PROPERTY TAX relief for senior citizens and disabled persons finally became a reality on April 23 when Gov. Walker signed Senate Bills 62 and 63 sponsored by Sen. Philip Rock (D., Chicago). These basically were the same bills that had been passed by the 78th General Assembly only to be vetoed by Walker in January of this year. However, the governor indicated that "significant improvements administratively" and "current economic conditions" made it possible to sign the bills as passed by the current legislature. The bills passed the Senate with only token opposition on February 5 and carried the House unanimously on April 10. (For more information, see "Circuit breaker legislation provides increased cash grants," p. 202.)

Other early activity of the 79th General Assembly was notable more for negative rather than positive action. Repeal of the Fair Trade Laws (H.B. 309) was approved in the House by a 119-9 vote on March 18 only to be defeated, along with a similar Senate bill (S.B. 177) in the Senate Judiciary Committee by a 9-3 vote on April 25. These bills were sponsored by Rep. Harry Leinenweber (R., Joliet) and Sen. Dawn dark Netsch (D., Chicago) respectively. Bills that would have permitted Branch Banking in Illinois also went down to defeat at the committee level. The Senate Revenue Committee defeated S.B. 25 introduced by Sen. Philip Rock (D., Chicago) on a 7-6 vote on March 26. An attempt to have this bill taken from the table failed on the Senate floor on April 9 on a 25-28 vote. In the House Committee on Banks and Savings & Loans two bills were defeated by substantial margins on May 1. H.B. 1100, sponsored by Rep. Paul Randolph (R., Chicago), failed by a 17-7 vote while H.B. 2895, introduced by Rep. Gerald Bradley (D., Bloomington) was voted down 17-6.

While a bill to add "irreconcilable differences" to the grounds currently allowed in divorce action was defeated in floor action, the House Judiciary 1 Committee referred several other bills designed to create a new comprehensive Domestic Relations Act to a "working subcommittee" chaired by Rep. George Sangmeister (D., Mokena). It appeared that the Chicago and Illinois Bar Associations had worked out most of the differences between their bills, and the subcommittee was directed to report back to the full Judiciary I Committee no later than September 30 of this year. All of the referred bills contain "no-fault" provisions. Thus, an acceptable rewriting of the Domestic Relations Act may be enacted into law within the next year, culminating several years of legislative activity in this area. The primary sponsors of the comprehensive bills referred to the subcommittee are: Rep. Charles Fleck (R., Chicago), H.B. 1180; Rep. Daniel Pierce (D., Highland Park), H.B. 904; and, in joint sponsorship, Reps. Leiand Rayson (D., Tinley Park) and Alan Greiman (D., Skokie), H.B. 608.

In other action, the Senate Judiciary Committee defeated by a vote of 8-2 on April 30 a proposed Beverage Container Act sponsored by Sen. Bradley Glass (R., Northfield). If passed, this act would have led to the end of "no deposit, no return" containers for all beverages. A similar bill introduced by Rep. Rayson was defeated 23-2 in the House Executive Committee on April 21.

Similarly, the Senate Revenue Committee defeated S.B. 974 introduced by Sen. James "Pate" Philip (R., Elmhurst) which would have eliminated the sales tax on food and prescription drugs. This proposed legislation would also have increased the rate on other products from five to six per cent to make up for lost revenue and provided for adjustment of the percentages returned to local communities to protect them from substantial losses in revenue. The vote, taken on April 29, was 8-3./L.S.C.�

Bill Summaries
Assessments
H.B. 990, House Revenue Committee. Changes amount of assessment on property from 50% of lair cash value to 33 1/3% of fair cash value.

Banking
H.B. 1100, Paul Randolph (R., Chicago); H.B. 2895, Gerald Bradley(D., Bloomington); and S.B. 25, Philip Rock (D., Chicago). All would permit branch banking within the state of Illinois.

Beverage containers
H.B. 746, Leiand Rayson (D., Tinley Park), Richard Mugalian (D., Palatine), & Glenn Schneider (D., Naperville). Requires use of reusable beverage containers and prescribes a five-year phase-out for non-refillable and no-return containers by distributors.

S.B. 376, Bradley Glass (R., Northfield). Illinois Beverage Container Act. Requires beverage containers to have cash refund values and establishes standards for certification of containers.

Cannabis Control Act
H.B. 1448, L. Michael Getty (D., Dolton). Increases penalty for "Calculated Criminal Cannabis Conspiracy" from Class 3 to Class 2 felony.

H.B. 1681, Rayson. "Decriminalizes" possession of small amounts of cannabis.

Collective bargaining
H.B. 1, Thomas J. Hanahan (D., McHenry). Creates a State Labor Relations Board for matters related to public employee labor organization. Specifically grants public employee labor organizations the right to bargain collectively with public employers.

