Sen. Elgie Sims

Amends the Illinois Income Tax Act. Creates a deduction for amounts included in the taxpayer's adjusted gross income for certain fringe benefits. Effective immediately. Senate Committee Amendment No. 1 Deletes reference to: 35 ILCS 5/203 from Ch. 120, par. 2-203 Adds reference to: 35 ILCS 5/205 from Ch. 120, par. 2-205 Replaces everything after the enacting clause. Reinserts the provisions of the introduced bill with a technical correction concerning the applicable Section of the Illinois Income Tax Act. Effective immediately. Senate Floor Amendment No. 3 Replaces everything after the enacting clause. Reinserts the provisions of the introduced bill with a technical correction concerning the applicable Section of the Illinois Income Tax Act. Effective immediately. House Committee Amendment No. 1 Deletes reference to: 35 ILCS 5/205 from Ch. 120, par. 2-205 Adds reference to: 35 ILCS 5/304 from Ch. 120, par. 3-304 35 ILCS 5/601 from Ch. 120, par. 6-601 35 ILCS 5/701 from Ch. 120, par. 7-701 Replaces everything after the enacting clause. Amends the Illinois Income Tax Act. Provides that, for purposes of being liable for income tax, compensation is paid in this State if some of the individual's service is performed within this State, the individual's service performed within this State is nonincidental to the individual's service performed without this State, and the individual's service is performed within this State for more than 30 working days during the tax year. Defines terms. Contains provisions concerning the calculation of compensation paid in this State if the employer maintains a time and attendance system. Effective immediately.

Creates the Blockchain Technology Act. Provides for the permitted uses of blockchain technology in transactions and proceedings. Provides limitations to the use of blockchain technology. Prohibits units of local government from implementing specified restrictions on the use of blockchain technology. Defines terms.

Amends the Business Corporation Act of 1983. Requires the Secretary of State to maintain a list of domestic and foreign corporations regulated under the Public Utilities Act, the Collateral Recovery Act, or the Personal Property Storage Act (rather than the Public Utilities Act), or specified provisions of the Illinois Vehicle Code (rather than both the Public Utilities Act and Chapter 18 of the Illinois Vehicle Code) that hold, as a prerequisite for doing business in the State, any franchise, license, permit, or right to engage in a business regulated by the Acts. Provides that each month the Secretary of State shall, by written notice, advise the Chief Clerk of the Illinois Commerce Commission of: any domestic corporation on the list that has been dissolved within the month; and any foreign corporation on the list whose authority to do business in Illinois has been revoked within the month. Provides that the Secretary of State and the Illinois Commerce Commission may provide each other with this information in an electronic format, including records of the Secretary of State that will provide the Illinois Commerce Commission the information it requires under the statutes it administers. Requires the provision of such information to begin as soon as practicable, but no later than October 1, 2020. Makes similar changes to the General Not For Profit Corporation Act of 1986, the Limited Liability Company Act, the Uniform Partnership Act (1997), and the Uniform Limited Partnership Act (2001).

Amends the Attorney General Act. Creates the Worker Protection Unit within the Office of the Illinois Attorney General to intervene in, initiate, enforce, and defend all criminal or civil legal proceedings on matters and violations relating to specified statutes. Provides further powers and requirements of the Attorney General in the Worker Protection Unit. Creates the Worker Protection Task Force. Provides for the purposes and composition of the Task Force. Provides that the Task Force shall submit a report to the Governor and the General Assembly regarding its progress no later than December 1, 2020. Repeals the Task Force December 1, 2021. Senate Floor Amendment No. 1 Replaces everything after the enacting clause. Reinserts the provisions of the introduced bill with additions and changes. Modifies provisions concerning the Worker Protection Unit. Specifies that the Unit shall be dedicated to combating businesses that underpay their employees, force their employees to work in unsafe conditions, and gain an unfair economic advantage by avoiding their tax and labor responsibilities. Specifies that the Unit shall have the power and duty to intervene in, initiate, and enforce all legal proceedings on matters related to the payment of wages, the safety of the workplace, and fair employment practices. Provides that the Office of the Attorney General may use information obtained by the Worker Protection Unit for law enforcement purposes only. Modifies provisions concerning the Worker Protection Unit Task Force. Provides that the Task Force shall be coordinated by the Office of the Attorney General to promote a statewide outreach and enforcement effort to target businesses that violate the State's worker protection laws (currently, to target Illinois' underground economy). Adds members to the Task Force. Makes other changes concerning the purposes and duties of the Unit and Task Force.

