Sen. Ram Villivalam

Reaffirms the State's steadfast commitment to promoting a person-centered, community-based mental health and substance use treatment system that is evidence-backed and recognizes each person's dignity, humanity, and autonomy in determining the best course of care in the least restrictive environment in compliance with the Constitution and laws of the State of Illinois.

Creates the Firefighter Paid Family Leave Act. Provides that a firefighter shall receive 6 weeks of paid family leave that may be used: (1) for the birth of a child in order to care for the child; (2) to care for a newly adopted child under 18 years of age, a newly placed foster child under 18 years of age, or a newly adopted or placed foster child older than 18 years of age if the child is incapable of self-care because of a mental or physical disability; and (3) to care for a family member with a serious health condition. Provides that an employer shall compensate a firefighter granted leave under the Act at the firefighter's regular rate of pay, paid at the same interval the firefighter was paid while working, for those regular work hours during which the firefighter is absent from work. Sets forth provisions concerning employment protection and maintenance of benefits; prohibited acts, limitations of the Act; waiver of leave under the Act; and collective bargaining agreements. Limits home rule. Provides that the Department of Labor may adopt any rules necessary to implement the Act. Effective immediately.

Declares May of 2026 as Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in honor of the contributions made by Asian American and Pacific Island residents and communities across Illinois.

Creates the Protective Medical Equipment Freedom Act. Provides that all individual in the State have the right to wear protective medical equipment in any place of public accommodation where they have a lawful right to be without obligation to disclose health status or any other protected information, and no person, entity, or authority shall deny, restrict, or infringe upon this right. Provides that operators and public officials shall not discriminate against or penalize medical device wearers for exercising their right to wear protective medical equipment. Provides that discrimination under the Act includes, but is not limited to: denial of service; eviction from premises; any form of harassment to remove or refrain from wearing such equipment for any amount of time; specified actions taken by employers; and provision of unequal goods, services, facilities, advantages, or accommodations. Sets forth provisions concerning the protection against retaliation, the exceptions for security requirements, operational safety, age and identity restricted products, and financial institution customer identification, and an undue hardship exemption. Effective immediately.

Amends the Illinois Procurement Code. In provisions concerning small business set-asides, provides that (i) no manufacturing business is a small business if it employs more than the number of persons set forth in the small business size standard for its specific industry, as established by the United States Small Business Administration (currently, 250 persons); and (ii) no construction business is a small business if its annual sales and receipts exceed the small business size standard for its specific industry, as established by the United States Small Business Administration (currently, $14,000,000). Effective immediately.

Amends the Community Living Facilities Licensing Act, the MC/DD Act, the ID/DD Community Care Act, the Community-Integrated Living Arrangements Licensure and Certification Act, and the Child Care Act of 1969. Requires the State agencies responsible for licensing facilities under those Acts to adopt, by December 31, 2026, rules requiring a facility to disclose upon initial application for licensure and on a quarterly basis thereafter, whether the facility, its subsidiaries, affiliates, parent companies, or contractual service providers are owned, managed, or contained within a fund owned or managed by an asset management company; and if so, to make certain disclosures about the asset management company's assets, the facility's debt, and other matters. Requires the State agencies to also adopt rules requiring such a facility to provide written notice of transactions and copies of agreements which would (i) sell or otherwise dispose of a material amount of the facility's assets or (ii) transfer control, responsibility, or governance of a material amount of the facility's assets or operations. Prohibits facilities owned or managed by an asset management company from engaging in certain transactions or actions that would result in the facility issuing debt-funded dividends or perform any other similar action causing the facility to become financially distressed. Provides that a violation of these requirements and prohibitions constitutes an unlawful practice within the meaning of the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act. Requires the State agencies to publish disclosures, written notices, and copies of agreements submitted by facilities on the agencies' public websites. Imposes similar requirements and prohibitions on adult day service providers serving individuals with developmental disabilities under the Illinois Act on the Aging and providers of adult developmental training services under the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Administrative Act. Effective immediately.

Creates the Passenger Rail Planning Act. Sets forth intercity passenger rail routes serving or originating in the State. Requires the Department of Transportation to incorporate the aspirational frequencies into the Illinois State Rail Plan and the Long-Range Statewide Transportation Plan. Authorizes the Department to nominate corridors for inclusion in the Federal Railroad Administration's Corridor Identification and Development Program and enter into memoranda of understanding or other cooperative agreements for each identified interstate corridor to provide for shared data, joint investment prioritization, and aligned performance measures and planning schedules. Requires the Department to include a recurring section titled Progress Toward High-Speed and Intercity Passenger Rail within each update to the Illinois State Rail Plan and Statewide Transportation Improvement Program. Requires each Metropolitan Planning Organization in the State to: (1) recognize the target intercity and long-distance passenger rail frequencies; (2) identify relevant rail corridors within or adjacent to the Metropolitan Planning Organization planning area; and (3) include a narrative discussion of how regional transportation investments can support achievement of those frequency targets. Requires the Department and each Metropolitan Planning Organization to consider progress toward the target passenger rail frequencies when developing project prioritization criteria for multimodal investments. Contains other provisions. Effective immediately.

Amends the Housing Authorities Act. Provides that, unless otherwise required by federal law or regulation, a housing authority shall not establish or implement any rules, policies, or procedures that impose time limits or work requirements as a condition of initial or continued eligibility for any rent subsidy or assistance provided to qualifying tenants of the housing authority or to qualifying individuals through any rent subsidy or other housing assistance program administered by the housing authority. Permits a housing authority to establish, implement, or encourage an applicant or recipient of a rent subsidy or assistance to participate in a voluntary employment or job training program if the program: (1) does not impact the applicant's or recipient's initial or continued eligibility for the rent subsidy or assistance; and (2) has one of the specified goals for program participants, including, but not limited to, (i) increasing personal income, (ii) homeownership, or (iii) expanding employment options. Effective immediately.

Amends the Prevailing Wage Act. Provides that, for purposes of the Act, the term "public works" also includes all private projects that are located in a tax increment financing district and paid for wholly or in part out of public funds, unless the total cost of the project is less than $25,000 or the project is performed in a designated historic district requiring specialty contractors because of that designation.

Creates the Digital Advertising Tax Act. Imposes a tax on the portion of a person's annual gross revenue that is derived from digital advertising services in the State if the person's total revenue derived from digital advertising in the State exceeds $150,000,000. Provides that the tax is imposed at the rate of 10% of the annual gross revenues derived from digital advertising services in the State. Effective immediately.