Bill Text: IL SB0418 | 2015-2016 | 99th General Assembly | Enrolled

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

---

Bill Title: Amends the Illinois Public Aid Code. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning payments under the Medicaid program for funeral and burial expenses.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 8-0)

Status: (Passed) 2015-08-24 - Public Act . . . . . . . . . 99-0457 [SB0418 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2015-SB0418-Enrolled.html

---

SB0418 Enrolled LRB099 03250 KTG 23258 b
AN ACT concerning public aid.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Energy Assistance Act is amended by changing
Section 13 as follows:
(305 ILCS 20/13)
(Section scheduled to be repealed on December 31, 2018)
Sec. 13. Supplemental Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund.
(a) The Supplemental Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund is
hereby created as a special fund in the State Treasury. The
Supplemental Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund is authorized
to receive moneys from voluntary donations from individuals,
foundations, corporations, and other sources, moneys received
pursuant to Section 17, and, by statutory deposit, the moneys
collected pursuant to this Section. The Fund is also authorized
to receive voluntary donations from individuals, foundations,
corporations, and other sources, as well as contributions made
in accordance with Section 507MM of the Illinois Income Tax
Act. Subject to appropriation, the Department shall use moneys
from the Supplemental Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund for
payments to electric or gas public utilities, municipal
electric or gas utilities, and electric cooperatives on behalf
of their customers who are participants in the program

SB0418 Enrolled - 2 - LRB099 03250 KTG 23258 b
authorized by Sections 4 and 18 of this Act, for the provision
of weatherization services and for administration of the
Supplemental Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund. The yearly
expenditures for weatherization may not exceed 10% of the
amount collected during the year pursuant to this Section. The
yearly administrative expenses of the Supplemental Low-Income
Energy Assistance Fund may not exceed 10% of the amount
collected during that year pursuant to this Section, except
when unspent funds from the Supplemental Low-Income Energy
Assistance Fund are reallocated from a previous year; any
unspent balance of the 10% administrative allowance may be
utilized for administrative expenses in the year they are
reallocated.
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 16-111 of the
Public Utilities Act but subject to subsection (k) of this
Section, each public utility, electric cooperative, as defined
in Section 3.4 of the Electric Supplier Act, and municipal
utility, as referenced in Section 3-105 of the Public Utilities
Act, that is engaged in the delivery of electricity or the
distribution of natural gas within the State of Illinois shall,
effective January 1, 1998, assess each of its customer accounts
a monthly Energy Assistance Charge for the Supplemental
Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund. The delivering public
utility, municipal electric or gas utility, or electric or gas
cooperative for a self-assessing purchaser remains subject to
the collection of the fee imposed by this Section. The monthly

SB0418 Enrolled - 3 - LRB099 03250 KTG 23258 b
charge shall be as follows:
(1) $0.48 per month on each account for residential
electric service;
(2) $0.48 per month on each account for residential gas
service;
(3) $4.80 per month on each account for non-residential
electric service which had less than 10 megawatts of peak
demand during the previous calendar year;
(4) $4.80 per month on each account for non-residential
gas service which had distributed to it less than 4,000,000
therms of gas during the previous calendar year;
(5) $360 per month on each account for non-residential
electric service which had 10 megawatts or greater of peak
demand during the previous calendar year; and
(6) $360 per month on each account for non-residential
gas service which had 4,000,000 or more therms of gas
distributed to it during the previous calendar year.
The incremental change to such charges imposed by this
amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly shall not (i) be
used for any purpose other than to directly assist customers
and (ii) be applicable to utilities serving less than 100,000
customers in Illinois on January 1, 2009.
In addition, electric and gas utilities have committed, and
shall contribute, a one-time payment of $22 million to the
Fund, within 10 days after the effective date of the tariffs
established pursuant to Sections 16-111.8 and 19-145 of the

