Rep. Maurice West

Mourns the death of Oscar Lawton Wilkerson Jr. of Markham.

Amends the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act, the Election Code, the Children and Family Services Act, the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Act, the Township Code, the Illinois Municipal Code, the Public Library District Act of 1991, the School Code, the Home Medical Equipment and Services Provider License Act, the Illinois Horse Racing Act of 1975, the Illinois Gambling Act, the Liquor Control Act of 1934, and the Criminal Code of 2012. Makes changes in these Acts to provisions concerning whether a conviction for certain criminal offenses disqualifies an individual from serving in one of the specified public offices or on one of the specified boards and commissions. Makes conforming changes.

Amends the Unified Code of Corrections. In provisions concerning intradivisional transfers at the Department of Corrections, provides that a person committed to a Department of Corrections facility may make a request to be transferred to another facility every 6 months. In provisions concerning intradivisional transfers at the Department of Juvenile Justice, provides that a person committed to the Department of Juvenile Justice, or the committed person's parent or guardian, may make a request to be transferred to another institution or facility of the Department of Juvenile Justice at any time.

Amends the Counties Code. Modifies the setback distance of a wind tower from occupied community buildings and nonparticipating residences. Modifies provisions restricting the county's ability to enact standards for construction, decommissioning, or deconstruction of commercial wind energy facilities or commercial solar energy facilities that are more restrictive than those included in the Department of Agriculture's impact agreements. Includes provisions requiring a comprehensive agricultural drainage plan and agreements with drainage districts to cross or impact a drainage system. Amends the Renewable Energy Facilities Agricultural Impact Mitigation Act. Modifies provisions requiring a commercial renewable energy facility owner of a commercial wind energy facility or a commercial solar energy facility that is located on landowner property to enter into an agricultural impact mitigation agreement with the Department outlining construction and deconstruction standards and policies. Removes provisions requiring a commercial solar energy facility owner to submit, not less than 45 days prior to commencement of actual construction, to the Department a standard agricultural impact mitigation agreement signed by the commercial solar energy facility owner and including all information required by the Department. Makes other changes. Effective immediately.

Creates the Local Officer Eligibility Act. Provides that a person seeking a local office or a local officer seeking another office may not qualify as a candidate for more than one office unless the person follows the requirements of the Act. Provides that, if a local officer seeks to become a candidate for any other office and any part of the terms run concurrently with each other, the person must first resign the local office that the officer presently holds. Includes resignation requirements. Provides that a person who is a deputy sheriff, county corrections officer, court security officer, or other person a sheriff otherwise supervises must resign as provided under the provisions if the person is seeking to qualify for the office of the sheriff. Provides that, if an election authority determines that a person failed to resign as required under the Act, an automatic resignation occurs 14 days after the filing of a petition for nomination. Requires the election authority to provide notice of the automatic resignation. Provides that the Act does not apply to a person already appointed to or is seeking appointment to an appointive board, task force, commission, or authority. Defines terms. Limits the concurrent exercise of home rule powers. Amends the Election Code making conforming changes.

Amends the Physician Assistant Practice Act of 1987. Changes the definition of "physician assistant", "physician assistant practice", "board", and "collaborating physician". Removes the definition of "disciplinary board" and changes references from the "disciplinary board" to the Illinois State Medical Board throughout the Act. Provides that a physician assistant shall be deemed by law to possess the ability to prescribe, dispense, order, administer, and procure drugs and medical devices without delegation of such authority by a physician. Provides that such ability shall include prescribing of Schedule II, III, IV, and V controlled substances. Provides that to prescribe Schedule II, III, IV, or V controlled substances under the Act, a physician assistant shall obtain a mid-level practitioner controlled substances licenses. Provides that when a written collaboration agreement is required under the Act, delegation of prescriptive authority by a physician is not required. Provides that a physician assistant who files with the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation a notarized attestation of completion of at least 250 hours of continuing education or training and at least 2,000 hours of clinical experience after first attaining national certification shall not require a written collaborative agreement. Provides the specified scope of practice of a physician assistant with optimal practice authority. Provides that a physician assistant shall be able to hold more than one professional position. Makes changes in provisions concerning the physician assistant title, collaboration requirements, and the written collaborative agreement. Makes other changes and corresponding changes to the Act and to the Illinois Controlled Substances Act.

