Rep. Theresa Mah

Amends the Property Tax Code. Provides that each county treasurer in a county with 3,000,000 or more inhabitants shall operate an installment payment program to allow delinquent property taxes due from current and prior years to be paid in monthly installments. Provides that the taxpayer must enter into the installment payment agreement before the date of the annual tax sale at which the delinquent taxes are sold. Effective immediately.

Amends the Smoke Free Illinois Act. Defines "electronic smoking device". Changes the definition of "retail tobacco store" to include references to "electronic smoking devices". Provides that "smoke" or "smoking" includes the use of an electronic smoking device.

Creates the Transportation Benefits Program Act. Requires all covered employers to provide a program that allows a covered employee to elect to exclude from taxable wages and compensation the employee's commuting costs incurred for the purchase of a transit pass to use public transit or for the purchase of qualified parking, up to a maximum level allowed by federal tax law. Provides that all transit agencies shall market the existence of this program and the Act to their riders in order to inform affected employees and their employers. Provides that nothing in the Act shall be deemed to interfere with, impede, or in any way diminish the right of employees to bargain collectively with their employers or affect the validity or change the terms of bona fide collective bargaining agreements in force on the effective date of the Act. Defines terms. Effective January 1, 2024.

Amends the Criminal Code of 2012. In the statute concerning abuse or criminal neglect of a long term care facility resident, changes references to "an elderly person's or person with a disability's life" to references to "a resident's life". In the statute concerning financial exploitation of an elderly person or a person with a disability, provides that a person who violates the provisions is guilty of a Class 1 felony if the elderly person is 70 years of age or older (instead of "over 70 years of age") and the value of the property is $15,000 or more.

Amends the Administration Article of the Illinois Public Aid Code. Requires the Department of Human Services to track and collect data on the scope and frequency of SNAP benefits fraud in Illinois where a SNAP recipient's benefits are stolen from the recipient's electronic benefits transfer card by means of card skimming, card cloning, or some other similar fraudulent method. Requires the Department to specifically keep a record of every report made to the Department by a SNAP recipient alleging the theft of benefits due to no fault of the recipient, the benefit amount stolen, and, if practicable, how those stolen benefits were used and the location of those thefts. Requires the Department to report its findings to the General Assembly on a quarterly basis beginning in calendar year 2024. Provides that a SNAP recipient's personally identifiable information shall be excluded from the reports consistent with State and federal privacy protections; and that each quarterly report shall be posted on the Department's official website. Provides that if the Department determines that a SNAP recipient has made a substantiated report of stolen benefits due to card skimming, card cloning, or some other similar fraudulent method, the Department shall refer the matter to the Attorney General and shall provide any assistance to the Attorney General in the prosecution of the alleged theft or fraud.

Creates the Justice40 Oversight Committee Act. Establishes the Justice40 Oversight Committee. Provides that the Justice40 Oversight Committee shall make findings, conclusions, and recommendations regarding environmental justice in this State and uses of federal funds provided to the State for environmental justice. Requires the Justice40 Oversight Committee to submit reports delineating the Oversight Committee's findings, conclusions, and recommendations to the General Assembly by specified dates. Contains requirements for the appointment of voting and nonvoting members of the Oversight Committee. Contains other provisions. Effective immediately.

Amends the Fair Patient Billing Act. Provides that a hospital shall screen each uninsured patient for eligibility in State and federal health insurance programs, financial assistance offered by the hospital, and other public programs that may assist with health care costs and provide information about those programs. For an insured patient, requires the hospital to screen the patient for discounted care in specified circumstances. Provides that the screenings and all follow-up assistance must be culturally competent, in the patient's primary language, in plain language, and in an accessible format. Requires a hospital to implement an operational plan and trainings relating to screenings. Prohibits hospitals from pursuing collection actions against uninsured patients if they have not completed the screening requirements. Includes a prohibition on the sale of medical debt, limitations on collection actions, penalties for violating the Act's provisions, and defenses against collection actions pursued in violation of the provisions. Makes other changes. Amends the Hospital Uninsured Patient Discount Act. Provides that a patient declining to apply for a public health insurance program on the basis of concern for immigration-related consequences shall not be grounds for denying financial assistance under a hospital's financial assistance policy.

Amends the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act. Provides that any person engaged in the business of selling or offering to sell goods or services at retail to the public with an individual accepting in-person payments at a physical location shall not: (1) refuse to accept cash as a form of payment for sales of less than $2,000 made at the physical location; (2) post a sign on the premises stating that cash payment is not accepted; or (3) charge a higher price to customers paying with cash compared to the price charged to customers not paying with cash. Provides for specified exceptions. Provides that any person who violates the provisions commits an unlawful practice within the meaning of the Act. Effective January 1, 2024.

Amends the Landlord and Tenant Act. Provides that a landlord shall not require a tenant or prospective tenant to remit any amount due to the landlord under a residential lease, renewal, or extension agreement by means of an electronic funds transfer, including, but not limited to, an electronic funds transfer system that automatically transfers funds on a regular, periodic, and recurring basis. Provides that, beginning 90 days after the effective date of the amendatory Act, a violation is an unlawful practice under the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act. Applies to leases or agreements executed after the effective date of the amendatory Act.

Amends the Illinois Vehicle Code. Provides that the provision requiring the driver of a vehicle approaching a traffic-control signal on which no signal light facing such vehicle is illuminated to stop before entering the intersection does not apply to the driver of a vehicle approaching a pedestrian hybrid beacon. Defines "pedestrian hybrid beacon" as a traffic-control device used to warn and control traffic, at locations that are otherwise without a traffic-control signal, to assist pedestrians in crossing a street or highway at a marked crosswalk.