Rep. Sonya Harper

Amends the Equal Pay Act of 2003. Prohibits an employer from: (i) screening job applicants based on their wage or salary history, (ii) requiring that an applicant's prior wages satisfy minimum or maximum criteria, and (iii) requesting or requiring as a condition of being interviewed or as a condition of continuing to be considered for an offer of employment that an applicant disclose prior wages or salary. Prohibits an employer from seeking the salary, including benefits or other compensation or salary history, of a job applicant from any current or former employer, with some exceptions. Limits defenses. Provides for penalties and injunctive relief. Senate Committee Amendment No. 1 Replaces everything after the enacting clause. Amends the Equal Pay Act of 2003. Provides that the exceptions to the equal pay requirement based on sex also apply to the equal pay requirement for African-American employees. Provides that an employer may prohibit a human resources employee, supervisor, or other employee whose job responsibilities require or allow access to other employees' wage or salary information from disclosing that information without prior written consent from the employee whose information is sought or requested. Provides that specified provisions shall not be construed to prevent an employer or employment agency from: providing information about the wages, benefits, compensation, or salary offered in relation to a position; or engaging in discussions with an applicant for employment about the applicant's expectations with respect to wage or salary, benefits, and other compensation. Provides that an employer is not in violation of specified provisions when a job applicant voluntarily and without prompting discloses his or her current or prior wage or salary history, including benefits or other compensation, on the condition that the employer does not consider or rely on the voluntary disclosures as a factor in determining whether to offer a job applicant employment, in making an offer of compensation, or in determining future wages, salary, benefits, or other compensation. Makes other changes. Effective 60 days after becoming law. Senate Floor Amendment No. 2 Provides that a wage differential factor that is not based on sex or a factor that would constitute unlawful discrimination under the Illinois Human Rights Act must account for the differential (instead of "the entire differential").

