Sen. Mattie Hunter

Amends the Higher Education Student Assistance Act. Makes changes concerning veteran grants with regard to who qualifies for assistance, the type of assistance, notification to the postsecondary institution, and administration of the program. Makes changes concerning the Illinois National Guard grant program with regard to who is eligible for a grant and what the grant covers. Effective July 1, 2005.

Amends the State Budget Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois. Makes a technical change concerning submission of the State budget.

Amends the Illinois Clean Indoor Air Act. Provides that a home rule unit of local government or any municipality in this State may regulate smoking in public places. Provides that this regulation must be no less restrictive than the regulation in the Act. Changes the home rule limitation from an absolute preemption to a limitation on the concurrent exercise of home rule power. Maintains the exemption from home rule requirements for home rule units that passed ordinances regulating smoking before October 1, 1989. Limits the concurrent exercise of home rule powers.

Amends the Day and Temporary Labor Services Act. Adds legislative findings and provisions concerning recordkeeping, retaliation, private rights of action, and severability. Makes numerous changes concerning definitions, employment notices, meals, transportation, wage payment, notices to laborers, regulation of day and temporary labor service agencies, registration of day and temporary labor service agencies, violations, enforcement, penalties, regulation of third party employers, and other matters.

Creates the Child Welfare Student Loan Forgiveness Act. Establishes the Child Welfare Student Loan Forgiveness Program to provide loan assistance, subject to appropriation, to eligible students for upper-division undergraduate and graduate study in social work or human services. Provides that forgivable loans may be awarded for a maximum of 2 academic years and requires a loan recipient to work in child welfare at the Department of Children and Family Services, its successor, or a contracting agency for at least the number of years for which the loan is received. Sets maximum amounts for the loans at $4,000 for loans awarded at the undergraduate level and $8,000 for loans awarded at the graduate level. Contains provisions concerning eligibility, repayment, credit, and a penalty for non-compliance.

Amends the Criminal Code of 1961. Provides that a prosecution for the offense of leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident involving death or personal injuries or failing to give information and render aid following a motor vehicle accident that involves death or personal injuries or damage to an attended vehicle may be commenced at any time.

Amends the Department of Transportation Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois. Provides that, upon enactment of a federal transportation bill with a dedicated fund available to states for safe routes for schools, the Department of Transportation shall, in cooperation with the State Board of Education and the Department of State Police, establish and administer a Safe Routes to School Construction Program for the construction of bicycle and pedestrian safety and traffic-calming projects, with construction grants being made available to local governmental agencies. Effective immediately.

Amends the Department of Veterans Affairs Act. Provides that, subject to appropriations for that purpose, the Department shall fund 2 service officer positions for each veterans service organization that maintains an office in the Veterans Affairs Regional Office (VARO) in Chicago. Provides that a service officer whose position is funded under these provisions shall be an employee of the veterans service organization with which the service officer is placed, and the service officer shall be under the direct control of that veterans service organization. Provides that such a service officer must be certified by the federal government in the manner in which the head service officer of each office is certified. Provides that to be eligible to receive any moneys for the funding of a service officer position under these provisions, a veterans service organization must have maintained a state headquarters in this State for at least 10 years before July 1, 2005. Provides that a veterans service organization that is being funded with State or county moneys under any other provision of law on the effective date of this amendatory Act may not receive any moneys for the funding of a service officer position under these provisions.

Amends the Department of Public Health Powers and Duties Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois and the State Finance Act. Creates the Autism Research Fund and provides that, from appropriations from the Fund, the Department of Public Health must make grants to public or private entities in Illinois for the purpose of funding research concerning the disorder of autism. Amends the Illinois Income Tax Act to create a tax checkoff for the Fund. Effective immediately.

Amends the Illinois Insurance Code. In provisions requiring an insurer that provides coverage for hospital or medical expenses under a group policy of accident and health insurance or health care plan to provide coverage under the policy for treatment of serious mental illness under the same terms and conditions as coverage for hospital or medical expenses related to other illnesses and diseases (commonly referred to as "mental health parity"), eliminates the December 31, 2005 sunset date that applies to those provisions. Effective immediately.