Sen. Patrick Welch

Amends the Public Utilities Act. Makes a technical change in the short title Section.

Appropriates $2 from the General Revenue Fund to the Prairie State 2000 Authority for its FY04 ordinary and contingent expenses. Effective July 1, 2003.

Amends the County Economic Development Project Area Property Tax Allocation Act. Provides that the corporate authorities of Grundy County may, by ordinance, propose the establishment of an economic development project and fix a time and place for a public hearing and must submit a certified copy of the ordinance, as adopted, to the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.

Makes appropriations to the Board of Higher Education for various purposes, including ordinary and contingent expenses. Makes appropriations to the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy for various purposes, including ordinary and contingent expenses. Effective July 1, 2004.

Amends the Public Utilities Act. Sets forth legislative findings concerning the funding and implementation of renewable energy sources by public universities. Effective immediately.

Amends the Illinois Finance Authority Act. Provides that the Illinois Finance Authority must maintain the level of bond funding for all functions and programs that were operated under the Illinois Farm Development Act and the Rural Bond Bank Act that existed before the Illinois Finance Authority assumed the rights, powers, and duties of the Illinois Farm Development Authority and the Rural Bond Bank. Effective immediately.

Amends the Environmental Protection Act. Sets forth restrictions on the disposal of covered electronic devices. Creates the Electronics Recovery and Recycling Fund as a special fund in the State Treasury. Sets forth fees that must be paid by a retailer upon the sale of certain electronic products and requires that the moneys from the fees be deposited into the Fund. Sets forth the purposes for which the moneys in the Fund may be used. Requires retailers of electronic products to file a quarterly return concerning the fees for the sale of electronic products. Sets forth the procedures for the Department of Revenue's collection of the fees. Provides that any retailer who: fails to make a return; makes a fraudulent return; or willfully violates any rule or regulation of the Department of Revenue for the administration and enforcement of the fee is guilty of a Class 4 felony. Requires the Environmental Protection Agency to submit a report to the General Assembly before January 1, 2008 concerning the recycling of electronic products. Authorizes the Agency to propose regulations for a program requiring manufacturers to accept for disposal any electronic product that they have manufactured. Establishes an advisory committee concerning electronic products. Amends the State Finance Act to create the Electronics Recovery and Recycling Fund. Effective January 1, 2005.

Appropriates $2 from the General Revenue Fund to the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board for its FY04 ordinary and contingent expenses. Effective July 1, 2003.

Amends the Board of Higher Education Act. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning reimbursement for a Board member's expenses.

Creates the Volunteer Firefighter Job Protection Act. Provides that no public or private employer may terminate an employee who is a volunteer firefighter because the employee, when acting as a volunteer firefighter, is absent from or late to his or her employment in order to respond to an emergency prior to the time the employee is to report to his or her place of employment. Provides that an employee who is terminated in violation of the Act may bring a civil action against his or her employer for reinstatement to the employee's former position, payment of back wages, reinstatement of fringe benefits, and reinstatement of seniority rights. Limits the concurrent exercise of home rule powers. Effective immediately.