Sen. Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant

Amends the Illinois Vehicle Code. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning a short title. Senate Floor Amendment No. 1 Deletes reference to: 625 ILCS 5/18c-1101 Adds reference to: 625 ILCS 5/2-112 from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 2-112 625 ILCS 5/6-109 Replaces everything after the enacting clause. Amends the Illinois Vehicle Code. Provides that the Secretary of State shall include, in each registration renewal notice, information advising drivers of how to properly approach a stationary authorized emergency vehicle. Provides that the Secretary shall include, in the question pool used for the written portion of the driver's license examination, test questions concerning safe driving when approaching authorized emergency vehicles.

Amends the State Treasurer Act. Modifies and reorganizes provisions concerning the ABLE account program. Provides that a designated representative under the program includes, among other persons, the account owner's guardian of the person or any other State-appointed guardian. Provides that the State Treasurer may enter into agreements with other states to either allow Illinois residents to participate in a plan operated by another state or to allow residents of other states to participate in the Illinois ABLE plan. Modifies terms under the Act. Amends the Probate Act of 1975. Modifies provisions concerning duties of a guardian of a minor, duties of a personal guardian, and duties of an estate guardian to allow a specified guardian to, without an order of court, open, maintain, and transfer funds to an ABLE account on behalf of the ward and the ward's dependent children as specified under the ABLE account program. Makes conforming and other changes. Effective immediately. Senate Committee Amendment No. 1 Deletes reference to: 15 ILCS 505/16.6 755 ILCS 5/11-13 755 ILCS 5/11a-17 755 ILCS 5/11a-18 Adds reference to: 15 ILCS 505/16.5 Replaces everything after the enacting clause. Amends the State Treasurer Act. Provides that the contributions deposited in the College Savings Pool, and any earnings thereon, shall not constitute property of the State or be commingled with State funds and the State shall have no claim to or against, or interest in, such funds; provides that the State Treasurer may collect fees in accordance with the Act. Provides that the State Treasurer shall provide a separate accounting for each designated beneficiary of a College Savings Pool account. Provides that the separate accounting shall be provided to the account owner of the account for the designated beneficiary at least annually and shall show the account balance, the investment in the account, the investment earnings, and the distributions from the account. Provides that the State Treasurer shall establish fees to be imposed on accounts to cover (currently, recover) the costs of administration, recordkeeping, and investment management. Provides that administrative fees, costs, and expenses, including investment fees and expenses, shall be paid from the assets of the College Savings Pool. Removes a provision specifying that, to the extent a nonqualified withdrawal is made from an account, the earnings portion of such distribution may be treated by the Internal Revenue Service as income subject to income tax and a 10% federal penalty tax. Specifies that the Illinois Student Assistance Commission shall provide the Treasurer with an electronic report listing those College Savings Pool account owners who also participate in the Illinois Prepaid Tuition Program (rather than the State's prepaid tuition program). Removes a provision specifying that the Illinois Student Assistance Commission shall be responsible for filing any combined tax reports regarding State qualified savings programs required by the United States Internal Revenue Service. Removes provisions concerning rules for the administration expenses of the College Savings Pool and amendments to rules and regulations. Provides that specified changes made by this amendatory Act are intended to be a restatement and clarification of existing law. Modifies defined terms and references. Makes other changes. Effective immediately. Senate Floor Amendment No. 2 Restores a provision defining "nonqualified withdrawal".

Amends the School Code. Provides that for a pupil of legal school age and in kindergarten or any of grades 1 through 12, a day of attendance shall be counted only for sessions of not less than 5 clock hours of school work per day under direct supervision of (i) teachers or (ii) non-teaching personnel or volunteer personnel when engaging in non-teaching duties and supervising in instances specified under the Code; provides for exceptions. Makes conforming changes, including in the Vocational Academies Act. Senate Floor Amendment No. 1 Replaces everything after the enacting clause. Reinserts the provisions of the introduced bill with the following changes. With regard to daily pupil attendance, provides that pupil participation in any of the following activities shall be counted toward the calculation of clock hours of school work per day: (i) instruction in a college course in which a student is dually enrolled for both high school credit and college credit, (ii) participation in a supervised career development experience in which student participation and learning outcomes are supervised by an educator licensed under the School Code, (iii) participation in a youth apprenticeship in which student participation and outcomes are supervised by an educator licensed under the School Code, or (iv) participation in a blended learning program in which course content, student evaluation, and instructional methods are supervised by an educator licensed under the School Code. With regard to the e-learning days program, removes a requirement limiting the program to 3 school districts and requiring the State Board of Education to report its recommendations for expansion, revision, or discontinuation of the program on or before June 1, 2019. Provides that a research-based program for e-learning days must be verified by the regional office of education or intermediate service center for the school district (rather than submitted to the State Superintendent of Education for approval); makes related changes. Requires the program to address the school district's responsibility to ensure that all teachers and staff who may be involved in the provision of e-learning have access to any and all hardware and software that may be required for the program. Provides that a proposal for the program must include a provision that ensures that non-electronic materials are made available to students participating in the program who do not have access to the required technology or to participating teachers or students who are prevented from accessing the required technology and that ensures that the protocol regarding general expectations and responsibilities of the program is communicated to teachers, staff, and students at least 30 days prior to utilizing an e-learning day. Makes other and conforming changes. Effective July 1, 2019.

