103rd ILLINOIS GENERAL ASSEMBLY:
The Illinois General Assembly adjourned last Friday for the week. The Senate convened in Session Tuesday through Friday of last week, while the House was in session Wednesday through Friday. The House returns to session today for five days while the Senate reconvenes tomorrow for four days.
The Senate focused on the final passage of Senate Bills and the House worked to position bills for final passage. Today is the deadline to pass substantive Senate Bills out of the Senate, although some deadline extensions are expected to be granted. Friday marks the House’s deadline to pass its substantive bills out of its chamber.
The Illinois Senate placed 90 Senate Bills on an Agreed Bill List to allow expedited passage by voting on all the legislation on one roll call.
The Illinois Senate unanimously approved SB 2643 (D. Turner), which tightens identification standards for human remains that are being handled by funeral homes and enhances punishment for businesses that break the law. A Carlinville funeral home’s mishandling of human remains prompted the bill. SB 2643 now heads to the House.
Also receiving unanimous approval in the Senate was SB 3463 (Peters), which streamlines the expungement process for youth involved with the juvenile court systems. The bill now goes before the full House.
SB 3678 (Stadelman), which bans speculative ticket selling and provides enhanced transparency on the sale of tickets, passed the Senate unanimously and heads to the House.
SB 773 (Castro) which mandates insurance coverage for infertility passed the Senate 50-1 and now goes before the House.
Combatting electronic stalking – by designating it as a method of criminal stalking – is the focus of SB 2683 (Stadelman). The House will now consider the measure, having passed from the Senate unanimously.
Those remodeling or improving homes in areas of urban decay may qualify for certain expanded property tax breaks under SB 2936 (Koehler), which the Senate passed without opposition and the House will now consider.
The Illinois Senate unanimously approved SB 2697 (Morrison), requiring insurance companies in Illinois to cover genetic testing for those patients with a family history of cancer. It would cap out-of-pocket costs at $50; Illinois Medicaid patients would be covered with no out-of-pocket costs. The measure heads to the House.
Legislation to curb youth vaping is headed to the House. SB 2662 (Morrison) prohibits the advertising, marketing or promoting of an electronic cigarette in a manner that is likely to cause an adult to mistake it for an object that is not a tobacco product. SB 3098 (Loughran Cappel) prohibits electronic cigarettes purchased by mail, online or through other remote sale methods from being shipped to anyone in the state other than a distributor or retailer. Both bills passed the Senate unanimously and now head to the House for consideration.
The creation of an electronic registry to store treatment preferences for critically ill individuals would be mandated by SB 2644 (Morrison), which the Senate passed unanimously. Under the bill, the electronic registry would contain Physician Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment forms, which detail medical treatment wishes for critically ill patients (currently, POLST forms can be maintained in hard copy or electronic format through the Secretary of State’s office). Because SB 2644 would establish a single location to hold all POLST forms, physicians throughout the state could more easily access the information. SB 2644 now heads to the House.
The Illinois Senate approved SB 2876 (Villa) which creates the Large Event Recycling and Composting Law. Under the bill, large event facilities – defined as having a capacity of at least 3,000 persons and that receives funding from the State – must participate in the county’s recycling program and send recyclable materials to a recycling center. The bill passed the Senate by a vote of 42-16 and now heads to the House.
SB 2979 (Cunningham) makes changes to the liability guidelines in the Biometric Information Privacy Act. Specifically, liability faced by the business would accrue on a per-employee basis, rather than a per-collection basis. The legislation also allows the use of electronic signatures as a means of granting written consent. Having passed the Senate 46-13, the bill is now before the House. Read more here.
Legislation to prohibit a consumer reporting agency from making a credit report containing any adverse information about the consumer related to medical debt – SB 2933 (Stadelman) – passed the Senate unanimously and now heads to the House.
Creation of the Department of Early Childhood took one more step toward becoming a reality when the Senate unanimously passed SB 1 (Lightford). Designed to be the lead agency for early childhood education and care programs and services to families, the IDEC would exist only after a two year phase-out/transfer of early childhood programs from ISBE, DCFS and DHS. The measure now heads to the House.
By a vote of 41-13, the Senate approved SB 2764 (Turner) — which, as amended, addresses automatic renewal on free trial or promotional services. Technet opposes the measure, arguing that as currently drafted, it makes Illinois “an outlier” compared to other states’ policies on free trials. The sponsor said she will continue to work on the legislation in the House, where the bill is now headed.
Having passed the Senate unanimously, SB 2639 (Hastings) now will be considered by the House. The legislation ensures that insurance companies will provide coverage for doctor-recommended infertility treatments without requiring patients to complete treatments that were deemed ineffective by their doctor. The bill would also allow a licensed physician to immediately approve any of these procedures based on the covered patient’s medical, sexual, and reproductive history, age, physical findings, or diagnostic testing.
Adjustments to a 2021 law reducing the use of restraints and isolated time out in schools is the focus of SFA # 1 to SB 458 (Gillespie), approved by the Senate Executive Committee. The amendment gives schools 7 years (currently 3 years) to make the transition, provides for additional training for school personnel and provides for additional investigative oversight to allow for enhanced tracking. The sponsor pledged to continue negotiating to address the opposition. SFA # 1 passed the committee 9-5 and heads to the full Senate.
