 substandard housing, bus, train station, or similar
25 settings; the individual is homeless. Homeless individuals
26 (including the family) have no current residence and no

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1 expectation of acquiring one in the next 30 days. This
2 includes individuals residing in overnight and
3 transitional (temporary) shelters. This does not include
4 individuals who are sharing a residence with friends or
5 relatives on a continuing basis;
6 (26) circumstances beyond the control of the
7 participant which prevent the participant from completing
8 program requirements; or
9 (27) (blank); .
10 (28) if an individual or family receives an eviction
11 notice;
12 (29) if an individual's or family's utilities are
13 disconnected;
14 (30) if an individual or family receives an utility
15 disconnection notice; or
16 (31) if an individual is exiting a publicly funded
17 institution or system of care (such as a health-care
18 facility, a mental health facility, foster care or other
19 youth facility, or correction program or institution)
20 without an option to move to a fixed, adequate night time
21 residence.
22 (b) (Blank).
23 (c) (1) The Department shall establish a reconciliation
24 procedure to assist in resolving disputes related to any
25 aspect of participation, including exemptions, good cause,
26 sanctions or proposed sanctions, supportive services,

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1 assessments, responsibility and service plans, assignment
2 to activities, suitability of employment, or refusals of
3 offers of employment. Through the reconciliation process
4 the Department shall have a mechanism to identify good
5 cause, ensure that the client is aware of the issue, and
6 enable the client to perform required activities without
7 facing sanction.
8 (2) A participant may request reconciliation and
9 receive notice in writing of a meeting. At least one
10 face-to-face meeting may be scheduled to resolve
11 misunderstandings or disagreements related to program
12 participation and situations which may lead to a potential
13 sanction. The meeting will address the underlying reason
14 for the dispute and plan a resolution to enable the
15 individual to participate in TANF employment and work
16 activity requirements.
17 (2.5) If the individual fails to appear at the
18 reconciliation meeting without good cause, the
19 reconciliation is unsuccessful and a sanction shall be
20 imposed.
21 (3) The reconciliation process shall continue after it
22 is determined that the individual did not have good cause
23 for non-cooperation. Any necessary demonstration of
24 cooperation on the part of the participant will be part of
25 the reconciliation process. Failure to demonstrate
26 cooperation will result in immediate sanction.

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1 (4) For the first instance of non-cooperation, if the
2 client reaches agreement to cooperate, the client shall be
3 allowed 30 days to demonstrate cooperation before any
4 sanction activity may be imposed. In any subsequent
5 instances of non-cooperation, the client shall be provided
6 the opportunity to show good cause or remedy the situation
7 by immediately complying with the requirement.
8 (5) The Department shall document in the case record
9 the proceedings of the reconciliation and provide the
10 client in writing with a reconciliation agreement.
11 (6) If reconciliation resolves the dispute, no
12 sanction shall be imposed. If the client fails to comply
13 with the reconciliation agreement, the Department shall
14 then immediately impose the original sanction. If the
15 dispute cannot be resolved during reconciliation, a
16 sanction shall not be imposed until the reconciliation
17 process is complete.
18(Source: P.A. 95-331, eff. 8-21-07.)
19 (305 ILCS 5/12-4.11) (from Ch. 23, par. 12-4.11)
20 Sec. 12-4.11. Grant amounts. The Department, with due
21regard for and subject to budgetary limitations, shall
22establish grant amounts for each of the programs, by
23regulation. The grant amounts may vary by program, size of
24assistance unit and geographic area. Grant amounts under the
25Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program may not

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1vary on the basis of a TANF recipient's county of residence.
2 Aid payments shall not be reduced except: (1) for changes
3in the cost of items included in the grant amounts, or (2) for
4changes in the expenses of the recipient, or (3) for changes in
5the income or resources available to the recipient, or (4) for
6changes in grants resulting from adoption of a consolidated
7grant amount.
8 The maximum benefit levels provided to TANF recipients
9shall increase as follows: beginning October 1, 2018, the
10Department of Human Services shall increase TANF grant amounts
11in effect on September 30, 2018 to at least 30% of the most
12recent United States Department of Health and Human Services
13Federal Poverty Guidelines for each family size. Beginning
14October 1, 2019, and each October 1 thereafter, the maximum
15benefit levels shall be annually adjusted to remain equal to at
16least 30% of the most recent poverty guidelines updated
17periodically in the Federal Register by the U.S. Department of
18Health and Human Services under the authority of 42 U.S.C.
199902(2) for each family size.
20 TANF grants for child-only assistance units shall be at
21least 75% of TANF grants for assistance units of the same size
22that consist of a caretaker relative with children.
23 In fixing standards to govern payments or reimbursements
24for funeral and burial expenses, the Department shall establish
25a minimum allowable amount of not less than $1,000 for
26Department payment of funeral services and not less than $500

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1for Department payment of burial or cremation services. On
2January 1, 2006, July 1, 2006, and July 1, 2007, the Department
3shall increase the minimum reimbursement amount for funeral and
4burial expenses under this Section by a percentage equal to the
5percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban
6Consumers, if any, during the 12 months immediately preceding
7that January 1 or July 1. In establishing the minimum allowable
8amount, the Department shall take into account the services
9essential to a dignified, low-cost (i) funeral and (ii) burial
10or cremation, including reasonable amounts that may be
11necessary for burial space and cemetery charges, and any
12applicable taxes or other required governmental fees or
13charges. If no person has agreed to pay the total cost of the
14(i) funeral and (ii) burial or cremation charges, the
15Department shall pay the vendor the actual costs of the (i)
16funeral and (ii) burial or cremation, or the minimum allowable
17amount for each service as established by the Department,
18whichever is less, provided that the Department reduces its
19payments by the amount available from the following sources:
20the decedent's assets and available resources and the
21anticipated amounts of any death benefits available to the
22decedent's estate, and amounts paid and arranged to be paid by
23the decedent's legally responsible relatives. A legally
24responsible relative is expected to pay (i) funeral and (ii)
25burial or cremation expenses unless financially unable to do
26so.

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1 Nothing contained in this Section or in any other Section
2of this Code shall be construed to prohibit the Illinois
3Department (1) from consolidating existing standards on the
4basis of any standards which are or were in effect on, or
5subsequent to July 1, 1969, or (2) from employing any
6consolidated standards in determining need for public aid and
7the amount of money payment or grant for individual recipients
8or recipient families.
9(Source: P.A. 100-587, eff. 6-4-18.)
10 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
11becoming law.

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1 INDEX
2 Statutes amended in order of appearance