103rd ILLINOIS GENERAL ASSEMBLY:
The 2024 Spring Legislative Session will begin Tuesday, January 16. Note Friday, January 19 is the deadline to request legislation be drafted for consideration during the Spring Session. Friday, February 9 is the deadline to file legislation.
Representative Mike Marron will resign Monday. We previously reported he would step down by the end of the year to lead a Vermillion County economic development association.
Jake Butcher, the chief of staff to Senate President Don Harmon, is stepping down to practice law. Deputy Chief of Staff Ashley Jenkins-Jordan will serve as the new Chief of Staff.
The House Ethics and Elections Committee will hold a hearing on January 10 at 11:00 am in the Brookens Administrative Building in Urbana to discuss voter access.
Representative du Buclet filed HB 4268 which creates the Climate Corporate Accountability Act which will require corporations to report their emissions to the Illinois Secretary of State.
Over 300 new laws will take effect in 2024. Click here for the full list.
2024 Key Dates and Session Deadlines:
January 19: House and Senate LRB Request Deadline
January 19 – February 9: LRB Blackout Period – No Requests Will Be Accepted
February 9: Senate and House Bill Filing Deadline and LRB Amendment Requests Begin
February 21: Governor’s Budget and State of the State Address
March 15: Senate Committee Deadline for Senate Bills
March 19: Primary Election
April 5: House Committee Deadline for House Bills
April 12: Senate Third Reading Deadline
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:
New Laws: The Governor has acted on all legislation passed during the Fall Veto Session. Governor Pritzker signed the last of those bills into law late last Friday:
HB 2104 (Delgado/Villivalam) Amends the definition of “safety education” in the School Code to include water safety education for prekindergarten through grade 6 students.
HB 2394 (Morgan/Glowiak Hilton) Gives the Secretary of IDFPR authority to extend license renewal and corresponding fee deadlines to address the backlog in license renewals. Requires IDFPR to procure and implement electronic licensing software within six months of the bill’s effective date. Read more here.
HB 2473 (Yednock/Rezin) Lifts the moratorium on new construction of small modular reactors in Illinois and establishes regulatory guidelines.
HB 2878 (Hoffman/Castro) Represents the Spring 2023 Procurement Omnibus. The bill was returned to the General Assembly by the Governor with recommended changes. Per the Illinois Constitution, the Governor certified that the re-enrolled HB 2878 incorporated the recommended changes.
SB 382 (Edly Allen/Gong-Gershowitz) Clarifies that digitally altered sexual images are covered under the Civil Remedies for Nonconsensual Dissemination of Private Images Act.
SB 384 (Feigenholtz/Moeller) Amends the recently created Electric Charging Act to clarify which of the Act’s requirements apply to newly constructed residential homes and which apply to new and existing residential units.
SB 385 (Belt/Hoffman) Authorizes the State to make a land transfer to the city of Venice to enforce local regulation of remediation, redevelopment, and improvement of inoperable State facilities.
SB 584 (Cunningham/Didech) Makes a technical change to the transfer process from the State Lottery Fund, authorizes the extensions of temporary casino licenses at the discretion of the Illinois Gaming Board, and authorizes payment to host municipalities from the State Gaming Fund.
SB 696 (Aquino/Huynh) is a TIF omnibus.
SB 767 (Fine/Manley) Requires all hearing instruments offered for sale to be accompanied by a 30-business day refund return privilege.
SB 950 (Bryant/Friess) Authorizes the Director of the Illinois Department of Corrections to execute and deliver to the City of Chester 100 acres of specified property via Quit Claim deed for $1.
SB 1559 (Lightford/Ford) Waives annual license fees for existing cannabis transporting organization license holders from January 1, 2024, through January 1, 2027. Prohibits the Department of Agriculture from accepting new applications for cannabis transporting organization licenses from January 1, 2023, through January 1, 2027.
SB 1629 (Martwick/Kifowit) Amends the Chicago Firefighter Article of the Illinois Pension Code. Changes the years used to calculate the final average salary for Chicago Firefighters.
SB 1699 (Cunninham/Walsh) is an energy omnibus that makes changes to the Adjustable Block Grant program, requires IPA to conduct a policy study, includes trailer language for the renewable energy project siting bill, and requires a thermal energy network workshop by ICC.
SB 1769 (Ventura/Hoffman) Beginning January 1, 2030, passenger vehicles purchased or leased by a state agency, except law enforcement vehicles, must be zero-emission vehicles.
SB 1956 (Martwick/Slaughter) Amends the Chicago Police Article of the Illinois Pension Code to remove a birthdate restriction on eligibility for retired police at 55 to receive an automatic 3% annual increase in retirement annuity.
SB 1988 (Castro/Burke) Codifies the amount of time (30 business days) the Cook County Assessor must accept appeals after assessment notices are mailed or published.
Suicide Prevention Grant: The Illinois Department of Public Health is accepting applications for a $312,000 suicide prevention grant. The federally funded grant will fund a single organization to improve the ability of staffers in education, child welfare, and juvenile justice to identify, assess, and help young people who may be at risk for suicide. Read more here.
Respiratory Infections on the Rise: With respiratory infections – including influenza, COVID-19 and RSV – rapidly increasing in Illinois, on Thursday, the Illinois Department of Public Health issued a health alert to hospitals, long-term care facilities, and local health departments outlining various mitigation measures such as the use of masking and screening, especially in areas where more vulnerable patients are treated. Half of Illinois counties are now at medium or high levels of COVID-19 hospitalizations. Read more here.
IDPH also announced the launch of a new Infectious Respiratory Disease Surveillance Dashboard that will be updated each Friday and provide the latest data on hospital visits, seasonal trends, lab test positivity and demographic data.
