Illinois House Floor Debate — May 9, 2024

"The House will be in order. Members will be in their chairs. We shall be led in prayer today by Jody Davis. Mr… Mr. Davis is the minister at Fairfield Church of Christ in Fairfield, Illinois. Mr. Davis is the guest of Representative Severin. How lucky you are, Mr. Davis. Members and guests are asked to refrain from starting their laptops, turn off all cell phones, and rise for the invocation and Pledge of Allegiance. Mr. Davis."

"Good afternoon, everyone. Let us pray. Our most kind and gracious Father in heaven, great is your name above all names and your ways above all ways. The worlds, all that is seen and all that is yet to be divined by humanity, were framed by your word. The ages before us and after us are yours. You, our Lord God, are from everlasting to everlasting. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, you are God. You indeed are everything, Father, and without you, we would have nothing. Your words tell us that you are not far from each one of us, for in you we live and move and have our being. And that since your creation of the world, your invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made. We thank you for this day that you have opened our eyes up to and for bringing us here safely together. And as we look around this assembled 10300102.docx 1  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 102nd Legislative Day 5/9/2024 Body, we thank you for each other. We understand that there is no authority except from you, and the authorities that exist are appointed by you. And as such, we thank you for each of the men and women of this assembled Body who have been elected by the people of Illinois and entrusted with their welfare. We pray, Father, in keeping with your words that this Body may be able to thwart evil as you would see it and to look kindly upon good works. We pray, Father, that every soul will be subject to and not in resistance to our government and its leaders. We pray that peace, honor, and love will reign when there may be political disagreements, not hate and not violence. We pray, Father, that you will be with the men and women of this Body here today, that the people of Illinois may be able to lead quiet and peaceful lives in all godliness and reverence. We know that this is good and acceptable to you, our God, who desires all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge with a truth. O God, our Father, please watch over us all and enable us to look to you when times are good and when times are bad, that we may each reflect on those things far greater than us. To you, Father, be all glory and all honor in the most precious and holy name of our Lord, Jesus Christ, we pray, Amen."

"We will be led in the Pledge of Allegiance today by Representative McLaughlin."

Speaker Manley: "Roll Call for Attendance. Leader Barbara Hernandez is recognized to report any excused absences on the Democratic side of the aisle." Hernandez, B.: "Speaker, let the record show that Representatives Burke, Flowers, Huynh, Ladisch Douglass, Tarver, and Omar Williams are excused today."

"Leader Keicher is recognized to report any excused absences on the Republican side of the aisle."

"Have all recorded themselves who wish? Mr. Clerk, please take the record. There being 112 Members answering the roll call, a quorum is present. Mr. Clerk, Committee Reports."

"On House Bills on the Order of Second Reading, page 12, we find Senate Bill 2743, Representative Ann Williams. Representative Ann Williams. Out of the record. Senate Bill 2803, Representative Slaughter. Representative Slaughter. Out of the record. On page 10, Senate Bill 317. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."

"Third Reading. Senate Bill 2879. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."

"Third Reading. On page 13, Senate Bill 2918, Representative Smith. Representative Smith. Out of the record. Page 15, we have Senate Bill 3448, Representative Kifowit. Out of the record. Senate Bill 3606, Representative Mussman. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."

"Third Reading. Senate Bill 3687, Leader Hoffman. Out of the record. Senate Bill 3661, Representative Mussman. Please read the Bill."

"Third Reading. Senate Bill 3679, Leader Buckner. Leader Buckner. Please read the Bill."

"Senate Bill… Third Reading. Senate Bill 3691. Please read the Bill." 10300102.docx 5  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 102nd Legislative Day 5/9/2024

"Third Reading. Senate Bill 3763, Representative Mussman. Please read the Bill."

"Third Reading. Senate Bill 3775, Representative Moylan. Representative Moylan. Out of the record. Senate Bill 3779, Representative West. Please read the Bill."

"Third Reading. Senate Bill 3807, Representative Ammons. Representative Ammons. Out of the record. The Chair recognizes Representative Katz Muhl. For what reason do you seek recognition?"

"Point of personal privilege."

