Rep. Kevin Olickal

Amends the Medical Assistance Article of the Illinois Public Aid Code. Provides that the Department of Healthcare and Family Services must incorporate minimum standards governing behavioral health pre-payment and post-payment reviews into MCO contracts effective for all services covered on and after January 1, 2027. Requires the Department to develop or adopt behavioral health-specific pre-payment and post-payment review guidelines and incorporate such guidelines by reference into MCO contracts. Provides that the Department-issued guidelines must: (1) define the documentation and clearly specify the discrete data elements that may be requested prior to and during a pre-payment or post-payment review, and applicable response timeframes, ensuring that all requests are specific, reasonable, and directly tied to the review objectives; (2) identify regulatory, statutory, and contractual standards applicable to behavioral health services; (3) establish uniform evaluation criteria and checklists; and (4) be publicly available and updated as necessary. Contains provisions on MCO contracts and required contract terms; pre-payment and post-payment review processes and notice requirements; timeframes for providers to respond to a documentation request; communication protocols; contract transparency and extrapolation from a statistical sampling of claims; the timeliness and closure of claims reviews; submission methods; reviewer qualifications; and enforcement. Effective immediately.

Creates the Distressed Farmers Act. Provides that the Department of Agriculture shall fund and administer programs to address the needs of distressed farmers. Amends The Illinois Income Tax Act. Provides that for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2026, each taxpayer who is a distressed farmer and who incurs qualified farming expenses during the taxable year is entitled to a tax credit in an amount equal to 100% of those qualified farming expenses, not to exceed $50,000 per taxpayer in any taxable year. Provides that qualified farming expenses include: (1) repairing tractors, trailers, and other vehicles; (2) purchasing, repairing, or constructing greenhouses and other covers for agricultural products; (3) purchasing tractors with tillers and other attachments; and (4) planting or harvesting food that will be delivered to an underserved community.

Amends the Criminal Code of 2012 and the Unified Code of Corrections. Eliminates felony murder as an element of first degree murder. Creates felony murder as a separate class of felony. Provides that a person commits felony murder when he or she, acting alone or with one or more participants, commits or attempts to commit a forcible felony, other than second degree murder, and in the course of or in furtherance of that crime or flight from that crime, he or she or another participant causes the death of a person, other than one of the participants. Provides that the sentence of imprisonment for felony murder shall be a determinate sentence of not less than 8 years and not more than 40 year, subject to the parole review provisions for persons who committed the offense when under 21 years of age. Provides that an extended term sentence for felony murder shall be not less than 16 years and not more than 80 years. Amends various Acts to make conforming changes.

Creates the Comprehensive Charitable Food System Coordination Act. Provides that, in administering or appropriating State or State-managed federal grant funds for hunger relief, each State agency must: (1) consult and coordinate with specified actors in the charitable food system; (2) ensure that grant solicitations and funding criteria reflect the interconnected roles of food providers, distributors, producers, facilitators, and data systems; and (3) consider proposals that strengthen coordination, efficiency, resiliency, and equity across the charitable food system. Provides that State agencies are encouraged to establish advisory groups or working groups comprised of actors in the charitable food system. Requires certain reports. Amends the Department of Human Services Act. Provides that the Department of Human Services shall make grants from the Hunger Relief Fund to food banks and providers (currently, food banks only). Effective July 1, 2026.

Amends the Construction Site Temporary Restroom Facility Act. Changes the Act's short title to the Construction Site Temporary Restroom Facility and Sanitary Conditions for Menstruation and Lactation Act. Repeals a provision which specifies that separate toileting facilities are not required for males and females if individual portable toilet facilities are used by an owner of a portable building or building under construction to provide access to a restroom. Provides that, if a woman or an individual who menstruates is present on a work site and there are 10 or more workers of any gender at the work site, then a separate toilet facility shall be provided at the work site and designated for use by women and individuals who menstruate. Requires employers in the construction industry to provide their workers who menstruate and are performing construction activities on a work site with minimum sanitary conditions. Describes the required minimum sanitary conditions. Requires employers in the construction industry, upon request, to provide their workers who are lactating and performing construction activities on a work site with reasonable accommodations needed to express breast milk. Describes reasonable accommodations for lactation. Provides that, on or before January 1, 2027, the Department of Public Health shall provide guidance to employers on the accommodations to be provided. Authorizes employees of construction sites to call the certified local public health agency with jurisdiction over a construction site to request an inspection if noncompliance with the Act is suspected. Prohibits retaliation by employers if a call is made by an employee on a construction site for suspected noncompliance with the Act. Provides that any owner who fails or refuses to comply with the provisions of the Act commits a petty offense and is subject to a fine to be determined by the certified local public health agency (rather than only being subject to a petty offense). Defines "employer". Effective immediately.

