Sen. Mike Simmons-Gessesse

Amends the Illinois Secure Choice Savings Program Act. Removes all references to and the definition of "small employer". Provides that the Act applies to employers with at least one employee (rather than employers with fewer than 25 employees). Requires the Illinois Secure Choice Savings Board to (i) establish annual automatic increases to the contribution rates and (ii) verify employee eligibility for auto-enrollment in accordance with the Internal Revenue Code and applicable federal and State laws. Makes changes regarding penalties for employers who fail, without reasonable cause, to enroll an employee in the Illinois Secure Choice Savings Program (Program). Provides that, for purposes of the penalties, the Department of Revenue shall determine total employee count for employers using the annual average from employer-reported quarterly data. Provides that the Department may provide notice regarding penalties in an electronic format to be determined by the Department. Removes a provision authorizing the Department to implement the penalties 9 months after the Illinois Secure Choice Savings Board notifies the Director of Revenue that the Program has been implemented. Senate Committee Amendment No. 1 Provides that the Act applies to employers with at least 5 employees, rather than at least one employee. (Current law applies to employers with fewer than 25 employees.) Provides that a small employer is an employer that employed less than 5 employees during any quarter of the previous calendar year, rather than less than 25 employees at any one time throughout the previous calendar year. Provides enrollment deadlines. Provides that small employers may, but are not required to, establish payroll deduction arrangements for retirement savings arrangements. House Committee Amendment No. 1 Deletes reference to: 820 ILCS 80/5 820 ILCS 80/30 820 ILCS 80/60 820 ILCS 80/85 Adds reference to: 820 ILCS 115/15 from Ch. 48, par. 39m-15 Replaces everything after the enacting clause. Amends the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning the short title. Pension Note, House Floor Amendment No. 3 (Government Forecasting & Accountability) SB 208, as amended by HA 3, will not impact any public pension fund or retirement system in the State of Illinois. State Debt Impact Note, House Floor Amendment No. 3 (Government Forecasting & Accountability) SB 0208, as amended by House Amendment 3, would not change the amount of authorization for any type of State-issued bond, and, therefore, would not affect the level of State indebtedness. Balanced Budget Note, House Floor Amendment No. 3 (Office of Management and Budget) Please be advised that the Balanced Budget Note Act does not apply to Senate Bill 208, as amended by House Amendment 3, as it is not a supplemental appropriation that increases or decreases appropriations. Under the Act, a balanced budget note must be prepared only for bills that change a general funds appropriation for the fiscal year in which the new bill is enacted. Land Conveyance Appraisal Note, House Floor Amendment No. 3 (Dept. of Transportation) No land conveyances are included in Senate Bill 208, House Amendment #3; therefore, there are no appraisals to be filed. Housing Affordability Impact Note, House Floor Amendment No. 3 (Housing Development Authority) This bill will have no effect on the cost of constructing, purchasing, owning, or selling a single-family residence. Correctional Note, House Floor Amendment No. 3 (Dept of Corrections) Corrections Population Impact: None; Fiscal Impact: $68,984,327 over a ten-year period House Floor Amendment No. 4 Deletes reference to: 820 ILCS 115/15 Adds reference to: New Act 30 ILCS 105/5.990 new Replaces everything after the enacting clause. Creates the Paid Leave for All Workers Act. Requires employers to provide paid leave to employees for any purpose. Sets forth provisions regarding employer responsibilities, unlawful employer practices, and other matters. Provides that an employee who works in this State is entitled to earn and use a minimum of 40 hours of paid leave during a 12-month period. Makes it unlawful for an employer to interfere with, restrain, deny, change scheduled work days or hours to avoid paid leave, or discipline an employee for the exercise of any right under the Act. Authorizes the Department of Labor to administer and enforce the Act. Provides for the imposition of civil penalties. Authorizes individuals to file civil actions with respect to violations. Amends the State Finance Act. Creates the Paid Leave for All Workers Fund as a special fund in the State treasury. Effective January 1, 2024

Creates the Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program Act. Requires the Department of Employment Security to establish and administer a Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program that provides family and medical leave insurance benefits to eligible employees. Sets forth eligibility requirements for benefits under the Act. Contains provisions concerning disqualification from benefits; premium payments; the amount and duration of benefits; the recovery of erroneous payments; hearings; defaulted premium payments; elective coverage; employment protection; coordination of family and medical leave; defined terms; and other matters. Amends the State Finance Act. Creates the Family and Medical Leave Insurance Account Fund. Provides phase-in periods for the collection of money and making of claims for benefits under the Act. Effective January 1, 2024.

Amends the Medical Assistance Article of the Illinois Public Aid Code. Provides that beginning on January 1, 2025, the Department of Healthcare and Family Services shall raise the income eligibility standard for all of its medical assistance programs to include persons whose income is equal to or less than 200% of the federal poverty level (or any higher percentage determined by the Department) plus 5% for the applicable family size as determined under federal law and applicable federal regulations. Provides that persons eligible for medical assistance under the amendatory Act shall receive coverage identical to the coverage provided to persons eligible for each medical assistance program under the income eligibility requirements in effect on December 31, 2024. Permits the Department to adopt rules for the implementation of the amendatory Act. Provides that the amendatory Act does not apply to programs in which the income eligibility standard is higher than the standard created by the amendatory Act.

