Sen. Sally Turner

Maddy summaryThis Senate resolution designates December 21, 2024, as Captain James A. Lovell Day throughout the State of Illinois. The measure honors Lovell, a former NASA astronaut and Illinois resident, by officially recognizing his significant contributions to space exploration, including his roles on the Gemini 7, Gemini 12, Apollo 8, and Apollo 13 missions. The text details his extensive military and civilian career, numerous awards, and personal history to provide context for the commemoration. Upon passage, a copy of the resolution will be presented to Captain Lovell as a formal symbol of respect.

Amends the Medical Assistance Article of the Illinois Public Aid Code. Provides that the Department of Healthcare and Family Services shall not enter into a contract with a managed care organization that relies on a pharmacy benefit manager that does not do the following: (i) utilize a pharmacy reimbursement methodology of the lesser of national average drug acquisition cost plus a professional dispensing fee as determined by the Department, the wholesale acquisition cost plus a professional dispensing fee as determined by the Department, or the usual and customary charge by the pharmacy; (ii) reimburse for a legally valid claim at a rate not less than the rate in effect at the time the original claim adjudication was submitted at the point of sale; (iii) agree to move to a transparent pass-through pricing model, in which the pharmacy benefit manager discloses the administrative fee as a percentage of the professional dispensing costs to the Department; (iv) agree to not create new pharmacy administration fees and to not increase current fees more than the rate of inflation; and (v) agree to not terminate an existing contract with a pharmacy licensed under the Pharmacy Practice Act for the sole reason of the additional professional dispensing fee authorized under item (i). Requires each pharmacy benefit manager that receives reimbursement for medical services, either directly or through a Medicaid managed care health plan, to submit by January 15, 2026, and each January 15 thereafter, certain data and information to the Department for the previous fiscal year, including: (1) the total number of prescriptions that were dispensed; (2) the aggregate wholesale acquisition cost for each drug on its formulary; (3) the aggregate amount of rebates, discounts, and price concessions that the pharmacy benefit manager received for each drug on its formulary; (4) the aggregate amount of administrative fees that the pharmacy benefit manager received from all pharmaceutical manufacturers; and (5) any other information considered necessary by the Department. Requires the Department to submit such data and information to the General Assembly and to the Governor's Office of Management and Budget. Provides that such information is confidential and not subject to disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act.

Maddy summaryThis Senate resolution honors the life of Joseph S. "Joe" Schaler, a resident of Lincoln, Illinois, who passed away in May 2024. The bill formally acknowledges his service in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Vietnam War and his extensive community work, including founding the Central Illinois Veterans Commission and serving as a leader in various veteran organizations. It expresses the Senate's condolences to his surviving family members and directs that a copy of the resolution be presented to them as a gesture of sympathy.

Amends the Higher Education Student Assistance Act. Provides that, subject to appropriation, the Illinois Student Assistance Commission shall develop and administer a medical education grant program. Provides that the goal of the program shall be to attract capable and promising students to the medical profession, increase the employment and retention of individuals who are receiving additional clinical training in medicine, and reduce any financial barriers in the medical profession. Provides that under the program, grants shall be awarded to eligible medical students and eligible resident or fellow physicians and be used to cover the nontuition costs of attending a medical or osteopathic college or school or receiving specialty or residency training, including, but not limited to, living expenses. Effective July 1, 2025.

Amends the Illinois Estate and Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax Act. Provides that no tax shall be imposed under the Act for persons dying on or after the effective date or for transfers made on or after the effective date. Effective immediately.

Amends the Child Care Act of 1969. Provides that a day care center may operate for 24 hours or longer and may provide care for a child for a period of up to 12 hours if the parent or guardian of the child is employed in a position that requires regularly scheduled shifts and a 10-hour period elapses between day care visits. Provides that the Department of Children and Family Services shall adopt rules necessary to implement and administer the provisions. Makes a conforming change.

