This Week in Illinois
Session Update
On Wednesday, May 20 the Illinois House and Senate reconvened for a special session. The special session was intended to last three days and cover topics such as COVID-19 relief, workers compensation, health care, and the budget. The limited session agenda was designed to be less controversial.
Members of the General Assembly were required to follow health protocols established by the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH). Some of these measures included the use of face masks and the House of Representatives relocation to the Bank of Springfield Center.
Legislative Update
The following pieces of legislation have passed both the House and Senate during the current special session.
HB2174 passed out of both houses unanimously. This bill extends the sunset of a number of regulations by one year. Some of the regulations included are
the Telecommunications Article of the Public Utilities Act; provisions of the Cable and Video Competition Article of the Public Utilities Act; and the Transportation Network Providers Act.
HB2455 passed out of the House by a vote of 113-2 and passed the Senate by a vote of 50-4. This bill makes changes to workers compensation and was negotiated in part by the Chamber of Commerce and organized labor.
SB 685 passed both houses unanimously. This bill is the COVID-19 response Revenue Package.
SB1857 passed both the House and the Senate unanimously. This bill extends a provision of the Illinois procurement code concerning design-bid- build construction. The Chamber supports this legislation.
SB 1863
passed the House by a vote of 72-43 and the Senate by a vote of 37-19. This is the elections omnibus bill that includes an expanded vote by mail program.
SB2541 passed both houses unanimously. This bill is the hospital assessment package.
SJR 1 passed the Senate on a partisan roll call vote and passed the House by a vote of 71-45
.
This resolution provides the language the secretary of state will provide on the proposed progressive income tax amendment that every registered voter will receive this fall.
Other notable pieces of legislation that are still being debated include the following.
HB 64 was
placed on the Senate calendar for a third
reading. Yesterday, this bill passed the House on largely a partisan roll call of 69-42.
This
is the budget shell bill.
HB123 passed out of the Senate by a vote of 46-10. This bill made changes to cannabis law. The Chamber is neutral on this bill.
HB2096 passed out of the House unanimously. This is a local government omnibus package.
SB 471 passed out of the House 95-10. This is the Employment and Labor Emergency Package. It has changes to unemployment insurance, workers' comp and includes a paid sick leave proposal.
SB1530
was placed on the House calendar for a third reading. This bill addresses a number or regulatory sunsets. This is a one year extension for all items with no additional provisions.
SB 1805 was placed on the House calendar for a third reading. This will be the budget implementation bill (BIMP).
SB 1864 was placed on the House calendar for a third reading. This is the healthcare omnibus bill.
SB2052 passed the House 97-14-0. This bill extends numerous local TIF districts.
SB2135 was placed on the House calendar for a second reading. This bill provides oversight of Governor Pritzker's reopening plan.
Illinois Chamber President & CEO Todd Maisch responds to Illinois unemployment crisis.
"We are calling on Governor Pritzker to begin including unemployment numbers in his metrics for Illinois' reopening plan," said Illinois Chamber President and CEO Todd Maisch. "Over 16 percent unemployment is its own crisis and the unemployment statistics need to be considered on equal footing with public health metrics. The administration has assembled a team of public health officials charged with bringing down COVID-19 statistics. The administration needs to appoint a team that is every bit as committed to bringing down the unprecedented figure of 16.4 percent unemployment in Illinois. "
JCAR action no longer necessary on Governor Pritzker's Emergency Rulemaking
The Illinois Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR) met earlier this week to review different administrative rules across state government and provide guidance on these rulings. One subject being considered was Governor Pritzker's emergency rule which would have made a violation of his stay-at-home order a Class A misdemeanor.
At this meeting, JCAR decided that
no action was necessary on the governor's emergency rule. This was after the Administration announced it would withdraw the latest emergency rule after it had drawn widespread bi-partisan criticism.
Reopening Illinois
The Chamber introduced legislation in the Senate sponsored by Senate Republican Leader Bill Brady (R-Bloomington) that provides protocols for an expedited reopening process and puts checks and balances on government power for future emergencies.
The reopening plan would require the IDPH to set protocols for businesses to reopen safely once the governor's executive order expires. Furthermore, the legislation would require General Assembly approval for the governor to extend disaster proclamations.
More can be read about the Chamber's Responsible Reopening and Rehiring legislation
here.
Business Suggestions
The Chamber is consulting with the governor's administration on business relief. Please send any information or suggestions we can use to advocate on your behalf to Andrew at
[email protected].
We also want to share your good news. Please send any announcements or positive stories on your business to Darbi at:
[email protected].
