This week's Illinois State Association of Counties (ISACo) News and Views e-newsletter provides the most recent information about a forthcoming special legislative session along with an update on the status of bill actions by the Governor, announces an upcoming joint committee hearing regarding safety net hospitals and managed care payments, includes an update about a Gubernatorial Executive Order (EO) making revisions to vaccine and testing requirements, shares news about state finances, includes an American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) update ahead of the third quarterly Project and Expenditure (P&E) Report due by July 31, 2022, reports on the state being a recipient of Monkey Pox vaccine doses, links to the initial draft of the Illinois Commerce Commission's (ICC) Renewable Energy Access Plan (REAP), conveys that the window is open to apply for electric vehicle rebates, shares an announcement about the newly-appointed Director of the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), includes a link for county officials and staff to register for the National Association of Counties (NACo) Annual Conference being held this week (July 21-24) in Colorado, spotlights ISACo corporate partner Wight & Company and invites counties to join ISACo.

Special Legislative Session Update

As previously reported in our June 30 News and Views e-newsletter, the General Assembly will convene a special session to address abortion-related issues. Legislative Leaders are still determining member availability and working out details of possible proposals before announcing a date. On July 5, Governor Pritzker, President Harmon and Speaker Welch issued the following joint statement regarding their intentions for the special session:

"As we build on Illinois’ nation-leading abortion protections and access, it is essential to bring lawmakers and advocates into the room to continue to work together. In the coming weeks, as the ripples of the decision to overturn Roe are felt throughout the nation, we expect to get an acute sense of our needs and how Illinois can play an even more vital role in standing up for reproductive freedom. We plan to work closely together for the remainder of the summer to assess every possibility of what we can do and convene a special session in the coming months."

Some legislators and advocates are calling for a special session to address gun violence following the mass shooting that occurred during an Independence Day Parade in Highland Park which left 7 dead and more than three dozen injured.  Governor Pritzker initially expressed outrage and said his office will “review everything we know about this gunman in the context of our laws and determine what more we can do to continue our public safety work.” 

The Governor has since begun outlining possible changes to Illinois law. He indicated support for changes to “red flag laws” so that “something could have been filed to prevent a Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) card from being issued” in cases like that of the Highland Park shooter who had a history with law enforcement personnel. The Governor is also calling for a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines – both in Illinois and nationally. 

Governor Pritzker issued a Disaster Proclamation on July 5, declaring Lake County a disaster area for purposes of facilitating a response to the mass shooting. A disaster proclamation grants the State of Illinois the ability to expedite the use of state resources, personnel or equipment to help affected communities recover. 

In issuing the proclamation, the Governor said “There are no words for the kind of evil that turns a community celebration into a tragedy. As we mourn together, the State of Illinois will provide every available resource to Highland Park and surrounding communities in the days and weeks ahead as the community works to recover from this horrific tragedy."

ISACo will provide additional updates about the special legislative session as more information becomes available concerning the date and scope of issues to be addressed. 

Governor Concludes Review and Action on Legislation

Governor Pritzker has now signed all legislation passed during the 2022 spring legislative session. The Governor did not veto any legislation passed in 2022. 

House Committees to Discuss Safety Net Hospitals and Managed Care Payments 

The House Appropriations-Human Services Committee and the Healthcare Availably Committee will hold a joint subject matter hearing on Wednesday, July 20 at 10:00 am in the Bilandic Building and Virtual Room 2 to discuss safety net hospitals and managed care payments.  

Governor Pritzker Updates COVID Vaccine and Testing Requirements

Executive Order (EO) 2022-16 updates COVID-19 vaccine and testing requirements in certain industries. Vaccine mandates for higher education employees and students and emergency medical service providers have ended.

Under the updated requirements, long-term care facilities with the most vulnerable residents, including skilled nursing homes, will now test staff who are not up to date with their COVID-19 vaccine on a weekly basis if located in an area of moderate community level transmission and twice weekly in areas of substantial or high community level transmission, as recommended by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Unvaccinated staff at hospitals and other healthcare facilities that are certified by CMS will now be required to test weekly only if located in areas of high community level transmission.

Vaccination mandates will remain in place in K-12 schools, daycares, state-run 24/7 congregate care facilities and any health care facilities not covered under the federal CMS vaccine mandate (including independent doctors’ offices, dental offices, urgent care facilities and outpatient facilities).

The press release is available via this link.

State Completes 2022 Fiscal Year; COGFA June Revenue Report Released

State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2022 ended on June 30, with a General Funds (GRF) accounts payable balance of $1.8 billion and a GRF payment cycle of zero days. Comptroller Mendoza announced that her office is caught up on all bills related to Medicaid, the State’s Group Health Insurance Program, K – 12 schools, higher education and other government operations and programs. 

SFY 2023 began on July 1.