Creates the Elder Abuse Task Force to investigate the effectiveness of current elder protective services and laws, examine barriers to prosecution and strategies to increase public awareness of elder abuse and reporting, study training resources and best practices in other states, and identify a long-range plan to combat elder abuse. House Floor Amendment No. 1 Changes the time period for members to be appointed to the task force from 30 to 60 days. Changes the date that the final report is due from January 1, 2020 to January 1, 2021. Makes other corrections for grammar purposes.

Directs the Board of Higher Education and the Illinois Community College Board to jointly identify any shortcomings in attaining the goals of Public Act 99-636 that the General Education Core Curriculum courses transfer between institutions with full credit towards a baccalaureate degree.

Declares May 6-10, 2019 as "Teacher Appreciation Week" in the State of Illinois.

Declares the last week of October in 2019 as Dyslexia Awareness Week in the State of Illinois.

Declares the dates of October 9 of 2019 and 2020 as PANS and PANDAS Awareness Day in the State of Illinois.

Amends the Department of Veterans' Affairs Act. Creates the Veterans' Disability Compensation Task Force. Provides specified objectives for the Task Force. Provides that the Task Force shall consist of 15 members appointed by the chairs of the Veterans Affairs Committees in the House of Representatives and the Senate. Provides that the members of the Task Force shall be members of different Illinois counties' Veterans Assistance Commissions, Veteran Service Officers, VITAS officials, and AMVETS officials. Provides that the Task Force shall meet once each month and that joint hearings of the Veterans Affairs Committees of the House of Representatives and Senate shall be held once each month. Provides that the Department of Veterans' Affairs shall provide administrative and other support to the Task Force. Provides that the Task Force shall prepare a report of its findings and recommendations and submit it to the Governor and the General Assembly on or before May 1, 2020. Effective immediately. House Floor Amendment No. 1 Replaces everything after the enacting clause. Amends the Department of Veterans' Affairs Act. Creates the Veterans' Disability Compensation Task Force to assess ways the State of Illinois can improve the rate at which disability compensation claims are approved by the federal government and correct the disparity between the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' approval of disability compensation for Illinois veterans and that which is approved for veterans in other states. Provides that the Task Force shall consist of the chair and minority spokesperson of the Veterans' Affairs Committee in the House of Representatives, the chair and minority spokesperson of the Veterans Affairs Committee in the Senate, and 15 members appointed by the chair of the Veterans' Affairs Committee in the House of Representatives and the chair of the Veterans Affairs Committee in the Senate. Requires those appointed to the Task Force to be members of different Illinois counties' Veterans Assistance Commissions, Veteran Service Officers, and VITAS officials. Provides that Task Force members shall serve without compensation but may be reimbursed for any travel expenses incurred in attending meetings. Provides that within 60 days of the effective date of the amendatory Act, the Task Force shall meet, and thereafter shall meet at least quarterly. Requires the Department of Veterans' Affairs to provide administrative and other support to the Task Force. Requires the Task Force to prepare a report that summarizes its work and makes recommendations resulting from its study. Provides that the Task Force shall submit the report of its findings and any recommendations to the Governor and the General Assembly on or before July 1, 2020. Repeals the amendatory Act's provisions on July 1, 2021. Effective immediately.

Amends the Counties Code. Provides that the special county retailers' occupation tax for public safety, public facilities, mental health, substance abuse, or transportation may additionally be imposed for senior citizen programs and social services in the county. Changes the name from the Special County Retailers' Occupation Tax For Public Safety, Public Facilities, Mental Health, Substance Abuse, or Transportation to the Special County Retailers' Occupation Tax. Amends the Transportation Development Partnership Act and the Simplified Sales and Use Tax Administration Act to make conforming changes. Senate Committee Amendment No. 1 Replaces everything after the enacting clause. Reinserts the provisions of the introduced bill with the following changes: Removes provisions allowing the special county retailers' occupation tax for public safety, public facilities, mental health, substance abuse, or transportation to be imposed for senior citizen programs and social services in the county. Provides that a special county retailers' occupation tax for public safety purposes includes criminal justice. Effective immediately.