Legislative Update for February 6, 2009
The following are some of the more significant disability-related bills pending in the
Illinois General Assembly which are scheduled to be heard in committee during the week of
February 9, 2009:
House Appropriations-Elementary & Secondary Education Committee
February 9, 2009, 3:00 p.m.
Capitol Building, Room 118
Springfield, IL
HB 15, lead sponsor, Representative Mary E. Flowers
Appropriates $1,000,000 from the General Revenue Fund to the State Board of Education
for autism programs.
House Insurance Committee
February 9, 2009, 3:00 p.m.
Stratton Building, Room D-1
Springfield, IL
HB 244, lead sponsor, Representative Robert W. Pritchard
Amends the State Employees Group Insurance Act of 1971, the Counties Code, the
Illinois Municipal Code, and the School Code to require coverage for medically necessary
preventative physical therapy for insureds diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Amends the
Illinois Insurance Code. In the provisions concerning multiple sclerosis preventative
physical therapy, provides a definition for "medically necessary".
Health Care Availability and Accessibility Committee
February 9, 2009, 4:00 p.m.
Capitol Building, Room 118
Springfield, IL
HB 9, lead sponsor, Representative Jil Tracy
Creates the Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome Education Act. Provides that the
Department of Public Health, subject to appropriation, shall establish the Reflex
Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome Education Program to promote public awareness of the
syndrome and the importance of early detection, diagnosis, and treatment. Provides that
the Department shall work with health care providers, local public health agencies, and
other appropriate agencies to coordinate and promote professional education programs.
Provides that the Department may accept gifts, grants, and donations from any source for
the purposes of carrying out its duties under the Act.
House Human Services Committee
February 10, 2009, 8:30 a.m.
Stratton Building, Room D-1
Springfield, IL
HB 39, lead sponsor, Representative Donald L. Moffitt
Amends the Illinois Public Aid Code. Provides that the Department of Human Services,
in consultation with the Department of Healthcare and Family Services, shall develop a
demonstration project within the Home Services Program under which a spouse may be
reimbursed for providing care to his or her spouse, who is eligible for services through
the Home Services Program and who meets the criteria for the demonstration project.
Provides that the demonstration project shall operate in selected counties and be limited
to serving no more than 100 unduplicated persons in a State Fiscal Year. Sets forth
required components of the demonstration project. Requires that development of the
demonstration project begin by July 1, 2009. Requires an interim report to the Governor
and the General Assembly by March 1, 2010 and a report of findings and
recommendations by March 1, 2011.
HB 90 and HB154, lead sponsor, Representative LaShawn K. Ford
Amend the Communicable Disease Prevention Act. Delete a Section requiring the Illinois
Department of Public Health or a local public health department to give notice to a
principal of the school in which a child is enrolled when a school aged child has acquired
immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) or AIDS-related complex (ARC) or has been
shown to have been exposed to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or any other identified
causative agent of AIDS.
House Elementary & Secondary Education Committee Hearing
February 10, 2009, 8:30 a.m.
Capitol Building, Room 114
Springfield, IL
HB 281, lead sponsor, Representative Patricia R. Bellock
Amends the School Code to require that the State Board of Education, in conjunction
with the Department of Public Health, develop and make available to each school board
guidelines for the management of students with life-threatening food allergies.
Recommends that each school board be required to implement a policy based on these
guidelines no later than January 1, 2011.
House State Government Administration Committee
February 10, 2009, 10:00 a.m.
Capitol Building, Room 118
Springfield, IL
HB 4, lead sponsor, Representative Raymond Poe
Amends the State Facilities Closure Act. Provides that a recommendation of closure of a
State facility may not be implemented unless the Commission on Government
Forecasting and Accountability, by resolution adopted by record vote of at least 8 members,
approves the recommendation (now, the Commission's opinion is merely advisory). Provides
that nothing in the Act precludes the executive branch agency recommending closure from providing
relevant information to the affected State employees and their authorized bargaining representatives.
HB 47, lead sponsor, Representative Dan Brady
Amends the Freedom of Information Act. Exempts from the Act's copying and inspection
requirements data of law enforcement agencies on the mental and physical disabilities,
defects, and maladies of individuals maintained for the safety of responding law enforcement
officers, the individuals, and the public.
House Youth and Family Committee
February 10, 2009, 3:00 p.m.
Capitol Building, Room 115
Springfield, IL
HB 30, lead sponsor, Representative Mary E. Flowers
Amends the Children and Family Services Act. Provides that the Department of Children
and Family Services shall develop and implement a program of family preservation services
designed to support intact, foster, and adoptive families who are experiencing extreme hardship
due to the difficulty of caring for a child with a pervasive developmental disorder. Provides
that the Department shall develop and implement a public information campaign to alert public
healthcare providers, social service providers, and the general public about these family
preservation services.
Senate Education Committee
February 10, 2009, 4:00 p.m.
Capitol Building, Room 409
Springfield, IL
SB 152, lead sponsor, Senator Susan Garrett
Amends the School Code. Requires the State Board of Education, in conjunction with the
Department of Public Health, to develop and make available to each school board
guidelines for the management of students with life-threatening food allergies. Requires
each school board to implement a policy based on the guidelines for the management of
students with life-threatening food allergies. Imposes conditions on any rulemaking
authority.
Senate State Government and Veterans Affairs Committee
February 11, 2009, 3:00 p.m.
Capitol Building, Room 409
Springfield, IL
SB 40, lead sponsor, Senator Susan Garrett
Amends the Department of Central Management Services Law of the Civil Administrative
Code of Illinois. Requires the Department of Central Management Services, in cooperation
with the Department of Human Services, to develop and implement plans to increase the
number of individuals with a disability employed by State government and to submit an
annual report. Amends the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity Law of the
Civil Administrative Code of Illinois. Requires the Department of Commerce and Economic
Opportunity, in cooperation with not-for-profit groups and community partners, to develop
and implement an education and outreach campaign designed to increase statewide awareness
of issues that affect individuals with a disability. Amends the Department of Human Services
Act. Requires the Department of Human Services to collect information during the period of
July 1, 2009 through June 30, 2010 regarding employers’ claims of the federal Work Opportunity
Tax Credit and to submit an annual report. Amends the Illinois Procurement Code. Provides that
a chief procurement officer may, as part of any solicitation, encourage prospective vendors to
consider hiring qualified individuals with a disability and to notify them of any available
financial incentives or other advantages associated with hiring such persons.
NOTE: If you wish to take any action regarding any of these bills, you may wish to attend the committee hearing and/or contact the sponsor(s) of the bill, the members of the committee hearing the bill, and/or the legislators in your home district. The names, addresses, and telephone numbers of all legislators, both Representatives and Senators, can be found on the Illinois General Assembly website at: www.ilga.gov. You may also check this website to find out if any of the committee hearing dates or times have been changed (which may happen upon very short notice) and to read the full text of the bills.