Amends the Illinois Estate and Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax Act. Makes certain changes concerning estates that contain qualified farm property. Provides that, for the purposes of calculating the State Death Tax Credit, those estates are subject to an exemption of $6,000,000 (rather than an exclusion amount of $4,000,000), which shall be deducted from the net estate value after the net estate value is computed in accordance with the Act. Provides that the exemption shall be adjusted each year according to the increase in the Consumer Price Index. Makes changes concerning the calculation of the deceased spousal unused exclusion amount for those estates. Provides for a special use valuation to provide that the value of the qualified farm property shall be calculated without regard to certain limitations under the Internal Revenue Code. Makes changes concerning the definition of "qualified heir" to provide that a decedent's brother, sister, uncle, aunt, niece, nephew, or first cousin is also included.

Amends the Rescue Squad Districts Act, which is becoming the Emergency Services District Act on January 1, 2024. Increases the amount of the levy that a district may initially levy upon formation of the district from .20% to .40%. Provides that districts organized before January 1, 2024 may, by ordinance or resolution, increase the tax rate authorized by their organizational proposition by up to .20% (but no more than a .40% tax rate in the aggregate, including the amount levied under the organization proposition). Provides that the aggregate amount of all district tax levies may not exceed .80% (with no more than .40% authorized by the organizational referendum and .40% authorized by an ambulance service tax referendum). Provides that the board of trustees of a district may fix, charge, and collect fees not exceeding the reasonable cost of the service for ambulance services rendered by the district within or outside of the district (rather than fix, charge, and collect fees against persons who are not residents of the district and against businesses and other entities that are not located within the district). Removes a provision setting fee amounts at a rate not to exceed $250 per hour and not to exceed $70 per hour per ambulance worker responding to a call for assistance. Provides that the fee that may be charged to reimburse the district for extraordinary expenses of materials used in rendering ambulance services may be up to the reasonable cost of the materials. Effective immediately.

Creates the Child Abuse Notice Act. Requires certain businesses and establishments, including, but not limited to, day care centers, elementary and secondary schools, bus stations, and general acute care hospital emergency rooms, to post in a conspicuous place a notice developed by the Department of Children and Family Services that is aimed toward children under 18 and provides information on what constitutes physical and sexual abuse and how to report such abuse. Requires the notice to be at least 8 1/2 inches by 11 inches in size, written in a 16-point font, unless the notice is provided by electronic means. Requires the Department, in consultation with an accredited Children's Advocacy Center, to develop a model notice no later than 6 months after the effective date of the Act. Requires the Department to make the model notice available for download on the Department's Internet website and provide the notice upon request to eligible business, schools, and other establishments. Provides that the notice shall be printed in English, Spanish, and in one other language that is the most widely spoken language in the county where the establishment is located and for which translation is mandated by the federal Voting Rights Act, as applicable. Imposes certain penalties on those businesses and other establishments that are subject to the Act that fail to comply with the Act's requirements. Exempts school districts and personnel from the penalty provision.

Amends the Regulatory Sunset Act. Provides that the Illinois Certified Shorthand Reporters Act of 1984 is repealed on January 1, 2030 (rather than January 1, 2025). Amends the Illinois Certified Shorthand Reporters Act of 1984. Provides that all applicants and registrants shall: (1) provide a valid address and email address to the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, which shall serve as the address of record and email address of record, respectively, at the time of application for registration or renewal of a registration; and (2) inform the Department of any change of address of record or email address of record within 14 days after such change either through the Department's website or by contacting the Department's licensure maintenance unit. Provides that every application for an original licensee under the Act shall include the applicant's Social Security Number or individual taxpayer identification number. Provides that the report of findings of fact, conclusions of law, and recommendations of the Certified Shorthand Reporters Board shall be the basis for the Secretary of Financial and Professional Regulation's (rather than the Department's) action regarding a certificate. Provides that within 20 days after service of a notice of report of refusal to issue or renew, the respondent may present to the Secretary (rather than to the Department) a motion in writing for a rehearing. Removes a provision providing that exhibits shall be certified without cost. Repeals a provision concerning a roster. Makes corresponding and other changes. Effective immediately.