Rep. Nick Smith

Amends the Public-Private Agreements for the South Suburban Airport Act. Defines cargo-oriented development as the development of places that are both multimodal nodes of freight transportation and centers of employment in logistics and manufacturing businesses. Provides that the Department of Transportation shall (instead of may) establish a process for prequalification of offerors. Requires the Department to commence the prequalification process within 6 months after the effective date of the amendatory Act. Makes changes to legislative findings.

Amends the Illinois Works Jobs Program Act. Provides that the Illinois Works Review Panel's examination of workforce demographic data collected by the Illinois Department of Labor must include demographic information about the workforce on public work projects contracted by the State or an agency of the State by contractor, race, gender, trade, hours worked by payroll cycle and annually, whether apprentice or journeyworker, and, if an apprentice, which year of apprenticeship, and whether or not the apprentice is a graduate of the Illinois Works Preapprenticeship Program. Provides that individual members of the workforce shall be given a unique identifier so that progress and retention can be tracked without sharing personally identifiable information. Creates the Access and Opportunity Committee to monitor and report on the progress of ensuring that all Illinois residents have access to careers in the construction industry and building trades on current State capital projects, including those who have been historically underrepresented in those trades. Includes provisions regarding Committee membership, powers and duties, and meetings.

Amends the Children and Family Services Act. Authorizes funds that are deposited into the Employment and Training Fund to be used to establish a demonstration project to train individuals to become home child care providers. Repeals a provision that established the Child Care and Development Fund. Amends the Department of Natural Resources Act. Directs gifts, bequests, donations, income from rental property and endowments to be deposited into the DNR Special Projects Fund (rather than the Natural Resources Fund). Specifies that the DNR Special Projects Fund is a trust fund (rather than a special fund in the State treasury). Amends the Department of Professional Regulation Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois. Repeals a provision that prohibited transfers from being made to the Professions Indirect Cost Fund from the Public Pension Regulation Fund. Amends the Department of Public Health Powers and Duties Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois. Changes the fund into which certain certification fees are deposited. Amends the Illinois State Police Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois. Repeals a provision concerning a transfer into the State Police Firearm Services Fund. Amends the State Property Control Act. Repeals a provision concerning a transfer into the State Police Vehicle Fund. Amends the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Systems Act, the Illinois Public Aid Code, the Medicaid Technical Assistance Act, the Environmental Protection Act, the Electric Vehicle Rebate Act, the Cigarette Fire Safety Standard Act, the Herptiles-Herps Act, and the Unified Code of Corrections. Makes various other fund-related and transfer-related changes. Effective immediately.

Amends the Public Community College Act. Provides that beginning with the 2023-2024 academic year, each community college board must provide, on an annual basis, its member high schools with remediation data for all students that previously attended a member high school and have enrolled in the community college for any term in an academic year. Sets forth specifications of data to be provided and how the data shall be shared.

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 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 School Code. Provides that the provisions concerning community schools apply beginning with the 2024-2025 (rather than 2009-2010) school year. Makes changes to the legislative findings, including replacing a description of a community school. Provides that grants for community schools are subject to the availability of State or federal funding (rather than the availability of funding). Removes certain grant proposal provisions. Changes the requirements to qualify for a grant. Effective June 1, 2024.

Amends the Officers and Employees Article of the Counties Code. Decreases the minimum number of inhabitants that must reside in a county for the county to be required to create the office of county auditor from 75,000 inhabitants to 70,000 inhabitants.

Amends the Educator Licensure Article of the School Code. In provisions concerning the Illinois Teaching Excellence Program, provides that the annual incentive shall be $2,250 (instead of $1,500) and that 45 hours of mentoring shall be required (instead of 30). Provides that funds may also be used for professional development training provided by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards or the National Board Resource Center. Effective immediately.

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.