Creates the Firearms Dealer Licensing Act. Requires a person who engages in the business of selling or transferring firearms to be licensed by the Department of State Police. Establishes qualifications for licenses. Provides that it is a Class 4 felony to engage in the business of selling or transferring firearms without a license. Requires a licensed firearms dealer who sells or transfers a firearm to a person who is not a licensed dealer to report that sale or transfer to the Department of State Police.
Congratulates Mark O'Brien on his retirement after many years of dedicated service to the Illinois House of Representatives.
Amends the Property Tax Code. Provides that, in counties with 3,000,000 or more inhabitants, beginning with assessments made for the 1997 assessment year and ending with assessments made for the 2002 assessment year, in addition to the appeals for residential property of 6 units or less, the Property Tax Appeal Board shall hear appeals for all other property (now, there is no end date for when PTAB will hear appeals for property other than residential property of 6 units or less). Effective immediately.
Amends various Acts relating to the governance of the public universities in Illinois. For tuition purposes, requires an individual who is not a citizen or permanent resident of the United States to be classified as an Illinois resident if the individual graduated from a high school in this State, among other conditions. Provides that certain aliens must be given the same privilege of qualifying for resident status for tuition and fee purposes as a citizen of the United States. Provides that an individual who was formerly a resident of this State is entitled to pay tuition at the rate provided for Illinois residents if the parent with whom the individual does not primarily reside continues to reside in this State, among other conditions. Effective immediately.
Amends the Illinois Vehicle Code. Provides that the removal of a false or secret compartment from a motor vehicle, or the promise to do so, shall not be the basis for a defense to forfeiture of the motor vehicle under the Criminal Code of 1961 and shall not be the basis for the court to release the vehicle to the owner. Increases the penalty for owning or operating a motor vehicle with the knowledge that it contains a false or secret compartment from a Class C misdemeanor to a Class 4 felony.
Requests that the Attorney General provide an opinion interpreting Section 1 of Article X of the Illinois Constitution regarding public school funding.
Directs the State Board of Education and the Department of Human Services to extend the duration of the Illinois After-school Initiative, to be renamed the Illinois After-school Partnership, until 2006.
Amends the Illinois Vehicle Code. Prohibits the use by the driver of a commercial vehicle of an engine braking system that emits excessive noise. Provides that the prohibition applies only where signs have been erected to prohibit the use of these engine braking systems. Provides that the Secretary of State's shall adopt rules providing for the erection of these signs.
Creates the Equal Pay Act of 2003. Provides that no employer may discriminate between employees on the basis of sex by paying wages solely on the basis of the employee's gender. Prohibits retaliatory discharge or discrimination against an employee on the basis of the employee's use of the Act and provides for penalties for violations of the Act, including a Class B misdemeanor for retaliatory discharge or discrimination by the employer. Provides that the Director of Labor shall administer and enforce the Act. Provides that every employer subject to the Act shall preserve specified records for not less than 3 years. Provides that every employer covered by the Act shall post a notice summarizing the requirements of the Act. Provides that the Department of Labor shall conduct ongoing outreach and education efforts concerning the Act.
Urges President George W. Bush and the United States Congress to award immediate United States citizenship to every man and woman serving in the Armed Forces in the Persian Gulf and to take steps necessary to award United States citizenship to every man and woman upon their favorable discharge from the Armed Forces.
Amends the Public Utilities Act. Adds a caption and makes technical changes to the short title Section of the Telecommunications Article.
Declares particular rights for senior citizens.