Amends the Election Code. Provides that a person convicted of a felony or otherwise under sentence in a correctional institution shall have his or her right to vote restored and shall be eligible to vote not later than 14 days following his or her conviction or not later than 5 days before the first election following the person's confinement (rather than prohibiting a person who has been convicted of any crime and is serving a sentence of confinement from voting until his or her release from confinement). Requires the election authority to collaborate with a correctional institution to facilitate an opportunity for voting by mail for eligible electors to vote in that election jurisdiction who are incarcerated in the correctional institution. Provides that all requirements of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 and other federal, State, and local laws regarding language access and disability access apply to the provisions. Requires the correctional institution to make available to persons in custody resource materials relating to an election. Requires the State Board of Elections in coordination with correctional institutions to annually report certain data regarding compliance with the provisions. Makes conforming changes throughout the Code and in the Unified Code of Corrections. Effective July 1, 2024.

Amends the Accident and Health Article of the Illinois Insurance Code. Provides that a group policy of accident and health insurance or a managed care plan amended, delivered, issued, or renewed on or after the effective date of the amendatory Act that an employer makes available to any employee shall also be made available to all individuals employed by the employer, regardless of the amount of hours per week an employee works. Makes conforming changes in the State Employees Group Insurance Act of 1971, the Counties Code, the Illinois Municipal Code, the School Code, the Health Maintenance Organization Act, the Limited Health Service Organization Act, and the Voluntary Health Services Plans Act.

Amends the Administration Article of the Illinois Public Aid Code. Requires the Department of Human Services to comply with the federal Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (Public Law 117-328) and submit a State plan to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service on the replacement of stolen SNAP benefits for recipients whose benefits were stolen through card skimming, card cloning, or other similar fraudulent methods. Provides that upon federal approval, the Department shall adopt any rules necessary to implement the State plan and replace stolen SNAP benefits for recipients whose LINK cards were fraudulently compromised. Provides that any data the Department is required to submit to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service on the scope and frequency of SNAP fraud via card skimming, card cloning, or other similar fraudulent methods shall be shared with the Attorney General's Office for criminal prosecution. Provides that subject to appropriation, until the Department receives federal approval for a State plan on the replacement of stolen SNAP benefits, the Department shall replace a SNAP recipient's stolen benefits within 14 days of the Department receiving a report of the theft, if the Department determines that the SNAP recipient's LINK card was fraudulently compromised due to no fault of the recipient. Permits the Department to adopt any rules necessary to implement the amendatory Act. Effective immediately.

Amends the Accident and Health Article of the Illinois Insurance Code. Provides that notwithstanding any provision to the contrary, an individual or group policy of accident and health insurance amended, delivered, issued, or renewed in this State on or after the effective date of the amendatory Act shall provide coverage of specified health benefits for individuals at least 55 years of age but no more than 65 years of age.

Amends the Courses of Study Article of the School Code. Provides that, beginning with the 2024-2025 school year, every public elementary school and high school shall include in its curriculum a unit of instruction studying the events of pre-Columbian Native American societies and the contemporary life of Native American societies. Provides that, beginning with the 2024-2025 school year, every public elementary school and high school shall include in its curriculum a unit of instruction studying the history of Native Americans during and after the American Revolution, including studying their relationships with settlers in the 18th and 19th centuries, as well as the contributions of Native Americans to the economic, cultural, social, and political development of the United States. Provides that, beginning with the 2024-2025 school year, every public elementary school and high school shall include in its curriculum a unit of instruction studying the geography and culture of West African societies, the trans-Atlantic slave trade, and manners in which cultural traditions persevered despite societal oppression. Requires schools to have guidance counselors available during this instruction. Sets forth requirements for these units of instruction regarding instructional material, instructional time, and compliance. Provides that a school may provide these units of instruction through an online program or course.

Declares February 28, 2023 as Black Women's History Day in the State of Illinois to honor the accomplishments, power, beauty, courage, intelligence, ingenuity, stewardship, and leadership of Black women. Encourages all Illinoisans and their families to acknowledge, in word and in deed, the accomplishments of Black women in places where they live, work, and play, because doing so recognizes Black women's history as American history.

Amends the Vital Records Act. Removes language requiring that the State Registrar of Vital Records establish a new certificate of birth when he receives a declaration stating that a person has undergone treatment for the purpose of gender transition, or that the individual has an intersex condition, and that the sex designation on such person's birth record should therefore be changed. Provides that the State Registrar of Vital Records must establish a new certificate of birth when he receives a statement signed by the person in which the person attests to making the request for the purpose of affirming the person's gender identity or intersex condition and that the sex designation on the person's certificate of birth should therefore be changed. Provides that the fee for a new certificate of birth shall not be required from persons upon release from the Department of Corrections or the Department of Juvenile Justice, but the person is entitled to only one new certificate of birth fee waiver. Provides that the fee for a new certificate of birth shall be waived for specified persons. Provides that fees for a new certificate of birth and for a search of a birth record or a certified copy of a birth record shall be waived for all requests by a person who resides in a shelter for domestic violence. Requires the State Registrar of Vital Records to establish standards and procedures for the waiver of fees. Provides that a person who resides in a shelter for domestic violence must not be charged for verification. Provides that a person who knowingly or purposefully falsifies verification is subject to a penalty of $100. Provides that a person who resides in a shelter for domestic violence shall be provided no more than 4 birth records annually under the provisions. Effective January 1, 2022. House Committee Amendment No. 1 Provides that a person's signed statement to receive a new birth certificate must indicate whether the certificate of birth should be changed to a male, female, or X designation (rather than just changed). State Mandates Fiscal Note (Dept. of Commerce & Economic Opportunity) This bill does not create a State Mandate. Fiscal Note (Dept. of Public Health) HB9 would not pose any fiscal cost aside from standard staff time with the rulemaking, the cost would be negligible. Senate Floor Amendment No. 1 Provides that the amendatory Act takes effect July 1, 2023 (rather than January 1, 2022).