Sen. Cristina H. Pacione-Zayas

Declares March 15, 2022 as Equal Pay Day.

Amends the Illinois Act on the Aging. Provides that rates for homemaker services shall be increased to $26.52 beginning July 1, 2022 to sustain a minimum wage of $16 per hour for direct service workers. Provides that rates in subsequent State fiscal years shall be no lower than the rates in effect on July 1, 2022. Provides that providers of in-home services shall be required to certify to the Department on Aging that they remain in compliance with the mandated wage increase for direct service workers. Provides that fringe benefits, including, but not limited to, paid time off and payment for training, health insurance, travel, or transportation, shall not be reduced in relation to the rate increases described in the amendatory Act. Effective July 1, 2022.

Amends the Illinois Highway Code. Provides that, in and within one mile of an urban area, the Department of Transportation shall establish and solely fund bicycle and pedestrian ways in conjunction with the construction, reconstruction, or other change of any State transportation facility. Effective immediately.

Creates the Rebuild Illinois Mental Health Workforce Act. Provides that the purpose of the Act is to preserve and expand access to Medicaid community mental health care in Illinois to prevent unnecessary hospitalizations and avoid the criminalization of mental health conditions. Establishes add-on payments for the following community mental health services to be paid beginning with State Fiscal Year 2023 and continuing for each State fiscal year thereafter: individual therapy services; community support-individual services; case management services; and assertive community treatment services. Requires monthly directed payments to community mental health providers of community support team services or assertive community treatment services. Provides that such directed payments shall be based on the number of Medicaid users, as defined, who receive services from the provider in the base year. Provides that the add-on payments established under the Act shall apply to Medicaid services provided by a contracted managed care organization or entity and services paid for directly by the Department of Healthcare and Family Services. Provides that no base Medicaid rate or Medicaid rate add-on payment or any other payment for the provision of Medicaid community mental health services in place on July 1, 2021 shall be diminished or changed to make the reimbursement changes required under the Act. Requires the Department to apply for federal approval to implement the Act. Provides that implementation of the add-on payments is conditioned on the receipt of federal financial participation for such payments. Effective immediately.

Amends the Illinois Income Tax Act. Creates a credit for each child of the taxpayer who is under the age of 17 in an amount equal to $100. Provides that the credit shall be reduced by $5 for each $2,000 by which the taxpayer's net income exceeds $60,000 in the case of a joint return or exceeds $40,000 in the case of any other form of return. Effective immediately.

Amends the Sick Leave Bank Act. Provides that the term "Agency" does not include the State Board of Education. Amends the School Code to make changes in provisions concerning the State Board's strategic plan, a State mandate report, the School Technology Program, a reading advisory group, school district and school report cards, the suspension or expulsion of pupils, licensure requirements for educators trained in other states or countries, chronic absenteeism in preschool children, physical fitness assessments, State reimbursement for transportation, and the Chicago Educational Facilities Task Force. Repeals a provision concerning the State Board's annual report to the Governor and General Assembly on the condition of the schools.

Amends the Use Tax Act, the Service Use Tax Act, the Service Occupation Tax Act, the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act, the Cigarette Tax Act, the Cigarette Use Tax Act, the Hotel Operators' Occupation Tax Act, the Motor Fuel Tax Law, the Telecommunications Excise Tax Act, and the Liquor Control Act of 1934. Provides that the vendor discount amount under those Acts shall be 2% on and after January 1, 2022. Provides that the vendor discount may not exceed $1,000 per vendor in any calendar year. Effective immediately.

Amends the Delinquent Minors Article of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987. Adds a Part concerning Fitness to Stand Trial. Specifies the unfitness standard for a child. Sets forth procedures to raise the issue of the unfitness of a child. Specifies the burden of proof and a presumption. Provides requirements for a fitness evaluation and hearing to determine the fitness of a child. Provides the requirements for the services to attain fitness, the period to obtain fitness, initial and subsequent progress reports, periodic hearings, and in-court assistance to render a child fit. Specifies time credit and sentencing guidelines for a child who attains fitness. Provides for the legal disposition of a child if fitness cannot be attained. Contains other provisions. Effective July 1, 2023.

Amends the Savings Bank Act. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning registration of savings bank holding companies.

Amends the Illinois Public Aid Code. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning supportive living facilities. Senate Floor Amendment No. 1 Deletes reference to: 305 ILCS 5/5-5.01a Adds reference to: 305 ILCS 5/5-30.1 Replaces everything after the enacting clause. Amends the Medical Assistance Article of the Illinois Public Aid Code. Removes a provision that requires the Department of Healthcare and Family Services to post the contracted claims report required by HealthChoice Illinois on its website every 3 months. Effective immediately. House Floor Amendment No. 3 Deletes reference to: 305 ILCS 5/5-30.1 Adds reference to: New Act Replaces everything after the enacting clause. Creates the Consumer Choice in Maternal Care for African-American Mothers Program Act. Requires the Task Force on Infant and Maternal Mortality Among African Americans to partner with Holistic Birth Collective to develop rules for a Medicaid voucher program to expand consumer choice for Black mothers that includes planned home birth services and in-home perinatal and postpartum care services provided by racially concordant nationally accredited certified professional midwives who are licensed and registered in Illinois. Requires the Task Force to submit reports to the General Assembly, beginning January 1, 2024, and each January 1 thereafter, that provide a status update on the program and annual impact measure reporting. Provides that the program shall implement a maternity episode payment model that provides a single payment for all services across the prenatal, intrapartum, and postnatal period which covers the 9 months of pregnancy plus 12 weeks of postpartum. Requires the Department of Healthcare and Family Services to make available to the Task Force all relevant data related to maternal care expenditures made under the State's Medical Assistance Program so that budget-neutral reimbursement rates can be established for bundled maternal care services spanning the prenatal, labor and delivery, and postpartum phases of a maternity episode. Effective January 1, 2022. House Floor Amendment No. 4 Replaces everything after the enacting clause. Reinserts House Amendment No. 3 with the following changes. Provides that the Task Force on Infant and Maternal Mortality Among African Americans shall partner with Holistic Birth Collective to advise the Department of Healthcare and Family Services on the development of a Medicaid voucher program that is eligible for federal dollars to expand consumer choice for Black mothers that includes planned home birth services and in-home perinatal and postpartum care services provided by racially concordant nationally accredited certified professional midwives who are licensed and registered in Illinois. Provides that the Department of Healthcare and Family Services and the Department of Public Health are authorized to adopt rules to implement the new provisions. Provides that the Department of Healthcare and Family Services must apply for a State Plan amendment no later than December 31, 2022.