Rep. Dave Winters

Amends the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act. Provides that arbitration panels hearing security employee, peace officer, firefighter, and paramedic disputes must not take into consideration the ability of a unit of government to raise taxes or impose new taxes when determining the financial ability of that unit of government to pay the costs associated with those employees' wages and other conditions of employment. Effective immediately.

Amends the Public Building Commission Act. Makes a technical change to a Section concerning the short title.

Amends the State Finance Act. Provides that conservation practice cost-share grants from the Partners for Conservation Fund may be made to livestock operations for water quality protection and improvement. Authorizes moneys in the Fund also to be used to partner with conservation land trusts in order to integrate State and federal programs with Illinois' natural resource protection and restoration efforts and to meet requirements to obtain federal and other funds for conservation or protection of natural resources. Also makes technical changes. Effective July 1, 2011.

Amends the Use Tax Act and the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act. Provides that, beginning on January 1, 2012, the tax imposed under the Acts on new mobile homes or new manufactured homes to be located outside of a mobile home park shall be calculated against 40% of the selling price of the home and against 100% of the selling price of building materials used. Provides that there shall be no tax on resale of homes located outside or inside of a mobile home park. Amends the Property Tax Code and the Manufactured Home Installation Act. Provides that the owner of a mobile home or manufactured home that is located outside of a mobile home park may file a request with the county assessor that the home be classified, assessed, and taxed as real property. Amends the Mobile Home Local Services Tax Act. Removes certain provisions concerning recording of titles and certificates of origin. Amends the Abandoned Mobile Home Act. Provides that a mobile home abandoned outside of a mobile home park must be treated like other real property for condemnation purposes. Amends the Property Tax Code and the Mobile Home Local Services Tax Act to provide that mobile homes and manufactured homes that are located outside of mobile home parks and are taxed during the tax year ending on December 31, 2011 must continue to be taxed under that Act. Provides that a mobile home or manufactured home that is located in a mobile home park may not be taxed as real property until the mobile home or manufactured home is relocated to a different parcel of land outside of a mobile home park. Effective immediately.

Amends the Illinois Vehicle Code. Provides that in the counties of Ogle, Rock Island, Whiteside, and Winnebago, a person riding a bicycle is an intended and permitted user of any highway in Illinois except for a highway on which bicycle use has been specifically prohibited by law and the prohibition is indicated by appropriate signage. Provides that the new language does not create liability for any public entity for the failure to remedy any surface condition of a highway that caused injury to a person riding a bicycle if that surface condition is not hazardous to a passenger car. Provides that, except as expressly provided by law, the new language does not impose an obligation to further improve existing highways or to maintain them to a higher standard for bicyclists. Provides that the new provisions are repealed 3 years after the effective date of the amendatory Act. Effective immediately.

Amends the Illinois Vehicle Code. Includes surviving children in the class of individuals eligible to receive Gold Star special license plates.

Amends the Criminal Code of 1961. Exempts, from the Eavesdropping Article of the Code, recording of an oral conversation between a uniformed peace officer, who has identified his or her office, and a person in the presence of the peace officer while an occupant of a vehicle other than a police vehicle, provided that the peace officer has knowledge that a recording is being made.

Amends the State Budget Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois. Provides that certain amounts shall be transferred from the General Revenue Fund to the Common School Fund. Amends the Illinois Income Tax Act. Increases the residential real property tax credit from 5% to 10%. Increases the limitation on the education expense credit from $500 to $1,000. Increases the percentage of the earned income tax credit from 5% of the federal tax credit to 15% in 2011 and thereafter. Makes changes concerning distributions to the Local Government Distributive Fund. Amends the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act. Provides that certain services are taxable under the Act. Amends the School Code. Creates the Education Financial Award System Fund, the Digital Learning Technology Grant Fund, and the STEM Education Center Grant Fund. Makes changes concerning the Early Childhood Education Block Grant; financial awards for school improvement and other awards; academic early warning and watch status; an educational improvement plan; the creation of the Digital Learning Technology Grant Program, a best practices clearinghouse, the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education Center Grant Program, and a resource management service; audits; school board member leadership training; a school district's school report card; financial policies and plans; a capital improvement plan; protection from suit; financial accountability; non-referendum bonds; the foundation level of support under the State aid formula; the New Teacher Induction and Mentoring Program; school board associations; and transportation reimbursement. Effective immediately.

Amends the Illinois Power Agency Act. Provides that the definition of "renewable energy resources" includes synthetic gas created by the plasma gasification of waste, densified fuel pellets made from waste material that does not include materials resulting from the handling, processing, storage, and consumption of food, and fuel produced by pyrolysis of organic or waste material from a municipality. Effective immediately.

Creates the Jump Start Scholarship Program Act. Requires the Illinois Student Assistance Commission to establish and administer a Jump Start Scholarship Program. Provides that the purpose of the program is to allow a student who graduates from a public high school in 3 years or less to receive a scholarship funded with a portion of the money saved by this State in general State financial aid funding as a result of the student's early graduation if the student enrolls at any college, university, or technical school accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools that provides instruction from a campus located in this State. Sets forth provisions concerning eligibility, the scholarship amount, application, payments to an institution, and rules.