H.B. 489, Richard F. Kelly, Jr. (D., East Hazel Crest) and Hanahan. Provides for the right of teachers to join unions and bargain collectively with employers.

H.B. 1584, Arthur Telcser (R., Chicago). Creates a Law Enforcement Personnel Employment Relations Board. Allows law enforcement personnel to organize and bargain collectively.

S.B. 505, Terry L. Bruce (D., OIney). Establishes right of public school employees to organize and bargain collectively. Establishes State Educational Employment Board.

S.B. 817, Frank D. Savickas (D., Chicago). Establishes right of public employees to organize and bargain collectively. Creates an Impasse Resolution Panel.

Coroners
H.B. 1077 and H.B. 1078, W. Timothy Simms (R., Rockford). Gradually abolishes the office of coroner in Illinois and replaces it with "medical examiners" in charge of various districts and under the jurisdiction of a Illinois Medical Examiner Board within the Department of Public Health. (Tabled in committee)

Death penalty
H.B. 814, Robert Mann (D., Chicago).
Abolishes the death penalty for all convictions. (Failed on 3rd reading, 37-103)

Domestic relations
H.B. 245, Rayson. Adds irreconcilable differences as a grounds for divorce. (Failed on 3rd reading, 29-104)

H.B. 555, Leo LaFleur (R., Bloomingdale). *Placement of bills on the "study calendar" keeps them alive for consideration later during the 79th General Assembly.

July 1975/Illinois Issues/217

H.B. 608, Rayson, Greiman. Creates Illinois Domestic Relations Act to codify and clarity existing statutes. Adds "no-fault" provisions to current grounds for divorce. (Study calendar*)

H.B. 776, Charles Fleck (R., Chicago). Adds irreconcilable differences as a grounds for divorce. (Tabled)

H.B. 904, Daniel Pierce (D.. Highland Park). Creates a comprehensive Illinois Marriage and Divorce Act that incorporates "no fault" as a grounds for divorce. (Illinois Bar Association bill) (Study calendar*)

H.B. 1180, Fleck. Creates a comprehensive Domestic Relations Act which incorporates "no-fault" provisions as a grounds for divorce. (Chicago Bar Association bill) (Study calendar*)

H.B. 1273, Ron K. Hoffman (R.. Westchester). Adds serious and irresolvable difficulties as grounds for divorce. (Study calendar*)

Elections
H.B. 2988, Election Committee. Changes the primary election date (now third Tuesday in March) to the first Tuesday in May.

H.B. 378, Arthur Berman (D., Chicago). Provides for rotation of ballot placement of names in primary elections for state representative.

S.B. 8, James H. Donnewald (D., Breese). Requires (as amended) counties of 25,000 (now 40,000) to have voting machines or electronic voting systems commencing with the November 1976 election.

S.B. 18, John J. Nimrod (R., Skokie). Provides procedures for enrollment of registered voters as to party affiliation and permits only enrolled party members to vote in party primary, to sign nominating petition, or to be a. candidate in a primary.

S.B. 647, Norbert Kosinski (D., Chicago). Changes the primary election date to the second Tuesday in May.

Environment
H.B. 114, Richard 0. Hart (D., Benton). Amends the Environmental Protection Act providing for the use in some areas of "intermittent control systems" in lieu of compliance with current sulfur dioxide emission standards until not later than December 31. 1982. Pollution Control Board shall adopt regulations governing use of intermittent control systems.

H.B. 136, Webber Borchers (R., Decatur). Requires preparation and reporting of studies of economic impact of proposed environmental control regulations.

Fair trade
H.B. 309, Harry Leinenweber (R., Joliet) and S.B. 177, Dawn dark Netsch (D., Chicago). Both repeal the Fair Trade Act.

Interest rates
H.B. 602, Jack R. Beaupre (D., Bourbonnais). Extends the period during which mortgage loans on residential real estate may be made at rates up to 91/2% from July 1, 1975 to January 1, 1977 (as amended).

Medical malpractice
H.B. 1660, Thomas Miller (R., South Holland). Creates a commission charged with developing a comprehensive plan for a medical injury reparations system. Provides for a temporary market to make certain types of medical malpractice insurance available.

H.B. 1663, Miller. Creates a new act in regard to medical malpractice. Redefines certain areas of medical malpractice action. H.B. 1709, Bernard Epton (R., Chicago). Revises the law relative to trials for medical malpractice providing that the doctrine of "res ipsa loquitor" is not sufficient in itself to establish negligence or misconduct in a medical malpractice case.

H.B. 1963, Harold Katz (D., Glencoe). Requires the circuit courts to establish a medical malpractice panel consisting of a judge, a physician and a lawyer for each medical malpractice case tu facilitate the disposition of such cases in pretrial proceedings.

