Public Act 103-0663
 
HB4141 EnrolledLRB103 34085 KTG 63902 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 6 as follows:
 


    (305 ILCS 20/6)  (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 1406)




    Sec. 6. Eligibility, conditions of participation, and 
energy assistance. 

    (a) Any person who is a resident of the State of Illinois 
and whose
household income is not greater than an amount 
determined annually by the
Department, in consultation with 
the Policy Advisory Council, may
apply for assistance pursuant 
to this Act in accordance with regulations
promulgated by the 
Department. In setting the annual eligibility level, the

Department shall consider the amount of available funding and 
may not set a
limit higher than  150% of the federal nonfarm 
poverty level as established by
the federal Office of 
Management and Budget or 60% of the State median income for the 
current State fiscal year as established by the U.S. 
Department of Health and Human Services; except that for the 
period from the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 
101st General Assembly through June 30, 2021, the Department 
may establish limits not higher than 200% of that poverty 
level. The Department, in consultation with the Policy 
Advisory Council, may adjust the percentage of poverty level 
annually in accordance with federal guidelines and based on 
funding availability. 

    (b) Applicants who qualify for assistance pursuant to 
subsection (a) of
this Section shall, subject to appropriation 
from the General Assembly and
subject to availability of funds 
to the Department, receive energy
assistance as provided by 
this Act.  The Department, upon receipt
of monies authorized 
pursuant to this Act for energy assistance, shall commit
funds 
for each qualified applicant in an amount determined by the

Department.  In determining the amounts of assistance to be 
provided to or
on behalf of a qualified applicant, the 
Department shall ensure that the
highest amounts of assistance 
go to households with the greatest energy
costs in relation to 
household income.  The Department shall include
factors such as 
energy costs, household size, household income, and region
of 
the State when determining individual household benefits.  In 
setting
assistance levels, the Department shall attempt to 
provide assistance to
approximately the same number of 
households who participated in the 1991
Residential Energy 
Assistance Partnership Program.  Such assistance levels
shall 
be adjusted annually on the basis of funding
availability and 
energy costs.  In promulgating rules for the
administration of 
this
Section the Department shall assure that a minimum of 1/3 
of funds
available for benefits to eligible households with 
the lowest incomes and that elderly households, households 
with children under the age of 6 years old, and households with 
persons with disabilities are offered a priority application

period.

    (c) If the applicant is not a customer of record of an 
energy provider for
energy services or an applicant for such 
service, such applicant shall
receive a direct energy 
assistance payment in an amount established by the
Department 
for all such applicants under this Act; provided, however, 
that
such an applicant must have rental expenses for housing 
greater than 30% of
household income.

    (c-1) This subsection shall apply only in cases where: (1) 
the applicant is not a customer of record of an energy provider 
because energy services are provided by the owner of the unit 
as a portion of the rent; (2) the applicant resides in housing 
subsidized or developed with funds provided under the Rental 
Housing Support Program Act or under a similar locally funded 
rent subsidy program, or is the voucher holder who resides in a 
rental unit within the State of Illinois and whose monthly 
rent is subsidized by the tenant-based Housing Choice Voucher 
Program under Section 8 of the U.S. Housing Act of 1937; and 
(3) the rental expenses for housing are no more than 30% of 
household income. In such cases, the household may apply for 
an energy assistance payment under this Act and the owner of 
the housing unit shall cooperate with the applicant by 
providing documentation of the energy costs for that unit. Any 
compensation paid to the energy provider who supplied energy 
services to the household shall be paid on behalf of the owner 
of the housing unit providing energy services to the 
household. The Department shall report annually to the General 
Assembly on the number of households receiving energy 
assistance under this subsection and the cost of such 
assistance. The provisions of this subsection (c-1), other 
than this sentence, are inoperative after August 31, 2012. 
    (d) If the applicant is a customer of an energy provider, 
such
applicant shall receive energy assistance in an amount 
established by the
Department for all such applicants under 
this Act, such amount to be paid
by the Department to the 
energy provider supplying winter energy service to
such 
applicant.  Such applicant shall:

        (i) make all reasonable efforts to apply to any other 
    appropriate
source of public energy assistance; and

        (ii) sign a waiver permitting the Department to 
    receive income
information from any public or private 
    agency providing income or energy
assistance and from any 
    employer, whether public or private.

    (e) Any qualified applicant pursuant to this Section may 
receive or have
paid on such applicant's behalf an emergency 
assistance payment to enable
such applicant to obtain access 
to winter energy services.  Any such
payments shall be made in 
accordance with regulations of the Department.

    (f) The Department may, if sufficient funds are available, 
provide
additional benefits to certain qualified applicants:

        (i) for the reduction of past due amounts owed to 
    energy providers;


        (ii) to assist the household in responding to 
    excessively high summer
temperatures or energy costs. 
    Households containing elderly members, children,
a person 
    with a disability, or a person with a medical need for 
    conditioned air
shall receive priority for receipt of such 
    benefits; and

        (iii)   for the installation of energy conservation
    
    measures, health and safety measures, healthy home 
    measures, home improvement measures to help alleviate 
    deferrals from weatherization activities, and renewable 
    energy retrofits. 
(Source: P.A. 101-636, eff. 6-10-20; 102-16, eff. 6-17-21; 
102-176, eff. 6-1-22; 102-699, eff. 4-19-22.)