Amends the Illinois Public Aid Code. Requires the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) to identify and flag all college students who are potentially eligible to receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. Provides that the factors to be used to determine potential SNAP eligibility shall be prescribed by the Department of Human Services by rule, but at a minimum the Department shall consider income information reported on a college student's Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Requires ISAC to develop a notice available electronically to institutions of higher education that includes, at a minimum, college student SNAP eligibility criteria, the Application for Benefits Eligibility's website address, and the Illinois Hunger Coalition's Hunger Hotline. Requires Illinois institutions of higher education that participate in the Monetary Award Program to provide the notice in writing to all students who are enrolled or accepted for enrollment and are identified by ISAC as potentially SNAP eligible and, if possible, to designate a public benefits liaison or single point person to assist students in taking the necessary steps to obtain public benefits if eligible. Contains provisions concerning: SNAP Employment and Training program requirements; protocols to identify and verify all potential exemptions to an eligibility rule described in a specified federal regulation and to identify and verify a student's participation in educational programs; and other matters. Requires the Department to adopt any rules necessary to implement specified provisions on or before October 1, 2017. Effective immediately.
Sponsored bills
Amends the Day and Temporary Labor Services Act. Requires a day and temporary labor service agency (agency) to notify a day or temporary laborer (laborer) in writing of the schedule and length of multi-day assignments. Requires an agency to keep records on the ethnicity of each laborer or applicant and the date, time, and location at which an applicant requested employment. Requires an agency to provide a laborer with transportation back to the point of hire at the end of each work day. Requires an agency to indicate on a laborer's payment stub the current maximum amount of any placement fee charged to a third party client. Prohibits an agency or third party client from charging a laborer for the expense of conducting a consumer report, a criminal background check, or a drug test. Requires an agency to submit to the Department of Labor the total number of laborers the agency has placed in a permanent position. Requires laborers to be paid at a rate no less than the same average rate of pay as a permanent employee performing the same or substantially similar work. Requires a third party client to conduct a job hazard analysis for each job to which a laborer might be sent. Requires an agency to obtain a surety bond of no less than $150,000 and to comply with other specified registration requirements. Makes a third party client liable for any obligation to pay the 4 hours minimum pay or any statutory damages required under the Act. Provides that termination or disciplinary action against a laborer within 90 days of the person's exercise of rights protected under the Act shall raise a rebuttable presumption of retaliation. Makes other changes.
Amends the Department of Veterans Affairs Act. Contains provisions concerning the establishment of various programs and services for the benefit of veterans including a proactive outreach program for veterans that served in high casualty units, in units that experienced high conflict areas, and in units where at least one service member committed suicide following his or her service; a public awareness campaign concerning the trauma and internal injuries suffered by veterans; specified training concerning mental health services for employees of veterans service organizations, Veterans Assistance Commissions, and veterans' service associations; educational success programs for veterans experiencing specified difficulties in higher education; a family preparation course for the families of returning veterans; a licensing program for therapy dogs for veterans; a transition program for returning veterans that reside in the State; a system that allows veterans to file a specified federal form immediately upon discharge; creation of an employer training program; and a standard statewide peer-to-peer training program to familiarize veterans with the veterans' services available at the local, State, and federal levels. Requires the Department of Veterans' Affairs to adopt any rules necessary to implement these provisions.
Amends the Illinois Public Aid Code. Adds families that are not recipients of benefits under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program and that need child care assistance to participate in education and training activities to the list of family categories that are covered under the child care assistance program. Deletes a provision: requiring the Department of Human Services to allocate $7,500,000 annually for a test program for families that are income-eligible for child care assistance, are not recipients of TANF, and need child care assistance to participate in education and training activities; and requiring the Department to specify the conditions of eligibility for the test program. Effective July 1, 2017.
Amends the Capital Development Board Act. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning the short title of the Act.
Amends the Animal Control Act. Provides that if the money from registration fees is placed in the county animal population control fund it may also be used for a purpose under the Food Stamp Program or the Social Security Disability Insurance Benefits Program for an animal control facility, animal shelter, organization or resident (currently, resident) who humanely traps feral cats for spaying or neutering and return under a provision in the Illinois Public Health and Safety Animal Population Control Act. Provides that only the registration requirements, the registration fees, the microchipping requirements, and the microchipping fees under the Act do not apply to feral cats, rather than the entire Section shall not apply to feral cats. Provides that if no placement is available by an animal control facility, the dog or cat may (rather than shall) be humanely dispatched under the Humane Euthanasia in Animal Shelters Act. Amends the Illinois Public Health and Safety Animal Population Control Act. Provides that a resident of State who owns a dog or cat and who is eligible for any government assistance, including the Food Stamp Program or the Social Security Disability Insurance Benefits Program (rather than solely a resident eligible for the Food Stamp Program or the Social Security Disability Insurance Benefits Program), shall be eligible to participate in the program at a reduced rate if the owner signs a consent form certifying that he or she is the owner of the dog or cat or is authorized to present the dog or cat for the procedure. Provides that an animal control facility, animal shelter, organization, or a resident of this State who humanely traps feral cats for spaying or neutering and return is eligible to participate in the program if recognized by the municipality or by the county. Effective immediately.
Amends the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning the commencement of an action for a declaration of invalidity of marriage.
Amends the Medical Assistance Article of the Illinois Public Aid Code. In a provision concerning access to psychiatric mental health services via telepsychiatry, provides that the Department of Healthcare and Family Services shall not require that a physician or other licensed health care professional be physically present in the same room as the patient for the entire time during which the patient is receiving telepsychiatry services. Provides that the Department shall not require that a physician or other licensed healthcare professional be physically present in the same room as the patient for the entire time during which the patient is receiving telemedicine services. Defines "telemedicine" as the use of a telecommunication system to provide medical services for the purpose of evaluation and treatment when the patient is at one location and the rendering provider is at another location.
Amends the State Designations Act. Provides that shelter dogs and shelter cats that are residing in or have been adopted from a shelter or rescue facility in this State are designated as the official State pet of the State of Illinois. Effective immediately.
Amends the Unified Code of Corrections. Creates the Prisoner Entrepreneur Education Program Law. Provides that the Prisoner Entrepreneur Education Program shall be established as a 5-year pilot project to be instituted within the Department of Corrections. Provides that the goal of the Prisoner Entrepreneur Education Program is to provide inmates with useful business skills for use after release from prison in an effort to reduce recidivism rates for self-motivated individuals. Provides that the Prisoner Entrepreneur Education Program shall consist of a rigorous curriculum, and participants shall be taught business skills, such as computer skills, budgeting, creating a business plan, public speaking, and realistic goal setting. Provides that inmates who successfully complete the Prisoner Entrepreneur Education Program shall be awarded a Certificate of Completion. Establishes eligibility requirements for the Program. Provides that subject to appropriation by the General Assembly, the Prisoner Entrepreneur Education Program may establish post-release assistance to individuals awarded a Certificate of Completion. Provides that post-release assistance may include drafting a resume and cover letter, searching for employment, networking events, or mock interviews. Provides that the funding for the Prisoner Entrepreneur Education Program shall be from moneys appropriated to the Department of Corrections for this purpose. Provides that the Article is repealed 5 years after its effective date. Effective immediately.