"Let us pray. Because you desire all people to be saved, we pray for salvation for every leader in Springfield and throughout our government. Capture their hearts for kingdom work so they can help turn the hearts of others towards you and the good of our country, helping us live peaceable lives. For both Representatives and Senators and all who serve within this great state, give them a desire to promote righteousness, the things that will honor you and not themselves. Cut through any hypocrisy and tendencies to make their names known instead of your own. Let them experience the joy of sacrifice, honor, and a pure conscience. And finally, Lord, may we enter into this challenge and opportunity as a people filled with hope. Allow us to truly pray, dialogue, assess, discern, and do what it is you're inviting us to do so that we may respond to today's needs and tomorrow's promise. These things we pray, Amen." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "We will be led in the Pledge of Allegiance today by Representative Mussman."
"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." 10300115.docx 1 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 115th Legislative Day 5/28/2024 Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Roll Call for Attendance. Leader Gabel is recognized to report any excused absences on the Democratic side… side of the aisle."
"Thank you, Speaker. Let the record show that Representatives Ammons, Buckner, Burke, Evans, Flowers, Guerrero-Cuellar, Jones, Ladisch Douglass, Moylan, Smith, and Yednock are excused today for a while." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Leader Keicher is recognized to report any excused absences on the Republican side of the aisle."
"Thank you, Madam Speaker. Please let the record reflect that Representatives Grant, Sosnowski, and Spain are excused for today." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Have all recorded themselves who wish? Mr. Clerk, please take the record. There being 103 Members answering the roll call, a quorum is present. Representative Williams, for what reason do you seek recognition?" Williams, A.: "Thank you, Madam Speaker. Point of personal privilege." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Please proceed." Williams, A.: "Just wanted to introduce my Page for the day. His name is Ben Decremer. He is a rising eighth-grader at Waters Elementary who has scored, I'm told, an almost perfect score on his Constitution test. He's on the volleyball team, the Waters Wildcats, and they made the playoffs this year. And he also has a black belt in Taekwondo, so be nice. He spends his free time at Welles Park in the neighborhood, Geraldine's Cookies, and other hot spots. So, if you don't mind giving him a warm welcome on this last day, hopefully, of Session." 10300115.docx 2 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 115th Legislative Day 5/28/2024 Speaker Hernandez, B.: "The Chair recognizes Leader Keicher for a purpose of an announcement."
"Thank you, Madam Speaker. The Republicans would request an immediate caucus, if we could, in Room 118." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "The Republicans will caucus in Room 118. The House will stand in recess for the call of the Chair. Leader Keicher, how long will caucus be?"
"As I understand it, Madam Speaker, quite a few Bills came over from the Senate that have a great length to them. I wouldn't anticipate under an hour, hour and a half." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Thank you. Mr. Clerk, please read House Resolution 844."
"Introduction of Resolutions. House Resolution 844, offered by Representative Meyers-Martin; Senate Joint Resolution 48, offered by Representative Johnson; and Senate Joint Resolution 59, offered by Representative Kifowit, are referred to the Rules Committee." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "The Clerk is in receipt Motions in Writing to waive the posting requirements for several Bills. If there is leave, we will take these Motions together in one Motion. Is there leave? Leave is granted. Leader… Leader Buckner on the Motion."
"Speaker, I move that the posting requirements be waived so that the following Bills can be heard in committee: Senate Bill 251 in Executive Committee, Senate Bill 867 in Executive Committee, Senate Bill 952 in Executive Committee, Senate Bill 458 in Elementary & Secondary Education: School Curriculum & Policies Committee, House Resolution 772 in 10300115.docx 3 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 115th Legislative Day 5/28/2024 Human Services Committee, and House Resolution 844 in State Government Administration Committee." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Leader Windhorst is recognized."
"Thank you, Madam Speaker. I request a record vote on the Motion." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Leader Buckner has moved to waive the posting requirements. All in favor vote 'aye'; all opposed vote 'nay'. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? There being 70 voting in 'favor', 38 voting 'against', and 0 voting 'present'. And this Motion, having received a Constitutional Majority, the posting requirements are waived. Representative Davis, for what reason do you seek recognition?" Davis, J.: "Thank you, Madam Speaker. Point of personal privilege." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Please proceed." Davis, J.: "Yeah, Ladies and Gentlemen, just real quick, in the spirit of some, I guess, levity and celebration. We all carry a lot of titles. You know, some of us are fathers, a lot of us are Representatives, chairman, dads, whatever that may be. But this morning, at around 9:15, I had the pleasure of becoming a grandfather, which is great. So, I appreciate everyone dragging their feet a little 'cause it allowed me to hold the baby. And along with the grandfather, I know that naps are often in order. So, if I doze off around 2 a.m., just mark it up to being a grandpa. Thank you." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Representative Hauter, for what reason do you seek recognition?"