"Please proceed."

"Thank you. I hope the Legislators had a chance today to peek a peek at the exhibitions in the lobby for Students for Innovation: Advocacy Day. I'm so excited to share that students from one of my districts, Prospect Heights District 23, MacArthur Middle School are here. Can I ask them to hop up in the balcony? There they are. I want to congratulate Erika, Maggie, Lily, and Eeva on their terrific projects on behalf of myself and Representative Canty. Please welcome them to the General Assembly." 10300102.docx 6  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 102nd Legislative Day 5/9/2024

"Welcome to Springfield. Representative Fritts, for what reason do you seek recognition?"

"Please proceed."

"Welcome to Springfield. Representative Hanson, for what reason do you seek recognition?"

"Point of personal privilege."

"Please proceed."

"Thank you, Madam Speaker. I'd just ask all of our colleagues here in the House to give a warm Springfield welcome to my chief of staff from the district, Mario Keane. This is Mario's first visit on the House side. We know that our staff and our team back home not only take care of us, but they take care of our constituents. So, thank you for all 10300102.docx 7  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 102nd Legislative Day 5/9/2024 you do for me and the 83rd District, Mario, and welcome to Springfield."

"Welcome to Springfield. Leader Stephens, for what reason do you seek recognition?"

"Please proceed."

"Welcome to Springfield, Joseph. We're moving on to Senate Bills on Third Reading on page 3. Senate Bill 1, Representative Canty. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."

"Representative Canty."

"Thank you, Madam Speaker. I rise today to present Senate Bill 1, which was approved unanimously by both the Senate and by the House Child Care Accessibility & Early Childhood Education Committee. Senate Bill 1 launches the new Department of Early Childhood. This department serves one major purpose, promoting a high standard of child care, early childhood education, and other support systems for Illinois children, families, and providers. Illinois has made progress in advancing access to early childhood supports, but we can make early childhood simpler, better, and fairer. Most early childhood services are currently split across three agencies, ISBE, DHS, and DCFS, making the system overly complex for both families and providers. With this Bill, I am proposing to unite early childhood services into one new agency, the 10300102.docx 8  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 102nd Legislative Day 5/9/2024 Department of Early Childhood, in order to make it easier for families to access services. Specifically, this Bill launches the Department of Early Childhood on July 1, 2024. It outlines that all early childhood programs will stay in their current agencies for the next two fiscal years, being Fiscal Year '25 and Fiscal Year '26. And it moves early childhood programs, such as the Child Care Assistance Program, early intervention, home visiting, Early Childhood Block Grants, including Preschool for All and the Preschool for All Expansion, and day care licensing into the new Department of Early Childhood on July 1, 2026, which is the start of Fiscal Year 2027. This legislation does not make any changes to existing early childhood programs. For the next two years, the transition team will be working with the agencies, families, and providers to review the programs and make sure that on July 1, 2026, we are fully prepared to have them administered through the Department of Early Childhood with no interruption to services, jobs, or funding. As I noted earlier, this passed out of the Senate unanimously. It passed out of our Child Care Accessibility & Early Childhood Education Committee unanimously. It will help families, providers, and the state, and I ask for an 'aye' vote."

"Chair recognizes Leader Windhorst."

"She indicates that she will."

"That would be ISBE, the State Board of Education; DHS, Department of Human Services; and DCFS, Department of Child and Family Services."

"So, they will have the opportunity to move over. The programs will move and… for DHS and DCFS workers, the workers and the positions will move. For ISBE, only the positions will move, I… and it's roughly 20 at… with ISBE."

"It… it's slightly different for the ISBE workers. They're not subject to the Personnel Code in the same way, but there will be opportunities. Nobody will lose their job and miss a paycheck as a result of starting this new agency."

"So, there is a line item in the budget of $13 million to do the transition work this year. And you will receive, in future years as the agency stands up, they will have their own budget presented at the appropriate committee."

"We want to make a better Illinois. The way that we do our federal funding, our state funding for families, early education providers, et cetera, it is scattershot across these three agencies. We see duplication of efforts, duplication of forms, and that means that we, in some cases, are not getting as many dollars into the programs that we rightfully need. And so, by creating this new agency, housing all of these programs in one place, we can create more efficiency and transparency and ease of access for families and providers."

