Bill Text: IL SB2986 | 2021-2022 | 102nd General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Creates the Funeral and Burial Assistance Program for Murdered Children Act. Provides that a parent or guardian of a child victim under 17 years of age or anyone living in the household of a child victim in relationship to the victim that is substantially similar to a parent who has a household income of less than 150% of the federal poverty level who is killed as a result of a firearm may apply for funeral and burial assistance from the Department of Human Services in an amount not to exceed $10,000, indexed to inflation, beginning January 1, 2023, according to the Consumer Price Index. Provides that the Office of Firearm Violence Prevention shall review disbursement requirements by funeral establishments and upon conclusion of the review, provide a funeral establishment with a payment determination letter. Provides that the delinquent or criminal history of a child victim or an eligible survivor, or his or her status as a justice-involved individual, shall not automatically prevent an award for payment of a child victim's funeral and burial expenses. Establishes criteria for disbursement. Defines "justice-involved individual" as an individual who is imprisoned, on parole, probation, conditional discharge, mandatory supervised release, aftercare release, or any other release from custody, and supervised by or under the jurisdiction of a county or the Department of Corrections. Provides that every hospital licensed under the laws of the State shall display prominently in its emergency room posters giving notification of the existence and general provisions of the Act. Provides that any law enforcement agency that investigates an offense committed in the State shall inform the parent or guardian of the child victim concerning the availability of assistance for funeral and burial expenses under the Act and advise such persons that any information concerning the Act may be obtained from the Office of Firearm Violence Prevention. Defines various terms. Amends the State Finance Act to make conforming changes. Effective immediately.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 12-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-03-29 - Added as Co-Sponsor Sen. Kimberly A. Lightford [SB2986 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2021-SB2986-Introduced.html

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102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2021 and 2022 SB2986 Introduced 1/5/2022, by Sen. Jacqueline Y. Collins SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
New Act
30 ILCS 105/5.970 new
Creates the Funeral and Burial Assistance Program for Murdered Children Act. Provides that a parent or guardian of a child victim under 17 years of age or anyone living in the household of a child victim in relationship to the victim that is substantially similar to a parent who has a household income of less than 150% of the federal poverty level who is killed as a result of a firearm may apply for funeral and burial assistance from the Department of Human Services in an amount not to exceed $10,000, indexed to inflation, beginning January 1, 2023, according to the Consumer Price Index. Provides that the Office of Firearm Violence Prevention shall review disbursement requirements by funeral establishments and upon conclusion of the review, provide a funeral establishment with a payment determination letter. Provides that the delinquent or criminal history of a child victim or an eligible survivor, or his or her status as a justice-involved individual, shall not automatically prevent an award for payment of a child victim's funeral and burial expenses. Establishes criteria for disbursement. Defines "justice-involved individual" as an individual who is imprisoned, on parole, probation, conditional discharge, mandatory supervised release, aftercare release, or any other release from custody, and supervised by or under the jurisdiction of a county or the Department of Corrections. Provides that every hospital licensed under the laws of the State shall display prominently in its emergency room posters giving notification of the existence and general provisions of the Act. Provides that any law enforcement agency that investigates an offense committed in the State shall inform the parent or guardian of the child victim concerning the availability of assistance for funeral and burial expenses under the Act and advise such persons that any information concerning the Act may be obtained from the Office of Firearm Violence Prevention. Defines various terms. Amends the State Finance Act to make conforming changes. Effective immediately.
LRB102 22322 RLC 31459 b
A BILL FOR
SB2986 LRB102 22322 RLC 31459 b
AN ACT concerning firearm violence.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
Funeral and Burial Assistance Program for Murdered Children
Act.
Section 5. Purpose; findings.
(a) Firearm violence is the leading cause of death for
children and teenagers in this State.
(b) Parents and guardians who experience the death of a
child by firearm violence face the painful process of
bereavement while also bearing the responsibilities of
planning a funeral and paying for funeral and burial expenses,
usually through some form of debt.
(c) While the State assists the families of murdered
children with funeral and burial expenses, assistance is
primarily in the form of a reimbursement to the family after a
formal application is submitted. After submission, the
application undergoes a lengthy evaluation process by a review
committee and a subsequent hearing before an administrative
court. The process takes months, even years, before a final
decision is rendered, during which time the victim's family
can incur an overwhelming amount of debt.