"Point of personal privilege." 10300115.docx 4 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 115th Legislative Day 5/28/2024 Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Please proceed."
"Madam Speaker, can I vent? I rise today to speak against the Medicaid omnibus Bill that outrageously inserted a provision allowing pharmacists to practice medicine. This is purely profits over patients. Madam Speaker, I've got to ask, is this how business is conducted? Saturday evening, an omnibus is presented with these dangerous provisions buried inside a much larger Bill. This didn't go before the Medicaid working group, which I was a part of, never brought up. Health Care Licensing, which is a purview of these scope of practice issues, I sat on that all Session. This never was brought up. It would've never gotten through, but it's inserted in an omnibus Bill last minute, without the input of stakeholders or anyone except national corporations and their lobbyists, not known for their patient care interest. This process stinks. You all understand why physicians and other medical professionals can't get down here very often to lobby in Springfield. Medical professionals rely on Illinois State Medical Society. The pediatrics have their… the pediatricians have their groups, the family practitioners have their groups, and nurse practitioners, the PAs, and especially our elected Representatives to protect the practice of medicine and guard various patient safety issues and at least let us know when to get involved, when to file witness slips, when to show up. Now, this process has been hijacked. We've been stabbed in the back by national corporations and their associations that want to put their profits over patient safety. This is gross. This is the practice of medicine. I don't blame the pharmacists. They're often overworked, unable 10300115.docx 5 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 115th Legislative Day 5/28/2024 to properly counsel patients on their medications that they're giving. There's complex medications. They're starting to organize against their working conditions. They don't have the time or training to practice medicine, but, you know, profits over patients. What does this even look like? Already overworked between selling, I don't know, deodorant and dispensing medications and ringing up, I don't know, Nerd Ropes, they're going to practice medicine too? The practice of medicine is history. Physical exam, medical decision making, differential diagnose… diagnosis, and prescribing the appropriate treatment, physicians have the education, training, experience, not pharmacists. Who knew that all we needed to do, instead of all that training, was slip a Bill into an omnibus Bill? Test and treat is an insult. It's simply practicing medicine poorly. And… and RSV, really, on kids? The most important thing in RSV is the physical exam. I've seen children die from RSV. It's not an insignificant disease that you can just test. You look at the kid. You listen to their lungs. You look at accessory muscle breathing, retractions, how fast they're breathing. There's not much treatment for RSV. We're just going to test and treat a positive test? This is outrageous. Flu, let me guess. Every patient with a positive test for flu will get a very expensive Tamiflu prescription as they go out the door. Strep throat, this should good. Do they know the complications, peritonsillar abscesses? Have they looked at a throat? Have they looked through the pill hole at the throat? Scarlet fever. Rheumatic valve disease. They're going to have a algorithm where they swab the back of the throat, and if it's 10300115.docx 6 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 115th Legislative Day 5/28/2024 positive, they give a brand-name, expensive medication. If it's negative, they shrug their shoulders. And if there's complications, they refer to a real doctor. Don't let them undermine the processes of the General Assembly and the practice of medicine by putting profits above patient safety. Please commit, all of us, to work to restore patient safety and reconsider this law as soon as possible. Thank you." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "In the Order of Concurrence, on page 8, we have HB5511, Leader Hoffman."