"Chair recognizes Representative Wilhour."

"She indicates that she will."

"So, as I mentioned to… to your colleague, we are going through a two-year transition process. And so, part of that process is reviewing the programs and how we want them to operate to be more efficient. And at the appropriate time, we will see a budget from this new agency."

"Yes."

"I'm sorry, I'm not sure I follow the…"

"So, back in 2021, this Legislature saw fit to create a task force that did a ton of work, and their recommendation was that we create this new agency. And in order for us to figure out exactly what it will cost, we need to know exactly what we're going to put in there and the way it will look. And so, we're having a transition team that's made up of folks 10300102.docx 12  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 102nd Legislative Day 5/9/2024 from all over the State of Illinois, the agencies, the providers, the families, the educators, et cetera, in addition to organizations, that will go through and make sure that what we are doing in implementation is what we need for the state. And so, I don't want us to be obligated to present a budget that does not yet exist."

"I… I think it would be inappropriate for us to do that work without having the authority for the new agency."

"To the Bill."

"Chair recognizes Leader Keicher."

"She indicates she will."

"That is addressed in the Bill. This gives the authorization to start the transition, but the transition won't actually happen until Fiscal Year 2027."

"So, nothing will move right now. And as I said, the transition team will work together to determine how the programs need to look when they do transition over, but none 10300102.docx 14  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 102nd Legislative Day 5/9/2024 of that will happen later. And when it does happen, there will be no interruption to services, jobs, paychecks, et cetera."

"Can you just help me out a little bit? I'm… I want to make sure I understand what grant you're speaking to, specifically."

"There… no, there would be none."

"There… this Bill makes no programmatic changes."

"Chair recognizes Representative Reick."

"She indicates she will."

"Fiscal Year 2027. So, July 1, 2026, it will transition over."

"Correct. This Bill makes no programmatic changes at this time."

"I believe it's $13 million."

"Correct."

"The… the Governor's team actually put that estimate together…"

"…and put it in his introduced budget."

"Okay. So, it's roughly $13.1 million, which includes resources for the following functions: staffing and operation support, so 30 full-time employees and Social Security, operation costs, such as facilities, computers, licensing and services; evaluating and reconciling the multiple state agency procedures, processes, systems, such as internal and external data and learning infrastructure, for example, you know, ensuring that we're collecting the right data in the easiest way and in which way we can learn how well the system is functioning; technology assessments and general program workflow mapping. It also includes: financial modeling to support program specific redesign efforts; engaging parents, families, providers, educators, and other stakeholders in systems design for the new agency; and professional development and staff training to support current and incoming staff and change management effort. And as a former change manager, I can tell you that's critically important."

"Yes, Sir."

"It… it is going to work. And…"

"But there… there is not… there is not a sunset. It is going to work. We have a mandate to make this work."

"We owe it to the people of Illinois."

"So, I… I do want to… I do want to reiterate, we have a two-year transition period. And this is coming out of the recommendation of a two-year study that was… was conducted at the behest of this Body. And we're not the first state to do this. There are around six, seven, eight states that have stood up agencies like this before us. And so, we are learning from their mistakes. But because we are Illinois, we're going to try and do them even better. So, I'm not… I'm not entirely sure that I'm following your question. But this will work. It is not… we're not going into it blind. It's not a new idea, and I think you'll agree it's probably a needed idea."

"Chair recognizes Leader Ugaste."

"She indicates that she will."

"Because of the short transition period, it's two years. And so, in order to ensure that they have the ability to move quickly within there, we're looking for a temporary reprieve from… from certain parts of the Procurement Code. But even with this limited exception, the new agency will include procurement professionals directing procurement substantially in accordance with many of the Procurement Code requirements, including those related to ethics, the Commission on Equity and Inclusion targets and review, Procurement Policy Board review, contract filing provisions, disclosure and prevailing wage expectations, and cybersecurity provisions. So, they will… they will be doing those things. We just need a temporary ability to move quicker than our process allows."

