103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 HB4279 Introduced , by Rep. Dave Vella SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: 735 ILCS 5/5-105 from Ch. 110, par. 5-105 Amends the Costs Article of the Code of Civil Procedure. Provides that on the application of any person, before or after the commencement of an action for child support, if the court finds that the applicant is a person whose income is below the poverty level, the court shall grant the applicant a full waiver entitling the applicant to sue or defend the action without payment of any of the fees, costs, and charges. LRB103 35557 LNS 65629 b A BILL FOR 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 HB4279 Introduced , by Rep. Dave Vella SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: 735 ILCS 5/5-105 from Ch. 110, par. 5-105 735 ILCS 5/5-105 from Ch. 110, par. 5-105 Amends the Costs Article of the Code of Civil Procedure. Provides that on the application of any person, before or after the commencement of an action for child support, if the court finds that the applicant is a person whose income is below the poverty level, the court shall grant the applicant a full waiver entitling the applicant to sue or defend the action without payment of any of the fees, costs, and charges. LRB103 35557 LNS 65629 b LRB103 35557 LNS 65629 b A BILL FOR
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 HB4279 Introduced , by Rep. Dave Vella SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
735 ILCS 5/5-105 from Ch. 110, par. 5-105 735 ILCS 5/5-105 from Ch. 110, par. 5-105
735 ILCS 5/5-105 from Ch. 110, par. 5-105
Amends the Costs Article of the Code of Civil Procedure. Provides that on the application of any person, before or after the commencement of an action for child support, if the court finds that the applicant is a person whose income is below the poverty level, the court shall grant the applicant a full waiver entitling the applicant to sue or defend the action without payment of any of the fees, costs, and charges.
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A BILL FOR
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1 AN ACT concerning civil law.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 5. The Code of Civil Procedure is amended by
5 changing Section 5-105 as follows:
6 (735 ILCS 5/5-105) (from Ch. 110, par. 5-105)
7 Sec. 5-105. Waiver of court fees, costs, and charges.
8 (a) As used in this Section:
9 (1) "Fees, costs, and charges" means payments imposed
10 on a party in connection with the prosecution or defense
11 of a civil action, including, but not limited to: fees set
12 forth in Section 27.1b of the Clerks of Courts Act; fees
13 for service of process and other papers served either
14 within or outside this State, including service by
15 publication pursuant to Section 2-206 of this Code and
16 publication of necessary legal notices; motion fees;
17 charges for participation in, or attendance at, any
18 mandatory process or procedure, including, but not limited
19 to, conciliation, mediation, arbitration, counseling,
20 evaluation, "Children First", "Focus on Children", or
21 similar programs; fees for supplementary proceedings;
22 charges for translation services; guardian ad litem fees;
23 and all other processes and procedures deemed by the court
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 HB4279 Introduced , by Rep. Dave Vella SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
735 ILCS 5/5-105 from Ch. 110, par. 5-105 735 ILCS 5/5-105 from Ch. 110, par. 5-105
735 ILCS 5/5-105 from Ch. 110, par. 5-105
Amends the Costs Article of the Code of Civil Procedure. Provides that on the application of any person, before or after the commencement of an action for child support, if the court finds that the applicant is a person whose income is below the poverty level, the court shall grant the applicant a full waiver entitling the applicant to sue or defend the action without payment of any of the fees, costs, and charges.
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A BILL FOR
735 ILCS 5/5-105 from Ch. 110, par. 5-105
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1 to be necessary to commence, prosecute, defend, or enforce
2 relief in a civil action.
3 (2) "Indigent person" means any person who meets one
4 or more of the following criteria:
5 (i) The person He or she is receiving assistance
6 under one or more of the following means-based
7 governmental public benefits programs: Supplemental
8 Security Income (SSI), Aid to the Aged, Blind and
9 Disabled (AABD), Temporary Assistance for Needy
10 Families (TANF), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
11 Program (SNAP), General Assistance, Transitional
12 Assistance, or State Children and Family Assistance.
13 (ii) The person's His or her available personal
14 income is 125% or less of the current poverty level,
15 unless the applicant's assets that are not exempt
16 under Part 9 or 10 of Article XII of this Code are of a
17 nature and value that the court determines that the
18 applicant is able to pay the fees, costs, and charges.
19 (iii) The person He or she is, in the discretion of
20 the court, unable to proceed in an action without
21 payment of fees, costs, and charges and whose payment
22 of those fees, costs, and charges would result in
23 substantial hardship to the person or the person's his
24 or her family.