"Thank you, Madam Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. I move to concur in Senate Amendments #1, 2, 3, and 5. This Bill is the annual procurement Bill that we generally do every year. It contains several articles in addressing several agencies, as well as local government entities. It provides for a Progressive Design-Build Pilot Program. That's for the Capital Development Board. There are various miscellaneous procurement smaller provisions in here. There's a DNR clean energy procurement language. There's communications infrastructure leases. There's Freedom of Information exemptions that prohibit certain communications being shared. That's the road and bridge engineers so they're not giving out trade secrets. RFPs for leases, Procurement Code exemptions for recruitment in hiring… hiring processes. There is the Hotel Florence, which is an initiative of Leader Smith. There's the Illinois business… Illinois business bid preferences, unsolicited proposals, BEP goals. I believe that a lot of that was by Leader… or, Representative Tarver. There is a provision that indicates that IDOT doesn't have to get AG approval for any type of purchase that is… or, sale or 10300115.docx 7 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 115th Legislative Day 5/28/2024 purchase that is under $25 thousand. There is also an Illinois… Illinois construction preferences, joint purchasing rankings, Commission on Equity and Inclusion provisions, as well as the cleaning up the McPier competitive bid threshold and the public-private partnership guidelines. So, it's a fairly comprehensive Bill dealing with several areas on… on procurement. I don't believe that there is opposition, but I would ask for a favorable roll call." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Leader Windhorst is recognized."
"Thank you, Madam Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?" Speaker Hernandez, B.: "He indicates he will."
"Thank you. Leader, appreciate you going through the items that are contained in the Bill. I just had a few questions. First, as it relates to the Progressive Design- Build Pilot Program, what changes are we making there?"
"It's my understanding that this is for the Capital Development Board, and that is contained in Article 1 of the… the Bill. It's my belief that what this does is it maintains, basically, the design-build process that they currently have, but allows them to use the same contractor for design-build purposes on at least three projects."
"There are also some changes related to IDNR and the department's ability to lease land for up to 40 years for commercial solar energy projects. I believe we had a separate Bill on this earlier in the General Assembly. Do I have that correct?"
"Yes. I believe that this now indicates 10 years, not 40 years."
"Okay." 10300115.docx 8 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 115th Legislative Day 5/28/2024
"And there were provisions in that legislation regarding, I believe, body cameras. That was taken out. So, this just deals with the solar."
"And, likewise, with the Reimagining Hotel Florence Act…"
"I… I apologize. I misspoke. It does still say 40 years. I misread it. I apologize."
"As with the Reimagining Hotel Florence Act, I believe we saw legislation similar to that previously. And this is 21 million in capital infrastructure funds to aid in the restoration and capital improvements at the site. Is that accurate?"
"Yes. That… this is… was Leader Smith's proposal for the Pullman site."
"You had referenced the Business Enterprise for Minorities, Women, and Persons with Disabilities Act that this will set forth uniform standard of contract goals and the participation level of certified vendors on state contracts. Are we doing anything that's changing the definition of those that are included in the program, or just dealing with the goals of the program?"
"Give me one second. I'm… I'm pretty sure it's just the goals, but I want to make sure that I don't misspeak. Yes, just the goals."
"And there… there are provisions that deal with enforcement within the Executive Branch if there are violations of this Act. Is that accurate?"
"I think they… those have been removed from the original Bill." 10300115.docx 9 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 115th Legislative Day 5/28/2024
"We also make some changes in the Procurement Code, a couple I want to highlight. One is that the Procurement Code does not apply to procurements necessary for increasing recruitment and retention of state employees, particularly minority candidates for employment. This includes procurements for registration fees for jobs fairs, other outreach, but does not change or affect state responsibilities in hiring. What was the reason this was brought forward?"
"It's my understanding that they would like to bring in an… an entity that would specialize in that type of work. And we have a… a large amount of openings in state government and trying to fill those openings so that we can conduct business. This was a… was an attempt to do that."
"Also, in the Procurement Code, it states that the chief procurement officer can require at any time the bidder or contractor prove they are an Illinois business. And it appears that the definition of Illinois business will also include foreign corporations duly authorized to transact business in this state that have a bonified establishment for transacting business within this state. Is that accurate?"
"Yes, it's my understanding that… that if you are under the definition of Illinois business, that you get an enhanced amount of points. So, should just say, in order to get the state contracts."
"And that Illinois business would now apply to corporations outside of Illinois so long as they have a bonified establishment for transacting business within the state?" 10300115.docx 10 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 115th Legislative Day 5/28/2024
"Yes. It was kind of unclear before, so we want to make sure that there still are competitive bids so that these individuals can… would be able to be considered Illinois business."
"We show that the American Institute of Architects is opposed. Are you aware if they are opposed?"
"They are not anymore. They had an issue. It… it was Amendment #3 that took care of them. Apparently, it was a question of who has ownership of design documents. So, that clears that up and says they still maintain ownership."
"Thank you for answering my questions."