"I… I anticipate that we will see the new agency with the program shifted over reflected across all four of the budgets when it is ultimately stood up."

"So, this law only allows us the authority to stand things up. There will be legislation that comes during the course of the next two years."

"To the Bill."

"Chair recognizes Representative Guzzardi."

"Thank you, Madam Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"

"She indicates she will."

"Thank you for bringing this Bill forth today, Representative. First of all, is there… does your Bill contemplate imaginary hobgoblins of any kind?"

"It does not, no."

"Okay. They were brought up earlier in debate, so I just wanted to see if that was actually included in your legislation. Can you just tell us, why is… these functions are currently being performed by other state agencies. Why would it be important for them to be put into an agency specifically focused on early childhood?"

"A lot of it has to do with what I'll call the spaghetti bowl of funding and the way that we do that across the state. 10300102.docx 21  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 102nd Legislative Day 5/9/2024 And what that creates is a lot of duplicative effort for families, for providers, for educators, as they're filling out one form that may… for one agency, DHS, call it, and then they're having to go to ISBE for something that is substantially similar but has a slightly different form or a slightly different set of requirements. We need to make things easier for everybody to provide for our youngest people across the state."

"So, you think that by streamlining this process, it'll make it easier for families to access the programs that we already have existing in place?"

"I do, and I think it will also make it easier for us, as a state, to manage those things in a transparent fashion."

"Is it possible that this might result in cost savings to the state in the future?"

"It's entirely possible."

"Because we might be kind of performing duplicative services across multiple agencies that aren't coordinating well today."

"Correct. And it's also possible that we may make better use of federal funds that we receive that support these programs."

"Thank you. To the Bill. This…"

"To the Bill."

"I want to commend the Governor for his leadership in supporting our youngest learners. This early childhood investment is… we talk a lot about solving the root causes, addressing the root causes of the challenges facing our state around educational outcomes, around health outcomes, around 10300102.docx 22  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 102nd Legislative Day 5/9/2024 public safety outcomes. And getting to our earliest learners and making sure that they are provided with quality education from birth is the best investment, I believe, we can make in the root causes of the challenges that face our state. So, I… I really appreciate you bringing this Bill, and I urge an 'aye' vote."

"Chair recognizes Representative Stuart."

"Thank you. Will the Sponsor yield?"

"She indicates she will."

"Thank you. I want to thank you, Representative, for bringing this bill forward. I… I am very supportive of this Bill. The description of the spaghetti bowl could not be more accurate for how difficult it is to navigate these things. And the Representative who spoke before me brought up the point about making sure that we are doing whatever we can for the youngest because that is really addressing all these root causes of discrepancies and differences in people's outcomes when they grow up. But to that point, I just have a question. And… and you mentioned navigating ISBE and other things and federal funding. And so, I just… I want to make sure that we're not going to do anything that will impact those federal dollars when we're talking about special education that is covered under ISBE. And I… I don't know that I have a specific question, and I know that there will be follow up to this Bill. I think that the state would probably need to get some kind of a waiver or change from the feds, and I just… I'm assuming that we… we will be able to do that. I just want to make sure that we're going to be paying attention to that in the future." 10300102.docx 23  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 102nd Legislative Day 5/9/2024

"So, there is a working group, advisory group, that is working specifically to that issue. I share your concern there, and we will make sure that it is addressed to your satisfaction."

"Thank you so much."

"Chair recognizes Representative Ammons."

"Thank you, Madam Chair. Will the Sponsor yield?"

"Indicates she will."

"Thank you. First, Representative Canty, thank you so much for bringing this very important piece of legislation. I just wanted to ask you to give us a little bit of a timeline. If this Bill passes and the Governor signs it, what's the prospective of this rolling out and what is that going to look like?"

"So, if I understand you correctly, you're asking me for the timeline of what happens after we pass this. And so, the department would launch on July 1, 2024. The programs would be in their existing homes for the next two fiscal years. And then on July 1, 2026, the department, the new department, would be officially stood up and the programs would be transitioned over at that time."

"Thank you. To the Bill."

"To the Bill."

