Sen. Christopher Belt

Amends the Department of Professional Regulation Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois. In conjunction with applications for health care professional licensure and renewals, requires the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation shall require applicants to provide practice information that include areas of practice specialty, addresses of all current practice locations, hours spent at each practice location on direct outpatient care, the applicant's National Provider Identifier (NPI) number if applicable, and anticipated date of retirement. Provides that the Department shall share the information with authorized personnel at the Department of Public Health. Specifies that the data is exempt from the Freedom of Information Act. Defines "health care professional". Provides that data published in conjunction with applications for health care professional licensure shall not identify a health care professional's name or any other data that leads to identification.

Creates the Border Community Act. Provides that a municipality may, by ordinance, apply to the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to be certified as a border community if all or part of the territory of the municipality is located within 10 miles of the border between Illinois and another state and the municipality meets other stated criteria. Amends the Illinois Income Tax Act to provide that an investment credit available to a River Edge Redevelopment Zone is also available within a border community. Creates a border community construction jobs credit. Amends the Use Tax Act, the Service Use Tax Act, the Service Occupation Tax Act, and the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act to provide an exemption for building materials to be incorporated into real property in a border community. Amends the Property Tax Code to create a property tax abatement for property located in a border community.

Amends the Illinois Procurement Code. Provides that the Code does not apply to procurement expenditures that are necessary for the Illinois Emergency Management Agency and Office of Homeland Security to respond to a radiological incident, to monitor a nuclear power plant, or to use at a nuclear facility. Effective immediately.

Amends the Commission to End Hunger Act. Creates the SNAP Response Working Group. Provides that the co-chairs of the Commission to End Hunger shall convene and appoint the co-chairs of the Working Group. Provides that the Working Group shall review and analyze federal changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), gather and analyze data regarding the potential impact of the federal changes to SNAP on Illinois residents, and gather relevant estimates and data about Illinois' SNAP payment error rate, including the monthly State-reported error rate. Requires the SNAP Response Working Group to make projections about the cost to the State to maintain SNAP in Illinois in federal Fiscal Year 2028. Directs the Working Group to submit a preliminary report to the General Assembly no later than January 1, 2027. Provides that the preliminary report shall outline the federal changes to SNAP and identify the number of State residents impacted by those changes. Further provides that the preliminary report shall include initial recommendations for State action to prevent or mitigate any harm to State residents caused by the federal changes and shall project the cost to maintain the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in Illinois in federal Fiscal Year 2028. Provides that, no later than April 1, 2027, the Working Group shall issue a full report to the General Assembly that includes an analysis on the impact of federal changes to SNAP on Illinois, final recommendations for State action to prevent or mitigate harm resulting from those changes, updated projections of the cost to maintain the program in federal Fiscal Year 2028, and any other cost projections relating to the Working Group's recommendations. Requires the SNAP Response Working Group to provide any relevant additional updates to its recommendations or projections as appropriate. Specifies that all reports of the Working Group shall be published by the Department of Human Services on its website. Provides that the SNAP Working Group shall be dissolved on May 31, 2027. Effective immediately.

Amends the Administration Article of the Illinois Public Aid Code. Requires the Department of Human Services to, subject to available funding, establish a Families Receiving Emergency Support for Hunger (FRESH) Program to provide FRESH benefits to households subject to termination of the household's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, or a reduction in the household's monthly SNAP benefit allotment, if the termination or reduction in SNAP benefits occurred as a result of one or more members of the household failing to meet federal SNAP work requirements. Provides that, for eligible households whose SNAP benefits were reduced or terminated, FRESH benefits shall be provided as a one-time lump sum payment distributed via an Electronic Benefits Transfer card. Requires the Department to make FRESH program applications available online and at local Family and Community Resource Centers immediately upon the first of the month following the effective date of the amendatory Act. Provides that an application for FRESH benefits shall not be deemed an application for any other public aid provided under the Code. Requires the Department to provide within a specified time frame FRESH benefits to households' that experience a reduction or termination of SNAP benefits prior to or after the first month following the effective date of the amendatory Act, if certain application submission deadlines are met. Requires the Department to publish monthly data reports on the FRESH program and to include such data in the Department's annual report to the General Assembly. Prohibits the Department and local governmental units from considering a household's receipt of FRESH benefits when determining the household's eligibility for other assistance provided under the Code. Provides that the provisions of the amendatory Act are inoperative on and after January 1, 2028. Effective immediately.

Amends the Higher Education Student Assistance Act. Requires the Illinois Student Assistance Commission to establish the Adult Learner Flexible Education Grant Program to facilitate access to online postsecondary education for adults over the age of 25. Sets forth application requirements and eligibility. Provides that grants are applicable only to tuition and mandatory fees. Effective July 1, 2026.

Amends the School Code. Provides that, subject to appropriation, the State Board of Education, in consultation with the Department of Public Health, shall develop an educational document explaining, at a minimum, the values of good indoor air quality and shall supply the document to school districts. Provides that, subject to funding from the State Board, a school district shall ensure that all active classrooms are equipped with an air quality monitor.

Amends the Illinois Income Tax Act. Provides that a qualified taxpayer may apply to the Department of Revenue for an income tax credit in an amount equal to 20% of the wages paid by the qualified taxpayer to a qualified energy choice worker based in Illinois in the taxable year. Provides that the term "qualified taxpayer" means a taxpayer that is a regulated utility in the State of Illinois or a power generating company providing baseload or intermediate generation in Illinois and that meets specified criteria and is able to demonstrate an adverse and material operational impact to either its overall Illinois-based workforce or its ability to conduct business in Illinois based on the scheduled phaseout target dates of 2030, 2035, 2040, and 2045, as provided in Public Act 102-662. Sets forth limitations on the amount of the credit. Effective immediately.

Amends the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois. Creates the Illinois Future of Energy Choice and Economic Impact Commission. Sets forth the membership of the Commission. Provides that the Commission has certain duties with respect to energy policy. Effective immediately.

Amends the Court of Claims Act. Creates an administrative process for uncontested claims for vendors arising from contracts with the State. Requires a State agency to confirm or reject an uncontested claim that is from a lapsed appropriation and valued at less than $2,500 within 30 days after being notified in writing by the Attorney General. Provides that if the State agency does not confirm or reject the claim within that 30-day period, then the State agency forfeits the right to reject or contest the claim. Requires the Comptroller, subject to appropriation, then issue payment to the vendor within 30 days of the court entering such an award. Provides that if the court determines that it is unable to process such an uncontested claim because the bill or invoice contains a defect, the court must notify the vendor in writing of the defect no later than 30 days after the bill or invoice was first submitted. Provides that if one or more items on a bill or invoice are disapproved, but not the entire bill or invoice, then the portion that is not disapproved must be transmitted to the Comptroller for payment. Changes the filing fees required under the Act as follows: a fee of $15 for a petition seeking more than $500 but less than $10,000; and $35 for a petition seeking more than $10,000 or more. Requires that the court must allow claimants to submit documentation to amend and cure defects. Makes other changes. Authorizes the Court of Claims to adopt rules to implement the Act.