"Thank you." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Representative Ammons is recognized."
"Thank you, Madam Speaker. Would the Sponsor yield?" Speaker Hernandez, B.: "He indicates he will."
"Thank you. Leader Hoffman, can you talk a little bit about the changes that this provision makes to the business enterprise program for minority, womens, and persons with disabilities?"
"Well, what we did is we added a requirement that all state agencies… all state agencies has to set goals for the participation levels of BEP certified vendors on their contracts, including construction contracts."
"And many of those goals already exist. Does this procurement policy require any participation or direct action in relationship to the agencies responsible for enforcement when it comes to African American businesses in construction and trade?" 10300115.docx 11 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 115th Legislative Day 5/28/2024
"I apologize. Let me just make sure I answer correctly, okay? Yeah, I think… I want to just make sure, but I didn't believe that we changed anything regarding the enforcement. This just requires state agencies to have the goals, and the enforcement will remain the same."
"Thank you. The other part of this also changes… makes changes to the Commission on Equity and Inclusion Act. Can you describe those more in depth, what the changes are there? And are they the body that's supposed to enforce if there's no or little African American participation that reaches those goals?"
"That's contained in Article 75 to… let me get to it, okay? A lot of articles, Representative. I believe that it… it indicates that they would supervise the implementation and effectiveness of supplier diversity training of state procurement other than to… other than supervise the implementation of diversity in state workforce broadly. So, what this… what this does is it ensures that they supervise the implementation and effectiveness. So, it expands what they need to do."
"So, it… it says in this summary here that the… provides that the commission shall supervise, rather than oversee, the implementation and effectiveness of supplier diversity training of the state procurement, rather than the implementation of diversity training of the workforce. So, does that mean that they have greater latitude to identify areas of noncompliance, or does that mean they just watch noncompliance?" 10300115.docx 12 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 115th Legislative Day 5/28/2024
"It's my understanding that this was based on provisions that were contained in Representative Davis' Bill that, I believe, passed out of… out of the… the House overwhelmingly. What it indicates… it's a… this is an initiative of the Commission on Equity and Inclusion attempting to clarify its purpose as to supervise and assess the effectiveness of supplier diversity training. So, I believe that they wanted us to ensure that they had all… all of those powers. And so, I would say that it actually enhances their power as well as clarifies what their power is."
"Thank you. For the record, I'd love to see the enhancement of their powers 'cause I haven't seen the effectiveness of their existence. So, we'll come back to that. One of the other questions that I have here is that the design… the progressive design and build, can you describe that? I… I think I heard you respond to another Member and said that one contractor could possibly do three… up to three projects with a design and build model."
"Progressive design-build means a project delivery process where both the design and the construction of the project are procured from a single entity that is selected as… as early as possible through a qualification-based selection process. A progressive design-build entity is the single entity after a team affirms that handle a construction project from the design phase through the construction. It also then provides when the state construction agency chooses to use a progressive design-build delivery method, how that would be done. And it's my understanding that, yes, there would be a selection committee, and then there would be 10300115.docx 13 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 115th Legislative Day 5/28/2024 submission of qualifications regarding it. There would then have a… it lays out an entire selection process, and I believe it would allow an individual team or firm to do up to three design-build projects."
"And are there any requirements on minority participation within the Design-Build Pilot Program?"
"Excuse me. I apologize. What was the question?"
"Are there any requirements for minority participation in the Progressive Design-Build Pilot Program Act?"
"I believe that that participation would be required as… as is required under any construction contract in the state."
"And then lastly, under all of the procurement changes here, are there any reporting requirements that will come back either to the General Assembly or to any of the bodies that will oversee, including the Commission on Equity and Inclusion, or the Capital Development Board, or any other part of this process?"
"I'm sorry, the phone was ringing."
"That's okay. I'll restate. In all of the procurement changes that you're proposing here, are there any reporting requirements that will track implementation of any of these minority participation? And, specifically, in the State of Illinois, African American contractors, business owners, professional services participate in extraordinary low percentage. And so, I'm asking if any of this procurement will have any reporting requirements connected to them at all."
"It's my understand that when we expand the… the BEP goals to all agencies, and that they require them to set these 10300115.docx 14 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 115th Legislative Day 5/28/2024 goals, that there are reporting requirements to the… the proper agency that…"
"For each of these."
"Yeah. Yeah."
