Rep. Kelly Cassidy

Amends the Nurse Practice Act. Provides legislative findings. Provides that a primary goal of the Illinois Nursing Workforce Center is to develop a strategic plan for nursing workforce in the State by selecting priorities to be addressed, including: (1) for license renewals beginning in 2024 and each renewal thereafter, to develop and require the completion of a supply survey of all licensed nurses at initial licensure and each license renewal thereafter; and (2) no later than 2026, to develop a nurse demand and employer survey to be collected biennially.

Creates the Digital Forgeries Act. Provides that an individual depicted in a digital forgery has a cause of action against any person who, without the consent of the depicted individual, knowingly distributes a digital forgery, creates a digital forgery with intent to distribute, or solicits the creation of a digital forgery with the intent to distribute: (1) in order to harass, extort, threaten, or cause physical, emotional, reputational, or economic harm to an individual falsely depicted; (2) with reckless disregard for whether such a creation, distribution, reproduction, or manipulation will cause physical, emotional, reputational, or economic harm to an individual falsely depicted; or (3) in order to incite violence or interfere with an official proceeding. Allows a prevailing plaintiff to be awarded damages, costs, and additional relief. Allows the court to grant injunctive relief maintaining the confidentiality of a plaintiff using a pseudonym.

Amends the State Employment Records Act. Provides that State agencies when collecting and reporting data on employment records must include specified data on persons who identify as non-binary or gender non-conforming. Effective July 1, 2025.

Amends the Illinois Human Rights Commission Article of the Illinois Human Rights Act. Removes language providing that: the Governor shall appoint a special temporary panel of commissioners comprised of 3 members; the members shall hold office until the Human Rights Commission determines that the caseload of requests for review has been reduced sufficiently to allow cases to proceed in a timely manner, or for a term of 18 months from the date of appointment by the Governor, whichever is earlier; each of the 3 members shall have only such rights and powers of a commissioner necessary to dispose of the cases assigned to the special panel; each of the 3 members appointed to the special panel shall receive the same salary as other commissioners for the duration of the panel; and the panel shall have the authority to hire and supervise a staff attorney who shall report to the panel of commissioners. Requires the Commission to appoint at the expense of the Commission a qualified interpreter (rather than a qualified sign language interpreter) whenever a hearing impaired individual or an individual who lacks proficiency in the English language is a party or witness in proceedings before the Commission (rather than at a public hearing).

Amends the Unified Code of Corrections. Includes time served in a county jail as part of the minimum of 60 days of the sentence that must be served before the Director of Corrections may award discretionary earned sentence credit.

Amends the Environmental Protection Act. Provides that incidental sales of finished compost do not need to be applied to agronomic rates in determining whether a person needs a permit to conduct a landscape waste composting operation at specified sites. Removes a provision requiring that no fee is charged for the acceptance of materials to be composted in order for a site having 10 or more occupied non-farm residences within 1/2 mile of its boundaries to be excepted from permit requirements.

Amends the Illinois Identification Card Act and the Unified Code of Corrections. Provides that the Department of Corrections or the Department of Juvenile Justice shall provide information to the Secretary of State of persons in its custody who will be discharged no later than 45 days after the submission of the identifying information in the mittimus to the Secretary of State. Provides that the Secretary of State shall issue a standard Illinois Identification Card in the name of the committed person who is to be discharged one week before the committed person's scheduled date of discharge. Provides that one week before the scheduled discharge of the committed person, the Department shall furnish the person with the standard Illinois Identification Card. Provides that neither the Secretary of State nor the Department shall charge a fee to the committed person for issuance of the Card.

Amends the Use Tax Act, the Service Use Tax Act, the Service Occupation Tax Act, and the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act. Creates an exemption for property that is sold to an active duty member of the armed forces of the United States who presents valid military identification and purchases the property using a form of payment where the federal government is the payor.

Amends the Prevailing Wage Act. Provides that the definition of "public works" includes power washing projects in which steam or pressurized water, with or without added abrasives or chemicals, is used to remove paint or other coatings, oils or grease, corrosion, or debris from a surface or to prepare a surface for a coating.

Amends the Community-Law Enforcement and Other First Responder Partnership for Deflection and Substance Use Disorder Treatment Act. Changes the Act name to the Community Partnership for Deflection and Substance Use Disorder Treatment Act. Modifies and adds definitions. Provides that A law enforcement agency, other first responder entity, or local government agency (rather than only a law enforcement agency or other first responder entity) may establish a deflection program in partnership with one or more licensed providers of substance use disorder treatment services and one or more community members or organizations. Provides that a deflection program may involve a pre-arrest diversion response and proactive identification of persons thought likely to have an untreated or undiagnosed mental illness. Provides that a local deflection program shall also include case management and restorative justice aspects. Provides that a deflection program may accept, receive, and disburse, in furtherance of its duties and functions, any funds, grants, and services made available by the State and its agencies, the federal government and its agencies, units of local government, and private or civic sources. Provides that activities eligible for funding under the Act include naloxone and related harm reduction supplies (rather than related supplies) necessary for carrying out overdose prevention and reversal (rather than overdose reversal) for purposes of distribution to program participants or for use by law enforcement, other first responders, or local governmental agencies and wraparound participant funds to be used to incentivize participation and meet participant needs. Provides that the Legislative Reference Bureau shall reassign the Act in the Illinois Compiled Statutes (to reflect the addition of local government agencies to the Act).