Rep. Sonya Harper

Amends the Environmental Protection Act. Defines "organic waste". Provides that no person shall conduct an organic waste composting operation, other than a landscape waste composting operation, without an Agency permit. Exempts from this permitting requirement: (1) persons conducting an organic waste composting operation that (i) has no more than 25 cubic yards of source-separated organic waste, composting additives, composting material, or end-product compost on-site at any one time and (ii) is not engaging in commercial activity and (2) persons conducting an organic waste composting operation that meets certain siting and operational requirements.

Amends the Illinois Freedom to Work Act. Provides that any covenant not to compete or covenant not to solicit entered into after the effective date of the amendatory Act shall not be enforceable with respect to the provision of reproductive health care or maternity care by a health care professional in the State if the enforcement of the covenant not to compete or covenant not to solicit is likely to reduce the availability of reproductive health care or maternity care. Provides that in an action to enforce a covenant not to compete or covenant not to solicit entered into after the effective date of the amendatory Act, a party seeking to enforce the covenant not to compete or covenant not to solicit has the burden of proving that it will not reduce the availability of reproductive health care or maternity care in the State. Defines terms. Effective immediately.

Amends the Environmental Protection Act. Provides gas collection and control system requirements for municipal solid waste landfills, including requirements for gas to be collected from each area in which solid waste has been in place for at least one year, for gas to be drawn toward the gas control devices, for a gas collection and control system to be installed within 12 months of reaching certain thresholds, for gas collection and control design plans to provide for alternative preliminary measures, and for the methane destruction efficiency of flared systems to reach 99%.

Amends the Prior Authorization Reform Act. Provides that a chronic health condition is a condition that is expected to last on year or more and requires ongoing medical attention to effectively manage the condition or prevent an adverse health event limits one or more activities of daily living. Replaces "chronic or long-term condition" with "chronic health condition". Provides that, if a health insurance issuer requires a prior authorization for a recurring health care service or maintenance medication for the treatment of a chronic health condition, the approval shall remain valid from the date the health care professional or health care provider receives the prior authorization approval for the duration of the chronic health condition or the length of the treatment, as determined by the patient's health care professional, unless the standard of treatment for that health condition changes.

Amends the Department of Agriculture Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois. Directs the Department of Agriculture to study: (1) the specific actions that can be taken and the practices that can be implemented to mitigate the impacts of drought and climate change on agriculture in the State; (2) the costs, benefits, and feasibility of establishing and implementing financial and technical assistance programs to mitigate the impacts of drought and climate change on agricultural producers in the State; (3) the costs, benefits, and feasibility of using agricultural land management to realize greenhouse gas reductions and maximize carbon sequestration opportunities in the State; (4) the costs, benefits, and feasibility of using floatovoltaics in State waterways; and (5) the costs, benefits, and feasibility of establishing within the Department an Agricultural Drought and Climate Resilience Office for the purpose of providing agricultural producers with the voluntary technical assistance, nonregulatory programs, and incentives necessary to harden the State's agricultural sector to the coming impacts of drought and climate change. Allows the Department to enter into a contract or grant agreement with one or more organizations or institutions with expertise in environmental and agricultural issues for the purpose of completing the tasks delegated to the Department in these provisions. Authorizes the Department, in conducting the required cost-benefit analyses, to take into account the value of ecosystem services. Directs the Department to report its findings and recommendations to the General Assembly within 2 years after the effective date of the amendatory Act. Effective immediately.

Amends the Illinois Procurement Code. Contains provisions concerning procurements made by or on behalf of public institutions of higher education for food. Provides that, in the case of certain contracts for the procurement of food, the chief procurement officer must consider (i) good food purchasing core values and (ii) good food purchasing equity, accountability, and transparency. Amends the Local Food, Farms, and Jobs Act. Provides that the Act may be referred to as the Good Food Purchasing Law. Provides that each State agency and State-owned facility shall develop and adopt a multi-year action plan with benchmarks to align food purchasing processes with Good Food Purchasing equity, transparency, and accountability and food purchases with Good Food Purchasing core values. Creates a Good Food Purchasing Task Force. Amends the Food Handling Regulation Enforcement Act. Makes changes concerning food packaging that may include the designation "Illinois-grown", "Illinois-sourced", or "Illinois farm product".

Maddy summaryHB 782 amends the Behavior Analyst Licensing Act by making a technical correction to the short title of a specific section. This change updates the section's official name to align with current legal terminology without altering any licensing requirements, qualifications, or regulatory provisions for behavior analysts. The bill affects only the formal naming of the law, not the practice or oversight of behavior analysts, as it does not introduce new rules or modify existing standards.

Amends the Property Tax Code. Establishes an Equity Fund. Provides that moneys in the Equity Fund shall be expended exclusively for the purpose of paying the amount ordered for equity surplus payments to Illinois property owners who have lost their property by a recorded tax deed, except that, whenever the State Treasurer determines that any such moneys in the Equity Fund exceed the amount required for the purpose of paying equity surplus payments resulting from property ownership being divested by tax deed, the State Treasurer may transfer any such excess amounts from the Equity Fund to the General Revenue Fund. Provides for an irrevocable and continuing appropriation from Illinois tax lien purchasers for the purpose of paying equity surplus payments to the divested property upon the order of the State Treasurer and for the purpose of paying equity surplus to the divested property owner. In provisions concerning the indemnity fund, makes changes to the fees that are collected for tax sales in counties of 3,000,000 or more inhabitants. Sets forth an Equity Fund fee, calculation of the equity surplus, and an application process. Makes conforming and other changes. Amends the State Finance Act to make a conforming change.

Amends the Tobacco Products Act. Defines "electronic cigarette", "nicotine", and "tobacco products". Imposes a tax on any person engaged in business as a distributor of tobacco products at the rate of (i) 18% of the wholesale price of tobacco products sold or otherwise disposed of to retailers or consumers located in this State before July 1, 2012; (ii) 36% of the wholesale price of tobacco products sold or otherwise disposed of to retailers or consumers located in this State prior to July 1, 2025; and (iii) 45% of the wholesale price of tobacco products sold or otherwise disposed of to retailers or consumers located in this State beginning on July 1, 2025. Makes the changes made to the definition of "electronic cigarette" by this amendatory Act of the 104th General Assembly apply on and after June 30, 2025, but no claim for credit or refund is allowed on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 104th General Assembly for such taxes paid during the period beginning June 30, 2025 and the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 104th General Assembly.

Amends the Medical Assistance Article of the Illinois Public Aid Code. In provisions concerning PDPM STRIVE staffing ratio calculations for nursing facilities, provides that beginning January 1, 2025, the staffing percentage used in the calculation of the per diem staffing add-on shall be its PDPM STRIVE Staffing Ratio which equals: its Reported Total Nurse Staffing Hours Per Resident Per Day as published in the most recent federal staffing report (the Provider Information file), divided by the facility's PDPM STRIVE Staffing Target. Provides that each facility's PDPM STRIVE Staffing Target is equal to .76 times the facility's Illinois Adjusted Facility Case-Mix Hours Per Resident Per Day. Provides that a facility's Illinois Adjusted Facility Case-Mix Hours Per Resident Per Day is equal to its Nursing Case-Mix (as published in the most recent federal Provider Information file) divided by 1.4627 times 3.79 (which is the Reported Total Nurse Staffing Hours Per Resident Per Day for the Nation as reported in the January 2024 State US Averages file). Effective July 1, 2025.