Creates the Wooded Land Assessment Task Force concerning the assessment of wooded land and property under forestry management programs. Urges the Department of Revenue to accept the reduced valuation of certain wooded land for the 2006 and 2007 taxable years.
Amends the Special Service Area Tax Law in the Property Tax Code. Provides that a municipality may propose a special service area as provided in this Law for the purpose of providing improvements to any one or more buildings if the improvements are required by municipal ordinance in order to protect the health and safety of workers, tenants, and visitors in the buildings. Sets forth requirements for establishing the special service area.
Amends the Township Code. Provides that a township with an open space plan may receive and retain funds in surplus of the amount actually necessary to maintain that township's open spaces. Effective immediately.
Mourns the death of Christopher "Chris" Dwyer of McHenry.
Amends the Counties Code. Provides that, in its annual budget, a county may appropriate an amount not to exceed 5% (now, 3%) of the amount appropriated to the county's general corporate or operating fund, for the purpose of making specified capital improvements, repairs, or replacements with respect to real property or equipment or other tangible personal property of the county. Effective immediately.
Creates the Home Health and Hospice Drug Dispensation and Administration Act. Allows home health agencies, hospices, and their authorized nursing employees to purchase, store, or transport certain drugs for the purpose of administering the drugs to home health agency and hospice patients. Requires an agency or hospice that purchases, stores, or transports these drugs to establish policies and procedures concerning proper storage, transportation, temperature stability, removal from container on physician's order, administration of the drug, and the maintenance of written records. Provides that an agency, hospice, or authorized nursing employee may administer the drug only in the patient's residence under physician's orders. Sets forth procedures for agency and hospice handling of physician oral orders and pharmacy dispensation of the drugs. Provides that upon a home health agency's administration or dispensation of a drug to a patient, that agency shall be reimbursed the cost of the drug by the Department of Public Aid. Effective immediately.
Amends the Illinois Governmental Ethics Act. Eliminates the requirement the county clerk must notify a person when his or her statement of economic interests is examined. Effective immediately.
Amends the Landlord and Tenant Act. Provides that covenants in commercial leases exempting the lessor from liability for property damage are not void as against public policy. Effective immediately.
Amends the Child Care Act of 1969. Defines "adoption services" and "unlicensed pre-adoptive and adoptive home". Provides that any agency, person, group of persons, association, organization, corporation, institution, center, or group engaging in adoption services for compensation must be licensed by the Department of Children and Family Services as a child welfare agency. Provides that the Department shall not issue or renew the license of any child welfare agency providing adoption services, unless that agency (i) is officially recognized by the United States Internal Revenue Service as a tax-exempt organization and (ii) is in compliance with all of the standards necessary to maintain its status as a tax-exempt organization. Adds provisions concerning disclosures, a parent training program, an annual report, documents concerning waivers, preferential treatment, and other requirements. Requires the Department to establish a complaint registry and a toll-free telephone number and to post registry information on its website to assist in the monitoring of child welfare agencies providing adoption services. Further requires the Department to adopt rules concerning the complaint policies and procedures of child welfare agencies that provide adoption services. Makes changes concerning child care facility and child welfare agency advertising. Amends the Adoption Compensation Prohibition Act. Provides that the fees, wages, salaries, or other compensation of any description paid to those persons or entities acting on behalf of a child welfare agency providing adoption services shall not be unreasonably high in relation to the services actually rendered. Provides that the Department of Children and Family Services may adopt rules setting forth the criteria to determine what constitutes unreasonably high fees and compensation. Amends the Adoption Act to refer to the provision of adoption services. Makes other changes.
Amends the Election Code. Requires that absentee ballots received by election authorities through the 10th day after an election be counted if the ballots are postmarked before the date of the election. Requires that the State Board of Elections adopt rules for the provision of election judges for the counting of those ballots.
