Rep. Maurice West

Amends the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Administrative Act. Requires the Department of Healthcare and Family Services, in collaboration with the Department of Human Services, to file an amendment to the Home and Community-Based Services Waiver Program for Adults with Developmental Disabilities that shall include an increase in the rate methodology sufficient to provide for a wage rate of 150% of the statewide, regional, or local minimum wage for services delivered on or after January 1, 2026, for all direct support personnel and all other frontline personnel who are not subject to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' average wage increases and who work in residential and community day services settings. Provides that for services delivered on or after January 1, 2026, the rates shall include adjustments to employment-related expenses as defined by rule by the Department of Human Services. Requires the Department of Human Services to adopt rules, including emergency rules, to implement the rate increases. Amends the Medical Assistance Article of the Illinois Public Aid Code. Requires the Department of Healthcare and Family Services to submit a Title XIX State Plan amendment to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that shall include an increase in the rate methodology sufficient to provide for a wage rate of 150% of the statewide, regional, or local minimum wage for services delivered on or after January 1, 2026, for all direct support personnel and all other frontline personnel at ID/DD and MC/DD facilities. Provides that the State Plan amendment shall provide wage increases for all residential non-executive direct care staff. Effective immediately.

Amends the Environmental Protection Act. Provides that no person shall conduct a carbon sequestration activity within a sequestration facility that overlies, underlies, or passes through a sole-source aquifer. Defines "sole-source aquifer". Effective immediately.

Amends the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Act. Authorizes the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority to: (1) use the services of, and enter into necessary agreements with, outside entities for the purpose of evaluating grant applications and for the purpose of administering or monitoring compliance with grant agreements; (2) make grants to community-based organizations, local government agencies, non-profit organizations, or other eligible entities for specified criminal justice and public safety programs; and (3) adopt rules necessary to carry out the Authority's responsibilities under the Act. Effective immediately.

Creates the Private Swimming Pool Enclosure Act which may be referred to as "Zoe's Law". Requires that new outdoor swimming pools on private residential property be enclosed by a fence, wall, or other effective permanent barrier of at least 42 inches in height with openings not more than 2 inches from the bottom to grade and not more than 4 inches within the wall, fence, or barrier. Provides that the provisions do not apply to above ground pools with a height of 42 inches or more or to jacuzzis. Permits more restrictive regulation by units of local government. Requires all municipalities to develop a permitting process for all swimming pools no later than 1/1/2026. Requires all permitted swimming pools to have enclosures inspected by the permitting municipality before the receipt of an initial permit and at least once every 5 years after that. Defines "swimming pool" for the purposes of the Act. Limits home rule powers. Makes conforming changes to the Counties Code and the Illinois Municipal Code.

Amends the Student Loan Servicing Rights Act. Creates within the Act an Article concerning educational income share agreements. Contains provisions concerning: monthly payment affordability; maximum annual percentage rates; limits on the duration of income share agreements; risk sharing; limits on covered income; fees; restrictions on security interests; discharge of obligations; prohibitions on cosigners; limits on acceleration; assignment of wages; limitations on garnishment; use of multiple agreements; required disclosures; early completion of the agreement; assumption of increases in future income; receipts; and adjustment of dollar amounts. Provides that the Attorney General may enforce a violation of the Educational Income Share Agreements Article of the Student Loan Servicing Rights Act as an unlawful practice under the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act. Makes other changes. Amends the Consumer Installment Loan Act and the Interest Act to make conforming changes. Provides that the provisions of the amendatory Act are severable. Effective immediately.

Maddy summaryHB 473 amends the School Code to correct a technical error in the section that defines the code's short title. This change is purely administrative and does not alter any educational policies, programs, or requirements. The bill affects no specific groups, schools, or students, as it only updates the official reference language within the code. It has no substantive impact on education funding, curriculum, or school operations.

Amends the Downstate Police Article of the Illinois Pension Code. Provides that, at any time during the 6 months following the effective date of the amendatory Act, an active member of a downstate firefighters' pension fund may apply for transfer to that fund of up to 8 years of his or her creditable service accumulated in a police pension fund under the Downstate Police Article that is administered by a unit of local government if that active member was not subject to disciplinary action when he or she terminated employment with that police department. Amends the State Mandates Act to require implementation without reimbursement by the State. Effective immediately.

Amends the Medical Assistance Article of the Illinois Public Aid Code. Provides that any person who is at least 18 years of age shall be qualified to provide community-based mental health services under the medical assistance program as a rehabilitative services associate or peer support worker if the person meets all other applicable eligibility requirements for certification. Requires the Department of Healthcare and Family Services to adopt rules to implement the amendatory Act.

Amends the School Code. Allows, if an assessment is determined to be non-uniform, a provisional in-state educator endorsement on an Educator License with Stipulations to be issued to a candidate who has completed an Illinois-approved educator preparation program at an Illinois institution of higher education and who has not successfully completed an applicable content area test but who: holds at least a bachelor's degree; has completed an approved educator preparation program at an Illinois institution; has passed an evidence-based assessment of teacher effectiveness; and has attempted an applicable content area test that has been determined to be non-uniform and has not attempted any uniform content area tests. Provides that the process by which the State Board of Education evaluates content area tests shall be public information and shall be made available on the website of the State Board. Requires the State Board to evaluate each content area test after it has been administered for at least 10 months, but not more than 12 months, and shall determine that a content test is non-uniform. Provides that if a content test is determined to be non-uniform, the State Board shall: convene one or more committees to review the content, bias, and passing score requirements of that content test and recommend changes to improve uniformity; offer the most recent uniform content area test for the same license or endorsement as an option until the new assessment is determined to be uniform; provide an opportunity to attempt the most recent uniform content area test for the same license or endorsement to candidates who attempted but did not pass the most recent version of the content area test; and implement a process by which candidates who attempted but did not pass the content test may apply for provisional licensure. Provides that if the State Board finds that the content area test forms available as of January 1, 2025 are not uniform in the level of difficulty as compared to previous forms of those exams, any candidate for licensure who attempted any content area test in the form that was available as of January 1, 2025, and whose best scores in each subsection of the same content area exam, taken across multiple attempts on the same form of the exam, equal or exceed the passing score for that content area exam as of January 1, 2025, shall be determined to have passed that content area exam.

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.