The new year is here and with it comes a set of hundreds of new laws for Illinois, with nearly 300 new measures beginning.
Here are 50 of the more notable pieces of legislation you might want to know about.
Child Welfare:
SB 00512: The “Preventing Youth Vaping Act” aims to prevent vaping by children, placing additional restrictions on e-cigarettes, including imposing additional civil and criminal penalties. Law enforcement officers can also seize tobacco products or electronic cigarettes that violate the bill’s prohibition on marketing to children.
SB 01846: Requires restaurants to serve water, milk, milk alternative or juice with children’s meals as the default beverage, rather than soda.
SB 01892: An amendment to the Code of Corrections will take effect, making possession of child pornography when the child is in a household or a family member of the defendant a non-probational offense that will require jail time in sentencing.
Combatting Discrimination:
SB 00139: Allows a person currently married to request a copy of their marriage license with the term “spouse” rather than any gender-identifying language.
SB 00817: Bans schools from discriminating against student hairstyles associated with racial, ethnic and cultural traditions.
SB 01596: Committing a crime against a person because of their actual or perceived citizenship or immigration status will now be considered a hate crime in the state of Illinois.
HB 01838: Expands the definition of discrimination based on a disability in the Illinois Human Rights Act to include unlawful discrimination against an individual because of the individual’s association with a person with a disability.
HB 03217: Amends numerous state statutes by deleting the use of “Haitian” or “Negro” and instead including terms such as “Black” or “African-American.”
HB 03914: Requires Illinois Central Management Services to take positive action toward addressing systemic racism in the state’s hiring practices.
Consumer Protection:
HB 00122: Ends early termination fees for customers of telephone, cellphone, television, internet, energy, medical alert system or water services who die before the end of their contracts.
HB 03739: Creates the Lead Service Line Replacement and Notification Act to establish timelines and requirements for the removal and replacement of all lead service lines in Illinois.
HB 03955: Provides that automatic renewal offers or continuous service offers online should provide a toll-free number, email or a postal address if the seller directly bills the consumer, or to provide another cost-effective way to cancel the service.
Drug Law Changes:
HB 02589: Expands the use and reimbursement of dispensing opioid antagonists to prevent overdose deaths and improves treatment services for substance use disorders.
HB 03445: A person who seeks medical assistance for an opioid overdose will have immunity from prosecution for possession.
Education:
SB 00564: Requires schools to include contributions by Muslim, Jewish, Christian, Hindu, Sikh, Buddhists and any other collective community of faith that helped shape America in history curriculums.
SB 01577: Public school students shall be granted up to five days of excused absences for mental or behavioral health, with no medical note required.
SB 01624: This bill will add agricultural sciences to the types of courses that can count toward the requirement for three years of science instruction to gain admission to an Illinois public university.
SB 02354: Students can now take one year of forensic speech and debate in high school as a substitute for music, art or foreign language requirements.
HB 00226: Public universities will now be required to permit students to choose whether they submit ACT and SAT scores when applying for admission.
HB 00376: Requires every elementary and high school to add a unit of instruction on the events and contributions of Asian Americans in Illinois and the U.S.
Immigration:
HB 00709: Requires the Department of Human Services to educate immigrants, refugees, asylum seekers and other non-residents of their rights under the U.S. Constitution and Illinois law.
HB 02790: Allows public defenders in a county with more than three million inhabitants to provide legal representation for noncitizens in immigration cases.
Insurance and Medical Care:
SB 00105: Expands how an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse can prove he or she completed clinical experience.
SB 00147: Entitles Medicare supplement policyholders to an annual open enrollment period lasting at least 45 days starting on their birthday to buy a Medicare supplement policy irrespective of health status, claims experience or medical conditions.
SB 00471: Requires insurers who issue or deliver group accident and health policies to ensure that insured individuals have access to treatment for emotional, mental, nervous or substance use disorders or conditions.