Creates the Ranked Choice Voting for Presidential Primaries Act. Provides that any State-administered primary election for the President of the United States shall be conducted using ranked choice voting. Sets forth provisions concerning form of ballot, tabulation, inactive ballots and undervotes, and ties for ranked choice voting. Provides that at least 150 days before the date of the presidential primary election, the State committee of each political party that intends to use the State-administered presidential primary in its nomination process shall inform the State Board of Elections in writing of its intention. Provides that the State committee's written notice shall indicate whether the party prefers tabulation to occur on a winner-take-all basis or on a proportional basis. Provides that if a party's notice fails to specify how to tabulate ballots, the State-administered presidential primary election for that party shall be tabulated on a statewide winner-take-all basis. Provides that the State Board of Elections shall adopt rules or guidance to facilitate the release of unofficial preliminary round-by-round results and unofficial preliminary cast vote records as soon as feasible after the polls close and at regular intervals thereafter until the counting of ballots is complete. Sets forth information that the State Board of Elections shall make public. Provides that the State Board of Elections shall have the authority to adopt any rules necessary to implement the provisions. Defines terms.

Amends the Public Community College Act. Provides for the election of board of trustee members by trustee district rather than at large in community college districts with a population of 300,000 or more inhabitants, other than specified community college districts, and in those community college districts with a population under 300,000 inhabitants whose board approves the election of board members by trustee district by a three-fifths majority vote. Makes related changes. Effective immediately.

Amends the Private Business and Vocational Schools Act of 2012. In provisions regarding institution and program approval criteria, provides that a part of the criteria for approval is fair and equitable reimbursement in the case of an unfair or deceptive practice finding. Amends the Higher Education Student Assistance Act. In provisions concerning the monetary award program, makes changes to the provisions regarding the award of grants to applicants enrolled at qualified for-profit institutions, and provides that credits earned during the 2023-2024 academic year at a qualified for-profit institution may not count toward the maximum credit-hour limitation. Sets forth provisions concerning an institution that received monetary award program funds at a time the institution was using unfair or deceptive practices, including refunding State funds to the Illinois Student Assistance Commission and awarding grants to students who attended that institution. Amends the State Finance Act to create the MAP Refund Fund as a special fund in the State treasury. Effective immediately.

Amends the Illinois Procurement Code. Provides that, within 45 days after the date that a written request for a change order is submitted by a contractor to a State agency or within 45 days after the date that authorization for extra work is issued by a State agency to a contractor, the State agency shall either: (i) issue the change order with an agreement on price; (ii) agree on price for the authorization for extra work; (iii) counter on price in writing; (iv) give written notice to the contractor of the reasons why the change order is unreasonable; (v) accept a partial agreement on price on some of the terms of the change order or extra work; or (vi) explain in writing that an additional 30 days are necessary to make a determination. Provides that if an additional 30 days is requested, then, after the 30 additional days have elapsed, the State agency shall either: (i) issue the change order with an agreement on price; (ii) agree on price for the authorization for extra work; (iii) counter on price in writing; (iv) give written notice to the contractor of the reasons why the change order is unreasonable; (v) accept a partial agreement on price on some of the terms of the change order or extra work; or (vi) explain in writing that an additional 15 days are necessary to make a determination. Provides that if an additional 15 days is requested, then, after every 15 additional days that elapse, as necessary, the State agency shall perform one of the specified actions. Provides that the State agency shall report quarterly on its website the total number of times the State agency requested additional time to make a determination and the total number of times the State agency requested additional time for such determination for each contract. Effective immediately.