"First and foremost, we thank Representative Canty for all of her hard work on this process. It's not easy to stand up an agency that doesn't exist but needs to. And so, I believe that she's done an amazing job really laying out, legislatively, the timeline to implement such a thing. And I would love to remind the Members of the chamber that we 10300102.docx 24  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 102nd Legislative Day 5/9/2024 passed, in 2021, a comprehensive education package that went from early childhood to workforce development. And what we learned today in Higher Education Committee is if we don't support those children at the early stages, early childhood development as well as K-12, then they're not prepared to go to our own universities in the State of Illinois. And we see a huge number of… of students that are having to go to other locations for different reasons. But what we want to do is to give them a good start, and that starts at early childhood. And so, we thank you for working with the Governor's Office. I thank him for his vision for this particular institution to be stood up. It's going to be hard and difficult, and there will be changes and other Bills that will come behind this. But to stand up an agency that really focuses on early childhood… we saw in the data when we did 2170, we saw in that data that our children are going to kindergarten not prepared with basic reading skills, and we have to address that if we want to successfully address all of the other parts of the education line to workforce development. So, thank you, Representative Canty, for the work that you've done on this initiative."

"And our last speaker, Representative Will Davis." Davis, W.: "Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Will the Sponsor yield?"

"She indicates she will." Davis, W.: "Representative, as I listen to some of the comments that were made, particularly from the other side of the aisle there, would you agree that part of this effort also creates efficiencies in government as well?" 10300102.docx 25  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 102nd Legislative Day 5/9/2024

"I would. Yes, Sir." Davis, W.: "We know that that is one thing that we like, transparency and efficiency. So, we anticipate that out of this effort, there will be some efficiency. I know when I work on behalf of my day care centers and I'm trying to make those calls, if I have the opportunity to make one call to one place to get the answer versus having to be bounced around and call different agencies, I think we would all agree that that is probably better for us. Is it not?"

"I would agree." Davis, W.: "Particularly as it relates to, you know, when you're trying to get an answer on behalf of a provider that's struggling to make sure that their paperwork was received, that the paperwork was processed appropriately, so that day cares who are doing phenomenal work in our communities receive a parent, and take in that parent, and start providing the care, and then they go through the paperwork process, we've seen, unfortunately, sometimes where after 30 days of providing the care, nobody knows where the paperwork was, and that agency may have then provided free care for individuals because no one knows where the paperwork is. So, I hope that those of you on the other side of the aisle that are contemplating whether or not to vote or not vote for this that you'll appreciate that sometimes moving things under one roof may actually be a good thing for us to be able to do. And this is one of those situations where I think it is. I think some of you sit on the appropriations committee for K- 12 and we had a very robust discussion about this new agency, what it would be doing, at least in its inception, and then 10300102.docx 26  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 102nd Legislative Day 5/9/2024 ultimately where it's going to be left and the idea of moving the pieces from other agencies and departments under one roof to make sure we are working efficiently, that we are streamlining those processes so that, we, as Legislators, when we make those calls, we can get the answers for our constituents as quickly as possible. So, hopefully, you will vote for this and allow us to move this process forward. I even anticipate… actually, to one of the previous questions… I'm sorry, Madam Chair. To the Bill."

"To the Bill." Davis, W.: "I anticipate that we may even see savings in this. Now, we're spending money in three different, four different agencies. So, as we start to consolidate this, you know, you'll… you'll have one director that, obviously, will be a state employee. And that director will have, you know, some other people underneath them working to make this happen. But, again, when you're spending money in four different places and you have the opportunity to bring it possibly under one ruth… one roof, excuse me, and spend it in that one way, I think there are some good things that come out of this. And I, too, admittedly, have been a very vocal critic of what the Governor's Office has been proposing. But as I've taken the time to learn, to listen, to ask questions to get the answers that I need, I have agreed to sign on as a chief cosponsor of this Bill and encourage everyone in this chamber to support its inception. Let's work collaboratively to make sure that it does everything we want it to do and that it works appropriately. We had those same kind of challenges when we created the Department of Juvenile Justice. And we have worked 10300102.docx 27  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 102nd Legislative Day 5/9/2024 to make sure that, as we separate young people from adults in our correction's system, that we're doing everything that we can through that system to make sure youth are taken care of. This is just one of those opportunities for us to get it right the first time and not have to try to fix it once it's already down the road. Thank you very much, Madam Chair."