SB 00500: Prevents hospitals, physicians, surgeons or procurement group from discriminating against individuals solely on the basis of having a mental or physical disability by deeming that person ineligible to receive an anatomical gift or organ transplant.
SB 00968: Requires all health insurance plans, the Public Aid Code and public health benefits in Illinois to provide coverage for medically-necessary pancreatic cancer screening.
SB 01682: Requires pharmacies to post a notice informing consumers that they may request current pharmacy retail prices at the point of sale.
HB 00033: Prohibits companies from denying life insurance coverage based on a person participating in substance use treatment or recovery support programs.
HB 00135: Requires health insurance policies to cover health care or patient care around the dispensation of birth control.
HB 00155 and HB 00310: Provides that SNAP and Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infant and Children’s Programs may use their benefits to purchase menstrual hygiene products. Under the latter bill, feminine hygiene products will now be available for free at homeless shelters that provide housing assistance to women and youth.
Labor and Workers:
The “Lifting Up Illinois Working Families Act” has raised the minimum wage several times, with the ultimate goal of lifting it to $15 an hour. This year, the minimum wage will increase to $12 per hour.
SB 00672: No-compete clauses will be banned for individuals making less than $75,000 per year.
Law Enforcement:
The Stalking/No Contact Order law in Illinois has been amended to include a prohibition on contact made via email or social media.
SB 00119: Public health departments at the state and local level may not regulate the sale of lemonade or other non-alcoholic drinks or mixed beverages by a person under the age of 16.
SB 01681: Adds probation officers to the list of individuals that qualify for death benefits if they are killed in the line of study.
SB 02122: Provides that statements provided by minors are inadmissible as evidence if obtained using deceptive practices.
SB 02530: Requires wireless providers to provide call location information concerning the device of a user upon request of local law enforcement or public safety answering points
HB 00562: Significant changes to the FOID card system beginning in 2022, including encouraging, but not requiring, fingerprinting. Those who agree to fingerprinting are granted streamlined processes for renewing FOID and CCL cards. The ISP can now issue combined FOID and CCL cards to qualified applicants. ISP will now have a public database of all guns reported stolen that can be checked prior to the transfer of any firearm to prevent inadvertent transfers of stolen weapons. The ISP will create a new Violent Crime Intelligence Task Force to conduct enforcement operations against those with revoked FOID cards.
HB 00734: Provides that the duration of a civil ‘no contact order’ will become permanent, upon the survivor’s request, upon a conviction for criminal sexual assault.
HB 03097: Provides that police procedures and appropriate interactions with law enforcement during traffic stops be added to Illinois adult driver education course curriculum and the State Board of Education’s curriculum.
HB 03653: Counties and cities with populations greater than 500,000 will require all law enforcement officers to wear body cameras. All officers in the state will be required to wear them by the beginning of 2025.
Protections for Animals:
SB 00154: Allows tenants in Illinois Housing Development Authority-funded housing to keep at least two cats, or one dog that weighs under 50 pounds, regardless of breed or height. Housing providers will also not be held liable for injuries caused by a pet on their properties.
SB 01673: Changes the Animal Control Act to remove the terms “spayed” and “neutered” and replace them with the word “sterilized.”
HB 00168: Prohibits individuals from possessing animals if they’ve been convicted of two or more specified animal-related offenses.
Other Key Laws:
SB 01600: Requires restaurants and truck stops to provide employees with training in the recognition of human trafficking, and protocols for reporting observed human trafficking to proper authorities.
HB 0020: Repeals the registration fee for Gold Star license plates for surviving spouses or parents of vets who died in war or peace time.
HB 00605: Prohibits state institutions from buying Illinois and American flags not produced in the U.S.
HB 03027: Allows expectant mothers to use a disabilities motor decal or device for no more than 90 days during their third trimester.
HB 03922: Designates June 19 as a paid state holiday, Juneteenth.