Rep. Stephanie Kifowit

Appropriates $70,297,217 to the Department of Veterans’ Affairs for the Veterans’ Home at Chicago.

Amends the Medical Assistance Article of the Illinois Public Aid Code. Requires the Department of Healthcare and Family Services to develop and implement an algorithm that is based on quality scores and other operational proficiency criteria developed, defined, and adopted by the Department, by rule, to automatically assign Medicaid enrollees served under the Family Health Plan and the Integrated Care Program and those Medicaid enrollees eligible for medical assistance pursuant to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act into managed care entities, including Accountable Care Entities, Care Coordination Entities, Children with Special Needs Care Coordination Entities, Managed Care Community Networks, and Managed Care Organizations. Provides that the algorithm developed and implemented shall favor assignment into managed care entities with the highest quality scores and levels of compliance with the operational proficiency criteria established.

Amends the Illinois Insurance Code. Provides that individual or group policies of accident and health insurance amended, delivered, issued, or renewed in this State after the effective date of the amendatory Act that provides coverage for in-home dialysis treatments must also provide coverage for regular ultrasound screenings for the purpose of checking for infection. Makes conforming changes in the Health Maintenance Organization Act, Limited Health Service Organization Act, and the Voluntary Health Services Plans Act.

Urges the United States Army to reverse its decision to bar Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) from being buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Amends the Illinois Human Rights Act. Provides that it is a civil rights violation for an employer to refuse to make certain reasonable accommodations in the workplace for an employee protected under an order of protection. Provides that an employer is not required to make the reasonable accommodations if they cause undue hardship on the work operations of the employer. For purposes of the new provisions, defines "undue hardship" as significant difficulty or expense on the operation of an employer, when considered in light of: (1) the nature and cost of the reasonable accommodation needed; (2) the overall financial resources, number of employees, and the number, type, and placement of the work locations of an employer; and (3) the type of operation of the employer, including the composition, structure, and functions of the workforce of the employer, the geographic separateness of the employee's work location from the employer, and the administrative or fiscal relationship of the work location to the employer. Provides that prior to making the reasonable accommodations, an employer may verify that an employee is protected by an order of protection entered under the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963 or the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986.

Congratulates Waubonsee Community College on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of its founding in 2016.

Amends the Election Code. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning the nomination of candidates for the General Assembly.

Amends the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Article of the Illinois Public Aid Code. Provides that the first $100 of child support collected on behalf of a family in a month for one child and the first $200 of child support collected on behalf of a family in a month for 2 or more children shall be passed through to the family and disregarded in determining the amount of the assistance grant provided to the family. Provides that any amount of child support that would be disregarded in determining the amount of the assistance grant shall be disregarded in determining eligibility for cash assistance. Effective immediately.

Amends the Use Tax Act, the Service Use Tax Act, the Service Occupation Tax Act, and the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act. Provides that, beginning January 1, 2017, feminine hygiene products and incontinence products are exempt from the taxes imposed under those Acts. Provides that the Acts' automatic sunset provisions do not apply to that exemption. Effective immediately.

Amends the Department of Human Services Act. Requires the Department of Human Services to issue upon the request of a person medically diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, or the guardian or custodian of the person, an Autism Spectrum Disorder wallet card that specifies that the cardholder has been medically diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Requires the Department to establish, by rule, the proof required in order to obtain an Autism Spectrum Disorder wallet card and the process for administration of the card. Permits the Department to collect a reasonable fee for the issuance of the card not to exceed $10.