"Chair recognizes, for the really last speaker, Representative Weaver."

"She will."

"So, as I… as I had mentioned earlier, the positions and the programs are moving over to the new agency. So, it's not so much a loss to them as it is an opportunity for them to stay focused on their core mission and allow this new agency to stay focused on its core mission."

"So, we're a little ways away, and I would need to see their budgets. I want to be very careful in how I answer that."

"Right. I mean, I guess what I'm… the programs and the people will move to the new agency. I anticipate that we will see adjustments in budgets as they come forward."

"Representative Canty to close."

"Thank you very much, Madam Speaker. I very much appreciate the discussion that we have had on this Bill. As a mom, as someone who sent two of her children through day care who has struggled with systems and processes in this state, I… I really appreciate the opportunity to do something better, fairer, more efficient for the people. I believe that is what we were sent here to do. I encourage an 'aye' vote. Thank you."

"The question is, 'Shall Senate Bill 1 pass?' All in favor vote 'aye'; all opposed vote 'nay'. And the voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, please take the record. On this question, there are 93 voting in 'favor', 18 voting 'opposed', 0 voting 'present'. The Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Chair recognizes Representative Didech. For what reason do you seek recognition?"

"Point of personal privilege."

"Please proceed."

"Thank you, Madam Speaker. We have some very exciting guests in the gallery today from the Mano a Mano Family Resource Center. Please give them a very warm welcome here to Springfield." 10300102.docx 29  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 102nd Legislative Day 5/9/2024

Speaker Manley: "Welcome to Springfield. Senate Bill 56, Representative Morgan. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."

"Representative Morgan."

"Thank you, Madam Speaker. Senate Bill 56 is a fairly simple Bill that cleans up language for a Bill that we passed a few years ago that addresses those between the ages of 65 and 75 who are looking to participate in a Medicare supplemental plan. What we identified is that there is a gap when an insurance company offshores or outsources to an ancillary service company, to an affiliate, and making sure that an individual still has the opportunity to have an open enrollment period. So, this just extends the language to an affiliate. There is no opposition, and I ask for an 'aye' vote."

"Chair recognizes Leader Windhorst."

"He will."

"We passed this legislation a few years ago to provide those who are between 65 and 75 the… the clear ability to have an open enrollment period for a Medicare supplemental insurance program. What we didn't anticipate is that sometimes insurance companies offshore that responsibility to an affiliate. And what happens is the… the way the language is written right now, it does not capture an affiliate. That 10300102.docx 30  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 102nd Legislative Day 5/9/2024 is all this Bill does. Again, it really is consistent and comports with the intent of the initial Bill a few years ago."

"Correct."

"Representative Morgan to close."

"I'd urge an 'aye' vote."

"The question is, 'Shall Senate Bill 56 pass?' All those in favor vote 'aye'; opposed vote 'nay'. And the voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, please take the record. On this question, there are 112 voting in 'favor', 0 'opposed', 0 voting 'present'. This Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Senate Bill 86, Representative Stuart. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."

"Representative Stuart."

"Thank you, Madam Speaker. This is pretty simple. We are just adding to the Know Before You Owe Act, which was a consumer protection Bill in terms of student loans. And what this will do is provide protections for cosigners onto those loans as well."

"The question is, 'Shall Senate Bill 86 pass?' All those in favor vote 'aye'; opposed vote 'nay'. And the voting's open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, please take the record. On this question, there are 112 voting in 'favor', 0 10300102.docx 31  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 102nd Legislative Day 5/9/2024 voting 'opposed', 0 voting 'present'. The Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Senate Bill 275, Leader Spain. Leader Spain. Out of the record. Senate Bill 381, Representative Walsh. Mr. Clerk… out of the record. Senate Bill 691, Representative Ammons. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."

"Representative Ammons."

