Sen. Rachel Ventura

Amends the Prior Authorization Reform Act. Provides that, notwithstanding any other provision of law, a health insurance issuer or a contracted utilization review organization may not require prior authorization for preventive health services recommended by a health care professional. Amends the Illinois Insurance Code. Provides that a policy of group health insurance coverage or individual health insurance coverage shall, at a minimum, provide coverage and shall not require prior authorization or impose any cost-sharing requirements, including a copayment, coinsurance, or deductible, for specified preventive health services. Effective January 1, 2027.

Amends the Illinois Human Rights Act. Changes the Public Accommodations and Financial Credit Articles to prohibit discrimination on the basis of citizenship, primary language, or immigration status that includes discrimination against a person because of the person's actual or perceived characteristic or characteristics within the listed categories or that the person is associated with a person who has, or is perceived to have, any particular characteristic or characteristics within the listed categories. "Citizenship" means the status of being: (i) a born U.S. citizen; (ii) a naturalized U.S. citizen; or (iii) a U.S. national. "Immigration status" means citizenship of some country other than the United States, including stateless persons, and the specific authority, or lack thereof, to reside in or otherwise to be present in the United States. "Primary language" means a person's preferred language for communication. Provides that it is not a civil rights violation to verify immigration status or any discrimination based upon verified immigration status if required by federal law. Nothing in the Act may be construed to require the provision of services or documents in a language other than English beyond that which is otherwise required by other provisions of federal, State, or local law. Provides that a civil rights violation for a violation of Articles 4 and 5 may include statutory damages of 3 times the amount of actual damages sustained or $8,000, whichever is the greater.

Amends the Environmental Protection Act. Defines "organic waste". Provides that no person shall conduct an organic waste composting operation, other than a landscape waste composting operation, without an Agency permit. Exempts from this permitting requirement: (1) persons conducting an organic waste composting operation that (i) has no more than 25 cubic yards of source-separated organic waste, composting additives, composting material, or end-product compost on-site at any one time and (ii) is not engaging in commercial activity and (2) persons conducting an organic waste composting operation that meets certain siting and operational requirements.

Amends the Illinois Finance Authority Act. In provisions concerning the Illinois Agricultural Loan Guarantee Fund and the Illinois Farmer and Agribusiness Loan Guarantee Fund, adds language allowing the moneys in the fund to be used by the Illinois Finance Authority, acting jointly with an appropriate administrative agency of the State using appropriations or other available funds with the Governor's approval, for certain purposes of the Authority regarding the Climate Bank. Effective immediately.

Creates the Electrician Licensing Act. Provides for regulation of electricians and electrical contractors. Establishes civil penalties for violations of the Act. Provides that performing unlicensed electrical work, when a license is required by the Act, constitutes a business offense for the first violation and a Class A misdemeanor for a second or subsequent violation. Provides for concurrent exercise of powers by home rule units. Creates the Building Trades Licensing Task Force. Sets forth requirements for the composition and the actions of the Task Force. Amends the State Finance Act to add the Electrical Safety Standards Fund. Effective January 1, 2027.

Amends the Medical Patient Rights Act and the Veterinary Medicine and Surgery Practice Act of 2004. Provides that a health care provider and a person engaged in the practice of veterinary medicine shall not charge a patient or client or require the patient or client to pay a fee for a missed or late appointment. Provides that nothing in the provisions shall be construed to prohibit health care providers and a persons engaged in the practice of veterinary medicine from developing and implementing an incentive program to encourage patients or clients to adhere to scheduled appointments. Provides that any health care provider or person engaged in the practice of veterinary medicine that violates the provisions concerning missed and late appointment fees is guilty of a petty offense and shall be fined $500 per violation.

Affirms support for the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Urges State agencies and the Illinois General Assembly to advance policies and practices that align with the principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Urges President Trump to submit the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child to the U.S. Senate for its advice and consent without delay, and further calls on the U.S. Senate to move swiftly to approve the Convention.

Amends the Unified Code of Corrections. Deletes a provision that it is an aggravating factor in sentencing that the sentence is necessary to deter others from committing the same crime.

Amends the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois. Provides that the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity shall develop a program of technical assistance in support of regional manufacturing partnerships that include secondary, postsecondary, and workforce stakeholders. Provides that the program shall include a collaboration between an employer association representing manufacturers and a public university.

Creates the Prostitution Investigation Act. Provides that each law enforcement agency shall create, on or before January 1, 2025, a policy that prohibits law enforcement officers from knowingly and willingly performing an act of sexual penetration with the suspect of a criminal investigation of prostitution during the course of an investigation conducted by that officer. Provides that the policy shall be posted and made publicly available. Amends various Acts to change "juvenile prostitution" to "commercial sexual exploitation of a child", "prostitute" to "person engaged in the sex trade", and "juvenile prostitute" to "sexually exploited child". Amends the Statute on Statutes. Provides that the changes of names of the offenses and persons convicted of those offenses do not affect the validity of dispositions entered under the previous names. Amends the Criminal Identification Act. Provides that law enforcement agencies shall automatically expunge the law enforcement records relating to a person's Class 4 felony conviction for prostitution if that conviction is eligible for expungement. Provides that in the absence of a court order or upon the order of a court, the clerk of the circuit court shall automatically expunge the court records and case files relating to a person's Class 4 felony conviction for prostitution if that conviction is eligible for expungement. Provides that automatic expungements shall be completed no later than January 1, 2025. Provides for comparable provisions for such convictions that are eligible for sealing.