Creates the Climate Change Superfund Act. Creates the Illinois Climate Change Superfund as a special fund in the State treasury. Requires at least 40% of the Fund to be spent on projects that directly benefit disadvantaged communities facing climate change impacts. Directs the Environmental Protection Agency to adopt rules within one year, including regarding the apportionment of liability for climate change for payments into the Fund by responsible parties, regarding qualifying expenditures from the Fund, and regarding an Illinois Climate Change Superfund Program. Requires the Agency to establish procedures to challenge its determinations of liability for climate change and provides for judicial review under the Administrative Review Law. Makes findings. Defines terms. Provides that the Act is severable. Makes conforming changes to the State Finance Act.

Provides that the Act may be referred to as the Safe Place to Go Act. Amends the Medical Assistance Article of the Illinois Public Aid Code. Requires the Department of Healthcare and Family Services, in collaboration with the Department of Human Services' Division of Behavioral Health and Recovery, to apply for a Medicaid State Plan amendment or federal waiver within 12 months after the effective date of the amendatory Act to draw federal financial participation for crisis triage and stabilization services provided by behavioral health urgent care centers to support adults or children 5 years of age and older who are in an active mental health crisis and adults 18 years of age and older in a substance use crisis. Sets forth the services provided by behavioral health urgent care centers that shall be covered, including, but not limited to, crisis triage services, crisis stabilization services, and medication monitoring. Contains provisions concerning the use of the Illinois Mental Health Crisis Assessment Tool to determine an individual's eligibility or medical need for crisis stabilization services; telehealth and on-site services; safe sobering services; linkages to enable rapid transition to next level of care; length of stay; the development of a single bundle rate for crisis triage services and 2 separate per diem reimbursement rates for crisis stabilization services and safe sobering services; no prior authorization requirements; and the establishment of a working group to provide meaningful input on the establishment, operations, staffing, and financing of behavioral health urgent care centers. Requires the Department to adopt rules within 6 months after federal approval of its State Plan amendment or federal waiver application, if granted. Effective immediately.

Amends the Newborn Metabolic Screening Act. Changes the short title of the Act to the Newborn Screening Act. Specifies that, for purposes of the Act, hearing disorders are a genetic, metabolic, or congenital anomaly for which newborns must be screened. Provides that, beginning July 1, 2026, the base fee for newborn screening services shall be $165. Provides that 22% of the base fee must be allocated to the Department of Public Health for the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Program. Provides that other State and federal funds for expenses related to metabolic, hearing, or congenital disorder screening, follow-up, and treatment programs (rather than only metabolic screening, follow-up, and treatment programs) may also be placed in the Metabolic Screening and Treatment Fund. In provisions concerning the temporary testing of all blood and biological specimens, excludes hearing screenings. Makes conforming and technical changes to the title of the Act, the Department of Public Health Powers and Duties Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois, the Illinois Procurement Code, the Illinois Public Aid Code, and the Genetic Information Privacy Act. Effective immediately.

Amends the Hospital Licensing Act. Requires hospitals licensed under the Act to employ and schedule enough hospital workers to provide quality patient care and ensure patient safety. Establishes requirements concerning the reporting of staffing metrics for hospitals and the Department of Public Health. Sets forth provisions concerning competency validation credentials for each hospital worker hired; assignment despite objection forms and procedures; and an assignment despite objection resolution process. Provides that a hospital may not assign a certified nursing assistant or patient care technician to more than 7 patients at a time during a day or evening shift or more than 11 patients at a time during a night shift. Sets forth provisions concerning direct-care registered nurse-to-patient staffing ratios and deviations from the ratio; complaint procedures; the Department's duties concerning complaints; meal and rest periods; investigations for violating staffing requirements; penalties and violations; recordkeeping requirements of a hospital; and rulemaking by the Department.

Amends the Illinois Police Training Act. Provides that the Illinois Law Enforcement Training Standards Board shall conduct or approve a training program in the identification of human remains for law enforcement officers employed by local law enforcement agencies. Amends the Missing Persons Identification Act. Provides that, if human remains are identified, then the assisting law enforcement agency shall provide all known aliases associated with the deceased person to the coroner or medical examiner.