Rep. Chris Welch

Creates the Fair Scheduling Act. Requires employers to provide work schedules to employees at least 72 hours before the start of the first shift of the work schedule. Provides for reporting pay when an employee's work shift is canceled or reduced within 72 of the beginning of the shift. Prohibits retaliation by employers when employees seek to enforce rights under the Act. Authorizes private actions for damages. Provides for administration and enforcement by the Department of Labor. Provides for monetary penalties. Amends the State Finance Act to create the Fair Scheduling Act Enforcement Fund, a special fund in the State treasury. Sets forth the uses of moneys in the Fund. Effective immediately.

Amends the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963. Requires a peace officer to arrest without a warrant or issue a notice to appear to any person who violates the cruel treatment, aggravated cruelty, animal torture, or animal fighting offenses under the Humane Care for Animals Act, or the sexual conduct or sexual contact with an animal or dogfighting offenses under the Criminal Code of 2012. If the person arrested is not the owner of the animal, the peace officer must use reasonable diligence to notify the owner and provide care for the animal until turned over to the owner or owner's agent. Provides for the recovery of cost of care and limited liability for actions taken under the arrest and care provisions. Effective immediately.

Amends the Emergency Telephone System Act. Provides that each telecommunications carrier shall impose a monthly surcharge of $1.30 (rather than $0.87) per network connection; provided, however, the monthly surcharge shall not apply to a network connection provided for use with pay telephone services. Provides that each wireless carrier shall impose and collect a monthly surcharge of $1.30 (rather than $0.87) per CMRS connection that either has a telephone number within an area code assigned to Illinois by the North American Numbering Plan Administrator or has a billing address in this State. Provides that at least $0.87 of this surcharge per network or CMRS connection shall be deposited into the Statewide 9-1-1 Fund for distribution to local Emergency Telephone System Boards. Provides that grants shall be distributed on a per capita basis, with priority to Emergency Telephone System Boards that received a disproportionately large number of ambulance or emergency medical service dispatch 9-1-1 calls based on the population served by the Board. Provides that data on 9-1-1 calls collected annually by the Department of State Police shall be used to determine priority of grant distributions. Extends the repeal date of the Act until July 1, 2022 (rather than July 1, 2017). Effective immediately.

Amends the School Code. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning a financial oversight panel's powers.

Amends the Illinois Pension Code. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning definitions.

Amends the Illinois Insurance Code. In the Article concerning the Illinois Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Association, makes changes to the organization of provisions concerning coverage and limitations and powers and duties of the Association. Makes changes in the provisions concerning definitions; the Board of Directors of the Association; assessments; and miscellaneous provisions. In a provision concerning duties of the Director of Insurance as liquidator, provides that upon the entry of an order directing liquidation of a company, the Director may, subject to a provision of the Insurance Code that allows the Association to exercise all the rights of the Director with respect to covered policies after the Association becomes obligated by statute or a provision of the Health Maintenance Organization Act, cede or reinsure all or so much as may be necessary of the in-force business to another company using assets of the liquidated company to pay therefor in preference to satisfying other obligations or creditors. Effective immediately.

Amends the Public Accommodations Article of the Illinois Human Rights Act. Provides that it is not a civil rights violation for a place of public accommodation to refuse to serve a person based upon a determination that the person's pants are not appropriately sized and secured at the waist in a manner that prevents the pants from falling more than 3 inches below the hips and permitting exposure of the person or the person's undergarments.

Creates the Wage Lien Act. Provides that a lien exists on an employer's property for the amount of unpaid wages owed to an employee. Defines terms and includes provisions concerning creation of the lien; exemptions; notice; limitations; recording of the lien; enforcement; other claims on the employer's property; successor obligations; and construction.

Amends the School Code. Requires a school board to enroll its elementary schools in the Scripps National Spelling Bee program and implement an annual district-wide spelling bee competition for students in the 7th grade. Provides that members of the public must be permitted to attend the competition, and the school district shall publish notice of the date of the competition in a newspaper of general circulation within the district. Effective July 1, 2018.

Amends the Medical Assistance Article of the Illinois Public Aid Code. In provisions concerning payment rates for nursing facilities, provides that facility-specific staffing levels and wages paid (rather than regional wage adjusters based on the Health Service Areas (HSA) groupings and adjusters in effect on April 30, 2012) shall be one of the factors in determining the new nursing services reimbursement methodology utilizing the RUG-IV 48 grouper model. Sets forth the calculation of the facility-specific RUG-IV nursing component per diem rate for dates of service beginning July 1, 2017. Provides that certain staffing and wage adjusters must be updated each quarter using the staffing hours and wage data from Payroll Benefit Journal data collected by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for the same time period of Minimum Data Set data used to calculate the RUG-IV acuity case weight. Sets forth how to calculate each facility's "total per resident per day staffing wage cost". Provides that the levels used to assign certain staffing and wage adjusters shall be calculated using the staffing ratios required under the Nursing Home Care Act multiplied by the Illinois mean hourly wage for the equivalent occupational code and title assigned by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and reported in the May 2014 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates for Illinois. Provides that beginning July 1, 2017 and quarterly thereafter, the Department of Healthcare and Family Services may adjust, by administrative rule and within certain parameters established under the Code, a specific staffing and wage adjuster described in the Code for the purpose of keeping liability created by the facility-specific RUG-IV nursing component per diem rates stable. Permits the Department to adopt rules to implement these provisions. Effective immediately.