Rep. Marlow H. Colvin

Amends the School Code. Makes changes concerning the school building code, school and district improvement plans, the waiver and modification of mandates, staff development plans, local learning objectives and assessments, statements of affairs, criminal history records checks of school district employees, the limitation on administrative costs, the State aid formula, school holidays, and transportation reimbursement claims. Repeals a Section concerning latch key reports and a Section concerning school and district improvement panels. Amends the State Mandates Act to require implementation without reimbursement. Effective July 1, 2006.

Amends the Illinois Health Care Finance Reform Act. Requires the Department of Public Health to require all ambulatory surgical treatment centers licensed to operate in the State (now, the requirement applies only to hospitals licensed to operate in the State) to adopt a uniform system for submitting patient claims and encounter data (now, patient billing data) for payment from public and private payors. Requires hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers to submit billing data to the Department of Public Health no later than 60 days after the end of each calendar quarter. Requires the Department to include certain information in its "Consumer Guide to Health Care" on its website. Authorizes the Department to disclose certain information on its website. Authorizes the Department to promulgate rules concerning the provisions of the Illinois Health Care Finance Reform Act. Requires that ambulatory surgical treatment centers, organizations representing ambulatory surgical treatment centers, purchasers, consumer groups, and health plans be meaningfully involved in the development of all aspects of the Department's methodology for collecting, analyzing, and disclosing the information collected under this Act. Requires the Department to evaluate additional methods for comparing the performance of hospitals and ambulatory surgical treatment centers and report its findings and recommendations on its Internet website and to the Governor and General Assembly no later than January 1, 2006. Makes other changes. Effective immediately.

Amends the Department of Public Health Powers and Duties Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois. Requires the Department of Public Health to develop educational materials on meningitis for distribution in elementary and secondary schools. Effective immediately.

Directs the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services and the Illinois Department of Corrections to jointly prepare a report as to the costs and feasibility of providing monthly video conferencing visitation to appropriate children in State care whose parents are incarcerated in Department of Corrections facilities.

Urges Congress to reauthorize the "special provisions" of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Mourns the death of Coleman Miller.

Honors and congratulates Cleo Johnson, founder and director of Cleo Johnson's School of Charm and Modeling Agency, for her achievements.

Amends the Ticket Scalping Act. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning service charges.

Amends the School Code. With respect to school districts other than Chicago, provides that early childhood education block grant funds shall be distributed through a grant approval process (instead of on a competitive basis). Makes changes regarding grants for preschool educational and related model research-training programs, model pilot early childhood parental training programs, and pilot programs concerning services to at-risk children and their families (including allowing grants to be provided to other entities besides school districts and providing that grants must be used to supplement, not supplant, funds received from any other source). Effective July 1, 2005.

Creates the Firearms Act. Contains only a short title provision.