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(d) This debt is particularly burdensome for low-income
families, who struggle to repay the debt while continuing to
provide for the family's basic needs. Many families rely on
in-kind donations to support their basic needs while they work
to pay off funeral and burial expenses.
(e) It is the intent of this Act to assist the families of
children murdered in this State with funeral and burial
expenses by having the State issue direct payments to funeral
establishments instead of having the victim's family struggle
to pay the cost and wait for reimbursement. Direct payments
will enable families to conduct proper funeral and burial
services without enduring significant financial hardship and
debt.
Section 10. Definitions. In this Act:
"Child victim" means:
(1) a person under 17 years of age killed in this State
by a firearm as a result of a first degree or second degree
murder, as defined in Section 9-1 or 9-2, respectively, of
the Criminal the Criminal Code of 2012, perpetrated
against him or her;
(2) a person under 17 years of age killed in this State
as a result of attempting to assist a person against whom a
first degree or second degree murder by a firearm is being
perpetrated or attempted, if that attempt of assistance
would be expected of a reasonable person under the

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circumstances;
(3) a person under 17 years of age killed in this State
while assisting a law enforcement official apprehend a
person who has perpetrated a first degree or second degree
murder by a firearm or prevent the perpetration of any
such crime; or
(4) a resident of this State under 17 years of age who
is a victim of a first degree or second degree murder by a
firearm except, if the crime occurred outside this State,
the victim's survivors who are residents of this State
have the same rights under this Act as if the crime had
occurred in this State upon a showing that the state,
territory, country, or political subdivision of a country
in which the crime occurred does not have a compensation
of victims of homicide for which the survivors are
eligible.
"Eligible survivor" means the parent or guardian of a
child victim, or anyone living in the household of a child
victim in a relationship with the victim that is substantially
similar to that of a parent, who has a household income of less
than 150% of the federal poverty level and qualifies for
payment of funeral and burial expenses under this Act.
"Funeral and burial expenses" means payments to a funeral
establishment for funeral and burial services. Funeral and
burial services include but are not limited to the transport
of deceased human remains to a funeral establishment; the

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preparation of deceased human remains for burial, including
cleaning, disinfecting, and embalming; the preparation,
direction, and supervision of the burial, cremation, or other
disposition of deceased human remains, including furnishing a
casket, vault, mausoleum or urn; and the administration of
funeral arrangements, including providing printed materials,
providing transportation of the deceased human remains to the
burial site, and furnishing necessary facilities and
equipment.
"Funeral establishment" means a State-licensed funeral
home, funeral chapel, funeral parlor, or other business that
provides funeral and burial services to a child victim.
"Justice-involved individual" means an individual who is
imprisoned, on parole, probation, conditional discharge,
mandatory supervised release, aftercare release, or any other
release from custody, and supervised by or under the
jurisdiction of a county or the Department of Corrections.
Section 15. Justice-involved individual as victim or
survivor. The delinquent or criminal history of a child victim
or an eligible survivor, or his or her status as a
justice-involved individual, shall not automatically prevent
an award for payment of a child victim's funeral and burial
expenses.
Section 20. Additional powers; Office of Firearm Violence

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Prevention. In addition to other powers and duties set forth
in this Act and other powers exercised by the Office of Firearm
Violence Prevention, the Office shall review disbursement
requests submitted by a funeral establishment, including a
verification of the eligible survivor's household income and
of the child victim's death certificate or of the autopsy
report or pathology report, and upon conclusion of the review,
provide a funeral establishment with a payment determination
letter.
Section 25. Additional powers; Department of Human
Services. In addition to other powers and duties set forth in
this Act and other powers exercised by the Department of Human
Services, the Department shall disburse payment to a funeral
establishment from the Funeral and Burial Assistance Program
for Murdered Children Fund which is created in the State
treasury.
Section 30. Right to disbursement. A funeral establishment
is entitled to disbursement under this Act if:
(a) Within one year after the occurrence of the crime upon
which a disbursement request is made, the funeral
establishment shall submit the request to the Office of
Firearm Violence Prevention on a form prescribed in accordance
with Section 35 furnished by the Office of Firearm Violence
Prevention.

