Bill Summaries

Approved by the governor Business and Labor
S.B. 1967, Committee on Labor and Commerce, Hill. Attempts to address criticisms of the comprehensive changes made during the 1975 session in the Workmen's Compensation Act by specifying, for example, that a common cold is not covered and by changing coverage of agricultural workers. The Chamber of Commerce claims these changes are only cosmetic. P.A. 79-1450.

H.B. 1955, Keller-Hart-Choate/Daley. Allows two off-site limited banking service facilities not more than 1,500 feet and 3,500 yards from the main bank. P.A. 79-1388.

H.B. 3318, Hanahan/Lemke. Extends the coverage of the Minimum Wage Law to certain employers and employees, including small businesses, household workers and agricultural workers- P.A. 79-1436. Conservation
H.B. 3797, Committee on Environment, Energy and Natural Resources, Pierce/Glass. Illinois Historic Preservation Act protects sites designated as historic places by the Department of Conservation and a new 15-member Historic Sites Advisory Council P.A. 79-1383. Ethics
H.B. 3484, Committee on the Executive, Matijevich/ Morris. Changes the payment of salaries of the members of the General Assembly from a year in advance to a monthly basis. P.A. 79-1333. Local Government
S.B. 1591, Vadalabene/Tuerk. Provides a mechanism for providing state help in financing civic centers in downstate cities through a Metropolitan Exposition, Auditorium and Office Building Fund supported by horse racing privilege taxes. P.A. 79-1390.

H.B. 3609, Barnes/Vadalabene. Increases grants to library systems. The per capita grant formula is increased from $0.70 to $1.00 and the square mile grant formula is increased from $0.25 to $0.35. Takes effect July 1, 1977. P.A. 79-1471. Social Services and Health
H.B. 3891, Committee on Human Resources, Chapman/Netsch. Authorizes the director of the Department of Public Health to close nursing homes without a hearing if imminent danger to the residents is uncovered in the operation of the home. Requires written notice and right of judicial review. P.A. 79-1439.

HB. 3917, Committee on Human Resources, Chapman/Moore. Requires proof that medical services were actually provided to accompany claims for reimbursement by medical providers before payment can be approved by the Department of Public Aid. P.A. 79-1440.

H.B. 3957, Committee on Judiciary I, Partee. Makes a number of changes in laws relating to medical malpractice, such as revising the grounds for license revocation, allowing for rate regulation of medical liability insurance, imposing penalties for frivolous claims, and extending confidentiality provisions to peer review boards. P.A. 79-1434.

H.B. 3958, Committee on Judiciary I, Partee. Malpractice Arbitration Act establishes special procedures for arbitration in medical malpractice cases, including a time period during which an arbitration agreement may be cancelled. P.A. 79-1435. State Government
S.B. 1567, Bruce/Schuneman. Changes the State Employees Group Insurance Act to allow for two-year contracts with one-year renewals instead of the present one-year contracts. P.A. 79-1372. S.B. 1877, Partee/Washington. Sets up an Equal Employment Opportunity Office for state hiring and requires each agency to appoint an equal employment opportunity officer. P.A. 79-1441.

S.B. 1881, D'Arco/Geo-Karis. Enlarges the powers and functions of the Dangerous Drugs Commission, allowing it to appoint investigators with full police powers and giving it primary responsibility for the drug abuse programs in the Dangerous Drugs Abuse Act. P.A. 79-1465.

H.B. 3801, Washburn-Redmond/Partee. Establishes a Governmental Research Division in the Illinois State Library for use by state employees conducting research in public and governmental affairs. P.A. 79-1459. Taxes
S.B. 1854, Nudelman/Maragos. Extends the personal property tax exemption of pension funds to include trusts of employees and self-employed individuals. P.A. 79-1407.

S.B. 1918, Partee/ McClain. Increases inheritance tax exemptions by adding to the present $20,000 exemption an additional $20,000 to the spouse or children only or reduction of the tax by $1,200, whichever is less. The rationale is the preservation of family farms. P.A. 79-1427. Transportation
S.B. 1950, Partee/ Maragos. Requires the labeling of equipment and facilities used in the transportation and storage of hazardous substances and provides procedures for responding to a hazardous materials emergency. P.A. 79-1442.

