Clark Kaericher l Vice President, Government Affairs l 217-522-5512 x 296
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The Infrastructure Council is an initiative of the
Illinois Chamber that brings together Chamber members with a focus on increasing
infrastructure investments in a strategic and thoughtful way to boost the overall business climate in Illinois. Our focus is on the public and private systems that are essential to Illinois businesses.
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It’s Memorial Day weekend which, aside from celebrating those Americans that paid the ultimate sacrifice, signifies the end of the Illinois legislative session. For those of you grilling out with your families, have a burger and pour out a beverage for those of us celebrating at the Capitol.
Good and Bad News: Today Governor Pritzker Signs Two Major Pieces of Legislation
Today, Governor Pritzker signed two major bills into law. Both of these bills are detailed below.
First, the good news:
SB 2183, Transportation Network Providers Act was signed into law today. This bill passed out of both the House and Senate and was sent to the Governor in the last week. This bill extends the sunset of the the Transportation Network Providers Act to January 1, 2023. The Chamber strongly supports this legislation and applauds Governor Pritzker for his work today.
And now, the bad news:
SB 72, Prejudgment Interest was also signed into law. This bill passed out of both chambers at the end of March. This bill, which the Chamber opposes, does the following:
- Provides for pre-judgment interest in personal injury and wrongful death cases
- Interest shall begin to accrue at 6% rate when the case is filed (HB 3360 interest began at notice of the injury. Prior versions were at 9 and 7 percent)
- Interest does not apply to punitive damages, sanctions, statutory attorney’s fees and statutory costs
- If the judgment is greater than the amount of the highest written settlement offer made by the defendant, interest shall only apply to the difference between the amount of judgment and the settlement offer
- Prejudgment interest capped at 5 years (no cap in previous versions of the bill)
The Illinois Chamber sent a veto request within 24 hours of passage to the Governor for SB 72. House Bill 3360, a prior prejudgment interest bill, was exceptionally egregious, but the improvements of Senate Bill 72 from the original still represent a black eye on our state’s judicial system. Read the Chamber's full veto request letter for SB 72 here.
Governor Pritzker previously vetoed HB3360, which amongst other things, established prejudgment interest at 9 percent. HB3360 was passed during the lame duck session in January. The Chamber opposed HB3360 and requested its veto as well.
“Good Corporate Citizen” Initiative Shelled in Senate Executive
We worked hard this week to oppose HB 1839 an initiative of the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity that would establish "corporate good citizen" requirements as a condition of businesses receiving development assistance through programs administered by the DCEO. The EDGE tax credit and the data center sales tax exemption and income tax exemption programs are two examples of the programs that would be affected by this proposal. The Chamber’s President Todd Maisch and the Chamber’s Tax Institute Director Keith Staats opposition to this proposal in committee helped to lead to its failure to pass the Senate Executive Committee in its current form. Instead, a blank “shell bill” passed the committee on a partisan roll call.
Other Action of Note
HB 118, Wage Underpayment Penalties passed out of the Senate by a vote of 40-15-0 and has now passed both chambers. This bill Provides that an employee is entitled to recover damages of 5% (rather than 2%) of the amount of any underpayments in wages for each month following the date of payment during which such underpayments remain unpaid. The Chamber opposes this legislation.
HB 270, Pedestrian/Bicycle Ways passed out of the Senate by a vote of 56-1-0. This bill provides that, in or within a municipality with a population of over 1,000 people, the Department of Transportation shall establish and solely fund bicycle and pedestrian ways in conjunction with the construction, reconstruction, or other change of any State transportation facility. Adds an exemption in cases in which the municipality passes a resolution stating that a bicycle or pedestrian way does not fit within its development plan. Provides that if programmed funds identified as supplemental funding for the Illinois Transportation Enhancement Program are not expended for 5 years, the Department has the option to use those funds to pay the cost of bicycle and pedestrian ways in roadway projects.
HB 399, High Speed Rail Commission passed out of the Senate by a vote of 53-4-0 and is now placed on the House calendar for concurrence. This bill Creates the High-Speed Railway Commission Act. Prescribes the membership of the Commission. Provides that the Commission shall create a statewide plan for a high-speed rail line and feeder network connecting St. Louis, Missouri and Chicago, Illinois that includes current existing Amtrak and Metra services, connects the cities of Rockford, Moline, Peoria, and Decatur, and uses inter-city bus service to coordinate with the rail line. Provides that the Commission shall conduct a ridership study and shall make findings and recommendations concerning a governance structure, the frequency of service, and implementation of the plan. Provides that the Commission shall report to the General Assembly and the Governor no later than December 31 of each year.
HB 3712, Car Sharing Program passed out of the Senate by a vote of 58-0-0 and has now passed both chambers. This bill, as amended, provides that a car-sharing program shall assume liability of a shared-vehicle owner for bodily injury or property damage to third parties or uninsured and underinsured motorist or personal injury protection losses during the car-sharing period in an amount stated in the car-sharing agreement, which amount may not be less than 4 times the minimum amounts required under the Illinois Vehicle Code (instead of those amounts set forth in the Illinois Vehicle Code). Provides that a car-sharing program shall ensure that, during each car-sharing period, the shared-vehicle owner and the shared-vehicle driver are insured under a motor vehicle liability insurance policy that provides insurance coverage in amounts that, for the shared-vehicle driver, are equal to 2 times the minimum amounts set forth in the Illinois Vehicle Code (instead of in amounts no less than the minimum amounts set forth in the Illinois Vehicle Code).
