Rep. Mary Beth Canty

Creates the Human Services Equitable Pay Act. Requires the Department of Human Services to commission a Human Services Compensation Study on the rate of compensation, including wages and benefits, of positions funded by the Department of Human Services and how they compare to similar positions in the human services sector in Illinois and nationally. Requires the study to include an analysis of wage and benefit levels in different settings and for different education levels, including a comparison of compensation for: (1) State employees; (2) human service providers; and (3) for-profit private sector employees with similar roles and titles. Requires the study to be completed and submitted to the Human Services Compensation Task Force by June 30, 2026. Requires the Department to establish the Human Services Compensation Task Force on or before December 31, 2025. Provides that members shall be appointed by the Governor and shall include at least 3 BIPOC executive directors of community-based human service organizations and 2 co-chairs. Requires the Task Force to provide, on or before December 1, 2026, a report to the General Assembly and the Governor's Office of Management and Budget that includes: (i) recommendations on how to strengthen recruitment and retention of human services workers employed by human services providers that have contracts with the State; (ii) recommended rate levels; and (iii) a proposed schedule to increase rates to the recommended rate levels by July 1, 2030. Requires the Department to submit annual reports to the Task Force and the General Assembly that includes salary disparities between professionals employed by human services providers in the Department and comparable employees contracted with the State agency for the delivery of human services, the amount needed to be annually appropriated to the Department in order to reduce such salary disparities, and other matters. Effective immediately.

Provides that the amendatory Act may be referred to as the Hair Braiding Opportunity Act. Amends the Barber, Cosmetology, Esthetics, Hair Braiding, and Nail Technology Act of 1985. Changes the short title to the Barber, Cosmetology, Esthetics, and Nail Technology Act of 1985 and changes corresponding references to the Act throughout the statutes. Repeals provisions concerning hair braiding licenses, and removes references to licensed hair braiding throughout the Act. Makes conforming changes. Makes changes to the membership of the Barber, Cosmetology, Esthetics, and Nail Technology Board. Provides that no application shall be automatically placed on hold, delayed, denied, or otherwise not processed by the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation because it was submitted by a person who is incarcerated. Provides that the Department shall consider practice supervised by a licensee while a person is incarcerated in determining qualifications for a license. Effective immediately.

Amends the Behavior Analyst Licensing Act, the Clinical Psychologist Licensing Act, the Clinical Social Work and Social Work Practice Act, the Marriage and Family Therapy Licensing Act, the Medical Practice Act of 1987, the Licensed Certified Professional Midwife Practice Act, the Nurse Practice Act, the Pharmacy Practice Act, the Physician Assistant Practice Act of 1987, the Professional Counselor and Clinical Professional Counselor Licensing and Practice Act, the Wholesale Drug Distribution Licensing Act, the Registered Surgical Assistant and Registered Surgical Technologist Title Protection Act, and the Genetic Counselor Licensing Act. Provides that the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation shall not take any disciplinary or non-disciplinary action against a person's authorization to practice (rather than against the license or permit issued) under each of the amended Acts based solely upon the person's involvement in any health care service, so long as the care was not unlawful under the laws of the State. Prohibits the Department from taking any disciplinary or non-disciplinary action against a person's authorization to practice (rather than against the license or permit issued) under each of the amended Acts based upon the person's license, registration, or permit (rather than only license) being revoked or suspended, or the person being otherwise disciplined by any other state, if that form of discipline was based solely on the person violating another state's laws prohibiting involvement in any health care service if that health care service would not have been unlawful under the laws of the State and is consistent with the applicable standard of conduct for a person practicing in Illinois under those Acts. Changes certain references to official occupation titles in the amended Acts to "person". Amends the Illinois Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. Provides that a drug's status as not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration shall not cause it to be deemed an adulterated drug if its safety and efficacy have been established by peer-reviewed research or if it is recommended for use by the World Health Organization, even if the drug's labelling reflects prior approval that is no longer in effect, so long as such labelling was true and accurate at the time of manufacture.

Amends the School Code. Provides that the State Board of Education shall require that each school district annually report the number of students who were referred to a law enforcement agency or official and the number of instances of referrals to law enforcement that students received. Provides that on or before January 31, 2027 and on or before January 31 of each subsequent year, the State Board of Education shall prepare a report on student referrals to law enforcement in all school districts in the State. Requires a parent-teacher advisory committee to develop policy guideline procedures to establish and maintain a reciprocal reporting system between the school district and local law enforcement agencies regarding both criminal and civil offenses (rather than only criminal offenses) committed by students. Removes language providing that a student may not be issued a monetary fine or fee as a disciplinary consequence. Instead, prohibits school personnel from issuing a monetary fine, fee, ticket, or citation for a municipal code violation. Provides that school personnel (rather than a school district) may not refer a truant, chronic truant, or truant minor to any other local public entity, school resource officer, or peace officer (rather than only to any other local public entity) for that local public entity, school resource officer, or peace officer to issue the child a fine or fee as punishment for truancy. Effective immediately.