Creates the Coal Ash Cleanup and Storage Act. Provides a short title only. Senate Committee Amendment No. 1 Adds reference to: 415 ILCS 5/3.135 was 415 ILCS 5/3.94 Replaces everything after the enacting clause. Creates the Coal Ash Pollution Prevention Act. Tasks the Environmental Protection Agency with enforcing the Act's provisions. Provides that specified coal combustion residual (CCR) units shall close. Provides that an owner or operator of a CCR unit required to close by removal shall, within 6 months of the Act's effective date, halt the placement of CCR in those CCR units and begin removal of the CCR in those CCR units. Provides that those owners or operators shall complete the removal of CCR from the CCR unit no later than 15 years after initiating the closure process at that CCR unit. Requires the submission by an owner or operator of a CCR unit of specified documentation to the Agency within 60 days of the Act's effective date. Provides that an operator of any CCR unit required to close by removal shall submit a closure plan to the Agency within 90 days after the Act's effective date. Specifies what shall be included in the closure plan. Provides requirements for Agency approval of a closure plan. Provides that an entity conducting closure activities shall utilize local labor and ensure that the work is performed by responsible contractors and subcontractors that pay workers the prevailing wage and fair benefits. Provides requirements for the transport of CCR, including manifests with specified information regarding the CCR being transported and a transport plan with specified requirements. Provides that no CCR that is removed from a CCR unit may be transported without a CCR transport permit approved by the Agency. Provides that no CCR removed from a CCR unit may be disposed of in a landfill off of the property on which the CCR unit is located without approval from the Agency. Provides that no CCR removed from any CCR unit may be beneficially used in Illinois unless the Agency has issued a beneficial use permit for that CCR. Provides that on or before October 1, 2022, and on October 1 of each even-numbered year thereafter until closure of all of a facility's CCR units is complete, the operator of a CCR unit shall compile a closure progress report. Provides that an owner or operator of a CCR unit from which CCR is required to be removed shall, within one year of the effective date of the Act, conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the extent of CCR pollution of groundwater, surface water, and soils at any property surrounding the property on which a CCR unit is located. Provides public notice, comment, and hearing requirements for applications, permits, plans, and reports submitted under the Act. Provides that an owner or operator of a CCR unit located in Illinois is required to provide and maintain financial assurance for closure and corrective action. Provides that, beginning 18 months after the Act's effective date, no CCR generated in Illinois may be treated, stored, or disposed of in a CCR surface impoundment or unlined CCR landfill. Contains provisions regarding violation of the Act and resulting civil penalties, criminal fines, or injunctive relief. Provides requirements for various applications, permits, plans, and reports submitted under the Act. Amends the Environmental Protection Act. Removes language providing that a "coal combustion by-product" (CCB) is a coal combustion waste when used beneficially in specified ways. Removes language restricting specified uses of coal combustion waste as a CCB. Removes language regarding beneficial use determinations of CCB. Makes other changes. Provides that the Act's provisions are severable. Effective immediately. Senate Floor Amendment No. 3 Deletes reference to: New Act 415 ILCS 5/3.135 Adds reference to: 415 ILCS 5/3.140 was 415 ILCS 5/3.76 415 ILCS 5/3.142 new 415 ILCS 5/3.143 new 415 ILCS 5/21 from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 1021 415 ILCS 5/22.59 new 415 ILCS 5/39 from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 1039 415 ILCS 5/40 from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 1040 30 ILCS 105/5.891 new Replaces everything after the enacting clause. Amends the Environmental Protection Act. Requires a permit for persons conducting any waste-storage, waste-treatment, or waste-disposal operation on CCR surface impoundments. Prohibits persons from performing any specified actions that may cause or tend to cause a violation of the Act. Requires the owner of a CCR surface impoundment to submit to the Agency for approval a closure alternatives analysis. Exempts owners or operators of CCR surface impoundments that have completed closure in accordance with a plan approved by the Agency prior to 12 months after the amendatory Act's effective date from obtaining a construction permit for the surface impoundment closure. Provides that the owner of a CCR surface impoundment shall post all closure plans, permit applications, and supporting documentation, and any Agency approval of the plans or applications on its publicly available website. Requires the owner or operator of a CCR surface impoundment to pay the following fees: an initial fee of $50,000 for closed CCR surface impoundments or $75,000 for CCR surface impoundments that have not completed closure; and annual fees of 25,000 for each CCR surface impoundment that has not completed closure or $15,000 for each CCR surface impoundment that has completed closure but has not completed post-closure care. Requires any monies forfeited to the State from any performance bond or other security required under the amendatory Act's provisions to be placed in the Coal Combustion Residual Surface Impoundment Financial Assurance Fund. Allows the Agency to issue RCRA permits exclusively to persons owning or operating a CCR surface impoundment. Requires a permit applicant to make available to the public for inspection all documents submitted by the applicant to the Agency in furtherance of an application, with the exception of trade secrets, at the office of the county board or governing body of the municipality where CCR from the CCR surface impoundment will be permanently disposed. Makes other changes. Amends the State Finance Act. Creates the Coal Combustion Residual Surface Impoundment Financial Assurance Fund. Effective immediately. Senate Floor Amendment No. 4 Makes changes to the bill as amended by Senate Amendment No. 3 to require owners and operators of CCR surface impoundments to have submitted a closure plan to the Agency by May 1, 2019 (currently, May 31, 2019) and to have completed closure prior to 24 months (currently, 12 months) after the amendatory Act's effective date in order to be exempt from obtaining a construction permit.

Amends the School Code. Provides that, upon request, the school board of a school district that maintains grades 10 through 12 may posthumously award a diploma to any service member who was killed in action while performing active military duty in the armed forces of the United States if he or she: (1) resided in an area currently within the district; (2) left high school before graduating to serve in the armed forces of the United States; and (3) did not receive a high school diploma. Effective immediately.

Amends the Chicago School District Article of the School Code. With regard to a proposed school closure, requires the chief executive officer to publish on the school district's website a full financial report on the closure that includes an analysis of the closure's costs and benefits to the district. Effective immediately. House Committee Amendment No. 1 Replaces everything after the enacting clause. Reinserts the provisions of the introduced bill with the following change. Provides that the chief executive officer must post the full financial report on a school closure on the school district's website 8 months after he or she publishes notice of the proposed school closure (rather than at the time he or she publishes notice of the proposed school closure). Effective immediately.