SB 117, Treasurer Infrastructure Development passed out of the House by a vote of 116-0-0 and has now passed both chambers. This bill creates the Infrastructure Development Act. Provides that the State Treasurer shall segregate a portion of the Treasurer's State investment portfolio in the Infrastructure Development Account, an account that shall be maintained separately and apart from other moneys invested by the State Treasurer. Allows the State Treasurer to make investments concerning the Infrastructure Development Account. Provides for Infrastructure Development Account-Recipient Funds created by Illinois infrastructure development firms in which the State Treasurer places money. Provides further requirements concerning Infrastructure Development Account-Recipient Funds. Provides for the adoption rules. Provides that the Infrastructure Development Fund is created as a special fund in the State treasury, which may receive a portion of earnings from the Infrastructure Development Account and may be used by the State Treasurer to pay expenses related to the Act.
SB 1767, Prevailing Wage Public Search passed out of the House by a vote of 116-0-0 and has now passed both chambers. This bill provides that beginning January 1, 2022, the Department of Labor shall make accessible to the public on its website by the 16th day of each month following the month the work was performed the following information from certified payrolls submitted under this Act: each worker's classification or classifications, skill level, such as apprentice or journeyman, gross wages paid in each pay period, number of hours worked each day, starting and ending times of work each day, hourly wage rate, hourly overtime wage rate, and hourly fringe benefit rate. Provides that the database shall be searchable by contractor name, project name, county in which the work is performed, and contracting public body.
SB 1770, Wetlands/Cairo Port passed out of the House State Government Administration Committee by a vote of 7-0-0. This bill amends the Interagency Wetland Policy Act of 1989. Provides that notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, this Act does not apply to certain construction activities or property, provided that such facilities or property are located within 5 miles of the confluence of the Ohio River and the Mississippi River. The Chamber supports this bill.
SB 2424, Railroads passed out of the House by a vote of 112-0-0. This bill amends the Railroad Supplier Diversity Act. Adds the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (doing business as Amtrak) to the list of entities that may report to the Illinois Commerce Commission under the Act.
SB 2563, Emissions passed out of the House by a vote of 116-0-0 and has now passed both chambers. As amended, this bill requires the Department of Transportation to include in its diesel powered vehicle emission inspection report the number of inspections conducted at a brick-and-mortar official testing station and the number of inspections conducted by an official portable emissions testing company. Removes language allowing a permittee to issue certificates of safety. Allows a permittee to conduct interstate inspections on interstate carriers in accordance with federal regulations. The amendment removed the onerous California emission standards in favor of an IDOT study. Senate Amendment 3 Changes the date by which the Department of Transportation must make available a public report on emission testing data from September 15, 2022 to March 15, 2023. Changes the date through which the Department of Transportation must collect data on diesel emission testing to include it its public report from June 1, 2022 to December 31, 2022. With the amendments the Chamber is neutral on this bill.
Illinois Chamber Participates in US Chamber "Common Grounds" Series
On Thursday, the US Chamber of Commerce hosted another episode of their monthly "Common Grounds" series. This series brings together two lawmakers from each party for a bipartisan conversation on a pressing national issue. This month's episode featured Illinois Congressman Adam Kinzinger (R) and California Congressman Scott Peters (D) for a discussion on energy and climate policy.
Concerning energy, one thing that Representative Kinzinger spoke of was the importance of nuclear infrastructure despite outdated hesitancy on the subject from both sides of the political aisle at the federal level.
During the episode, Illinois Chamber President & CEO Todd Maisch highlighted the issue of funding mechanisms for critical infrastructure projects. Investment in infrastructure isn't just roads and bridges, but it is also waterways, air and rail. Maisch acknowledged the recent infrastructure proposal by President Biden, but questioned how it would all be paid for. The Chamber believes that new funding mechanisms have to be considered.
Representative Kinzinger responded to Maisch by agreeing that a long-term funding solution has to be crafted. He said that public-private partnerships are common around the world, and should be considered in the US. Tolls on certain highways were also a consideration. Kinzinger did note that consumers should rethink the gas tax and how they pay less today for the same use of American infrastructure than they did in 1995. To combat the decline in gas tax revenue, the Congressman suggested an inflationary mechanism on the gas tax and possible registration fees or a "per mile" tax exclusively on electric vehicles.
The Illinois Chamber ,a cosponsor of the event, had previously participated in the first episode of Common Grounds featuring Illinois Congressman Rodney Davis (R) and a discussion on Infrastructure. The full episode on climate and energy policy can be found here.
Articles of Interest
Until next time,
Clark
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Not a member and want to learn more about the Illinois Chamber - click here to contact Lanae Clarke
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