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1		AN ACT concerning State government.
2		Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3		represented in the General Assembly:
4		Section 1. Short title; references to Act.
5		(a) Short title. This Act may be cited as the Murdered
6		Children Funeral and Burial Assistance Act.
7		(b) References to Act. This Act may be referred to as the
8		Mychal Moultry, Jr. Funeral and Burial Assistance Act.
9		Section 5. Purpose; findings.
10		(a) Gun violence is the leading cause of death for
11		children and teenagers in Illinois.
12		(b) Parents and guardians who experience the death of a
13		child by gun violence face the painful process of bereavement
14		while also bearing the responsibilities of planning a funeral
15		and paying for funeral and burial expenses, usually through
16		some form of debt.
17		(c) While the State assists the families of murdered
18		children with funeral and burial expenses, assistance is
19		primarily in the form of a reimbursement to the family after a
20		formal application is submitted. After submission, the
21		application undergoes a lengthy evaluation process by a review
22		committee and a subsequent hearing before an administrative
23		court. The process takes months, even years, before a final

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1		decision is rendered, during which time the victim's family
2		can incur an overwhelming amount of debt.
3		(d) This debt is particularly burdensome for low-income
4		families, who struggle to repay the debt while continuing to
5		provide for the family's basic needs. Many families rely on
6		in-kind donations to support their basic needs while they work
7		to pay off funeral and burial expenses.
8		(e) It is the intent of this Act to assist the families of
9		children murdered in Illinois with funeral and burial expenses
10		by having the State issue direct payments to funeral
11		establishments and cemetery authorities instead of having the
12		victim's family struggle to pay the cost and wait for
13		reimbursement. Direct payments will enable families to secure
14		burial rights and funeral and burial services and merchandise
15		without enduring significant financial hardship and debt.
16		(f) This Act provides for expedited processing and payment
17		of all disbursement requests for child victim funeral and
18		burial expenses.
19		Section 10. Definitions. In this Act:
20		"Burial rights" means rights of internment, inurnment, or
21		entombment.
22		"Cemetery authority" means any individual or legal entity
23		that owns or controls cemetery lands or property that provides
24		burial rights and burial services and merchandise to a child
25		victim consistent with the Cemetery Oversight Act.

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1		"Child victim" means a person under 17 years of age killed
2		in this State by a firearm as a result of first degree murder,
3		second degree murder, voluntary manslaughter of an unborn
4		child, involuntary manslaughter, and involuntary manslaughter
5		of an unborn child.
6		"Department" means the Department of Human Services.
7		"Eligible survivor" means the parent or guardian of a
8		child victim, or anyone living in the household of a child
9		victim in a relationship with the victim that is substantially
10		similar to that of a parent, who has a household income of less
11		than 150% of the federal poverty level, qualifies for payment
12		of funeral and burial expenses under this Act, and has or
13		shares the authority to direct the disposition of the remains
14		of the victim pursuant to the Disposition of Remains Act.
15		"Funeral and burial expenses" means expenses that include,
16		but are not limited to, the transport of deceased human
17		remains to a funeral establishment; the preparation of
18		deceased human remains for burial, including cleaning,
19		disinfecting, and embalming; the preparation, direction, and
20		supervision of the burial, cremation, or other disposition of
21		deceased human remains, including furnishing a casket, vault,
22		mausoleum, columbarium, or urn; the administration of funeral
23		arrangements, including providing printed materials, providing
24		transportation of the deceased human remains to the burial
25		site, and furnishing necessary facilities and equipment; and
26		any other service related to the carrying out of funeral or

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1		burial services that the Department may allow, if consistent
2		with the law, up to the total allowable amount of disbursement
3		under Section 40.
4		"Funeral establishment" means a State-licensed funeral
5		home, funeral chapel, funeral parlor, or other business that
6		provides funeral and burial services to a child victim.
7		Section 15. Felon as victim or survivor. An eligible
8		survivor's or child victim's criminal history or felony status
9		shall not automatically prevent an award for payment of the
10		child victim's funeral and burial expenses.
11		Section 20. Additional powers; Department of Human
12		Services. In addition to other powers and duties set forth in
13		this Act and other powers exercised by the Department, the
14		Department shall conduct a review of disbursement requests
15		submitted by a funeral establishment or cemetery authority,
16		which includes verification of the eligible survivor's
17		household income, verification of the child victim's death
18		certificate, and a review of the statement of goods and
19		services provided by the funeral establishment or cemetery
20		authority. Upon conclusion of the review, the Department shall
21		provide the funeral establishment or cemetery authority with a
22		payment determination letter. The Department shall disburse
23		payment to a funeral establishment or cemetery authority.

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1		Section 25. Right to disbursement.
2		(a) With respect to the provision of burial rights and
3		funeral and burial services and merchandise within the
4		applicable scope of practice, a funeral establishment or
5		cemetery authority is entitled to a disbursement under this
6		Act if within one year of the occurrence of the crime upon
7		which a disbursement request is made, the funeral
8		establishment or cemetery authority submits the request to the
9		Department on a form prescribed in accordance with Section 30
10		as furnished by the Department.
11		(b) The Department may accept a request presented after
12		the period provided in subsection (a) if it determines that
13		the funeral establishment or cemetery authority had a good
14		cause for a delay.
15		Section 30. Disbursement request requirements.
16		(a) A disbursement request shall include:
17		(1) the name and address of the eligible survivor and
18		his or her relationship to the child victim;
19		(2) the date and nature of the crime on which the
20		disbursement request is based;
21		(3) the nature and extent of the injuries sustained by
22		the child victim, and the names and addresses of those
23		giving any medical and hospitalization treatment to the
24		child victim;
25		(4) a copy of the child victim's death certificate;

