The Technology Council seeks to aggressively and proactively promote the interests of the Illinois technology community by advocating for public policy that fosters innovation and promotes economic growth. The Council will seek to promote workforce development policies, advocate for world-class technology infrastructure, avoid overregulation on the industry and support innovators access to the capital they need to grow.
2020 State of the State
Governor JB Pritzker delivered the annual State of the State address Wednesday afternoon in the House Chambers of the Capitol building. His speech focused on ethics reform, taxes, and energy proposals.
Illinois Chamber President and CEO Todd Maisch released the following statement on Governor Pritzker's State of the State Address. "Governor Pritzker presented a positive view of his first year in office, much of which the Chamber agrees with.The Governor embraced pro-growth tax incentives - including the Chamber's data center incentive legislation - championed by pro-business legislators.He has committed to a professional economic development program, greater investment in workforce development and expansion of access to advanced technology for small businesses.
While bipartisan gains are welcomed by the employer community, we need to remind policymakers of the negative impacts of misguided policies enacted in 2019.Small businesses will struggle mightily with the burden of a $15 minimum wage.The wage is unfairly set at $15 regardless of geography or wage rates that vary greatly in our diverse state.Also, the proposed progressive income tax eliminates our current, true Fair Tax.It is already having a chilling effect on employers' willingness to invest in Illinois.
A focus on our greatest job producers, small business, must be a priority in 2020 to balance the negative effects of 2019 policies.The Governor has demonstrated a good understanding of issues that impact small businesses but still has pursued detrimental legislation. 2020 represents an opportunity to offer them more support with bipartisan policies to move our state forward."
New Senate Leadership
New Senate President Don Harmon announced today his new leadership team for the Illinois Senate. The Senate leadership is as follows:
Kimberly Lightford - Majority Leader*
Bill Cunningham - President Pro Tempore and Assistant Majority Leader
More information, including biographies, may be found here
Legislative Update
The House Cybersecurity, Data Analytics & IT Committee meets for the first time this year at 10 am on Wednesday. HB 2736 (Buckner) is the sole bill posted HB 2736 creates the "Right to Know Act". This legislation would forbid an operator of a website or online service from disclosing personal information about users of its website, or application, residing in Illinois unless in the customer agreement they are notified about: i) the personal information collected; ii) all categories of third-party persons or entities with whom the operator may disclose, and iii) proving a description of an Illinois' residents rights under this Act. All website or online service operators that disclose personal information to a third party must maintain an email address or toll-free phone number to inform any Illinois resident that asks what personal information that was shared about them and to whom it was shared. All inquiries must be answered within 30 days. Most worrisome is that it creates a private right of action for failure to comply. As we have seen with BIPA, this can be abused.
There is no technology related legislation posted in the Senate.
Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) Reform
Speaking of BIPA, reform of the Biometric Information Privacy Act is a major priority of the Chamber. Since the Illinois Supreme Court ruled in Rosenbach v. Six Flags, Illinois has allowed for costly lawsuits under BIPA even when no actual damages occur to the "aggrieved" person(s).
The Chamber is working on several bills to try to solve this issue. We expect at least 3 pieces of legislation to be filed in the next week or two. Legislation will be filed in both the House and the Senate. The proposals range from eliminating the private right of action altogether to limiting any damages awarded to actual harm. I welcome any feedback or ideas you may have on the issue.
To illustrate how costly BIPA lawsuits can be to businesses operating in Illinois, see this article from Wednesday in the Tribune.