S.B. 2000, Dougherty/Garmisa. Provides $15 million of bond funds to be used by the Department of Transportation to repair unsafe and substandard local bridges. P.A. 79-1470.

H.B. 1815, Maragos-Choate-Hudson/Partee. Illinois Hazardous Materials Transportation Act provides for regulation of the transportation of hazardous materials by the secretary of the Illinois Department of Transportation similar to federal regulations. P.A. 79-1443.
  Total vetoes

S.B. 193, Sommer/Hart-Von Boeckman. Eliminates the power of the Environmental Protection Agency to control noise generated by grain elevators in small communities or by sporting events such as auto races and gun shooting clubs.

H.B. 1914, Jones/ Newhouse. Changes the funding formula used to provide assistance grants to private colleges by basing the grants on full-time equivalency figures. Walker vetoed the bill because it would have reduced funds available to some schools.

H.B. 2115, Kane/Vadalabene. Replaces the fixed interest rate on residential mortgages with a floating rate ceiling based on federal government bond yields. This plan is in effect in Pennsylvania and several other states.

H.B. 3138, R. J. Palmer-R.J. Kosinski/D'Arco. Requires the Department of Mental Health and all private hospitals to provide patient records to the Department of Law Enforcement in response to investigations of individuals seeking to obtain a Firearm Owner's Identification Card. Vetoed to protect individual privacy.

H.B. 3189, Capparelli-Lauer-Maragos/D'Arco. Changes the appointment of members of the Commission on Delinquency Prevention, giving each of the legislative leaders the power to appoint one member in addition to 11 members appointed by the governor.

H.B. 3420, Duff-Rayson/ Moore. Requires a preliminary hearing within 60 days on charges being brought against an individual in an attempt to guarantee prompt trials. Failure would result in charges being dropped.

H.B. 3803, Porter-MacDonald/Nimrod. Changes the appointment of the director of Vocational Rehabilitation from the Board of Vocational Rehabilitation to the governor subject to Senate confirmation. The board would make nonbinding recommendations to the governor.

H.B. 3858, Committee on Agriculture/ Knuppel. The latest attempt to change the method of appointment of the members of the State Fair Board. Places the appointment power in the governor, lieutenant governor and secretary of state, requires appointment of members from specified State Fair Districts, and provides procedures of transition from the present board.

H.B. 3973, Committee on Cities and Villages/ K. Hall. Establishes a Depressed Areas and Community Development Authority to promote and finance community development in areas such as East St. Louis.
  Amendatory vetoes

S.B. 1679, Brady/Berman. Increases the maximum state scholarship awards from $1,500 to $1,550 for full-time students and from $750 to $775 for part-time students. The governor's changes would delay the increases for one year.

S.B. 1945, Committee on Revenue, Carroll/ Tuerk. Authorizes the use of tax increment financing by cities in redevelopment areas. The amendatory veto adds 10 provisions to tighten the procedures specified in the bill. Will primarily benefit downstate cities financing downtown redevelopment.

S.B. 2010, Committee on Judiciary, Daley/ D.L. Houlihan. Adds provisions to the Banking Act regulating access to customer financial records. The governor's changes make access more limited to protect individual privacy.

S.B. 2011, Committee on Judiciary, Daley/ D.L. Houlihan. Adds provisions similar to S.B. 2010 to regulate records of savings and loan associations. Again the governor's changes are designed to limit access to records and protect individual privacy

H.B. 3486, McMaster/Knuppel. Adds an educational requirement for township assessors outside Cook County. The governor's changes make explicit that the Department of Local Government Affairs must approve the required exam and ties the effective date to the effective date of another bill increasing the salaries of township assessors.

H.B. 3518, Jaffe/Brady. Makes a number of changes in the school aid formula, such as using the average of the previous three years' average daily attendance, instead of simply the previous year's average, as the base and changing required assessment levels. The governor's changes are designed to avoid adverse fiscal impacts of these formula changes. 

November 1976 / Illinois Issues / 27


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