Rep. Katie Stuart

Amends the Election Code. Provides that the requirements to change a candidate's name do not apply to name changes resulting from a civil union to assume a spouse's surname or dissolution of a civil union or declaration of invalidity of a civil union to assume a former surname or a name change that conforms the candidate's name to his or her gender identity. Makes conforming changes throughout the Code. Effective immediately.

Amends the Mental Health Early Action on Campus Act. Provides that the General Assembly shall appropriate $19,000,000 in Fiscal Year 2023 for the purposes of this Act. Provides that the funds shall be distributed to the public colleges and universities according to the recommendations of a specified report of the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability. Provides that the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability, in conjunction with the Illinois Community College Board and the Board of Higher Education, must make recommendations to the General Assembly on the amounts necessary to implement this Act for Fiscal Years 2024 through 2027, and may make such recommendations for Fiscal Years thereafter. Deletes provisions making the Act subject to appropriation. Effective July 1, 2022.

Amends the Illinois Income Tax Act. Extends the income tax credit for certain hospitals through taxable years ending on or before December 31, 2027 (currently, December 31, 2022). Amends the Use Tax Act, the Service Use Tax Act, the Service Occupation Tax Act, and the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act. Provides that the credit for personal property sold to or used by certain hospitals is exempt from the Acts' automatic sunset provisions. Effective immediately.

Creates the Addressing the Illinois Teacher Shortage Task Force whose purpose is the following: (1) to obtain and analyze data on the teacher shortage, including how the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the shortage, (2) to audit Illinois' teacher licensure laws and rules to determine if any laws or rules are an impediment to quality teachers joining the classroom, (3) to study and review required examinations for student teachers as well as professional development requirements for existing teachers, and (4) to provide recommendations on how to address the teacher shortage by removing impediments in current laws and rules.

Amends the Loan Repayment Assistance for Physicians Act. To address the shortage of obstetrical services in rural communities, provides that a physician who provides obstetrical care and works at a privately owned rural health clinic in this State may qualify for assistance under the Act if all other established criteria are met. Effective immediately.

Amends the School Code. Makes changes concerning sex education, including changing the name to sexual health and changing course requirements. Makes changes concerning family life course requirements. Amends the Critical Health Problems and Comprehensive Health Education Act to make changes concerning the educational areas a comprehensive health education program must include. Effective immediately. House Floor Amendment No. 1 Replaces everything after the enacting clause. Reinserts the contents of the bill with the following changes. With respect to the sexual health education provisions, makes changes to the definitions of "comprehensive", "identity", "personal safety", "pregnancy and reproduction", and "unintended pregnancy". Removes provisions limiting sexual health education criteria to grades 6 through 12. By August 1, 2022, requires the State Board of Education, in consultation with others, to develop and adopt rigorous learning standards in the area of sexual health education; sets forth other requirements. Makes changes to sexual health education course material and instruction and reporting requirements. Makes changes concerning the topics required to be included in a family life course and the Comprehensive Health Education Program. Makes other changes. Effective immediately. State Mandates Fiscal Note, House Floor Amendment No. 1 (Dept. of Commerce & Economic Opportunity) This bill does not create a State Mandate.

Recognizes the victims of the December 10, 2021 storms and honors their memories. Urges the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to thoroughly conduct their investigation into the Edwardsville Amazon warehouse to ensure that proper safety protocols were followed before and during the severe weather event, that the warehouse was built to code and offered proper storm shelter for employees, and that OSHA and the other proper authorities can immediately implement proper protocols where needed. Urges Amazon to review their personnel policies to compensate workers that lost income due to the severe weather event, as well as the families of those who lost their loved ones and those who were injured.

