Amends the Code of Civil Procedure. Provides that all actions shall be tried in the county in which they are commenced, unless a statute specifically requires transfer to a different county (rather than except as otherwise provided by law). Abolishes the doctrine of intrastate forum non conveniens.
Amends the Invest in Kids Act. Provides that a qualified school that accepts scholarship students must comply with: all provisions of federal and State laws and rules applicable to public schools pertaining to special education and the instruction of English learners and certain provisions of the School Code concerning charter schools; provisions of the Illinois Humans Rights Act; and specific provisions of the School Code. Effective Immediately.
Amends the Use Tax Act, the Service Use Tax Act, the Service Occupation Tax Act, and the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act. Provides that, beginning on July 1, 2020, breast pumps, breast pump collection and storage supplies, and breast pump kits are exempt from the taxes imposed under those Acts. Effective immediately.
Creates the Prior Authorization Reform Act. Provides requirements concerning disclosure and review of prior authorization requirements, denial of claims or coverage by a utilization review program, and the implementation of prior authorization requirements or restrictions. Provides requirements concerning a utilization review program's obligations with respect to prior authorizations in nonurgent circumstances, urgent health care services, and emergency health care services. Provides that a utilization review program shall not require prior authorization under specified circumstances. Provides requirements concerning the length of prior authorizations. Provides that health care services are automatically deemed authorized if a utilization review program fails to comply with the requirements of the Act. Provides that the Director of Insurance may impose an administrative fine not to exceed $250,000 for violations of the Act. Defines terms. Amends the Managed Care Reform and Patient Rights Act to provide that an insurer that provides prescription drug benefits must comply with the requirements of the Prior Authorization Reform Act. Provides that if prior authorization for covered post-stabilization services is required by a health care plan, the plan shall comply with the requirements of the Prior Authorization Reform Act. Amends the Illinois Public Aid Code to provide that all managed care organizations shall comply with the requirements of the Prior Authorization Reform Act. Makes other changes. Effective January 1, 2021.
Amends the Illinois Municipal Code. Provides that the Chicago Fire Department Joint Labor Management Committee is created with the Fire Commissioner of the City of Chicago as a member along with 7 members appointed to the Committee by the Fire Commissioner. Provides that the Committee may establish minimum guidelines and standards for: (1) all personal protective equipment for the Chicago Fire Department; and (2) the qualifications possessed by members of the Chicago Fire Department who are temporarily appointed by the Fire Commissioner having direct supervisory authority over sworn firefighters, paramedics, or emergency medical technicians of the Chicago Fire Department, including employment diversity goals that reflect the diversity of the City of Chicago. Provides that the guidelines and standards approved by the Committee are binding on the Chicago Fire Department except to the extent the guidelines or standards conflict with a collective bargaining agreement. Limits home rule powers. Effective immediately.
Amends the Title Insurance Act. In provisions concerning choice of title insurance company, provides that it is the public policy of the State that parties to a contract for the sale of residential real property who are obligated to pay for certain products and services related to title insurance (rather than title insurance) have the right to also choose the independent escrowee that will provide those products and services. Makes conforming changes. Provides that for a county with a population not less than 500,000, a transaction for the sale and purchase or residential real property, the title insurance company issuing the owner's title insurance policy shall issue the lender's title insurance policy for that transaction if the policy is required by the lender. Provides an exception to that if the buyer and seller agree otherwise or the buyer or seller is offered a discount of fees as an inducement to split the title insurance policies, unless the title insurance company issuing the owner's policy agrees to offer the same discount of fees.
Amends the Change of Name Article of the Code of Civil Procedure. Replaces existing language prohibiting persons with certain criminal convictions from petitioning for a name change with language providing that: a person who has been convicted of any offense for which a person is required to register under the Sex Offender Registration Act, the Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Registration Act, or the Arsonist Registration Act and who has not been pardoned is not permitted to file a petition for a name change during the period that the person is required to register, unless that person verifies under oath that the petition for the name change is due to marriage, transgender status, religious beliefs, or status as a victim of trafficking; and a person who has been convicted of a felony and whose sentence has not been completed or discharged is not permitted to file a petition for a name change in the courts of this State unless that person is pardoned for the offense. Provides that a person will not face a felony charge if the person's request for legal name change is denied without proof of perjury. Requires a warning to appear on a name change petition describing the penalties for seeking a prohibited name change. Makes various changes to the criteria for objections by a State's Attorney to a name change petition. Provides that a court may order that the record of the name change proceeding be designated confidential and waive the publication requirement if the court finds good cause for entering the order. Makes other changes. Makes conforming changes in the Arsonist Registration Act, the Sex Offender Registration Act, and the Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Registration Act.
Amends the Legal Business Solicitation Act. Provides that it is unlawful (a Class B misdemeanor) for an attorney, or person acting on behalf of the attorney, to make a false or deceptive statement concerning the existence of a settlement fund to a resident of the State or regarding a legal matter pending now or in the future before a court if such a statement was made for the purpose of inducing a person to enter into a contract of employment with an attorney to represent the person in the legal matter. Provides that if a contract of employment with an attorney was obtained before the effective date of the Act, the legal matter has not been resolved, and the contract was entered into in violation of the Act, the attorney shall: inform the client that the attorney had previously made a false or deceptive statement regarding the existence of a settlement fund or payments to a resident of the State or regarding a legal matter pending now or in the future before a court in the State; and obtain the written consent of the client to allow the attorney to continue to represent the client in the pending legal matter.
Amends the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act. Provides that upon completion of an affidavit provided by the county clerk, a person, still currently married, may request a certificate of the person's current marriage free of any gender identifying language. Provides that the request shall not permanently change the gender identifying language in the clerk's records, and the affidavit and issuance shall be kept in the permanent records of the clerk. Provides that if 2 parties currently married request a certificate of marriage with gender identifiers changed, both parties shall appear before the clerk, indicate consent, and complete an affidavit. Provides that if a county provides a certified record, photocopy, or reproduction of an original license in lieu of a summary data sheet, the county clerk shall work with the Department of Public Health to develop a new certificate that can be issued in lieu of a reproduction of the prior record. Provides that when a clerk issues a nongendered certificate of marriage, the certificate shall not include any language indicating it has been amended nor that it is not a true and accurate record of the facts stated therein.
Amends the Illinois Sexually Transmissible Disease Control Act. Provides that a health care professional who makes a clinical diagnosis of trichomoniasis may prescribe, dispense, furnish, or otherwise provide prescription antibiotic drugs to the infected person's sexual partner or partners for the treatment of the sexually transmissible disease without physical examination of the partner or partners, if in the judgment of the health care professional the partner is unlikely or unable to present for comprehensive healthcare, including evaluation, testing, and treatment for sexually transmissible diseases.