"Sorry, Madam Speaker. Thank you. If you just give me just 30 seconds to get to that Senate Bill. She got it for me. Thank you. Thank you. Senate Bill 691 expands which regional planning commissions may purchase property under a 20-year installment contract. And currently, only joint planning commissions along the Illinois River may use this method, and we wanted to just expand it to all regional planning commissions so that they can enter into agreements across regions. That's all the Bill does, and thank you, Madam Chair."

"Chair recognizes Representative Halbrook."

"Please proceed."

"That's correct." 10300102.docx 32  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 102nd Legislative Day 5/9/2024

"Yeah, it… it allows them to come together, as we said earlier. Only those commissions that are along the Illinois River can currently do this, but we want to make it available to the other regional planning commissions so that they can enter into contracts around things like affordable housing and other developments that they want to do. It doesn't change. It doesn't add a tax. It doesn't address any of that."

"That's… that's all it does."

"Representative Ammons to close."

"Thank you, Madam Chair. I ask for an 'aye' vote."

"The question is, 'Shall Senate Bill 691 pass?' All those in favor vote 'aye'; opposed vote 'nay'. And the voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, please take the record. On this question, there are 112 voting in 'favor', 0 'opposed', 0 voting 'present'. The Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Senate Bill 773, Representative Croke. Representative Croke. Out of the record. Senate Bill 856, Representative Norma Hernandez. Take your time. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."

"Representative Hernandez." Hernandez, N.: "Thank you, Madam Speaker. I'd like to talk about Senate Bill 856. Last year, the Department of Children and Family Services suffered a tragic loss when an employee was murdered during a house call. But both before and since, DCFS employees have been concerned about their safety. Nobody should be subjected to the threat of… of death at work, certainly not these dedicated professionals who devote their lives to keeping Illinois vulnerable… Illinois' children vulnerable and safe. That is why I'm here today to encourage the passage of Senate Bill 856, which would allow employees of the Department of Children and Family Services to use their work address instead of their home address on their identification cards, which would protect their privacy and stop hostile parties from potentially gaining access to sensitive information. Judicial officers and peace officers are already allowed this measure for their safety. This Bill will allow the following titles to be eligible for the provision as well: child protection specialist trainee, child protection specialist, child protection advanced specialist, child welfare advanced specialist as well. This Bill, if… if passed, would keep DCFS employees safer while they work to keep kids safer. This Bill is already supported by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and the Department of Children and Family Services. And there are no oppositions to this Bill. I encourage a 'yes' vote."

"The question is, 'Shall'… instead, the Chair recognizes Leader McCombie."

"To the Bill."

Speaker Manley: "The question is, 'Shall'… Representative Hernandez to close." Hernandez, N.: "Thank you so much, Leader McCombie. I would be happy to continue working to make sure that we create a better system for everyone. And I ask for an 'aye' vote."

"The question is, 'Shall Senate Bill 856 pass?' All those in favor vote 'aye'; opposed vote 'nay'. The voting's open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mayfield. Mr. Clerk, please take the record. On this question, there are 111 voting in 'favor', 0 'opposed', and 0 voting 'present'. The Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Senate Bill 857, Representative Katz Muhl. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."

"Representative Katz Muhl."

"This Bill was an initiative of the Illinois Department of Human Services Office of the Inspector General, which passed unanimously in the Senate. The Bill allows their OIG to look more systematically at facilities and agencies providing mental health or developmental disability services where there are repeat findings of abuse or neglect and to 10300102.docx 35  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 102nd Legislative Day 5/9/2024 clean up the reporting requirements for obstruction of investigations. I ask for an 'aye' vote."

"Leader Windhorst."

"She indicates that she will."

"In the event that there are investigations that bear similarities, rather than dealing with it on a case-by-case basis, to have direct authority to connect all the dots and remedy systems systematically."

"That is the feeling of the Office Inspector General, and we want to make it as straightforward as possible for them."

"I would have to check with the Inspector General. My belief is, yes, but they would be the experts on this."

"Representative Katz Muhl to close."

"Thank you, and I encourage an 'aye' vote."

