Rep. Nabeela Syed

Amends the Public Community College Act. Allows the board of trustees of a community college district to establish and offer a baccalaureate degree program and confer a bachelor's degree if the board of trustees and the program meet specified conditions. Provides for an application for approval from the Illinois Community College Board. Sets forth community college requirements and prohibitions for establishing a baccalaureate degree program. Provides that a community college district that offers a baccalaureate degree program shall submit an annual report to the Illinois Community College Board. Sets forth what that report shall include. Provides for a statewide evaluation of a baccalaureate degree program.

Declares May of 2025 as Motorcycle Awareness Month. Recognizes the 38 years of ABATE of Illinois, Inc., the more than 300,00 registered motorcyclists statewide, and the continued role that Illinois serves as a leader in motorcycle safety, education, and awareness.

Amends the Cycle Rider Safety Training Act. Removes motor driven cycle and moped from the definition of "cycle". Defines "Cycle Rider Safety Training Course Provider" and "Provider" as a for-profit or nonprofit business, community agency, community organization, community college, or State university that is capable of providing courses. Provides that the Department of Transportation shall put out notices to the public seeking Cycle Rider Safety Training Course Providers to provide courses in the State, and that such courses shall be open to all residents of the State who hold a currently valid driver's license and who have reached their 16th birthday before the first day of the course to be held. Allows providers to charge a nominal registration fee set by the Department. Provides that responses from potential providers shall include the location where classes are to be held at, the number of students they intend to train, whether they would be providing motorcycles or using motorcycles owned by the Department, and the cost for courses provided on a per student basis. Provides that contracts shall be awarded by the Department to providers based on training needs and cost effectiveness of each bid or proposal. Provides that a provider shall only be paid grant funds under one of the following conditions: a course was held; expenses submitted related to the maintenance of department owned equipment; or submitting other non-personnel expenses. Provides that a provider awarded a contract with grant funding shall: submit proof that each instructor employed by the provider meets the qualifications to teach the curriculum for the courses; have at least one employee on staff certified to do quality assurance or quality control visits where instructors are evaluated per curriculum standards on teaching; perform at least one quality assurance or quality control visit on each instructor employed during the year and submit the results of those visits to the Department; maintain appropriate liability insurance to cover training activities; submit requests for payment in a timely manner; and adhere to additional program rules and regulations. Prohibits a provider awarded a contract with grant funding from adopting any policy, requirement, or expectation regarding employee's manner of dress outside of the employee's scheduled work hours. Makes other changes. Effective January 1, 2026.

Amends the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Administrative Act. Requires the Department of Human Services to establish reimbursement rates that build toward livable wages for front-line personnel in residential and day programs and service coordination agencies serving persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Provides that for community-based providers serving persons with intellectual or developmental disabilities, subject to federal approval, the rates taking effect for services delivered on or after July 1, 2025 shall be increased sufficiently to: (i) provide a minimum $2.00 per hour wage increase over the wages in effect on June 30, 2025 for front-line personnel; and (ii) provide wages for all other residential non-executive direct care staff, excluding direct support professionals, at the U.S. Department of Labor's average wage as defined, by rule, by the Department. Amends the Illinois Public Aid Code. Provides that for ID/DD facilities and MC/DD facilities, the rates taking effect for services delivered on or after July 1, 2025, shall be increased sufficiently to: (i) provide a minimum $2.00 per hour wage increase over the wages in effect on June 30, 2025 for front-line personnel; and (ii) provide wages for all other residential non-executive direct care staff, excluding direct support professionals, at the U.S. Department of Labor's average wage as defined, by rule, by the Department. Requires the same increase for front-line personnel employed at community-based providers serving persons with intellectual or developmental disabilities. Amends the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act. Grants the Departments of Human Services and Healthcare and Family Services emergency rulemaking authority. Effective immediately.

Amends the Administration Article of the Illinois Public Aid Code. Provides that any program of study at a public institution of higher education improves employability and shall be considered equivalent to an acceptable SNAP Employment and Training (E&T) program component, unless prohibited by federal law. Defines "public institution of higher education". Requires the Department of Human Services to adopt any rules necessary to implement the amendatory Act. Provides that rulemaking shall not delay full implementation of the amendatory Act. Effective immediately.

