Clark Kaericher | Vice President, Government Affairs | 217-522-5512 ext. 296
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March 12, 2021
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.
Hope you are ready to spring forward this weekend. With two toddlers, the last thing my household needs is one less hour of sleep. However, it’s March Madness and BIPA reform is advancing- no cranky children can keep me down this week.
 
Committee Updates
The House Cybersecurity, Data Analytics & IT Committee that was scheduled for this morning was cancelled. HB 53 (Andrade) which deals with video interviews was the only bill posted. HB 2404 (Buckner) creates the Right to Know Act is the only other bill assigned to the committee. If you operate a website or an online service, you’ll want to take a look at this bill and we’d love to hear your feedback.

No committee has yet to be posted for next week.

BIPA Advances in the House
For the first time ever, BIPA reform has passed out of a legislative committee. HB 559 is an Illinois Chamber initiative that is sponsored by Leader Jim Durkin. Since 2019, over 1000 class actions have been filed in Illinois alleging violations of the state’s broken BIPA law. Notably not a single plaintiff has proven any damages in this avalanche of lawsuits.

HB 559 would require actual damages for recovery in cases of negligence. Plaintiffs could still collect in cases of willful noncompliance. It would also give companies 30 days to cure any violation. 

The House Judiciary Committee-Civil passed the bill out of committee 10-5-1. The Chamber would especially like to thank Leader Durkin and Chairman Thapedi for their leadership on this issue. I’d also like to thank Seyfarth Shaw’s Ada Dolph who joined me in testifying in committee in support of this critical bill.

It is now critically important for Chamber members to contact Representatives and urge them to vote for BIPA reform in HB 559. We ask you to reach out to any member, but particular focus should be paid to the House Democratic Caucus. Please let us know about your outreach efforts so that we can update our whip count.

If you’d like more information about this bill, check out our factsheet here:

Articles of Interest 


Until next time,
 
Clark
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