Sen. Chapin Rose

Amends the Business Assistance and Regulatory Reform Act. Modifies requirements concerning the Office of Business Permits and Regulatory Assistance. Provides that the Office shall implement reforms to improve interagency coordination and encourage expeditious permit issuance. Provides that the Office shall use information technology tools to track project schedules and metrics in order to improve transparency and accountability of the permitting process, reduce uncertainty and delays, and reduce costs and risks to taxpayers. Modifies and adds requirements concerning the expediting of permit reviews. Provides for the creation of an Interagency Permitting Advisory Committee. Provides additional requirements to improve the coordination of permit reviews. Defines terms. Makes other changes.

Amends the Illinois Insurance Code to create the Consumer Protection from Surprise Health Care Billing Act. Provides that, on or after July 1, 2025, notwithstanding any other applicable provision, when a beneficiary, insured, or enrollee receives services from a nonparticipating ground ambulance service provider, the health insurance issuer shall ensure that the beneficiary, insured, or enrollee shall incur no greater out-of-pocket costs than the beneficiary, insured, or enrollee would have incurred with a participating ground ambulance service provider. Provides that any cost-sharing requirements shall be applied as though the services provided by the nonparticipating ground ambulance service provider had been provided by a participating ground ambulance service provider. Sets forth provisions concerning payment for ground ambulance services; calculating the recognized amount; limitations for the cost sharing amount for any occurrence in which a ground ambulance service is provided to a beneficiary; appeals for payments made by health insurance issuers; the maximum allowable payment amounts, by individual service types, for nonparticipating ground ambulance service providers owned, operated, or controlled by a private organization; and payments to nonparticipating ground ambulance service providers owned, operated, or controlled, by a unit of government which participates in the Ground Emergency Medical Transportation program administered by the Department of Healthcare and Family Services. Makes conforming changes. Provides that the failure by a health insurance issuer to comply with the specified requirements constitutes an unlawful practice under the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act and enforcement authority is granted to the Attorney General. Amends the Health Maintenance Organization Act and the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act to make corresponding changes. Effective July 1, 2025.

Creates the Public University Direct Admission Program Act. Provides that, beginning with the 2027-2028 academic year, the Board of Higher Education, in collaboration with the Illinois Community College Board, the Illinois Student Assistance Commission, and the State Board of Education, shall establish and administer a direct admission program. Requires each public university in the direct admission program to identify and provide its grade point average standards for general admission for first time admission and for transfer students to the Illinois Student Assistance Commission by March 1 of each year. Provides that, beginning July 1, 2026 and each July 1 thereafter, the Illinois Student Assistance Commission shall use data collected from school districts to determine which students meet the standards for general admission and provide the data to the Board of Higher Education. Provides that, beginning with the 2027-2028 academic year, the Board of Higher Education, in collaboration with the Illinois Student Assistance Commission and the State Board of Education, shall develop, in consultation with the University of Illinois at Chicago and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, a preselection outreach campaign to encourage qualifying State high school juniors and seniors to apply to the University of Illinois at Chicago or the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Requires the Board of Higher Education to submit a report on the direct admission program and the preselection outreach campaign to the Governor and General Assembly by August 1, 2029 and each August 1 thereafter. Amends the School Code. Requires a school board to provide access to high school student directory information and each student's email address and grade point average to the Illinois Student Assistance Commission, and each public institution of higher education for the purpose of informing students of educational and career opportunities.

Amends the Illinois Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. Provides that the Department of Public Health is authorized, upon request, to issue certificates of free sale, health certificates, or an equivalent, to Illinois food, dairy, drug, cosmetic, or medical device manufacturers, processors, packers, or warehousers for a fee of $65 (rather than $10).

Amends the Telephone Solicitations Act. Provides that no person shall solicit the sale of goods or services in the State through automatic dialing, the use of an auto dialer, or the use of a computer program designed to mimic a human operator, unless the person being contacted has expressly consented to be contacted in this manner. Provides that, if a person has previously consented to be contacted in the manner otherwise prohibited, the consent shall only be valid for a period of one year and the person shall be allowed to withdraw that consent at any time in the same manner that the consent was given. Provides that a person to whom consent has been given shall not sell, give, transfer, or assign that consent to another person. Provides for exemptions to the provision. Provides that any customer who is subject to a violation of the provision may bring an action for damages of $500 per violation, plus costs and reasonable attorney's fees. Makes a change to the definition of "emergency telephone number".

Amends the Illinois Affordable Housing Act. Provides that funds in the Illinois Affordable Housing Trust Fund may be used for housing counseling. Defines "housing counseling" to mean services provided by an organization approved by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development to be a HUD-Approved Housing Counseling Agency.

Amends the Medical Assistance Article of the Illinois Public Aid Code. In provisions concerning personal needs allowances for residents in supportive living facilities and facilities licensed under the ID/DD Community Care Act, the Community-Integrated Living Arrangements Licensure and Certification Act, the Specialized Mental Health Rehabilitation Act of 2013, the MC/DD Act, and the Nursing Home Care Act, provides that subject to federal approval, beginning January 1, 2026, and each year thereafter, an eligible resident's personal needs allowance shall increase by an amount equal to the percentage increase, if any, in the consumer price index-u during the preceding 12-month calendar year.

Amends the Higher Education Student Assistance Act. Beginning with the 2026-2027 academic year and subject to appropriation, provides that the Illinois Student Assistance Commission shall, each year, receive and consider applications for grant assistance under a pilot program to be known as the Growing Regional Opportunities for Work (GROW) Illinois Grant Pilot Program. Provides that the Commission may award grants under the program to applicants who are enrolled or plan to enroll at a public community college participating in the program in a certificate, license, or degree program to work in a high-demand industry, among other qualifications. Sets forth provisions concerning grant renewal, posting requirements, the allocation of funding, the application process, matching and unclaimed funds, the grant amount, reporting requirements, and rulemaking. Repeals the provisions on October 1, 2031. Effective immediately.

Amends the Roadside Memorial Act. Provides that a DUI memorial marker shall be maintained permanently (rather than for at least 4 years from the date the last person was memorialized on the marker). Provides that a fatal crash memorial marker shall be maintained permanently (rather than for at least 4 years from the date the last person was memorialized on the marker).

Amends the Counties Code. Provides that, in addition to but separate and apart from the compensation otherwise provided in the Code, the county clerk of each county, the recorder of each county, and the chief clerk of each county board of election commissioners shall receive an annual award of $13,000 for calendar year 2025, $14,000 for calendar year 2026, and $15,000 for calendar year 2027 and for each calendar year thereafter (rather than a $6,500 award per year). Effective immediately.