Amends the Illinois Estate and Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax Act. Makes certain changes concerning estates that contain qualified farm property. Provides that, for the purposes of calculating the State Death Tax Credit, those estates are subject to an exemption of $6,000,000 (rather than an exclusion amount of $4,000,000), which shall be deducted from the net estate value after the net estate value is computed in accordance with the Act. Provides that the exemption shall be adjusted each year according to the increase in the Consumer Price Index. Makes changes concerning the calculation of the deceased spousal unused exclusion amount for those estates. Provides for a special use valuation to provide that the value of the qualified farm property shall be calculated without regard to certain limitations under the Internal Revenue Code. Makes changes concerning the definition of "qualified heir".

Amends the Property Tax Code. Provides that, on and after July 1, 2026, any bill to amend an existing homestead exemption or to create a new homestead exemption shall include the submission of an impact statement prepared by the sponsor of the bill. Provides that the maximum income limitation for the Low-Income Senior Citizens Assessment Freeze Homestead Exemption shall be $85,000 for taxable year 2025 and shall be subject to a cost-of-living adjustment in subsequent years. Provides that, for any tax certificates held by a county, the county clerk may create and administer a payment plan during the redemption period. Amends the Senior Citizens Real Estate Tax Deferral Act. Makes changes concerning the maximum household income. Effective immediately.

Appropriates $6,100,000 from the General Revenue Fund to the Department of Agriculture for costs associated with the Crop Insurance Rebate Initiative to provide incentives for at least 1,000,000 acres of eligible land. Effective July 1, 2025.

Creates the Safe Gun Storage Act. Provides that a firearm owner shall not store or keep any firearm in any premises where the firearm owner knows or reasonably should know a minor without the lawful permission of the minor's parent, guardian, or person having charge of the minor, an at-risk person, or a prohibited person is likely to gain access to the firearm unless the firearm is secured in a locked container, properly engaged so as to render the firearm inaccessible or unusable to any person other than the owner or other lawfully authorized user. Provides that if the firearm is carried by or under the control of the owner or other lawfully authorized user, then the firearm is deemed lawfully stored or kept. Provides that a violation of the Act is subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $500, except (i) if any person knows or reasonably should know that a minor, an at-risk person, or a prohibited person is likely to gain access to a firearm belonging to or under the control of that person, and a minor, an at-risk person, or a prohibited person obtains the firearm, the civil penalty shall not exceed $1,000 and (ii) if a minor, an at-risk person, or a prohibited person obtains a firearm and uses it to injure or cause the death of a person or uses the firearm in connection with a crime, the civil penalty shall not exceed $10,000. Provides that the court may order a person who is found in violation of the Act to perform community service or pay restitution in lieu of the civil penalties imposed under this Section if good cause is shown. Provides that nothing in the Act shall be construed to preclude civil liabilities for violations of the Act. Provides that a violation of the Act is prima facie evidence of negligence per se in any civil proceeding if a minor, an at-risk person, or a prohibited person obtains a firearm and causes personal injury to the death of oneself or another or uses the firearm in the commission of a crime. Provides that an action to collect a civil penalty under the Act may be brought by the Attorney General or the State's Attorney of the county in which the violation occurred. Provides that any money received from the collection of a civil penalty under the Act shall be deposited in the Mental Health Fund. Defines terms. Amends various Acts to make conforming changes. Effective January 1, 2026.

Amends the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act. Provides that the appointing authorities of the Legislative Ethics Commission shall (rather than may) appoint at least one commissioner from the general public. Allows the Legislative Inspector General to issue subpoenas without the advance approval of the Commission. Provides that within 60 days after the Legislative Ethics Commission's receipt of a summary report and response from the ultimate jurisdictional authority or agency head regarding a potential violation of this Act or potential wrongful acts within the jurisdiction of the Legislative Inspector General, the Legislative Inspector General (rather than the Commission) shall make available to the public the report and response or a redacted version of the report and response. Provides that the Legislative Inspector General (rather than the Commission) may make available to the public any other summary report and response of the ultimate jurisdictional authority or agency head or a redacted version of the report and response without prior approval from the Commission. Provides that the Commission shall adopt no rule requiring the Legislative Inspector General to seek the Commission's advance approval before publishing summary reports. Provides for the redaction of summary reports by the Legislative Inspector General and related requirements. Makes conforming and other changes.