"The question is, 'Shall Senate Bill 857 pass?' All those in favor vote 'aye'; opposed vote 'nay'. And the voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who 10300102.docx 36  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 102nd Legislative Day 5/9/2024 wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, please take the record. On this question, there are 112 voting in 'favor', 0 'opposed', 0 voting 'present'. This Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Senate Bill 2285, Representative Olickal. Representative Olickal. Out of the record. Senate Bill 2573, Representative Morris. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."

"Representative Morris."

"Thank you, Madam Chair. Senate Bill 2573 is a medication Bill that allow patients dealing with alopecia, chemotherapy, or any type of hair loss to be able to receive one wig every 12 months. And I ask for an 'aye' vote. This Bill did pass out the Senate."

"Chair recognizes Leader Windhorst."

"She indicates she will."

"Correct."

"Yes."

"Yes."

"I… I feel it's necessary because it will… it will give women of empowerment to feel better about theyselves knowing that they can get a hair piece. And wigs are expensive."

"Chair recognizes Leader Hoffman."

"Thank you, Madam Speaker. Just a quick question. Representative, I know you've worked this extremely hard. Do you know how many cosponsors you have on this Bill?"

"Seventy-nine."

"Seventy-nine, yeah. I would just like to congratulate you on your hard work, and you got great piece of legislation. I don't believe I'm a cosponsor, but I'd like to be added to be #80. So, thank you very much."

"Thank you."

"Representative Morris to close."

"I… I ask for an 'aye' vote."

"The question is, 'Shall Senate Bill 2573 pass?' All those in favor vote 'aye'; opposed vote 'nay'. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, please take the record. On this question, there are 111 voting in 'favor', 0 'opposed', and 0 voting 'present'. The Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Senate Bill 2601, Representative Rashid. Representative Rashid. Out of the record. Senate Bill 2626, Representative Buckner. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."

"Leader Buckner." 10300102.docx 38  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 102nd Legislative Day 5/9/2024

"Thank you, Madam Speaker. Senate Bill 2626 amends the Criminal Identification Act to allow individuals who complete treatment programs and court-based diversion programs, or specialty courts, a chance for early expungement of their records. Under this Bill, a petition for expungement may be prefiled 61 days before the case is dismissed. The court must grant expungement if the petitioner meets all the requirements that are under the law. I'm happy to answer any questions."

"Chair recognizes Leader Windhorst."

"He indicates he will."

"That's right."

"That's right. There is no change in the… in what the eligible criteria for expungement."

"That's right because currently they have to wait for those for 61 days afterwards. And so, it just moves it to the front end when they're, you know, in the process of having those things completed."

"Yeah, I mean, I think when we talk about, you know, making sure that the process is streamlined and folks, when they are done, you know, serving their debt, have the ability to, you know, to… to be a part of society and to reduce recidivism and all of those things that are necessary with these programs, we're hoping that having those 61 days on the front end will lead to better outcomes in that space."

"Thank you."

"Leader Buckner to close."

"I urge an 'aye' vote."

"The question is, 'Shall Senate Bill 2626 pass?' All those in favor vote 'aye'; opposed vote 'nay'. And the voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, please take the record. On this question, there 111 voting in 'favor', 0 'opposed', 0 voting 'present'. This Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Mr. Clerk, Agreed Resolutions."

"Leader Gabel moves for the adoption of the Agreed Resolutions. All in favor say 'aye'; opposed say 'nay'. In 10300102.docx 40  STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 102nd Legislative Day 5/9/2024 the opinion of the Chair, the 'ayes' have it. And the Agreed Resolutions are adopted. Mr. Clerk, please read the Adjournment Resolution."

"Leader Gabel moves for the adoption of the Adjournment Resolution. All those in favor say 'aye'; opposed say 'nay'. In the opinion of the Chair, the 'ayes' have it. And the Adjournment Resolution is adopted. And now, allowing perfunctory time for the Clerk, Leader Gabel moves that the House stand adjourned until Monday, May 13, at the hour of 3 p.m. All those in favor say 'aye'; opposed say 'nay'. In the opinion of the Chair, the 'ayes' have it. And the House stands adjourned."