Rep. Charlie Meier

Amends the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act. Requires random substance abuse testing for every employee, appointee, and officer in the State. Requires the Department of Central Management Services to develop and implement this testing by rule, including disciplinary measures and compliance. Provides that if an elected official tests positive for substance abuse, he or she shall have his or her compensation withheld until such time as he or she is re-tested and tests negative for substance abuse. Requires the Department of Central Management Services to submit an annual report on the testing program that includes: (1) the number of individuals tested, the substances tested for, and the results of testing;(2) the costs of the testing; and (3) discipline, if any, that had been imposed. Adds corresponding provisions in the Illinois Public Aid Code that apply to recipients of financial aid under the Code. Effective immediately.

Urges the Department of Human Services to maintain staffing levels and provision of resources necessary to maintain all necessary certifications to ensure that residents of the Murray Center continue to receive the high quality of care which has been provided at the facility.

Amends the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Code. Provides that the Department of Human Services shall develop a monitoring program for any client that is discharged from a developmental disability facility under the Admission, Transfer, and Discharge Procedures for the Developmentally Disabled Chapter of the Code to a facility licensed under the Community-Integrated Living Arrangements Licensure and Certification Act. Provides that the program shall include weekly face-to-face visits for the first 8 weeks after discharge with an employee of the Department and monthly face-to-face visits after the first 8 weeks with an employee of the Department for one year after discharge.

Amends the Recreational Trails of Illinois Act. Provides that off-highway vehicles may be operated on any land owned by the off-highway vehicle's owner, regardless of whether the owner resides permanently on that land. Amends the Illinois Vehicle Code. Provides that all-terrain vehicles, off-highway motorcycles, and recreational off-highway vehicles may be operated on county or township roadways for any purpose provided that they meet certain insurance requirements, do not make a direct crossing upon or across any tollroad, interstate highway, or controlled access highway, and obey certain safety restrictions before attempting to cross a State highway, municipal street, county highway, or road district highway. Effective immediately.

Amends the Illinois Income Tax Act. Provides that each taxpayer who qualifies as a young farmer is allowed a credit of $1,000 for the taxable year in which the taxpayer first purchases real property that will be used for agricultural production. Provides that the term "young farmer" means an individual who is 35 years of age or younger and who derives a minimum of 50% of his or her income from farming. Effective immediately.

Amends the Salaries Act. Provides that the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Comptroller, and Treasurer shall not be entitled to receive any salary or financial remuneration from the State, including any reimbursement for travel expenses or per diem, until the State has paid in full all vendor accounts that are past due under the State Prompt Payment Act as of the effective date of the amendatory Act. Amends the General Assembly Compensation Act. Provides that members of the General Assembly shall not be entitled to receive any salary or financial remuneration from the State, including any reimbursement for travel expenses or per diem, until the State has paid in full all vendor accounts that are past due under the State Prompt Payment Act as of the effective date of the amendatory Act. Effective immediately.

Amends the Community Services Act. Provides that the Department of Human Services shall for a 6-month period from the effective date of the amendatory Act observe and track the progress of former residents of the Jacksonville Developmental Center who were removed from that facility after January 1, 2012. Provides that after the 6-month observation and tracking period, the Department of Human Services shall submit a report to the General Assembly that describes: (1) the new venues of care for the former residents of the Jacksonville Developmental Center; (2) costs to the Department of Human Services as a result of the closure of the Jacksonville Developmental Center; (3) cost savings or increases to the Department of Human Services due to the new venues of care for the former residents of the Jacksonville Developmental Center; and (4) the injuries or deaths to former residents of the Jacksonville Developmental Center in their new venues of care. Provides that the report must be submitted to the General Assembly within one year after the effective date of the amendatory Act. Provides that from the effective date of the amendatory Act until 3 months after the filing of the report with the General Assembly, the Department of Human Services may not remove a resident from any State-operated developmental center without the consent of the resident of the center or the guardian of that resident. Effective immediately.

Creates the Executive Officer Prohibited Awards Act. Provides that no executive branch constitutional officer may accept an award presented by an agency, board, or commission under the jurisdiction of that executive branch constitutional officer during his or her term of office. Defines "executive branch constitutional officer" as the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, Comptroller, and Treasurer. Amends the Criminal Code of 2012 to provide that a violation of the Executive Officer Prohibited Awards Act constitutes official misconduct. Effective immediately.

Amends the Community-Integrated Living Arrangements Licensure and Certification Act. Provides that the Department of Public Health (instead of the Department of Human Services) shall be responsible for licensure, investigations, and oversight of Community Integrated Living Arrangements. Authorizes rulemaking for the Department of Public Health (instead of the Department of Human Services). Provides that a license to operate a Community Integrated Living Arrangement shall expire one year (instead of 3 years) after issuance. Provides that if the Department of Public Health receives a complaint, then the Department shall (instead of may) conduct an unannounced visit and an investigation (instead of an investigation). Effective immediately.

Creates the Access to Cemeteries on Private Property Act. Provides that owners of private property on which a cemetery or graves are located have a duty to allow ingress and egress to the cemetery or graves by: (1) family members and descendants of deceased persons buried there; (2) any cemetery plot owner; and (3) any person engaging in genealogy research who has given reasonable notice to the owner of record or to the occupant of the property or both. Provides that a landowner may not erect a wall, fence, or other structure or device that prevents ingress and egress to the cemetery or grave unless the wall, fence, or other structure or device has a gate or other means by which ingress and egress can be accomplished. Provides that the landowner may designate the frequency of the access, the hours and duration of the access, and the access route if no traditional access route is obviously visible by a view of the property. Provides that the landowner, in the absence of gross negligence or willful misconduct, is immune from liability in any civil suit, claim, action, or cause of action arising out of the access granted. Provides that any person entering onto private property to access a gravesite or cemetery is responsible for conducting himself or herself in a manner that does not damage the private lands, the cemetery, or the gravesites and is liable to the owner of the property for any damage caused as a result of his or her access. Provides that a person denied reasonable access may bring an action in the circuit court where the property is located to enjoin the owner of the property from denying the person reasonable ingress and egress to the cemetery or graves. Provides that in granting relief, the court may: (i) set the frequency of the access and the hours and duration of the access; and (ii) award reasonable attorney's fees and costs to the person denied access. Provides that the Act does not apply to any deed or other written instrument that creates or reserves a cemetery or gravesite on private property.