25 (iv) The person He or she is an indigent person
26 pursuant to Section 5-105.5 of this Code.
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1 (3) "Poverty level" means the current poverty level as
2 established by the United States Department of Health and
3 Human Services.
4 (b) On the application of any person, before or after the
5 commencement of an action:
6 (1) If the court finds that the applicant is an
7 indigent person, the court shall grant the applicant a
8 full fees, costs, and charges waiver entitling the person
9 him or her to sue or defend the action without payment of
10 any of the fees, costs, and charges.
11 (2) If the court finds that the applicant satisfies
12 any of the criteria contained in items (i), (ii), or (iii)
13 of this subdivision (b)(2), the court shall grant the
14 applicant a partial fees, costs, and charges waiver
15 entitling the person him or her to sue or defend the action
16 upon payment of the applicable percentage of the
17 assessments, costs, and charges of the action, as follows:
18 (i) the court shall waive 75% of all fees, costs,
19 and charges if the available income of the applicant
20 is greater than 125% but does not exceed 150% of the
21 poverty level, unless the assets of the applicant that
22 are not exempt under Part 9 or 10 of Article XII of
23 this Code are such that the applicant is able, without
24 undue hardship, to pay a greater portion of the fees,
25 costs, and charges;
26 (ii) the court shall waive 50% of all fees, costs,
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1 and charges if the available income is greater than
2 150% but does not exceed 175% of the poverty level,
3 unless the assets of the applicant that are not exempt
4 under Part 9 or 10 of Article XII of this Code are such
5 that the applicant is able, without undue hardship, to
6 pay a greater portion of the fees, costs, and charges;
7 and
8 (iii) the court shall waive 25% of all fees,
9 costs, and charges if the available income of the
10 applicant is greater than 175% but does not exceed
11 200% of the current poverty level, unless the assets
12 of the applicant that are not exempt under Part 9 or 10
13 of Article XII of this Code are such that the applicant
14 is able, without undue hardship, to pay a greater
15 portion of the fees, costs, and charges.
16 (3) In an action for child support, if the court finds
17 that the applicant is a person whose income is below the
18 poverty level, the court shall grant the applicant a full
19 waiver entitling the applicant to sue or defend the action
20 without payment of any of the fees, costs, and charges.
21 (c) An application for waiver of court fees, costs, and
22 charges shall be in writing and signed by the applicant, or, if
23 the applicant is a minor or an incompetent adult, by another
24 person having knowledge of the facts. The contents of the
25 application for waiver of court fees, costs, and charges, and
26 the procedure for the decision of the applications, shall be
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1 established by Supreme Court Rule. Factors to consider in
2 evaluating an application shall include:
3 (1) the applicant's receipt of needs based
4 governmental public benefits, including Supplemental
5 Security Income (SSI); Aid to the Aged, Blind and Disabled
6 (AABD); Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF);
7 Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP or "food
8 stamps"); General Assistance; Transitional Assistance; or
9 State Children and Family Assistance;
10 (2) the employment status of the applicant and amount
11 of monthly income, if any;
12 (3) income received from the applicant's pension,
13 Social Security benefits, unemployment benefits, and other
14 sources;
15 (4) income received by the applicant from other
16 household members;
17 (5) the applicant's monthly expenses, including rent,
18 home mortgage, other mortgage, utilities, food, medical,
19 vehicle, childcare, debts, child support, and other
20 expenses; and
21 (6) financial affidavits or other similar supporting
22 documentation provided by the applicant showing that
23 payment of the imposed fees, costs, and charges would
24 result in substantial hardship to the applicant or the
25 applicant's family.
26 (c-5) The court shall provide, through the office of the
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1 clerk of the court, the application for waiver of court fees,
2 costs, and charges to any person seeking to sue or defend an
3 action who indicates an inability to pay the fees, costs, and
4 charges of the action. The clerk of the court shall post in a
5 conspicuous place in the courthouse a notice no smaller than
6 8.5 x 11 inches, using no smaller than 30-point typeface
7 printed in English and in Spanish, advising the public that
8 they may ask the court for permission to sue or defend a civil
9 action without payment of fees, costs, and charges. The notice
10 shall be substantially as follows:
11 "If you are unable to pay the fees, costs, and charges
12 of an action you may ask the court to allow you to proceed
13 without paying them. Ask the clerk of the court for
14 forms."