H.B. 1968, Herman. Creates a commission to study the availability of medical malpractice insurance coverage which shall recommend to the General Assembly changes in the present medical injury reparations system. Creates a temporary Joint underwriting association which will underwrite medical malpractice insurance in Illinois under certain specified conditions.

S.B. 1024, Glass. Establishes certain procedures applicable to civil proceedings involving medical malpractice liability.

Privacy
The following bills constitute a package of "administration proposals" announced by Gov. Walker designed to "safeguard the right of personal privacy in the handling of government, school, credit reporting and other records about individuals."

H.B. 1820, Rayson. Public Records Access Act. Requires disclosure of public records by public bodies to all persons requesting such disclosure, and the establishment of a public record index by each public body to facilitate disclosure. Exempts certain public records from disclosure, and provides for notice of the reasons for any denial to the person making the request and judicial review with the burden on the public body to justify the denial.

H.B. 1884, James M. Houlihan (D., Chicago). Illinois School Students Records Act. Establishes rights and privileges with respect to all students' records in both public and nonpublic schools, requires the State Board of Education to issue implementing regulations, and provides for the maintenance of, access to and dissemination of information from such records.

S.B. 849, Netsch. Fair Consumer Reporting Act. Regulates the preparation, dissemination, and disclosure to consumers of consumer reports used in determining eligibility for credit, insurance, employment, and other authorized purposes. Establishes both civil and criminal penalties for violations.

S.B. 960, Netsch. Persona] Records Privacy Act. Regulates the collection, use and dissemination of personal information by agencies of the state government. Creates and establishes the powers and duties of a five-member Illinois Privacy Board.

Redistricting
S.B. 1250, Cecil Partee (D., Chicago). Redistricts the state into 24 Congressional Districts repealing the old congressional apportionment act.

Rape
H.B. 271 and H.B. 272, Aaron Jaffe (D., Skokie) and Peter P. Peters (R., Chicago). Creates Rape Victims Emergency Treatment Act requiring hospitals to furnish emergency hospital service to rape victims in accordance with rules and regulations adopted by the Department of Public Health. Appropriates funds to reimburse hospitals for the costs of providing services to certain rape victims.

H.B. 273, Jaffe and Peters. Amends the Criminal Code. Redefines rape and related crimes.

H.B. 274, Jaffe and Peters. Amends Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963 making past sexual conduct of a rape victim with any person other than the accused inadmissable as evidence in a trial of rape.

H.B. 277, Jaffe and Peters. Requires the Illinois Local Government Law Enforcement Training Board to include training in techniques of rape investigation as a part of minimum curriculum for police training schools.

H.B. 278, Jal'fe and Peters. Prohibits the exclusion of coverage for the treatment of injuries resulting from rape in accident and health insurance policies and hospital service plans.

H.B. 279, Jaffe and Peters. Adds medical services for rape victims to the list of medical services the Department of Public Aid is authorized to provide under the medical assistance program and includes in such services tests to secure evidence in relation to the rape.

H.B. 382, John Hirschfeld (R., Champaign). Makes inadmissable in rape and related prosecutions any opinion evidence, reputation evidence, or evidence of specific instances of the victim's sexual conduct with anyone other than the defendant.

S.B. 470, James F. Bell (R., Joliet). Provides that the Department of Public Health shall require hospitals in municipalities of more than 50,000 inhabitants to provide emergency treatment services to rape victims.

Senior citizens
S.B. 62 and S.B. 63, Rock. Property tax relief for senior citizens and disabled persons with household incomes of less than $10,000. Appropriation of $34 million to cover the cost of such property tax relief. P.A. 79-7 & 79-8.

State Fair
H.B. 732, J. David Jones (R., Springfield). Creates a State Fair Board and provides for selection of its members. Repeals the State Fair Agency Act and transfers powers, duties, property, records, personnel, and funds to the State Fair Board on January I, 1976.

Unemployment benefits
H.B. 488, E. J. "Zeke" Giorgi (D., Rockford) and Hanahan. Increases unemployment compensation benefits. (Defeated in House on 3rd Reading by a vote of 81-65 on April 22. Note: 89 votes were required for passage).

H.B. 486, Jack Williams (D., Franklin Park). Amends Unemployment Compensation Act providing coverage after 1975 for persons employed in public schools or in schools operated by nonprofit organizations, including institutions of higher education. Also provides that such persons would be ineligible for benefits during periods between two terms or successive school years. (Failed on 3rd reading, 73-33).

H.B. 863, William D. Walsh (R., LaGrangc Park). Makes educators ineligible for unemployment compensation benefits during periods between two successive school years or two regular terms of the same year.

S.B. 285, Robert W. McCarthy (D., Decatur). Increases unemployment compensation benefits.

S.B. 397, Kenneth Buzbee (D., Carbondale). Provides that a person is not ineligible for unemployment benefits if his unemployment is due to membership in a union which honors the picket line of another union.

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