Is it May yet? It certainly feels that way. The House and Senate have been in the last four days. It is a deadline week to pass bills from their originating chamber. As of Friday afternoon, we are up to 591 bills passed and counting. We’ll take a look at some of the bills of interest.
Deadline Week Bills of Interest
HB 414,Water & Wastewater Assistance passed the House by a vote of 117-0-0. This bill Provides that the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity is authorized to institute the water and sewer assistance program. Provides that any person who is a resident of the State of Illinois and whose household income is not greater than an amount determined annually by the Department may apply for assistance. Provides that in determining the amounts of assistance to be provided to or on behalf of a qualified applicant, the Department shall ensure that the highest amounts of assistance go to households with the greatest need for financial assistance in relation to household income by considering specified factors. Provides that each water or sewer provider shall assess each of its customer accounts a monthly Water and Sewer Assistance Charge to be deposited into the Water and Sewer Low-Income Assistance Fund. Amends the State Finance Act. Creates the Water and Sewer Low-Income Assistance Fund. Amends the Public Utilities Act. Provides that specified water or sewer utilities shall be allowed to offer a financial assistance program designed for bill payment assistance for low-income customers in accordance with the Water and Sewer Financial Assistance Act. Provides that the costs of a financial assistance program offered by a water or sewer utility shall be reimbursed from the Water and Sewer Low-Income Assistance Fund. The Chamber supports this bill.
HB 1755, DCEO Port Districts passed the House by a vote of 117-0-0. This bill provides that the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity shall evaluate eligibility of special districts for State and federal programs, grants, and subsidies based on eligibility requirements set forth in their statutory charters. Amends the Kaskaskia Regional Port District Act. Provides that the Port District has power to apply for and accept grants, loans, or appropriations from the federal and State government (currently, only federal government) or any agency or instrumentality thereof, to be used for any of the purposes of the District and to enter into agreements with the federal and State government (currently, only federal government) in relation to such grants, loans or appropriations.
HB 3437, Hazardous Materials Workforce Training passed the House by a vote of 71-43-0. This bill establishes precedent that certain plants, such as ethanol plants, will have to pay prevailing wage on any work or maintenance work done in the facility. This bill also has a number of training requirements. This blocks entry by anyone that is not a union member. The Chamber opposes this bill.
SB 692, Coal Tar Sealant was placed on the Senate calendar for 3rd reading. This bill provides that on or before May 1, 2023 (rather than January 1, 2022): (1) the Department of Public Health and the State Board of Education shall post on their websites guidance on screening for coal tar-based sealant product or high polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon sealant product, requirements for a request for proposals, and requirements for disclosure; and (2) the Department shall adopt rules for the procedures and standards to be used in assessing acceptable levels of high polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon content of a pavement seal applied to any State agency property. Provides that provisions regarding coal tar-based sealant disclosure for State property do not apply to pavement engineering projects requiring the use of a coal tar-based sealant or high polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon sealant product for pavement engineering-related use on a highway structure conducted by or under the authority of the Department of Transportation.
SB2201, Residential Buildings passed the Senate by a vote of 40-14-0. This bill provides that a zoning ordinance or other zoning regulation may not prohibit or restrict the erection of an industrialized residential structure or a manufactured home on real property, provided that: (1) an industrialized residential structure or manufactured home is compatible with the character of a respective district; (2) regulations impose the same aesthetic compatibility requirements on an industrialized residential structure or manufactured home that are applicable to all residential structures in the respective district; and (3) an industrialized residential structure or manufactured home meets applicable standards for the exterior design of buildings and structures.
SB 2481, Future of Work Taskforce was placed on 3rd reading. This bill creates the Illinois Future of Work Act. Provides for the duties and responsibilities of the Task Force. Provides that members of the Task Force shall serve without compensation. Requires the Task Force to submit a final report to the Governor and the General Assembly no later than November 1, 2022. The Chamber supports this bill.
SB 2459, Electronic Signature passed the Senate by a vote of 56-0-0. This bill provides that the Department of Transportation, the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority, and the Capital Development Board shall each accept the use of electronic signatures in transactions between those State agencies and other persons or entities, unless all parties to the transaction waive the right to use electronic signatures.
Ports Update From the Corps of Engineers
I wanted to pass along the following updates from the US Army Corps of Engineers regarding Illinois Waterway closures:
“With the receipt of FY21 funding, and after consulting with our Industry partners, we were able to move up the installation of bulkhead recesses at Brandon Road Lock (a prerequisite for the 2023 installation of new miter gates, sills and anchorages) ahead of schedule into the summer of 2022. This will eliminate the risks of scheduling that work immediately prior to 2023’s extended closures, so that’s great news! The new schedule does not change the total duration of restrictions/closures overall, but it does avoid more costly winter work and it greatly reduces the potential for delays in 2023.
Due to changes in site conditions, and not being able to fund as much work in 2020 as we originally intended, the IWW 2023 Closures will have to include some work at Starved Rock and Marseilles in addition to the originally scheduled work at Dresden Island and Brandon Road. See our website (URL below) for more details. Although we are under tight timelines for design and fabrication of long-lead-time items, we are currently still on track for 2023. FY22 funding will be critical to maintaining the 2023 schedule; we anticipate being able to make a go/no-go call hopefully in early 2022 once we know the amounts that will appropriated for this effort.
We appreciate your patience – and your feedback – as we continue to refine the IWW Consolidated Closures maintenance schedule. We will update the website as adjustments are made, and we will be communicating with you regarding any other significant changes. “
Articles of Interest
Until next time,
Clark