15 (d) (Blank).
16 (e) The clerk of the court shall not refuse to accept and
17 file any complaint, appearance, or other paper presented by
18 the applicant if accompanied by an application for waiver of
19 court fees, costs, and charges, and those papers shall be
20 considered filed on the date the application is presented. If
21 the application is denied or a partial fees, costs, and
22 charges waiver is granted, the order shall state a date
23 certain by which the necessary fees, costs, and charges must
24 be paid. For good cause shown, the court may allow an applicant
25 who receives a partial fees, costs, and charges waiver to
26 defer payment of fees, costs, and charges, make installment
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1 payments, or make payment upon reasonable terms and conditions
2 stated in the order. The court may dismiss the claims or strike
3 the defenses of any party failing to pay the fees, costs, and
4 charges within the time and in the manner ordered by the court.
5 A judicial ruling on an application for waiver of court
6 assessments does not constitute a decision of a substantial
7 issue in the case under Section 2-1001 of this Code.
8 (f) The order granting a full or partial fees, costs, and
9 charges waiver shall expire after one year. Upon expiration of
10 the waiver, or a reasonable period of time before expiration,
11 the party whose fees, costs, and charges were waived may file
12 another application for waiver and the court shall consider
13 the application in accordance with the applicable Supreme
14 Court Rule.
15 (f-5) If, before or at the time of final disposition of the
16 case, the court obtains information, including information
17 from the court file, suggesting that a person whose fees,
18 costs, and charges were initially waived was not entitled to a
19 full or partial waiver at the time of application, the court
20 may require the person to appear at a court hearing by giving
21 the applicant no less than 10 days' written notice of the
22 hearing and the specific reasons why the initial waiver might
23 be reconsidered. The court may require the applicant to
24 provide reasonably available evidence, including financial
25 information, to support the applicant's his or her eligibility
26 for the waiver, but the court shall not require submission of
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1 information that is unrelated to the criteria for eligibility
2 and application requirements set forth in subdivision (b)(1)
3 or (b)(2) of this Section. If the court finds that the person
4 was not initially entitled to any waiver, the person shall pay
5 all fees, costs, and charges relating to the civil action,
6 including any previously waived fees, costs, and charges. The
7 order may state terms of payment in accordance with subsection
8 (e). The court shall not conduct a hearing under this
9 subsection more often than once every 6 months.
10 (f-10) If, before or at the time of final disposition of
11 the case, the court obtains information, including information
12 from the court file, suggesting that a person who received a
13 full or partial waiver has experienced a change in financial
14 condition so that the person he or she is no longer eligible
15 for that waiver, the court may require the person to appear at
16 a court hearing by giving the applicant no less than 10 days'
17 written notice of the hearing and the specific reasons why the
18 waiver might be reconsidered. The court may require the person
19 to provide reasonably available evidence, including financial
20 information, to support the person's his or her continued
21 eligibility for the waiver, but shall not require submission
22 of information that is unrelated to the criteria for
23 eligibility and application requirements set forth in
24 subdivisions (b)(1) and (b)(2) of this Section. If the court
25 enters an order finding that the person is no longer entitled
26 to a waiver, or is entitled to a partial waiver different than
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1 that which the person had previously received, the person
2 shall pay the requisite fees, costs, and charges from the date
3 of the order going forward. The order may state terms of
4 payment in accordance with subsection (e) of this Section. The
5 court shall not conduct a hearing under this subsection more
6 often than once every 6 months.
7 (g) A court, in its discretion, may appoint counsel to
8 represent an indigent person, and that counsel shall perform
9 the counsel's his or her duties without fees, charges, or
10 reward.
11 (h) Nothing in this Section shall be construed to affect
12 the right of a party to sue or defend an action in forma
13 pauperis without the payment of fees, costs, charges, or the
14 right of a party to court-appointed counsel, as authorized by
15 any other provision of law or by the rules of the Illinois
16 Supreme Court. Nothing in this Section shall be construed to
17 limit the authority of a court to order another party to the
18 action to pay the fees, costs, and charges of the action.
19 (h-5) If a party is represented by a civil legal services
20 provider or an attorney in a court-sponsored pro bono program
21 as defined in Section 5-105.5 of this Code, the attorney
22 representing that party shall file a certification with the
23 court in accordance with Supreme Court Rule 298 and that party
24 shall be allowed to sue or defend without payment of fees,
25 costs, and charges without filing an application under this
26 Section.
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