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1		(5) an affidavit of facts of death;
2		(6) documentation verifying an eligible survivor's
3		household income;
4		(7) a copy of the invoice detailing funeral and burial
5		expenses, including any applicable taxes, surcharges, and
6		fees;
7		(8) releases authorizing the surrender to the
8		Department of reports, documents and other information
9		relating to matters specified under this Act and rules
10		adopted in accordance with this Act; and
11		(9) such other information as the Department
12		reasonably requires.
13		(b) The Department may require that materials
14		substantiating the facts stated in the disbursement request be
15		submitted with that request.
16		(c) A funeral establishment or cemetery authority, on its
17		own volition, may file an amended request or additional
18		substantiating materials to correct inadvertent errors or
19		omissions at any time before the original request has been
20		disposed of by the Department. In either case, the filing of
21		additional information or of an amended request shall be
22		considered for the purpose of this Act to have been filed at
23		the same time as the original request.
24		Section 35. Additional materials requested. If a funeral
25		establishment or cemetery authority does not submit all

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1		materials substantiating its disbursement request as requested
2		by the Department, the Department shall notify the
3		establishment in writing of the specific additional items of
4		information or materials required and that it has 30 days in
5		which to furnish those items to the Department. No
6		disbursement shall be made for any portion of the request from
7		a funeral establishment or cemetery authority that is not
8		substantiated by the establishment or authority. An
9		establishment or authority may request an extension of time
10		from the Department prior to the expiration of the 30-day
11		period.
12		Section 40. Amount of disbursement.
13		(a) The total amount of disbursement for funeral and
14		burial expenses for a child victim shall be no more than
15		$10,000, to be apportioned between the funeral establishment
16		and cemetery authority by those eligible survivors authorized
17		to direct the disposition of remains pursuant to the
18		Disposition of Remains Act.
19		(b) Upon submitting a disbursement request to the
20		Department, and upon the Department's review of such request
21		verifying that a survivor is an eligible survivor, a funeral
22		establishment and cemetery authority shall each receive
23		disbursement from the Department in the amount of the total
24		cost of burial rights and funeral services and merchandise
25		provided, up to the allocation amount. The Department shall

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1		process all payment vouchers within 30 days of submission of a
2		complete disbursement request, and shall pay all such vouchers
3		within 30 days of receipt. All disbursement requests that are
4		not paid within 60 days shall thereafter accrue interest at
5		the rate set by the Prompt Payment Act.
6		(c) Beginning on July 1, 2024, the maximum allowable
7		disbursement amount shall be increased each year by an amount
8		equal to any increase in the general inflation, as determined
9		by the index published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the
10		United States Department of Labor that measures the average
11		change in prices of goods and services purchased by all urban
12		consumers, United States city average, all items, 1982-84 =
13		100.
14		Section 45. Prohibition against double payment;
15		recordkeeping; payment recapture.
16		(a) If any funeral and burial expenses are paid under this
17		Act, no award for such assistance shall be granted to any party
18		in relation to funeral and burial expenses for the same child
19		victim under the Crime Victims Compensation Act or the
20		Department of Human Services Funeral and Burial Benefits
21		Program.
22		(b) No person or entity receiving assistance under this
23		Act shall receive or retain a duplicate award for funeral and
24		burial expenses for a child victim from any State agency or
25		agencies. For the purposes of this Section, a duplicate award

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1		is one that results in a total award from the State for the
2		cost of funeral and burial expenses for a child victim in
3		excess of that authorized by the Department. To prevent such
4		duplicate awards, the Department shall maintain an electronic
5		record of each disbursement to a funeral establishment or
6		cemetery authority and provide access to such records to any
7		State agency providing funeral or burial assistance to
8		Illinois residents.
9		(c) The Department is authorized to contract with
10		third-party entities to conduct payment recapture audits to
11		detect and recapture payments made in error or as a result of
12		fraud or abuse. A payment recapture audit shall include the
13		process of identifying improper payments paid to a funeral
14		establishment or cemetery authority or to an eligible survivor
15		whereby accounting specialists examine payment records and
16		uncover duplicate payments, payments for services not
17		rendered, overpayments, payments for unauthorized services,
18		and fictitious vendors. This audit may include the use of
19		professional and specialized auditors on a contingency basis,
20		with compensation tied to the identification of misspent
21		funds.
22		Section 50. Notice to public of available assistance.
23		(a) The Department shall develop a brochure informing the
24		public of the existence of funeral and burial assistance for
25		the families of murdered children under this Act and make the

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1		brochure available on its website.
2		(b) Any law enforcement agency that investigates an
3		offense committed in this State shall inform the parent or
4		guardian of the child victim concerning the availability of
5		assistance for funeral and burial expenses under this Act and
6		advise such persons that any information concerning this Act
7		may be obtained from the Department.
8		Section 900. The Illinois Public Aid Code is amended by
9		adding Section 12-4.11-5 as follows:
10		(305 ILCS 5/12-4.11-5 new)
11		Sec. 12-4.11-5. Murdered Children Funeral and Burial
12		Assistance Program. The Department of Human Services shall by
13		rule administer the Murdered Children Funeral and Burial
14		Assistance Program. Eligibility for the Murdered Children
15		Funeral and Burial Assistance Program shall be limited to
16		those individuals as described in the Murdered Children
17		Funeral and Burial Assistance Act.
18		Beginning July 1, 2023, the Department of Human Services
19		shall make eligibility determinations for the Murdered
20		Children Funeral and Burial Assistance Program and, subject to
21		appropriation, shall make disbursements for eligible cases to
22		a funeral establishment or cemetery authority as provided
23		under the Murdered Children Funeral and Burial Assistance Act.
24		Section 999. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon

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1		becoming law.