Gov. Bruce Rauner announced a series of veto and bill signings last Friday. Here's a rundown of each action taken.

Vetoes

Widely supported in the House, HB2977 would have required elementary schools to include cursive handwriting instruction in curriculum. In his veto message, Gov. Bruce Rauner called the bill an unfunded mandate and wrote that, “If the General Assembly believes that cursive writing instruction should be required in elementary schools because it will improve student outcomes, it should be included in the Illinois State Learning Standards and funded accordingly.”

HB3449, the Geolocation Privacy Protection Act, received attention from several groups when Rauner announced his Friday veto of the bill. The measure started as a consumer-data protection effort, but lost most of its teeth after five floor amendments. Rauner’s message called on stronger FTC enforcement of current federal laws and said the “bill would result in job loss across the state without materially improving privacy protections for Illinoisans.”

Repeating his admonition against unfunded mandates, Rauner also vetoed HB3745 which would require schools to give designated space to ads for free after-school events of student interest.

The Department of Health and Family Services will undergo one less audit with the veto of SB321. The agency is already on schedule for its normal audit, which Rauner advised could be used to further audit the department’s Medicaid Managed Care routines, as requested by the bill. In his message, Rauner added that “requiring a separate audit is expensive, time consuming, and unnecessary.”


SB419 would have allowed downstate firefighters to buy into a pension system’s Tier 1 benefits, and provided for a retroactive cost-of-living adjustment payment as well as retroactive service credits. Rauner’s veto cites the mounting pension problems in downstate systems and adds: “These service credits are instituted without a full and accurate accounting of their cost.”

New Laws

Health


The Home Medical Equipment Service Act will no longer sunset in 2018. Per HB3450, the law has been extended to 2028. A regulation for audiology and speech pathologists, which would have sunset this year, has now been modified and revived under SB771. New requirements are established for specialists who received their credentials outside of the U.S.

Safety-Net Hospitals are now exempt from certain insurance requirements when they do business with the state under SB1833. 


The Department of Labor will create a new system to manage employee misclassifications under SB1978. The system aims to provide public verification of home health employees’ licensure, but will also track investigations into licensed professions across several industries, specifically home health and nursing.

Children’s community-based health care centers must now provide a home-like environment and are limited to no more than 16 children in care at a time, per HB763.


Those who seek state assistance because they are too poor to bury their loved ones, will now be offered the option of instead donating the decedent’s body to the state so it can be used for medical research, per HB3488.

Courts


Under HB622, when a party files an appeal against a decision by the Labor Relations Board, their appeal no longer triggers an automatic stay of the board’s enforcement. Meanwhile, HB690 raises the standard of conduct for employment agencies handling temporary and day laborers, including wage requirements and regularly reporting their statistics to the Department of Labor.

Caseworkers with the Department of Children and Family Services are tasked with more responsibilities under HB2589, which requires caseworkers to attend additional hearings for youths in state custody. The mandate provides no source of funding for additional hires.

The Law Enforcement Sexual Assault Investigation Act, HB270, now requires certain investigators to undergo specific sexual assault training and provides that investigators may not be employed by the same law enforcement agency which employs the subject of their investigation.

A new sliding scale of alimony and maintenance rates have been created under HB2537, which also loosens regulations on a divorcée returning to her maiden name.

The Women’s Division of the Department of Corrections was codified under HB3904, sponsored by Rep. Juliana Stratton (D-Chicago). In his signing statement, Rauner advises that his signature comes with the legislature’s assurance that a trailer bill will follow, removing Senate confirmation requirement for the director of the division. “As the Director is confirmed with the advice and consent of Senate, he or she has been entrusted with leading the Department and should therefore be able to choose a candidate he or she deems fit to oversee the Women’s Division of the Department.”

Environment

Bobcat hunting allowances are increased from last year under HB3399, although limits remain in place in northern regions where bobcat populations have not yet fully recovered to their former levels.

A portion of Delavan Township Park District in Tazwell County is now, under HB2572, allowed to be transferred to the Department of Military Affairs via the Adjutant General.  

Education


SB1290 raises the debt limit for three school districts in the city of LaSalle, and provides a mechanism for an intergovernmental agreement which would allow partial revenues from a tax increment financing district to be used toward the service of the school district’s debt.

Instead of five, schools now have 10 business days to provide parents’ with a copy of their child’s school records, under SB1483. A community college district can now incorporate the district’s number into the name of its board of trustees if it so chooses, per SB1671.