Amends the Property Tax Code. In a Section concerning the Senior Citizens Homestead Exemption, provides that in all counties (now, in counties with less than 3,000,000 inhabitants), the county board may by resolution provide that if a person has been granted a senior citizens homestead exemption, the person qualifying need not reapply for the exemption. Provides that the county recorder of deeds shall alert the assessor whenever the transfer of ownership of any property receiving a Senior Citizens Homestead Exemption has occurred. Provides that, if such a transfer occurs, the assessor shall remove the exemption and provide the new property owner with information concerning reapplication. Effective immediately. Senate Floor Amendment No. 1 Provides that the county assessor shall exchange information with the county recorder of deeds or the county clerk (in the introduced bill, the county recorder of deeds only) for the purpose of alerting the assessor whenever the transfer of ownership of any property receiving a Senior Citizens Homestead Exemption has occurred. Provides that changes in the introduced bill concerning reapplication for the Senior Citizens Homestead Exemption apply for taxable year 2019 and thereafter. House Committee Amendment No. 1 Deletes reference to: 35 ILCS 200/15-170 Adds reference to: 35 ILCS 5/205 from Ch. 120, par. 2-205 Replaces everything after the enacting clause. Amends the Illinois Income Tax Act. Makes changes concerning the calculation of base income for an organization that is exempt from the federal income tax by reason of the Internal Revenue Code. Effective immediately.

