Rep. James H. Meyer

Amends the Counties Code. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning the short title.

Amends the Environmental Protection Act. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning the short title.

Creates the Short-term Loan Act. Provides for the regulation of entities that make payday loans and motor vehicle title loans having a term of fewer than 93 days and in an amount that does not exceed $1,000. Limits charges that may be imposed in connection with the loans. Requires lenders to obtain a license from the Director of the Division of Financial Institutions in the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. Amends the Financial Institutions Code to require the Director of the Division of Financial Institutions to establish a complaint registry regarding licensees under the Short-term Loan Act. Amends the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act to provide that 3 or more violations of the Short-term Loan Act constitute a violation of the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act. Effective January 1, 2006.

Amends the Environmental Protection Act. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning waste from multiple generators.

Amends the State Finance Act. Excludes moneys received by the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation under the Illinois Credit Union Act from those moneys required to be deposited into the Financial Institution Fund. Makes certain provisions concerning transfers to the General Revenue Fund inapplicable to (i) any fund established under the Illinois Credit Union Act, the Illinois Banking Act, the Illinois Savings and Loan Act of 1985, or the Savings Bank Act and (ii) the Professions Indirect Cost Fund. Limits transfers and expenditures from those funds to specified purposes. Prohibits the allocation or transfer of additional amounts generated by certain fee increases with respect to or from the Credit Union Fund. Amends the Illinois Banking Act, the Illinois Savings and Loan Act of 1985, and the Savings Bank Act. With respect to the moneys in each of the Bank and Trust Company Fund, the Savings and Residential Finance Regulatory Fund, and the Credit Union Fund, (i) exempts those moneys from assignment or transfer except for unappropriated administrative expenses and (ii) provides that the moneys remain the property of and must be held in trust for the financial institutions from which they were collected. For FY08, requires the Commissioner of Banks and Real Estate (now, the Director of the Division of Banks and Real Estate) to adopt rules to adjust regulatory fee rates in the specified manner. Amends the Illinois Credit Union Act. Provides that the regulatory fee paid by a credit union to the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation shall be the lesser of (i) the rate pursuant to the regulatory fee schedule or (ii) a rate established in a manner proportionately consistent with the rates in the regulatory fee schedule and that would fund the actual administrative and operational expenses of the Credit Union Section. Increases rates in the regulatory fee schedule for credit unions with total assets over $5,000,000. Requires the Director of Financial and Professional Regulation to adjust the fee schedule for the next fiscal year. Provides that the fee schedule may be increased by no more than 5% annually if necessary to defray the actual (now, estimated) administrative and operational expenses of the Credit Union Section (now, the Department). Prohibits any increase in the fee schedule if the amount remaining in the Credit Union Fund at the end of the fiscal year is equal to or greater than 25% of the actual administrative and operational expenses for the preceding fiscal year. Requires the Director to base the regulatory fee for the next fiscal year on the credit union's total assets as of December 31 of the preceding calendar year. Beginning on July 1, 2005, requires a credit union to pay the regulatory fee in quarterly installments due and payable on the due date for the call report for the preceding quarter (now, a credit union is required to pay the regulatory fee in full no later than March 1 of each calendar year). Provides for a regulatory fee cap of $125,000 (now, $187,500). Effective immediately.

Amends the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986. Creates the Domestic Violence Prevention Review Board. Authorizes the Board to create Domestic Violence Fatality Review Teams to gather and review information concerning fatal and near-fatal violence incidents, including suicides. Provides that information relevant to the investigation of a crime may be disclosed by a Team only to the prosecuting attorney or to a law enforcement agency or may be made available to the Attorney General, upon request. Limits the liability for a Team member or a person providing information to a Team for civil damages arising out of an official act or an omission during the gathering or processing of information by a Team, except for acts or omissions that constitute willful or wanton misconduct on the part of the member or person providing information or acts performed outside the scope of the authority of the Team. Amends the Freedom of Information Act. Exempts information gathered by a Domestic Violence Fatality Review Team from the requirements of the Act.

Creates the Illinois Universal Broadband Act. Establishes the Illinois Universal Broadband Commission (IUBC) in order to expand broadband service throughout Illinois, with the eventual goal of providing 100% service to all U.S. census tracts located within the State. Authorizes the IUBC to make revolving loans from the Illinois Universal Broadband Fund to private-sector entities for the provision of broadband service to underserved areas. Amends the State Finance Act to create the Illinois Universal Broadband Fund.

Amends the School Code. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning school district accounts and budgets.

Amends the Use Tax Act, the Service Use Tax Act, the Service Occupation Tax Act, and the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act. Beginning on January 1, 2006, exempts from the taxes imposed by these Act, American flags, poles intended to serve as flagstaffs for American flags, and American flag sets or kits. Provides that the exemption is not subject to the sunset requirements of the Acts. Effective immediately.

Appropriates $500,000 from the General Revenue Fund to the Department of Public Health for osteoporosis screening and prevention. Effective July 1, 2005.