On a related note, the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability (COGFA) released its June revenue report showing that General Funds base receipts finished with a $730 million increase in June.  Corporate Income Tax receipts led the way adding $373 million (or $287 million net).  Personal income tax revenues grew $189 million ($156 million net).  Although growth was slower than in previous months, sales tax receipts added another $41 million ($23 million net).

The inheritance tax was up $15 million for the month, while interest earnings added $9 million.  Miscellaneous state sources added $47 million to the month.  Insurance taxes were up $4 million; public utilities taxes were up $2 million and vehicle use taxes were up $2 million.  Losses were felt by corporate franchise taxes (down $4 million) and the cigarette tax (down $2 million). 

With respect to other state funds, June transfers into GRF rose $64 million combined – led by $27 million increase in Lottery transfers; $12 million rise from casino gaming transfer and $25 million in higher miscellaneous transfers.

Base federal sources grew $127 million in June (excludes ARPA funds). 

ARPA Compliance Reporting Update

The United States Department of the Treasury (Treasury) released updated compliance and reporting guidance for counties ahead of the deadline that includes additional information that will be required as part of the reporting process and other clarifying items for ARPA expenditures.

Included below is a comprehensive overview of updated compliance and reporting requirements, helpful information on specific sections of the reporting portal and an explanation of the difference between a subrecipient and beneficiary along with how counties can ensure they are complying with reporting requirements for these entities.

As a reminder, counties that are required to submit reports to Treasury by July 31, 2022, are those with populations above 250,000 residents and/or that received $10 million or more in total ARPA Recovery Funds.

Project and Expenditure (P&E) Report Updates & Other Helpful Information

• Revenue replacement: Counties had the option to make a one-time election to either calculate revenue loss according to Treasury’s formula outlined in the Final Rule OR elect a “Standard Allowance” of up to $10 million, not to exceed the award allocation. Treasury has decided to keep this portion of the reporting portal open for recipients in the upcoming P&E reporting cycle, which will allow counties to update their prior revenue loss election.
• Once update, the prior revenue loss election will be replaced. Treasury expects to keep this portion of the reporting portal open through the April 2023 reporting period in order to provide an opportunity for annual reporters to take advantage of this flexibility.
• Interested/principal received from loans: Any interest received on loans made with Recovery Funds should be tracked as program income in the P&E Report.
• If a county uses revenue loss funds to fund a loan, repayments to loans are not subject to program income rules.
• DUNS and UEI Numbers: As of April 2022, the federal government switched service providers and stopped using the DUNS number and began using the Unique Entity ID (UEI) – All counties are required to switch from a DUNS number to a UEI moving forward.
• If your SAM.gov registration/DUNS number expired prior to April 2022, the county will be required to obtain a UEI before receiving its second tranche payment.
• Population threshold: A county’s population threshold is determined by Treasury at the award date and will NOT change during the reporting period. You can find your county’s reporting tier here.
• Edit and/or update previous report submissions: Counties can reopen and provide edits to submitted P&E Reports any time before the reporting deadline and will be required to re-certify the report to reflect any edits. After the reporting deadline, counties will be able to reflect changes in the next P&E Report.
• Additional programmatic data for capital expenditures: When using Recovery Funds for capital expenditures projects, counties need to report the type of expenditure based on a list of enumerated uses. Examples of enumerated uses are COVID-19 vaccination sites, job and workforce training centers, and public health data systems. A full list of enumerated uses is available on pages 27 to 28 of the updated guidance.
• Written justification for capital expenditures: Counties are required to provide a written justification for capital projects of any category that cost at least $10 million and for projects in the “other” (i.e., project not explicitly enumerated by Treasury) category that cost at least $1 million. Previously, counties needed to create a written justification for these projects but were not required to submit them as part of regular reporting.
• Description of labor requirements for capital expenditures: Counties are required to provide additional labor reporting. For projects that cost at least $10 million, counties will need to report on the strength of the project’s labor standards, including information on the presence of a project labor agreement, community benefits agreement, prevailing wage requirement, or local hiring. This new required information is outlined under Infrastructure Project on pages 30-31 of the updated guidance.
• Project information for broadband projects: The updated guidance requires counties to provide detailed project information for broadband infrastructure investments. Counties need to report what kind of technology is involved in the project (i.e., fiber optic cables, coaxial cables, etc.), the total miles of fiber deployed over the project, and the total number of funded locations served broken out by both speed of connection and type of location (i.e., residential, business, or community). This new required information is outlined under Broadband Projects on pages 32-33 of the updated guidance.
• Moving of Recovery Plan Performance Report data into P&E Report: Under the updated guidance, some of the data that was previously only required for the Recovery Plan Performance Report (Recovery Plan) is now required for large counties (i.e., populations above 250,000 and/or above $10 million in awards) on their quarterly P&E Report. For example, large counties investing in housing security programs must now report the number of households receiving eviction prevention services. A full list of changes to programmatic data requirements for large counties is available on page 33 of the compliance and reporting guidance.
• Updated template for Recovery Plan: The updated guidance also provides a template for the Recovery Plan due for large counties on July 31, 2022, reflecting the expenditure categories and other changes made by the Final Rule.

