Amends the Firearm Owners Identification Card Act. Provides that a Firearm Owner's Identification Card is valid for a period of 10 (rather than 5) years from the date of issuance.
Creates the Tuition Increase Limitation Act. Beginning with the 2003-2004 academic year, prohibits a tuition rate increase at a public university that is greater than the lesser of (i) 5% of the tuition rate for the preceding academic year or (ii) the product of the tuition rate for the preceding academic year multiplied by the rate of inflation for the calendar year in which that academic year began. Effective immediately.
Creates the Motor Fuel Fair Marketing Practices Act. Provides protection against predatory pricing and fuel price gouging in the retail motor fuel industry. Prohibits the sale of motor fuel below the point that the retailer earns a 6% gross margin on the pump price, unless the retailer can demonstrate that the motor fuel was not sold below cost. Prohibits the sale of motor fuel, following times of national disaster or State emergency, that is above the point that the retailer earns a gross margin on the price of 6% plus 19 cents per gallon above the retailer's actual costs of selling motor fuel. Prohibits government subsidies for the development of motor fuel facilities and facilities with motor fuel when the facilities are in the same market area as existing motor fuel facilities. Establishes the Motor Fuel Cost Review Board. Provides for a complaint handling process, permitting the Department of Revenue or the Attorney General to investigate and take action against retailers of motor fuel engaged in violations of fuel price gouging and for repeated offenses of below cost selling. Provides for a private right of action between retailers. Provides that persons engaged in commerce with the State who sell or offer to sell motor fuel shall maintain records accurately indicating the date and the time of day of each change in the sale price of motor fuel and the identity of the person who recorded the price change. Provides that the Illinois Department of Revenue shall have certain powers and duties to investigate and enforce the provisions of the Act. Provides that information obtained by the Department of Revenue, the Attorney General, or the State's Attorney in the course of an investigation under the Act, including information from a person who responds to the investigation and designates the information as confidential, must be maintained as confidential until the investigation is completed and a course of action is determined.
Amends the Downstate Teachers Article of the Illinois Pension Code. Extends the deadline for application for early retirement without discount from June 30, 2005 to June 30, 2010; also reduces the required contribution for some members. Amends the State Mandates Act to require implementation without reimbursement. Effective immediately.
Amends the Statute on Statutes. Defines "born-alive infant" to include every infant member of the species homo sapiens who is born alive at any stage of development. Defines "born alive" to mean the complete expulsion or extraction from the mother of an infant, at any stage of development, who after that expulsion or extraction breathes or has a beating heart, pulsation of the umbilical cord, or definite movement of voluntary muscles, regardless of whether the umbilical cord has been cut and regardless of whether the expulsion or extraction occurs as a result of natural or induced labor, cesarean section, or induced abortion. Provides that a live child born as a result of an abortion shall be fully recognized as a human person and accorded immediate protection under the law. Effective immediately.
Amends the Property Tax Code. Creates a homestead improvement exemption for the installation and maintenance of a residential fire safety sprinkler system. Provides that homestead properties that have been improved with a fire safety sprinkler system after January 1, 2004 are entitled to a fire safety sprinkler homestead improvement exemption, limited to $2,500 or the actual cost of installation, whichever is less, for the year that the system is installed, and $100 each year thereafter that the system remains in place, when that property is owned and used exclusively for a residential purpose. Further amends the Property Tax Code and the Criminal Code of 1961 to add cross-references. Amends the State Mandates Act to require implementation without reimbursement from the State. Effective immediately.
Amends the Illinois Vehicle Code. Provides that a person with a valid driver's license may operate an all-terrain vehicle or off-highway motorcycle on a county, township, or road district highway in an unincorporated area outside an urban district.
Appropriates $175,000 to the State Board of Education for non-public school recognition. Effective January 1, 2004.
Creates the Illinois Opportunity Fund Act. Contains provisions intended to increase the availability and facilitate the delivery of institutional venture capital to emerging and expanding enterprises in the State of Illinois. Defines the role of the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. Creates the Illinois Opportunity Fund and provides for the creation of the Illinois Capital Investment Corporation. Amends the State Finance Act to create the Illinois Opportunity Special Projects Fund. Amends the Illinois State Auditing Act to authorize audits of the Corporation and the Fund. Contains other provisions. Effective immediately.
Amends the Unified Code of Corrections. Requires the Department of Corrections to develop and implement at Grayville Prison a 6-year pilot project of faith-based prisoner rehabilitation classes.