Amends the Illinois Power Agency Act. In provisions concerning the renewable portfolio standards, specifies the goals for procurement of renewable energy credits and cost-effective renewable energy resources that shall be included in the long-term renewable resources procurement plan and makes other changes concerning these procurements and provides for the calculation of the cost of equity for the purposes of recovering all reasonable and prudently incurred costs of energy efficiency measures from retail customers. Provides that savings of fuels other than electricity achieved by measures that educate about, incentivize, encourage, or otherwise support the use of electricity to power vehicles shall count towards the applicable annual incremental goal and shall not be included in determining certain limits. Amends the Public Utilities Act. Provides that an electric utility that serves less than 3,000,000 retail customers but more than 500,000 customers in this State may plan for, construct, install, control, own, manage, or operate photovoltaic electricity production facilities and any energy storage facilities that are planned for, constructed, installed, controlled, owned, managed, or operated in connection with photovoltaic electricity production facilities without obtaining a certificate of public convenience and necessity subject to specified terms and conditions. Provides that a public utility that provided electric service to at least 1,000,000 retail customers in Illinois and gas service to at least 500,000 retail customers in Illinois may elect to recover its natural gas delivery services costs through a performance-based rate. Provides that, beginning in 2022, without obtaining any approvals from the Commission or any other agency, regardless of whether any such approval would otherwise be required, a participating utility that is a combination utility shall pay $1,000,000 per year for 10 years to the energy low-income and support program. Adds provisions authorizing certain utilities to plan for, construct, install, control, own, manage, or operate electric vehicle charging infrastructure. Amends the Prevailing Wage Act to include specified facilities financed in whole or in part with renewable energy resources in the definition of "public works". Makes other changes. Effective immediately.

Creates the Rebuild Illinois Mental Health Workforce Act. Provides that the purpose of the Act is to preserve and expand access to Medicaid community mental health care in Illinois to prevent unnecessary hospitalizations and avoid the criminalization of mental health conditions. Establishes add-on payments for the following community mental health services to be paid beginning with State Fiscal Year 2023 and continuing for each State fiscal year thereafter: individual therapy services; community support-individual services; case management services; and assertive community treatment services. Requires monthly directed payments to community mental health providers of community support team services or assertive community treatment services. Provides that such directed payments shall be based on the number of Medicaid users, as defined, who receive services from the provider in the base year. Provides that the add-on payments established under the Act shall apply to Medicaid services provided by a contracted managed care organization or entity and services paid for directly by the Department of Healthcare and Family Services. Provides that no base Medicaid rate or Medicaid rate add-on payment or any other payment for the provision of Medicaid community mental health services in place on July 1, 2021 shall be diminished or changed to make the reimbursement changes required under the Act. Requires the Department to apply for federal approval to implement the Act. Provides that implementation of the add-on payments is conditioned on the receipt of federal financial participation for such payments. Effective immediately.

Amends the Illinois Insurance Code. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning the purpose of the Article regarding nonprofit risk organizations. House Floor Amendment No. 1 Deletes reference to: 215 ILCS 5/123D-1 Adds reference to: New Act 30 ILCS 105/5.970 new Replaces everything after the enacting clause. Creates the Prescription Drug Affordability Act. Defines terms. Establishes the Prescription Drug Affordability Board and provides that the Board's purpose is to protect State residents, State and local governments, commercial health plans, health care providers, pharmacies licensed in the State, and other stakeholders within the health care system from the high costs of prescription drug products. Contains other provisions about the Board, including: members of the Board; conflicts of interest; terms of members; the hiring of an executive director, general counsel, and staff for the Board; staff salary; meetings of the Board; and powers and duties of the Board. Creates the Prescription Drug Affordability Stakeholder Council with the purpose to provide stakeholder input to assist the Prescription Drug Affordability Board in making decisions as required under the Act. Contains other provisions about the Council, including: members of the Council; terms of members; and reimbursement of member travel expenses. Provides that the Board shall identify specified prescription drug products and determine whether each prescription drug product should be subject to a cost review. Provides that if the Board finds that spending on a prescription drug product has led or will lead to an affordability challenge, the Board shall establish an upper payment limit after considering: (i) the cost of administering the drug; (ii) the cost of delivering the drug to consumers; and (iii) other relevant administrative costs related to the drug. Includes provisions regarding remedies and an appeal process. Creates the Prescription Drug Affordability Fund to be used only to provide funding for the Board and for the purposes authorized under the Act. Provides that the Board shall submit a report to the General Assembly including specified information. Provides that the Board shall conduct a study of the operation of the generic drug market that includes specified information on or before June 1, 2023. Includes a provision on term expiration for Board and Council members. Makes conforming changes in the State Finance Act. Effective January 1, 2023.