Amends the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act. Removes the list of mandated reports under the Act and instead lists several categories of professionals required to report suspected child abuse and neglect to the Department of Children and Family Services, including: (1) medical personnel; (2) social services and mental health personnel; and (3) crisis intervention personnel. Provides that when 2 or more persons who work within the same workplace and are required to report under the Act share a reasonable cause to believe that a child may be an abused or neglected child, a single report may be made by a designated reporter. Provides that nothing in the Act requires a child to come before the mandated reporter in order for the reporter to make a report of suspected child abuse or child neglect. Provides that persons required to report under the Act must complete mandated reporter training provided through or approved by the Department and that the training must be completed within a specified timeframe. Requires the Department to adopt rules by January 1, 2020 on its process for approving mandated reporter training. Provides that, by January 1, 2021, continuing education requirements for persons licensed by the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation must include mandated reporter training. Requires the Department, by January 1, 2020, to adopt rules and procedures for educating members of the public about their right to report child abuse or neglect. Requires the Department to seek assistance from businesses and organizations on raising awareness about child abuse and child neglect and the Department's statewide toll-free child abuse hotline. Senate Committee Amendment No. 1 Replaces everything after the enacting clause. Amends the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act. Organizes the list of mandated reporters under the Act into the following categories of professionals: (i) medical personnel; (ii) social services and mental health personnel; (iii) crisis intervention personnel; (iv) education personnel; (v) recreation or athletic program or facility personnel; (vi) child care personnel; (vii) law enforcement personnel; (viii) funeral home directors; (ix) clergy members; and (x) physicians and other specified medical personnel who provide abortions, abortion referrals, or contraceptives. Provides that when 2 or more persons who work within the same workplace and are required to report under the Act share a reasonable cause to believe that a child may be an abused or neglected child, a single report may be made by a designated reporter. Provides that nothing in the Act requires a child to come before the mandated reporter in order for the reporter to make a report of suspected child abuse or child neglect. Provides that persons required to report under the Act must complete mandated reporter training within 3 months of their date of engagement in a professional or official capacity as a mandated reporter, and at least every 3 years thereafter. Provides that the trainings shall be in-person or web-based, and shall include, at a minimum, information on certain topics, including: (a) indicators for recognizing child abuse and child neglect, as defined under the Act; and (b) responding to a child in a trauma-informed manner. Provides that the mandated reporter training shall be provided through the Department of Children and Family Services, through an entity authorized to provide continuing education for professionals licensed through the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, the State Board of Education, the Illinois Law Enforcement Training Standards Board, or the Department of State Police, or through an organization approved by the Department to provide mandated reporter training. Requires the Department of Children and Family Services to make available a free web-based training for reporters. Requires each mandated reporter to report to his or her employer and, when applicable, to his or her licensing or certification board that he or she received the mandated reporter training. Provides that beginning January 1, 2021, if a mandated reporter receives licensure from the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation or the State Board of Education, and his or her profession has continuing education requirements, the training mandated under the Act shall count toward meeting the licensee's required continuing education hours. Requires the Department of Children and Family Services to develop culturally sensitive materials on child abuse and child neglect, the statewide toll-free telephone number established under the Act, and the process for reporting any reasonable suspicion of child abuse or child neglect. Senate Floor Amendment No. 2 Replaces everything after the enacting clause. Reinserts the provisions of Senate Amendment No. 1, but with the following changes: Provides that educational personnel required to report under the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act must do so only to the extent required under a specified provision of the Act (rather than only to the extent required in accordance with other provisions expressly concerning the duty of school board members to report suspected child abuse). Provides that when 2 or more persons who work within the same workplace and are required to report under the Act share a reasonable cause to believe that a child may be an abused or neglected child, one of those reporters may be designated to make a single report (rather than a single report may be made by a designated reporter). In a provision requiring mandated reporters to complete reporter training within 3 months of their date of engagement in a professional or official capacity as a mandated reporter, provides that the 3-month requirement may be extended to 6 months pursuant to any other applicable State law that governs training requirements for a specific profession. Requires certain medical personnel who work with children in their professional or official capacity to complete mandated reporter training at least every 6 years. Requires such medical personnel to attest at each time of licensure renewal on their renewal form that they understand they are a mandated reporter of child abuse and neglect, that they are aware of the process for making a report, that they know how to respond to a child in a trauma-informed manner, and that they are aware of the role of child protective services and the role of a reporter after a call has been made. Requires medical personnel who do not work with children in their professional or official capacity to make similar affirmations in lieu of repeated training. House Committee Amendment No. 1 Adds reference to: 50 ILCS 705/7 from Ch. 85, par. 507 Amends the Illinois Police Training Act. Provides that the curriculum for probationary police officers at all certified police training schools shall include a block of instruction addressing the mandatory reporting requirements under the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act. Provides that minimum in-service training requirements, which a police officer must complete every 3 years, shall include training on reporting child abuse and neglect. Further amends the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act. Provides that persons required to report under the Act must complete an initial mandated reporter training (rather than must complete mandated reporter training) within 3 months of their date of engagement in a professional or official capacity as a mandated reporter, or within the time frame of any other applicable State law that governs training requirements for a specific profession, and at least every 3 years thereafter. Provides that the initial requirement (rather than the initial 3-month requirement) only applies to the first time they engage in their professional or official capacity (rather than only applies to the first time they engage in their professional or official capacity and may be extended to 6 months pursuant to any other applicable State law that governs training requirements for a specific profession).

Amends the Clinical Social Work Practice Act. Requires the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation to adopt rules allowing an applicant who is enrolled in an approved program for a master's degree in social work to sit for the authorized examination for licensed social workers in the final semester of the program. Effective January 1, 2020. House Floor Amendment No. 2 Replaces everything after the enacting clause. Amends the Clinical Social Work and Social Work Practice Act. Provides that applicants for a license as a licensed social worker enrolled in an approved program for a master's degree in social work may sit for the authorized examination for licensed social workers in the final semester of the program without prior approval of the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. Allows the Department to adopt rules to administer the provisions. Requires applicants for a license as a licensed social worker to still meet all requirements for licensure. Effective January 1, 2020.