Overview of Subrecipients vs. Beneficiaries – Definitions and Reporting Requirements

The distinction between a subrecipient and beneficiary is contingent upon the rationale for why a recipient is providing funds to the individual or entity.

Definition

• Subrecipient: An entity that receives a subaward to carry out a project funded by Recovery Funds on behalf of the recipient (i.e. county).
• If a county is providing funds to the individual or entity for the purpose of carrying out an SLFRF-funded program or project on behalf of the county, the individual or entity is acting as a subrecipient.
• Beneficiary: If a county is providing funds to the individual or entity for the purpose of directly benefitting the individual or entity as a result of experiencing a public health impact or negative economic impact of the pandemic, the individual or entity is acting as a beneficiary. 
• Individuals or entities that experienced the negative economic impact and are the recipients of a project funded by Recovery Funds. In other words, the households, small businesses, nonprofits, or impacted industries that experienced the negative economic impact.

Reporting Requirements

• Subrecipients: All subrecipients are required to comply with all requirements of recipients such as treatment of eligible uses of funds, procurement and reporting requirements. 
• Subrecipients are required to have an active SAM.gov registration and UEI number OR Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), if unable to obtain a UEI
• Beneficiary: A beneficiary are not subject to subrecipient monitoring and reporting requirements.
• Beneficiaries are NOT required to register in SAM.gov and are not required to provide a UEI

Please contact ISACo at info@isacoil.org if we can be of assistance. 

Illinois Receiving Monkey Pox Vaccine Supply 

The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) announced that as part of a national strategy to address the ongoing outbreak of monkeypox virus, the State of Illinois is receiving an immediate allocation of vaccines from the national stockpile.

IDPH will initially receive 1,291 doses of the JYNNEOS vaccine while the Chicago Department of Public Health will receive a separate initial allocation of 3,200 doses. Federal authorities indicated the number of vaccine doses available is expected to increase substantially during the coming months. At the same time, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is taking steps to increase testing capacity.

As of July 15, the CDC is reporting 174 probable monkeypox virus cases in Illinois. Nationally, the CDC is reporting 1,814 cases in the U.S.

Renewable Energy Access Plan  

The Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) released a first draft of the statutorily required Renewable Energy Access Plan (REAP). The 120-day public review and comment period on the plan is now open. The REAP is a plan for supporting an equitable, reliable and affordable transition to decarbonization and meeting Illinois’ policy requirements for a clean electricity system.

The Illinois REAP will serve as a document for clarifying and quantifying policy requirements such as determining the scale of clean energy resources and reforms needed over time to implement the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA). Other strategic elements of the plan include:

• The plan must prioritize the closure of fossil-fueled electric generating units near environmental justice communities and identify attractive renewable areas for resource development, incorporating the importance of equity in land use;
• Optimization of existing transmission systems to support the delivery of clean electricity to consumers;
• Proactive planning of new transmission with consideration of public policy needs; and
• Enhancements to RTO markets to reduce costs and emissions, create jobs, and ensure State and regional power system reliability to prevent outages as Illinois transitions to clean energy.

Additional information about the Renewable Energy Access Plan is available via this link.

Electric Vehicle Rebate

Illinois' Electric Vehicle (EV) Rebate Program is now open. The program was created under CEJA and approved in the fall of 2021. Individuals can now access and complete an application for a rebate via this link. Applications for the first funding round are being accepted starting July 1 and must be postmarked on or before September 30, 2022.

New Director of Illinois Department of Public Health Appointed  

Governor JB Pritzker appointed pediatrician and healthcare policy expert Dr. Sameer Vohra to serve as the next Director of IDPH beginning August 1. Dr. Vohra, the Founding Chair of the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine’s (SIU-SOM) Department of Population Science and Policy, follows Dr. Ngozi Ezike, who stepped down in March.  Additional information about Dr. Vohra is available via this link.

The 2022 National Association of Counties (NACo) Annual Conference will be held in Adams County, Colorado from July 21-24. Participants from counties of all sizes come together to shape NACo's federal policy agenda, share proven practices and strengthen knowledge networks to help improve residents’ lives and the efficiency of county government. ISACo and the United Counties Council of Illinois (UCCI) will co-host a dinner for Illinois attendees. Registrants for the conference should have received an initial invitation for this dinner via e-mail on Friday, June 17.

Registration and information about housing for conference attendees is available via this link.

CORPORATE PARTNER SPOTLIGHT 

This week's corporate partner spotlight highlights ISACo's partnership with Wight & Company.

For more than 80 years, Wight & Company has helped clients create exceptional, enduring buildings and spaces that enrich people's lives. Wight also specializes in providing professional services for transportation and infrastructure projects for counties, municipalities, state agencies, and private landowners.

More information about the services by Wight & Company is available via this link.

Click on this link to learn more about the benefits and opportunities available through ISACo's Corporate Partner Program.

Become an ISACo Member!