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Short session week this week. Only the Senate was in and they met for a combined time of less than one hour.
Both Chambers will convene next week, and we will have our first committees (more on that below).
Committee Updates
The Senate has a few committees posted for next week. Nothing posted in especially relevant to tech. It’s a sign that things are starting to pick up for real next week though. Plus, if you watch Senate Public Health maybe we will be able to get some unpasteurized milk. The Chads on Instagram say that will help me pack on the muscle.
Gig Economy Working Group
The Attorney General is convening meetings to discuss the gig economy and independent contractors. Regular readers of the newsletter will recall this was the elephant in room during many of the Future of Work Taskforce meetings and the subsequent report that was issued.
I have been assured that the Chamber will be part of these meetings which begin as early as next week. It is likely the meetings will be with smaller groups rather than the large number of interested parties, at least initially.
The Chamber has always been an advocate of work in all its forms and will not support anything that stifles opportunities and flexibility for businesses and Illinoisians looking to provide for their families.
There’s been some interest in convening a regular call during this session to discuss for anyone interested. If this is a topic you care about, please reach out.
Supremely Disappointing Decision on BIPA
The Illinois Supreme Court held today that the 5-year catch-all statute of limitations applies to all BIPA claims.
The Tims v. Black Horse Carriers opinion (attached) relies heavily on the “Legislative Findings/Intent” provisions in Section 5 of BIPA, citing the 2008 Legislature’s statements about the “unknown” ramifications of “the harms associated with biometric technology” and the “biologically unique” nature of biometric data. (see pp. 11-12). The Court concluded: “We find that a longer limitations period [5 years] would comport with the public welfare and safety aims of the General Assembly by allowing an aggrieved party sufficient time to discover the violation and take action.” (p. 13).
The full decision can be read HERE.
New Bill of Interest
SB 160 (Glowiak Hilton)- Amends the Telephone Solicitations Act. Provides that a person, business, or organization may not spoof a caller's information or otherwise misrepresent the origin of a telemarketing call unless the person, business, or organization has the right to use the name and phone number displayed. Requires telephone solicitations placed in a manner other than by a live operator to immediately disclose their identity and the purpose of the call and prompt the recipient of the call to consent to the solicitation.
Other Legislative Updates
Full committee lists have been posted for both legislative chambers this week. The full lists for the Senate is on ilga.gov and the House should be up soon. Here are the highlights from our prospective:
House Cybersecurity has a 9-5 makeup. It will be chaired by Representative Lamont Robinson. The Vice Chair remains Rep. Gonzalez. Reps. Andrade, DeLuca, Manley, Mayfield, Rashid, Slaughter and O. Williams.
Rep. Caulkins will replace Keith Wheeler as the minority spokesman. Rep. Caulkins will be joined by Reps. Coffey (a freshman of Saputo’s fame), Friess, Jacobs and Keicher.
House Judiciary Civil will be a 10-5 split. It’s chaired by Rep. Gong-Gershowitz. Representative Ann Williams will be the Vice Chair. New to the committee will be freshman Rep. Jenn Ladisch Douglass. The Republican spokesman will be Rep. Ugaste.
House Executive Committee will have an 8-4 split. It’s chaired by Rep. Rita and House GOP Deputy Leader Ryan Spain is the ranking Republican.
Senate Judiciary will have a new chair in Sen. Martwick. Senator Tracy is the minority spokesman. That committee will have a 6-3 split.
Senate Executive will be 9-4, chaired by Senator Castro and Sen. Anderson will represent the GOP.
New Rulemaking
Occasionally, I like to highlight proposed rulemaking from JCAR (The Joint Committee on Administrative Rules) that might impact our membership. Today’s report from that committee had one such report.
Telecommunications: The ILLINOIS COMMERCE COMMISSION adopted an amendment to the Part titled Service Quality Requirements Applicable to Wireless Eligible Telecommunications Carriers (83 IAC 736; 46 Ill Reg 3068) effective 1/18/23 that gives carriers eligible to receive Federal Communication Commission service funds the option of defining their service areas by census blocks, in accordance with current FCC procedures. (Formerly, the rule only allowed carriers to define their service areas by telephone exchanges.) Questions/requests for copies: Brian W. Allen, ICC, 527 E. Capitol Ave., Springfield, IL 62701, 217/558-2387.
Articles of Interest
‘Right to repair’ deal between John Deere and the American Farm Bureau big news for farmers and repair shops
Local officials look to Illinois statehouse for pension relief
Gov. Pritzker Announces End of State COVID-19 Disaster Proclamation
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