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(b) The Office of Firearm Violence Prevention may accept a
request presented after the period provided in subsection (a)
if it determines that the funeral establishment had a good
cause for a delay.
Section 35. Disbursement request requirements.
(a) A disbursement request shall include:
(1) the name and address of the eligible survivor and
his or her relationship to the child victim;
(2) the date and nature of the crime on which the
disbursement request is based;
(3) the nature and extent of the injuries sustained by
the child victim, and the names and addresses of those
giving any medical and hospitalization treatment to the
child victim;
(4) a copy of the child victim's death certificate or
of the autopsy report or pathology report;
(5) documentation verifying an eligible survivor's
household income;
(6) a copy of the invoice detailing funeral and burial
expenses, including any applicable taxes, surcharges and
fees;
(7) releases authorizing the surrender to the Office
of Firearm Violence Prevention of reports, documents and
other information relating to the matters specified under
this Act and rules adopted in accordance with this Act;

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and
(8) such other information as the Office of Firearm
Prevention reasonably requires.
(b) The Office of Firearm Violence Prevention may require
that material substantiating the facts stated in the
disbursement request be submitted with that request.
(c) A funeral establishment, on its own volition, may file
an amended request or additional substantiating materials to
correct inadvertent errors or omissions at any time before the
original request has been disposed of by the Office of Firearm
Prevention. In either case, the filing of additional
information or of an amended request shall be considered for
the purpose of this Act to have been filed at the same time as
the original request.
Section 40. Additional materials requested. If a funeral
establishment does not submit all materials substantiating its
disbursement request as requested by the Office of Firearm
Violence Prevention, the Office shall notify the establishment
in writing of the specific additional items of information or
materials required and that it has 30 days in which to furnish
those items to the Office. No disbursement shall be made for
any portion of the establishment's request that is not
substantiated by the establishment. An establishment may
request an extension of time from the Office of Firearm
Violence Prevention prior to the expiration of the 30-day

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period.
Section 45. Amount of disbursement. Upon submitting a
disbursement request to the Office of Firearm Violence
Prevention and upon the Office's review of the request
verifying that a survivor is an eligible survivor, a funeral
establishment shall receive disbursement from the Department
of Human Services in the amount of the total cost of funeral
services provided, up to $10,000. Beginning on January 1,
2023, the maximum allowable disbursement amount shall be
increased by an amount equal to any increase in the general
inflation, as determined by the Consumer Price Index For All
Urban Consumers as determined by the United States Department
of Labor, for each subsequent year of the program.
Section 50. Prohibition against double payment;
recordkeeping; payment recapture.
(a) An eligible survivor receiving an award for funeral
and burial assistance for a child victim under this Act shall
not receive an award for such assistance under the Crime
Victims Compensation Act or the Department of Human Services
Funeral and Burial Benefits Program, except for an amount in
excess of the maximum award permitted under this Act, up to the
total cost of funeral and burial expenses.
(b) Except as provided in subsection (a), any individual,
eligible survivor, or funeral establishment under this Act

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shall not retain a duplicate award for funeral and burial
expenses for a child victim from any State agency or agencies.
For the purposes of this Section, a duplicate award is one that
results in a total award from the State for the cost of funeral
and burial expenses for a child victim in excess of that
authorized by the Office of Firearm Violence Prevention. To
prevent such duplicate awards, the Office of Firearm Violence
Prevention shall maintain an electronic record of each
disbursement to a funeral establishment and provide access to
such records to any State agency providing funeral or burial
assistance to residents of this State.
(c) The Office of Firearm Violence Prevention is
authorized to contract with third-party entities to conduct
payment recapture audits to detect and recapture payments made
in error or as a result of fraud or abuse. A payment recapture
audit shall include the process of identifying improper
payments paid to a funeral establishment or to an eligible
survivor whereby accounting specialists examine payment
records and uncover duplicate payments, payments for services
not rendered, overpayments, payments for unauthorized
services, and fictitious vendors. This audit may include the
use of professional and specialized auditors on a contingency
basis, with compensation tied to the identification of
misspent funds.
Section 55. Hospital and law enforcement notification.

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(a) Every hospital licensed under the laws of this State
shall display prominently in its emergency room posters giving
notification of the existence and general provisions of this
Act. The posters may be displayed by physical or electronic
means. Such posters shall be provided by the Office of Firearm
Violence Prevention.
(b) Any law enforcement agency that investigates an
offense committed in this State shall inform the parent or
guardian of the child victim concerning the availability of
assistance for funeral and burial expenses under this Act and
advise such persons that any information concerning this Act
may be obtained from the Office of Firearm Violence
Prevention.
Section 90. The State Finance Act is amended by adding
Section 5.970 as follows:
(30 ILCS 105/5.970 new)
Sec. 5.970. The Funeral and Burial Assistance Program for
Murdered Children Fund.
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.