Rep. John Cabello

Amends the Boat Registration and Safety Act. Provides that a person may operate a motorboat that has in tow or is otherwise assisting a person on water skis, an aquaplane, or a similar contrivance in or upon any waterway if the motorboat is occupied by at least one competent person and it is equipped with wide-angle mirrors. Effective immediately.

Amends the General Provisions Article of the Illinois Pension Code. Provides that a person may not participate in any pension fund or retirement system under the Code with respect to an elected position to which the person was first elected or appointed on or after the effective date of the amendatory Act. Effective immediately.

Amends the Workers' Compensation Act. Provides that, with respect to firefighters and emergency medical technicians, a contagious staph infection, including Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA), is rebuttably presumed to arise out of and in the course of employment. Effective immediately.

Amends the Fish and Aquatic Life Code. Provides that the fee for all sport fishing licenses shall be waived for resident veterans of the United States Armed Forces who have been honorably discharged. Amends the Wildlife Code. Provides that the fee for a hunting license to hunt all species shall be waived for resident veterans of the United States Armed Forces who have been honorably discharged. Makes technical changes. Effective immediately.

Amends the General Provisions and State Employees Articles of the Illinois Pension Code. Provides that the alternative retirement annuity under the State Employees Article applies to a conservation police officer subject to the Tier 2 provisions. Provides that a conservation police officer subject to the Tier 2 provisions may convert up to 8 years of service credit established before the effective date of the amendatory Act as a conservation police officer under the State Employees Article into eligible creditable service by filing a written election with the Board under that Article, accompanied by a specified payment. Effective immediately.

Creates the Sports Wagering Act. Contains only a short title provision.

Amends the School Code. Provides that a school board may allow the motto "In God We Trust" to be displayed in a conspicuous location inside or outside each school building.

Amends the Counties Code. Removes a provision limiting the number of deputies a sheriff may appoint to a number allowed by the county board. Effective immediately.

Amends the Downstate Firefighter Article of the Illinois Pension Code. Provides that if a person who first becomes a firefighter under the Article on or after January 1, 2011 and who is not receiving a disability pension under specified provisions dies for specified reasons, then a pension shall be paid to his or her survivors in the amount equal to the greater of (i) 54% of the firefighter's monthly salary at the date of death or (ii) 66 2/3% of the firefighter's earned pension at the date of death (rather than the amount of 66 2/3% of the firefighter's earned pension at the date of death). Provides that the changes apply without regard to whether the deceased firefighter was in service on or after the effective date of the amendatory Act. Amends the State Mandates Act to require implementation without reimbursement. Effective immediately.

Amends the Criminal Code of 2012 relating to first degree murder. Adds and eliminates aggravating factors for which the death penalty may be imposed. Amends the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963. Eliminates provision that abolishes the sentence of death. Enacts the Capital Crimes Litigation Act of 2019. Provides that all unobligated and unexpended moneys remaining in the Death Penalty Abolition Fund on the effective date of the amendatory Act shall be transferred into the Capital Litigation Trust Fund. Amends the State Appellate Defender Act. Provides that in cases in which a death sentence is an authorized disposition, the State Appellate Defender shall provide trial counsel with legal assistance and the assistance of expert witnesses, investigators, and mitigation specialists from funds appropriated to the State Appellate Defender specifically for that purpose by the General Assembly. Provides that the Office of State Appellate Defender shall not be appointed to serve as trial counsel in capital cases.