Sen. Ram Villivalam

Amends the Kratom Control Act. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning the short title.

Amends the Prevailing Wage Act. Provides that the definition of "public works" includes power washing projects in which steam or pressurized water, with or without added abrasives or chemicals, is used to remove paint or other coatings, oils or grease, corrosion, or debris from a surface or to prepare a surface for a coating.

Amends the Metropolitan Transit Authority Act. Provides that the powers of the Chicago Transit Board include the power to pass ordinances or adopt rules and regulations concerning the suspension of riding privileges or confiscation of fare media. Amends the Local Mass Transit District Act and the Regional Transportation Authority Act. Provides that a local mass transit district's board and the Suburban Bus Board may adopt all ordinances and make all rules proper or necessary to regulate the use, operation, and maintenance of its property and facilities, and to carry into effect the powers granted to each board with any necessary fines or penalties, including ordinances, rules, or regulations concerning the suspension of riding privileges or confiscation of fare media, as each board deems proper. Includes similar provisions for the Chief of Police of the Metra Police Department.

Creates the Transportation Benefits Program Act. Requires all covered employers to provide a program that allows a covered employee to elect to exclude from taxable wages and compensation the employee's commuting costs incurred for the purchase of a transit pass to use public transit or for the purchase of qualified parking, up to a maximum level allowed by federal tax law. Provides that all transit agencies shall market the existence of this program and the Act to their riders in order to inform affected employees and their employers. Provides that nothing in the Act shall be deemed to interfere with, impede, or in any way diminish the right of employees to bargain collectively with their employers or affect the validity or change the terms of bona fide collective bargaining agreements in force on the effective date of the Act. Defines terms. Effective January 1, 2024.

Amends the Illinois Vehicle Code. Provides that in a county having a population of 3,000,000 or more, the county sheriff shall establish with other law enforcement agencies a vehicle theft hotline to facilitate the location of stolen vehicles via their installed existing global positioning systems, collaborate with vehicle manufacturers and dealers to provide information and assistance to law enforcement officers in the investigation of vehicle theft, and ensure that consumers are provided with information concerning the hotline and any new or used vehicle manufactured with a global positioning system by publishing the information in a conspicuous location on the county sheriff's website. Provides that the manufacturer of any vehicle sold in this State shall establish a hotline available to State, county, and local law enforcement agencies exclusively for the purposes of law enforcement information sharing and the electronic tracking of vehicles stolen in vehicular hijacking incidents or that have been used in the commission of kidnapping, aggravated battery with a firearm, attempted homicide, or homicide. Provides that the manufacturer's hotline shall relay vehicle location information, including real-time vehicle location information whenever possible, to the 9-1-1 call center or designated dispatch center for the responding agency, to the best of the manufacturer's technical capability. Requires State, county, and local law enforcement agencies to use their respective 9-1-1 system call centers or designated dispatch centers for the purpose of verification of law enforcement officers' identities and bona fide incident report numbers related to incidents. Requires manufacturers to prepare written statements detailing tracking and disabling system capabilities and make them available to State, county, and local law enforcement agencies upon request. Requires that, if a vehicle is not subscribed to the manufacturer's tracking service, the manufacturer of any vehicle sold in this State shall waive all fees associated with initiating, renewing, reestablishing, or maintaining the location, disabling, or alert service with which the vehicle is equipped during a law enforcement response or investigation of specified offenses.

Amends the Mortgage Escrow Account Act. Provides that a mortgage lender that complies with the escrow account requirements in Title 12 CFR Part 1026 for a mortgage loan that is a higher-priced mortgage loan is deemed to be in compliance with a provision regarding notification by a mortgage lender to a borrower about terminating or continuing such escrow account. Provides that the borrower shall not have the right to terminate any escrow account arrangement in conjunction with a mortgage loan that is a higher-priced mortgage loan unless the borrower has met all of the conditions for cancellation of an escrow account for a higher-priced mortgage loan in Title 12 CFR Part 1026. Effective immediately.

Amends the Illinois Sustainable Investing Act. Provides that, effective January 1, 2024, every investment manager shall comply with annual disclosure requirements that will require the investment manager to provide a description of the process through which the manager prudently integrates sustainability factors into its investment decision-making, investment analysis, portfolio construction, due diligence, and investment ownership in order to maximize anticipated financial returns, identify and minimize projected risk, and execute its fiduciary duties more effectively. Provides that the investment manager shall provide the annual disclosure to each public agency, pension fund, retirement system, or governmental unit for whom the investment manager is acting as a fiduciary or seeking selection as a fiduciary prior to acting in this capacity and at least annually thereafter. Provides that annual disclosures shall be submitted by January 31st of every year after the effective date of the amendatory Act. Defines "investment manager".

Creates the Deceptive Practices of Limited Services Pregnancy Centers Act. Prohibits a limited services pregnancy center from using or employing any deception, fraud, false pretense, false promise, or misrepresentation, or the concealment, suppression, or omission of any material fact, with the intent that others rely upon the concealment, suppression or omission of such material fact: to interfere with an individual seeking to gain entry or access to a provider of abortion or emergency contraception; to induce an individual to enter or access the limited services pregnancy center; in advertising, soliciting, or otherwise offering pregnancy-related services; or in conducting, providing, or performing pregnancy-related services. Allows the Attorney General to enforce the Act when: it appears to the Attorney General that a limited services pregnancy center has engaged in, is engaging in, or is about to engage in any practice declared to be unlawful by the Act; the Attorney General receives a written complaint of the commission of a practice declared to be unlawful under the Act; or the Attorney General believes it to be in the public interest that an investigation should be made to ascertain whether a limited services pregnancy center has engaged in, is engaging in, or is about to engage in, any practice declared to be unlawful by the Act. Establishes the remedies available under the Act for violation of the Act, including preliminary or permanent injunction and a civil penalty not to exceed $50,000. Allows any party aggrieved by a violation of the Act to bring an action against any limited services pregnancy center that has committed such a violation, in which the court may award actual damages and any other relief the court deems proper. Effective immediately.

Amends the Landlord and Tenant Act. Provides that a landlord shall not require a tenant or prospective tenant to remit any amount due to the landlord under a residential lease, renewal, or extension agreement by means of an electronic funds transfer, including, but not limited to, an electronic funds transfer system that automatically transfers funds on a regular, periodic, and recurring basis. Provides that, beginning 90 days after the effective date of the amendatory Act, a violation is an unlawful practice under the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act. Applies to leases or agreements executed after the effective date of the amendatory Act.

Amends the Secretary of State Act. Provides that, upon completion of the required study of age-related issues, the Secretary of State may adopt administrative rules to raise (instead of raise or lower) the age requirement for actual demonstrations of an applicant's ability to exercise ordinary and reasonable control of the operation of a motor vehicle. Amends the Illinois Vehicle Code to make conforming changes. Effective immediately.