Gubernatorial Appointments: The Governor appointed Luis Galindo to serve as a Member of the Illinois Workforce Innovation Board. Governor Pritzker also appointed Grace Pai to serve as a Member of the Commission on Discrimination and Hate Crimes.
Safety Camera Funding for Chicago: The Illinois Department of Transportation will provide $10 million to the city of Chicago to help the city expand its network of safety cameras along state routes and city streets. The intergovernmental agreement between IDOT and the city will increase the city’s ability to monitor traffic, manage incidents and assist in increased enforcement and safety along rights of way in Chicago.
The state funding will cover the costs of equipment, permitting and labor associated with the purchase and installation of the cameras. The city, under the terms of the agreement, will own and manage the physical and technological infrastructure and data as well as use a vendor to provide the required supplies and services, including equipment, installation, maintenance and any repairs. The city also will determine the specific locations of the cameras and coordinate best practices for sharing information with law enforcement agencies.
OTHER NEWS:
Assault Weapons Ban: At its meeting on Tuesday, the Illinois Joint Committee on Administrative Rules asked questions about the Illinois State Police rules to implement the assault weapons ban but took no action on the rules. The Committee will continue the review of the proposed rules at next month’s meeting.
Meanwhile, plaintiffs argued Tuesday afternoon in federal court in the Southern District of Illinois for the court to block the law entirely. Read more here.
On Thursday, the US Supreme Court declined to block the assault weapons ban, leaving the measure in place while proceedings before a federal appellate court continue. This is the second time the Supreme Court has declined to halt Illinois’ statewide ban. Read more here.
Committee on Pretrial Education: The Illinois Supreme Court announced the members of the Illinois Judicial College Committee on Pretrial Education (CPTE). This makes the seventh Standing Committee of the Illinois Judicial College. Read the list of appointees here.
Chicago Migrant Update: Just one week after the State of Illinois pulled the plug on building tent housing for migrants at the Brighton Park location, Mayor Brandon Johnson announced he is canceling plans for a tent camp in Morgan Park. In making the decision, Johnson cited a “lack of urgency” given other housing options. Read more here.
Meanwhile, the city of Chicago has begun filing lawsuits against “rouge” busing companies who are violating policies about where and when migrants can be dropped off in the city. Read more here.
We Thrive Initiative: The Office of the Lieutenant Governor, in collaboration with the Illinois Council on Women and Girls, are launching a women’s financial wholeness initiative with the goal of fostering financial freedom and wellbeing. The We Thrive Initiative will launch late 2023 and will kick off with Lt. Governor Stratton hosting a series of We Chats—small group discussions bringing diverse groups of women together to listen and learn from one another.
The Initiative plans to gather critical information to inform legislative and policy decisions and to develop community-driven programs; help women build confidence around their finances; and convene and solidify a network of resources designed specifically for women regarding financial services.
Deceptive Practices of Limited Services Pregnancy
Centers Act: The state of Illinois will drop enforcement of the Deceptive Practices of Limited Services Pregnancy Centers Act – SB 1909 passed into law earlier this year – under a proposed agreement between Attorney General Kwame Raoul and right to life organizations who oppose the law. Raoul said this action “in no way affects my ongoing work protecting women’s rights to access the full range of reproductive health services.” Representative Costa Howard, who sponsored the legislation in the House responded to the news by saying “I am heartbroken by the decision to back down on our promise to Illinois women that these deceptive centers and their staffs will face legal consequences if they tell lies or conceal important health information from the patients who walk through their doors.” Once finalized, the order must be signed by the Federal Judge. The Read more here and here.
Cook County Jail Detainees Identification Card Pilot Program: Sheriff Tom Dart and Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias are creating a pilot program to give identification cards to certain detainees released from the Cook County jail. The officials hope the program will help detainees with housing, transportation, social services and lead to employment opportunities to prevent individuals from reoffending. Read more here.
Safer State’s Initiative: This week, Vice President Harris announced the launch of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Safer States Initiative to provide states with additional tools and the support they need to reduce gun violence. The initiative suggests states take the following action:
· Establish a State Office of Gun Violence Prevention.
· Invest in evidence-informed solutions to prevent and respond to gun violence, including community violence interventions, Crime Gun Intelligence Centers, and implementation of Extreme Risk Protection Orders.
· Strengthen support for survivors and victims of gun violence.
· Reinforce responsible gun ownership, including by requiring safe storage of firearms and reporting of lost and stolen firearms.
· Strengthen gun background checks, including by enacting universal background checks legislation and removing barriers to completing enhanced background checks.
· Hold the gun industry accountable, including by banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines and enacting firearm-specific liability laws to ensure that victims of gun violence have their day in court.
The Justice Department also is offering states model legislation for safe storage and lost and stolen firearms reporting.
Representatives Bob Morgan, Maura Hirschauer and Justin Slaughter attended the announcement.
Illinois Commerce Commission: At its meeting on Thursday, the Illinois Commerce Commission voted 4-1 to reject Ameren Illinois and ComEd’s integrated grid plans. The Commission found that both companies failed to comply with several components of the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA). The ICC’s decisions require both utilities to file an updated grid plan within three months of the final order.
The Commission’s decisions found that both utilities failed to sufficiently incorporate customer affordability into their proposals and their grid plans did not outline how 40 percent of plan benefits will be directed to low-income and environmental justice communities, among other shortcomings. Read more here.
The Commission also rejected an emergency motion by Peoples Gas to restore $134 million of disallowed pipeline infrastructure funding for 2024. Read more here.