SB0418 Enrolled - 4 - LRB099 03250 KTG 23258 b
Public Utilities Act to be used for the Department's cost of
implementing the programs described in Section 18 of this
amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly, the Arrearage
Reduction Program described in Section 18, and the programs
described in Section 8-105 of the Public Utilities Act. If a
utility elects not to file a rider within 90 days after the
effective date of this amendatory Act of the 96th General
Assembly, then the contribution from such utility shall be made
no later than February 1, 2010.
(c) For purposes of this Section:
(1) "residential electric service" means electric
utility service for household purposes delivered to a
dwelling of 2 or fewer units which is billed under a
residential rate, or electric utility service for
household purposes delivered to a dwelling unit or units
which is billed under a residential rate and is registered
by a separate meter for each dwelling unit;
(2) "residential gas service" means gas utility
service for household purposes distributed to a dwelling of
2 or fewer units which is billed under a residential rate,
or gas utility service for household purposes distributed
to a dwelling unit or units which is billed under a
residential rate and is registered by a separate meter for
each dwelling unit;
(3) "non-residential electric service" means electric
utility service which is not residential electric service;

SB0418 Enrolled - 5 - LRB099 03250 KTG 23258 b
and
(4) "non-residential gas service" means gas utility
service which is not residential gas service.
(d) Within 30 days after the effective date of this
amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly, each public
utility engaged in the delivery of electricity or the
distribution of natural gas shall file with the Illinois
Commerce Commission tariffs incorporating the Energy
Assistance Charge in other charges stated in such tariffs,
which shall become effective no later than the beginning of the
first billing cycle following such filing.
(e) The Energy Assistance Charge assessed by electric and
gas public utilities shall be considered a charge for public
utility service.
(f) By the 20th day of the month following the month in
which the charges imposed by the Section were collected, each
public utility, municipal utility, and electric cooperative
shall remit to the Department of Revenue all moneys received as
payment of the Energy Assistance Charge on a return prescribed
and furnished by the Department of Revenue showing such
information as the Department of Revenue may reasonably
require; provided, however, that a utility offering an
Arrearage Reduction Program pursuant to Section 18 of this Act
shall be entitled to net those amounts necessary to fund and
recover the costs of such Program as authorized by that Section
that is no more than the incremental change in such Energy

SB0418 Enrolled - 6 - LRB099 03250 KTG 23258 b
Assistance Charge authorized by this amendatory Act of the 96th
General Assembly. If a customer makes a partial payment, a
public utility, municipal utility, or electric cooperative may
elect either: (i) to apply such partial payments first to
amounts owed to the utility or cooperative for its services and
then to payment for the Energy Assistance Charge or (ii) to
apply such partial payments on a pro-rata basis between amounts
owed to the utility or cooperative for its services and to
payment for the Energy Assistance Charge.
(g) The Department of Revenue shall deposit into the
Supplemental Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund all moneys
remitted to it in accordance with subsection (f) of this
Section; provided, however, that the amounts remitted by each
utility shall be used to provide assistance to that utility's
customers. The utilities shall coordinate with the Department
to establish an equitable and practical methodology for
implementing this subsection (g) beginning with the 2010
program year.
(h) On or before December 31, 2002, the Department shall
prepare a report for the General Assembly on the expenditure of
funds appropriated from the Low-Income Energy Assistance Block
Grant Fund for the program authorized under Section 4 of this
Act.
(i) The Department of Revenue may establish such rules as
it deems necessary to implement this Section.
(j) The Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity may

SB0418 Enrolled - 7 - LRB099 03250 KTG 23258 b
establish such rules as it deems necessary to implement this
Section.
(k) The charges imposed by this Section shall only apply to
customers of municipal electric or gas utilities and electric
or gas cooperatives if the municipal electric or gas utility or
electric or gas cooperative makes an affirmative decision to
impose the charge. If a municipal electric or gas utility or an
electric cooperative makes an affirmative decision to impose
the charge provided by this Section, the municipal electric or
gas utility or electric cooperative shall inform the Department
of Revenue in writing of such decision when it begins to impose
the charge. If a municipal electric or gas utility or electric
or gas cooperative does not assess this charge, the Department
may not use funds from the Supplemental Low-Income Energy
Assistance Fund to provide benefits to its customers under the
program authorized by Section 4 of this Act.
In its use of federal funds under this Act, the Department
may not cause a disproportionate share of those federal funds
to benefit customers of systems which do not assess the charge
provided by this Section.
This Section is repealed effective December 31, 2018 unless
renewed by action of the General Assembly. The General Assembly
shall consider the results of the evaluations described in
Section 8 in its deliberations.
(Source: P.A. 98-429, eff. 8-16-13.)