Amends the Illinois Insurance Code. In provisions concerning coverage for anesthetics provided in conjunction with dental care to an individual diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, removes the requirement that anesthetics be provided by a dentist licensed under the Illinois Dental Practice Act and changes the age of the individual that treatment shall be covered to under age 26 (rather than under age 19). Senate Committee Amendment No. 1 Replaces everything after the enacting clause. Amends the Illinois Insurance Code. In provisions concerning coverage for anesthetics provided in conjunction with dental care to an individual diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, requires coverage for anesthetics provided by a physician licensed to practice medicine in all of its branches under the Medical Practice Act of 1987 and changes the age of the individual for which treatment shall be covered to under age 26 (rather than under age 19). House Floor Amendment No. 1 Replaces everything after the enacting clause. Amends the Illinois Insurance Code. In provisions concerning coverage for anesthetics provided in conjunction with dental care to an individual diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, changes the age of the individual that treatment shall be covered to under age 26 (rather than under age 19).

Amends the Illinois Public Aid Code. Requires the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) to identify and flag college students who are potentially eligible to receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. Provides that the factors to be used to determine potential SNAP eligibility shall be prescribed by ISAC in consultation with the Department of Human Services, but at a minimum shall include income information reported on a college student's Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Requires ISAC, in consultation with the Department of Human Services, to develop a notice that ISAC shall make available electronically to institutions of higher education that includes, at a minimum, college student SNAP eligibility criteria, the Application for Benefits Eligibility's website address, and the Illinois Hunger Coalition's Hunger Hotline. Requires Illinois institutions of higher education that participate in the Monetary Award Program to provide the notice in writing to all students who are enrolled or accepted for enrollment and are identified by ISAC as potentially SNAP eligible. Requires ISAC to adopt rules. Effective immediately. Senate Committee Amendment No. 1 Adds reference to: 305 ILCS 5/12-4.13b Replaces everything after the enacting clause. Reinserts the provisions of the introduced bill, but with the following changes and additions: Provides that the Department of Human Services shall consult with the Illinois Workforce Innovation Board (rather than with the Illinois Workforce Investment Board) to establish a protocol to identify and verify all potential exemptions to certain federal eligibility rules under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Provides that a career and technical educational program approved by the Illinois Community College Board that could be a component of a SNAP Employment and Training (E&T) program, as identified by the Department of Human Services, shall be considered an employment and training program under a specified provision of the Code of Federal Regulations, unless prohibited by federal law. In provisions requiring the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) to adopt rules concerning SNAP eligibility notifications to college students, requires ISAC to adopt the rules on or before October 1, 2020 (rather than on or before October 1, 2019). Effective immediately. House Committee Amendment No. 1 Requires the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) to annually include information about the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in the language that schools are required to provide to students eligible for the Monetary Award Program grant (rather than requiring ISAC to identify and flag college students who are potentially eligible to receive SNAP benefits). Provides that the language shall, at a minimum, direct students to information about college student eligibility criteria for SNAP, and direct students to the Department of Human Services and to the Illinois Hunger Coalition's Hunger Hotline for additional information. Requires Illinois institutions of higher education that participate in the Monetary Award Program (MAP) to provide the notice to all students who are enrolled, or who are accepted for enrollment and intending to enroll, and who have been identified by ISAC as MAP-eligible at the institution (rather than requiring ISAC to develop, in consultation with the Department of Human Services, an electronic notice for institutions of higher education that includes, at a minimum, college student SNAP eligibility criteria, the Application for Benefits Eligibility's website address, and the Illinois Hunger Coalition's Hunger Hotline).

Amends the Illinois Insurance Code. Requires an individual or group policy of accident and health insurance or managed care organization that provides mental health benefits to provide reimbursement for benefits that are delivered through the psychiatric Collaborative Care Model. Provides that an individual or group policy of accident and health insurance or managed care organization that provides mental health benefits may deny reimbursement of any current procedural terminology code listed on the grounds of medical necessity if medical necessity determinations are in compliance with federal law and related regulations. Makes conforming changes to the Illinois Public Aid Code. Effective immediately. Senate Floor Amendment No. 1 Replaces the definition of "psychiatric Collaborative Care Model" with language providing that the term means the evidence-based, integrated behavioral health service delivery method, which includes a formal collaborative arrangement among a primary care team consisting of a primary care provider, a care manager, and a psychiatric consultant, and includes, but is not limited to, the following elements: care directed by the primary care team; structured care management; regular assessments of clinical status using validated tools; and modification of treatment as appropriate. House Floor Amendment No. 1 Changes the immediate effective date to January 1, 2020.