Amends the Mental Health Early Action on Campus Act. Provides that the expert panel designated by the board of trustees to develop and implement policies and procedures shall be comprised of at least 2 administrators, 2 members of faculty, and one mental health professional. Requires each public college or university to provide at least 3 on-site licensed clinical professional counselors or licensed clinical social workers.

Amends the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Act and the Uniform Crime Reporting Act. Provides that, beginning January 1, 2026, the Illinois State Police shall submit to the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, or provide to the Authority through a web-based portal, specified information concerning homicides on a quarterly basis. Requires the Authority to study and compile the information and, on a quarterly basis, publish the information on the Authority's public website in a form determined by the Authority.

Creates the Hospitals and Homelessness Support Act. Requires the Office to Prevent and End Homelessness within the Department of Human Services to maintain on its publicly accessible website information on how a hospital or healthcare system may connect a patient experiencing homelessness or otherwise in a vulnerable housing situation with shelter and homeless support services for each continuum of care in the State. Requires the Department to ensure that the information required includes, for each continuum of care, any phone number, email address, physical address, primary agencies, or any other information that may be necessary for a person in that continuum of care territory to begin accessing shelter or other homelessness services. Requires the Department to include, where possible, a specific phone number that a hospital or health care facility may call and specific language to use. Requires the Department to also include on its website a way for the hospital or healthcare system to determine which continuum of care applies based on the physical location of the hospital or healthcare system. Requires other information, all of which must be added to the Department's website by October 31, 2025. Contains provisions concerning annual audits.

Provides that the Act may be referred to as the Eddie Thomas Act. Amends the Unified Code of Corrections. Provides that no later than December 1 of each year, the Department of Corrections shall prepare a report to be published on its website that contains, at a minimum, the following information about hospice and palliative care in its institutions and facilities during the prior fiscal year: (1) demographic data of committed persons who received hospice and palliative care; (2) data on the number of committed persons in the Department's hospice and palliative care programs; (3) data on the timing of hospice and palliative care programming; (4) the number of committed persons in the custody of the Department who died; (5) policies and administrative directives of each Department institution and facility regarding the institution of hospice and palliative care; (6) the staff available for hospice and palliative care; and (7) the cost of the Department's hospice and palliative care programs. Provides that all such data shall be anonymized to protect the privacy of the committed persons involved in the hospice and palliative care programs.

Creates the Restaurant Reservation Anti-Piracy Act. Provides that a third-party restaurant reservation service shall not list, advertise, promote, or sell reservations for a food service establishment through the website, mobile application, or other platform of the third-party restaurant reservation service without a written agreement between the third-party restaurant reservation service and the food service establishment. Provides that a written agreement that contains specified indemnifications shall be void and unenforceable. Provides that any person who violates, or causes another person to violate, a provision of the Act shall be subject to a civil penalty of up to $1,000 for each violation. Provides for a private right of action.

Amends the Criminal Code of 2012. Deletes a provision that timely notice to a retail mercantile establishment that is a victim of retail theft, organized retail crime, financial institution fraud, or looting shall include 7 days' notice of any court proceedings. Amends the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963. Provides that a law enforcement officer may not refuse to complete a written report as required by the Protective Orders Article of the Code on any ground. Provides that a law enforcement officer shall not discourage or attempt to discourage a victim from filing a police report concerning an incident of abuse. Provides for the vacation of a conviction (rather than only prostitution convictions) if the defendant was a victim of human trafficking. Provides that the determination of the motion shall be by a preponderance of the evidence. Provides that evidence demonstrating the defendant's status as a victim of trafficking at the time of the offense shall create a rebuttable presumption that the defendant was a victim of human trafficking at the time of the offense. Provides that, regardless of whether the court grants a motion to vacate the sentence, it may permit the defendant to file an expedited petition for expungement or sealing under the Criminal Identification Act to be heard whenever possible before the same judge to whom the motion to vacate his or her conviction was presented upon 30 days' notice to those entitled to notification of expungement or sealing proceedings. Amends the Sexual Assault Incident Procedure Act. Provides that a law enforcement officer shall not discourage or attempt to discourage a victim from filing a police report concerning sexual assault or sexual abuse. Amends the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986 to make conforming changes.