Legislation to regulate the sale of hemp products was filed this week. Specifically, SB 3926 (Lightford) would create a regulatory framework for hemp consumer products and establish standards for licensing, testing and labeling similar to cannabis products. It would also prohibit synthetic intoxicants like Delta-8 and Delta-10 until a state committee could study and review product safety. SB 3926 was referred to the Senate Assignments Committee. Read more here.
Creation of a battery recycling stewardship program would be required of businesses that sell or distribute batteries under SB 3686 (Koehler), which the Senate passed without opposition. The program would have to be in place by 2026 for small to medium-sized batteries (medium-sized batteries would include batteries made for electric bikes and electric scooters). By 2029, businesses must include appropriate labeling for all batteries to ensure proper collection and recycling. The bill now heads to the House.
Member Resignations: Two Illinois Legislators are leaving their respective chambers. Senator Anne Gillespie was appointed this week by Governor Pritzker to serve as the new Director of the Department of Insurance. She replaces Dana Popish Severinghaus who is stepping down April 15. Gillespie is expected to resign in the coming days and local Democrats will appoint her replacement for the 27th Senate District. Because Gillespie was elected to a four-year term and has more than 28 months remaining, the appointee will be required under Illinois law to run in a special election this November. Both Representatives Mark Walker and Mary Beth Canty have expressed an interest in the appointment. Other candidates could emerge as well. Read more here.
Republican Representative Tim Ozinga abruptly resigned from the Illinois House on Monday. Local Republicans will select his replacement for the 37th House District.
Upcoming Subject Matter Hearings: The House Health Care Availability & Accessibility Committee will hold a hearing on April 22 at 10 am in the Bilandic Building in Chicago to discuss pharmacy benefit managers.
The House Cities and Villages Committee will hold a hearing on April 17 at 4 pm in Room 114 of the Capitol to discuss municipal governance and revenue.
2024 Key Dates and Session Deadlines:
April 19: House Third Reading Deadline
May 3: Committee Deadline for Bills in the Opposite Chamber
May 17: House and Senate Third Reading Deadline for Bills in the Opposite Chamber
May 24: Adjournment
May 25 – 31: Contingent Session Days
GOVERNOR’S HIGHLIGHTS:
IDPH Offers Reproductive Health Grants: The Illinois Department of Public Health awarded $2 million to three different organizations to provide training that will increase access to abortions across the state. The Abortion Provider Capacity Building Grant Program awarded grants to the Midwest Access Project (MAP), Planned Parenthood of Illinois (PPIL), and the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) College of Nursing.
Midwest Access Project: MAP will expand their long-standing work providing sexual and reproductive healthcare clinicians with training in procedural and medication abortion. Their innovative training model fills gaps nationwide in medical education, advanced practice nursing, midwifery education, and clinical training.
Planned Parenthood of Illinois: PPIL plans to expand upon an already robust training effort by offering more procedural abortion training for physician trainees and advance practice nurses, and medication abortion training for eligible providers.
UIC – College of Nursing: UIC will establish a training program to expose new advanced practice nurses to abortion care through the Reproductive Advocacy and Diversity in Advanced Nursing Training (RADIANT) Fellowship.
Grocery Store Initiative Grants: A new grant opportunity, called the New Stores in Food Deserts Program, is being offered by the Illinois Grocery Initiative. The first phase of the initiative supported equipment upgrades for existing independently owned grocers; this second phase will offer grants to open new grocery stores in food deserts. Grants will range between $160K to $2.4M and the recipient is required to put up matching funds equal to one-third of the grant. Read more here.
Electric Vehicle Charging: The Illinois EPA awarded $25.1 million to 20 applicants for electric vehicle charging infrastructure under the Driving a Cleaner Illinois program. The grants will fund 643 new Direct Current Fast Charging (DCFC) ports at 141 locations throughout the state. Read more here.
Botulism Like Cases Reported in Illinois: The Illinois Department of Public Health is urging healthcare facilities, particularly emergency rooms — to be on a heightened lookout for patients with symptoms similar to botulism. The warning follows two cases of the disease reported in La Salle County, where both individuals received injections of Botox (or a similar, possibly counterfeit) product. IDPH is investigating, in collaboration with the LaSalle County Health Department and the Illinois Department of Professional Regulation. The CDC and FDA have been contacted about the situation. The Tennessee Department of Health has also reported a similar cluster. Read more here.
Gubernatorial Appointments: Governor Pritzker appointed the following:
· John Pady will serve as a Member of the Energy Workforce Advisory Council.
· Danny Silverthorn will continue to serve as a Member of the State Employees’ Retirement System Board of Trustees.
OTHER NEWS:
Cook County Clerk Karen Yarbrough died following an undisclosed illness. Yarbrough served as a State Representative from 2001 through 2012. The Cook County Democratic Central Committee will appoint her replacement. Because she was less than two years into her four-year term, a special election will be held in November.
State Employee Health Insurance: State employee health insurance costs registered the largest single-year increase in several years, according to a new report from the Illinois Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability. The state is facing a 16.5% increase (or $533 million), COGFA finds, and suggests that the spike is due in part to new coverage mandates that lawmakers have enacted in recent years – including “medications not otherwise guaranteed to be covered, such as certain weight-loss medications.” Read the full report here.