Sen. Michael Noland

Amends the Prevailing Wage Act. Provides that for a laborer, worker, or mechanic engaged in the transportation of aggregate or excavated materials or the operation of equipment to haul aggregate or excavated materials to or from the site of the building or construction job, the Department of Labor shall take into consideration the applicable prevailing wage rate and the Illinois Department of Transportation's current method of establishing equipment rates for trucks on public works projects. Defines various terms.

Amends the School Code. Provides that for the 2009-2010 school year and each school year thereafter, for school districts located in more than one county that use an estimated equalized assessed value to calculate the limiting rate utilized in specified calculations, the State Board of Education shall make estimated payments of the resulting general State aid claim until the actual limiting rate becomes available and is provided to the State Board of Education by the affected school districts. Provides that once the actual limiting rate becomes available for the school districts in a specified manner, the State Board of Education shall recalculate the general State aid claim of those school districts using the actual limiting rate and adjust the remaining general State aid payments for those school districts so that those school districts receive the total amount of general State aid payments resulting from the use of the actual limiting rate. Effective immediately.

Amends the Community Services Act. Provides that for services classified as entitlement services under federal law or guidelines, caps may not be placed on the total amount of payment a provider may receive in a fiscal year and the Department of Human Services shall not require that a portion of the payments due be made in a subsequent fiscal year based on a yearly payment cap. Effective immediately.

Creates the Employee Credit Privacy Act. Prohibits employers from inquiring about or using an employee's or prospective employee's credit history as a basis for employment, recruitment, discharge, or compensation with some exceptions. Prohibits an employer from retaliating or discriminating against a person who files a complaint under the Act, participates in an investigation, proceeding, or action concerning a violation of the Act, or opposes a violation of the Act. Contains provisions concerning waiver and remedies.

Creates the Debt Settlement Consumer Protection Act. Provides that it shall be unlawful for any person to operate as a debt settlement provider or engage in debt settlement service except as authorized by the Act and without first having obtained a license under the Act. Contains provisions concerning the (1) application for a license, (2) qualifications for licensure, (3) renewal of a license, (4) display requirements for a license, (5) temporary licensed locations, (6) denial of a license, (7) revocation or suspension of a license, (8) maintenance of records by a licensee, (9) examination of a licensee, (10) maintenance of trust funds by a licensee, and (11) other licensee businesses. With respect to the Director of Financial Institutions, contains provisions concerning the (1) adoption of rules by the Director, (2) penalties for violations of the Act, (3) procedure the Director may take to obtain an injunction, (4) review of decisions, (5) issuance of cease and desist orders. Contains provisions concerning (1) advertising practices, (2) individualized financial analysis, (3) required disclosures, (4) debt settlement contracts, (5) fees, (6) consumer settlement accounts, (7) cancellation of contracts, (8) obligations of good faith, (9) prohibited practices and noncompliance with the Act, and (10) civil remedies. Amends the Debt Management Service Act to exclude "debt settlement service" and attorneys engaged in specific practices from the Act. Amends the State Finance Act to provide that moneys collected under the Debt Settlement Consumer Protection Act shall be deposited into the Financial Institution Fund. Contains a severability clause. Amends the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act to specify that a violation of the Debt Settlement Consumer Protection Act is a violation of the Act. Effective immediately.

Amends the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois. Authorizes the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to establish a business ownership grant and loan program for unemployed individuals. Specifies the purposes for which grant funds may be used. Effective January 1, 2011.

Amends the School Code. In provisions concerning the account of expenditures for programs in transitional bilingual education, provides that at least 60% of bilingual funding must be used for instructional costs.

Amends the Illinois Vehicle Code. Provides that a construction contractor or subcontractor operating second division vehicle commercially in this State that fails to display on the side of the vehicle or its trailer the name of the company for which it is employed is guilty of a Class C misdemeanor with a fine of not less than $500 (instead of a petty offense with a fine not to exceed $100).

Amends the Illinois Vehicle Code. Provides that where traffic signals are not in place, vehicles must stop and yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk rather than yielding the right-of-way by slowing down or stopping if need be. Provides that on a school day when children are present and so close that a potential hazard exists because of the close proximity of the motorized traffic and when traffic signals are not in place or in operation, vehicles must stop and yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk rather than yielding the right-of-way by slowing down or stopping if need be to so yield. Effective immediately.

Amends the Abandoned Newborn Infant Protection Act. Provides that the information packet given to a relinquishing parent in accordance with the Act shall not exceed 5 pages and shall include, in addition to other required information, a one-page brochure (self-mailer) that describes the Safe Haven Law; a one-page brochure (self-mailer) that describes the Illinois Adoption Registry; and a one-page brochure describing health information for the mother and how she can get medical care if she needs it. Requires the information packet to be designed in coordination between the Office of Vital Records and the Department of Children and Family Services. Requires the Office of Vital Records to continue to maintain and distribute the information packet, and to hold on file all foundling records of relinquished newborns. Effective immediately.