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Legislative Action By GARY ADKINS

Summaries of bills
signed by the governor

THE FOLLOWING are summaries of significant bills signed by the governor. More will appear next month.

Child snatching
H.B. 2775, sponsored by Rep. Jane M. Barnes (R., Oak Lawn), makes it a Class 4 felony to violate court custody orders by removing a child from Illinois without the consent of the person who lawfully has custody, or by concealing the child in the state without such consent. The law intends to prevent "child snatching" by a parent where the other parent or guardian is denied access and visitation with a child. "Our goal with this bill." Gov. Thompson said, "is to create a felony so that the offending parent may be extradited and returned to the jurisdiction of the divorce court." P.A. 80-1393, effective August 22, 1978.

Child support
S.B. 995, by Sen. Arthur L. Herman (D., Evanston), allows the Department of Public Aid the authority to contract with local governments to find a delinquent parent who is behind on child support payments. The department may also contract with private individuals to help track down delinquent parents and may pay a fee of up to 25 per cent of the amount collected from the debtor to individuals or governments. The amount may be negotiated by the department, but the attorney general must approve it. In signing the bill the governor said it would reduce waste in welfare. P.A. 80-1377, effective January 1, 1979.

Corrections
H.B. 2869, by Rep. Virgil C. Wikoff (R., Champaign), allows corrections institutional industries to sell "services" and "foodstuffs" produced or manufactured by inmates. The bill also expands the market capabilities of prison industries to include the sale of goods and services to the federal government, state governments and local units of government in other states and to not-for-profit organizations chartered in other states. P.A. 80-1391, effective August 21, 1978.

Criminal law
S.B. 771, by Sen. Dawn Clark Netsch (D., Chicago), makes home invasion a Class X offense and defines home invasion as entering a dwelling with the knowledge that occupants are at home and the invader uses or threatens to use force or harms anyone in the home. The new law also abolished the defense for the crime of indecent liberties with a child if the child is a prostitute. The offense of indecent liberties with a child is broadened to include child pornography and is changed from a Class 3 felony to a Class 1 felony. It increases the potential prison sentence for pornography offenses with a child from two-to-five years to four-to-fifteen years. The section of the new law dealing with home invasion was prompted by the brutal beating of a Chicago family in their home this spring. P.A. 80-1392, effective August 22, 1978.

Grain dealers
H.B. 3349, by Rep. Harlan Rigney (R., Freeport), requires grain dealers to file an annual certified financial statement with the director of Agriculture. Gives the director the power to change the bonding requirements of dealers and to investigate the background of dealers. Bans dealers from speculative activity on the grain market beyond normal grain merchandising practices. "Three recent bankruptcies caused about $7 million in losses to farmers which Stimulated the concern for greater and significant regulation of the grain dealers to prevent, if we can, these catastrophes," the governor said. The act is the product of the Grain Handling Regulation Task Force. P.A. 80-1375, effective January 1, 1979.

Mine reclamation
H.B. 2912, by Rep. A. T. McMaster (R., Oneida), designates the director of the Land Reclamation Division of the Department of Mines and Minerals as the regulatory authority for the state under the Federal Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (P. L. 95-87, 30 U.S.C. 1201 el seq.). Illinois will be eligible for up to $10 million a year to help reclaim abandoned mine lands. Creates a 10-member Surface Mining Advisory Council, bringing together mining, environmental and other interests. P.A. 80-1342, effective August 11, 1978.

Pensions
H.B. 1803, by Rep. David L. Robinson (D., Springfield) and Rep. Larry R. Stuffle (D., Charleston), increases the annuity in four state-funded retirement systems automatically each year by 3 per cent, instead of 2 per cent. The governor said the bill would provide an additional $4 million to retired persons each year, an increase needed to keep up with inflation. The retirement systems involved are State Employees' Retirement System, State Universities' Retirement System, Downstate Teachers' Retirement System and Chicago Teachers' Retirement System. P.A. 80-1408, effective August 28, 1978.

Product liability
H.B. 1333, by Rep. Lee A. Daniels (R., Elmhurst), sets a time limit for court suits on product liability claims. No suit can be filed later than 12 years after the sale of a product by the wholesaler to the retailer or 10 years after the user purchases the product, whichever comes first. The bill also states that replacement of a part is not a sale and does not stop the statute of limitations from running. P. A. 1367, effective January 1, 1979.

Public aid
H.B. 3287, by Rep. William L. Kempiners (R., Joliet) and Rep. Flinn, creates a new fund under the Department of Public Aid. The purpose of the fund is to receive and disburse monies donated from local government and non-public agencies along with federal matching funds, to provide for social services under Title XX of the federal social security act. The state will set aside $15 million of federal money in the special fund. Local volunteer social service agencies must match one quarter of the total cost of proposed projects for the disadvantaged in order to obtain a three quarter match from the fund. The state will administer the "donated funds" process P.A. 80-1302, effective August 3, 1978.

Redlining
H.B. 2555, by Rep. Ellis B. Levin (D., Chicago), extends existing redlining ban to renters' insurance. Previously only homeowners were covered. P.A. 80-1369, effective January 1, 1979.

H.B. 3327, by Rep. Michaels. Holewinski (D., Chicago), bars insurance companies from canceling policies solely because they have terminated their contract with the agent who wrote the policy and from refusing to issue a policy solely because the client had been cancelled previously by another firm. P.A. 80-1374, effective January 1, 1979.

Tax exemption
H.B. 933, by Rep. Lawrence DiPrima (D., Chicago), doubles the real estate tax exemption allowed disabled veterans and extends state scholarships to the dependents of military people killed, permanently disabled, missing in action or captured as prisoners of war. The act increases from $15,000 to $30,000 of the assessed valuation for tax exemptions for disabled veterans on their homes, if the home has been adapted to the veteran's disability, using federal funds in the purchase or construction necessary. Gov. Thompson estimates that doubling the exemption is likely to increase participation beyond the 550 disabled veterans who previously used the tax break. P.A. 80-1366, effective January 1, 1979.

S.B.736, by Sen. Robert J. Egan (D., Chicago), exempts from the 4 per cent state sales tax, machinery and equipment for use in an expanded or new manufacturing facility, as well as replacement machinery and equipment in an existing manufacturing facility. Such exemption is valid for machinery and equipment produced for sale to a manufacturer or manufacturer's lessor. In 1979, 31.25 percent of sales are exempt, gradually rising to 100 per cent in 1984. P.A. 80-1292, effective January 1,1979.

Tax penalties
H.B. 2718, by Rep. John E. Friedland, (R., South Elgin), removes the penalty for late sales and gasoline tax payments when "reasonable cause" is shown. In the past a 5 per cent penalty, based upon the amount of tax liability accrued, was assessed when sales or gasoline taxes wen late but were sent prior to the Illinois Department of Revenue issuing a formal liability notice. P.A. 80-1390, effective January 1, 1979.

28/October 1978/Illinois Issues