Amends the Grow Your Own Teacher Education Act. Makes changes to the definitions of "cohort", "eligible school", and "hard-to-staff school", and defines "dual credit course". Provides that Grown Your Own Illinois (rather than the Board of Higher Education) shall administer the Grow Your Own Teacher Education Initiative as a grant competition to fund consortia that will carry out Grow Your Own Teacher preparation programs. In provisions concerning selection of grantees, provides that the Board of Higher Education shall, subject to appropriation, allocate funds to Grow Your Own Illinois for the purpose of administering the program and awarding grants under the Act (rather than requiring the Board of Higher Education to award grants under the Act). Removes the language providing that the consortium shall consider whether a candidate has experienced an interruption in his or her college education when recruiting potential candidates for the program. Provides that, subject to the requirements under the Dual Credit Quality Act, an institution of higher education may offer a high school student a dual credit course under the program. Provides that the Board of Higher Education may not adopt rules regarding candidate eligibility that are more restrictive than those in the Act. Makes conforming changes. Effective immediately. Fiscal Note (IL Board of Higher Education) This bill will not have a fiscal impact on the Illinois Board of Higher Education.

Urges every Illinois municipality that utilizes lead service lines to develop a plan to minimize the risk of lead exposure to its residents by developing a plan consisting of short and long-term steps to fully eliminate lead pipes from its drinking water systems.

Amends the University of Illinois Hospital Act and Hospital Licensing Act. Provides that each hospital shall post, in each facility that has an emergency room, a notice in a conspicuous location in the emergency room with information about how to enroll in health insurance through the Illinois health insurance marketplace.

Amends the Illinois Public Aid Code. Requires the Department of Human Services to establish a Restaurant Meals Program to permit individuals who are elderly, persons with a disability, and homeless individuals to redeem their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits at private establishments that contract with the Department to offer meals for eligible SNAP recipients at concessional prices. Requires the Restaurant Meals Program to be operational no later than January 1, 2020. Requires the Department to adopt rules. Effective immediately.

Amends the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Article of the Illinois Public Aid Code. Removes a provision requiring the Department of Human Services to increase TANF grant amounts in effect on June 30, 2008 by 15%. Provides that TANF grant amounts shall be apportioned as follows: 75% shall be designated for the child or children of the assistance unit; and 25% shall be designated for the adult member or members of the assistance unit. Removes a provision that permits the discontinuance of all or a part of a TANF recipient's grant amount as a penalty for noncompliance with TANF education, training, and employment programs. Requires the Department to, by rule, impose a 30% reduction of the portion of the grant amount designated for the adult member or members of an assistance unit when a member is found to be in noncompliance with program requirements without good cause. Provides that no sanction shall reduce the portion of the grant amount that is designated for any child of the assistance unit. Requires the full grant amount to be restored when an adult member or members are determined to be in compliance with program requirements. Provides that homelessness, receipt of an eviction notice, discontinued utilities, and other specified circumstances shall constitute good cause for failure to participate in required TANF education, training, and employment programs. Provides that beginning October 1, 2019, and each October 1 thereafter, the maximum TANF benefit levels shall be annually adjusted to remain equal to at least 30% of the most recent poverty guidelines updated periodically in the Federal Register by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for each family size. Effective immediately.

Creates the Youth Homelessness Prevention Subcommittee Act. Requires the Governor's Cabinet on Children and Youth to create the Youth Homelessness Prevention Subcommittee to drive the State's strategic vision for preventing homelessness among youth leaving State systems of care. Sets forth the Subcommittee's duties including: (1) reviewing the discharge planning, services plans, and discharge procedures for youth leaving the custody or guardianship of the Department of Children and Family Services, the Department of Juvenile Justice, the Department of Human Services' Division of Mental Health, and the Department of Corrections to determine whether such discharge planning and procedures ensure housing stability for youth leaving State systems of care; and (2) collecting data on the housing stability of youth for one year after they are released from State custody or guardianship. Provides that the Subcommittee shall include specified members, including: (i) one representative from the Governor's office; (ii) 4 representatives from agencies serving homeless youth; and (iii) 4 youth who have a lived experience with homelessness. Contains provisions concerning a quorum, administrative support, subcommittee meetings, and reporting requirements.