Labor

Changes to federal transportation expenses are enacted under HB2953. Any purchases or projects requiring $40,000 or more of Federal Transportation Authority spending are now subject to public notice and bidding laws.

10 professional licensing and regulatory acts are repealed under SB1821, which enacts a 2020 sunset date. The law also provides some new exceptions for real estate regulations concerning timeshare properties.


People receiving revenue and proceeds from oil or gas products may now have to report more of their income under HB1542. Exceptions exist for trust estates and for those products emerging from coal fields.

 

Although the General Assembly is out of session, there's a busy week of administrative board meetings.

Tuesday, September 26

09:30 a.m. - The Health Facilities and Services Review Board will consider permit approval for a lengthy list of facilities during its 6-hour meeting at the Inn at 835, located at 835 S. 2nd St. in Springfield. Agenda.

10:00 a.m. - The Racing Board will meet in the Thompson Center in Chicago to award racing permits for 2018 and allocate racing dates. Agenda.

2:30 p.m. - The Emergency Services Management Association will hold its monthly meeting via teleconference. No agenda has been released, but interested parties may join the call by dialing 712-432-3066, providing access code 980930#.

Although no time or agenda has been released for the group, The Department of Child and Family Services’ Institutional Review Board will meet in Suite 6-100, the Southwest Conference Room at the Thompson Center in Chicago.

Wednesday, September 27

9:30 a.m. - The Human Rights Commission is slated for several hearings and meetings. Panel D Hearings will be held in the DHS Murdoch Room of the Thompson Center in Chicago. Panel D Agenda. The commission in full will meet at 10:30 a.m. Commission Agenda. Panel C hearings will begin at 11:30 a.m. Panel C Agenda.

10:00 a.m. - The Executive Board of the Illinois Municipal Electric Agency is scheduled to meet, but has not released a location or agenda.

10:00 a.m. - The Legislative Audit Commission will meet in Suite C-600 of the Bilandic Building in Chicago. Audit reviews include the Department of Revenue, Department of the Lottery and the Department of Children and Family Services among others. Agenda.

10:30 a.m. - The Thoroughbred Breeders Fund Advisory Board will meet but has not released an agenda or location. The body normally meets at the Springfield Fairgrounds.

10:30 a.m. - The Illinois Commerce Commission will meet at the State of Illinois Building in Chicago to consider three railway cases. Agenda.

Thursday, September 28

10:00 a.m. - The Illinois Chamber’s Annual Meeting at the Drake Hotel in Chicago will feature keynote speaker Enbridge CEO Al Monaco and awards presented by Nicor Gas. Program.

Friday, September 39

9:00 a.m. - The Housing Development Authority (HDA) will hold three meetings in Suite 1000 at 111 E. Wacker St. in Chicago. The morning begins with the Audit Committee, which has not released its agenda.

10:00 a.m. - The HDA Finance Committee will then meet in the Log Cabin Suite.

11:00 a.m. - The HDA Board of Directors’ meeting concludes the day, although no agenda has been released by the body.  

Every Friday we present some of the more interesting campaign finance information. Unless otherwise stated, reports are from the last seven days.

The statehouse evacuee count continues to rise with the near-daily announcement of incumbent retirements. Meanwhile, shifting demographics in some districts leave key lawmakers fighting to keep their seats. With the arrival of autumn, eyes around the state are scouting for new patches of red.

On the eve of the autumnal equinox, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources released its annual Fall Color Report. Across the state, dry conditions have taken their toll on the season’s showing.

During its most recent audit, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency was found to have $11.8 million worth of uncollected debt gathering dust in its accounts receivable column.

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  Legislative updates are expected today from the Policy Procurement Board, which meets today in the Stratton Building, room 349-C, 401 South Spring Street in Springfield, connected via video to the Thompson Center in Chicago. The group will also review three leases in Springfield and Chicago. Agenda.

  
  

The Illinois Workforce Innovation Board will convene today at Nicor Gas in Napierville for a 4-hour board member retreat, followed by a 2-hour board meeting. Agenda items include a detailed report on increasing demand for truck drivers in the state.

Those seeking a position as the Chief Internal Auditor of the Illinois Department of Military Affairs have until the end of today to apply for the position. The successful applicant will have their work cut out for them.

Wary of encroaching competition from out-of-state universities, the Illinois Board of Higher Education tabled several potential partnerships during its Tuesday meeting at Western Illinois University, and turned its eye toward a potential legislative pushback on the issue for 2018.