"I appreciate you taking the time. This… this is extraordinary. To the Bill, Madam Speaker. This is an extraordinarily large package, certainly made up of lot of provision and portions. However, I would argue that procurement in the State of Illinois has benefited largely, certainly in the BEP program, the MBE Program, largely white women instead of actually minorities for which it was designed initially. And so, what we have is a low, low percentage of opportunities and participation for African American business owners and construction trade, including the one that is taking place on this ground, that we have little to no participation of African Americans in the projects. And so, I don't see the need for us to continue to make procurement changes that are actually locking out, by its own design and its own reporting, of participation of African American businesses, professional services, and the like. And so, I have considerable concerns about passing a package this large without full consideration for the large percentage of African Americans in the State of Illinois. And I am not certain I will vote for this Bill. And I'm not asking people not to, but I certainly ask for a serious consideration when it comes to procurement in the State of Illinois. Thank you, Madam Speaker." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Representative Weber is recognized."
"Thank you, Madam Speaker. Does the Sponsor yield?" 10300115.docx 15 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 115th Legislative Day 5/28/2024 Speaker Hernandez, B.: "He indicates he will."
"I'm… Representative, I'm looking at the Metropolitan Pier and Acquisition Authority Act and I… it says, reinstates the $25 thousand limit on contracts for architectural, engineering, and land surveying services and only increases the limit to $100 thousand for other professional services provided to the authority. Is… is that for no-bid contracts? What… what exactly is that?"
"It's my understanding that Amendment #3, the threshold is still raised to 100 thousand for all other types of professional services. However, what this does, this is to resolve a conflict with the Architecture, Engineering, and Land Surveying Qualifications Based Selection Act, which sets a 25 thousand threshold for these 3 services."
"So, is that a… I'm trying to understand. Is that $100 thousand limit for no-bid contracts for other professional services provided to the authority?"
"What it does is it makes it consistent that that 100 thousand threshold will be consistent across all of the professional services. Apparently, there was a conflict with the Architecture, Engineering, and Land Surveying Qualifications Based Selection where it was set at only… at only $25 thousand threshold."
"I don't… is that a no-bid? No matter what… is that hundred thousand no-bid?"
"They can make the… McPier could make the determination on their own through their process of selection, making sure that they are adequately qualified. And then they would, if it's under $100 thousand, they could award the contract." 10300115.docx 16 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 115th Legislative Day 5/28/2024
"Okay. So… so, a hundred thousand and under, they're no- bid contracts, I guess is what I heard. So, thank you very much." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Representative Wilhour is recognized."
"Thank you, Madam Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?" Speaker Hernandez, B.: "He indicates he will."
"Okay. Yeah, I'm seeing in here, under the Civil Administration Code stuff, that it is allowing IDNR to lease any land for any clean energy project for up to 40 years. Can you expound upon… upon that?"
"It's… it's my understanding that they… it says that they have to prioritize strip mines and previously developed land is what I believe the… the correct terminology is."
"Okay. They say they have to prioritize strip mines and other… I'm sure other pieces of land that would naturally be places that would need to be conserved because of, you know, environmental conditions, erosion, and… and stuff like that, but it doesn't limit it to that. This… this allows IDNR to go out and lease any land."
"I don't believe that it is IDNR's intention to lease… to go out and lease land for solar projects. I believe it's their intention, on some land that they might own, for them to… for them to do these types of projects."
"But this wouldn't… this would not… this would allow them to go out and… and lease land that is not currently in a conservation reserve program or… or have any other conservation value, other than the, you know, perpetuation of the… of the green energy. We're expanding this program so that they can… that they would be allowed. I understand what 10300115.docx 17 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 115th Legislative Day 5/28/2024 you're saying, you know, where you don't think that they would do things like this or, you know, prioritizing things, but there's no limitation in there. They could go out and lease, you know, 40 flat acres of highly-productive soil and… and fill it up with windmills or solar panels."
"Well, here's my understanding of… of what we're allowing them to do here. We are allowing them to lease land to provide for clean energy solar type projects. And that would be… there… there are provisions in here on how they would go about that, what… what would have to be followed, and the steps…"
"What are their…"
"…that need to be taken."
"This is very important to me. What are the provisions that they're… that they're going to be following?"
"This specifically says that DNR is authorized to provide at least one electric vehicle charging station as well at a state park or other real estate owned by the department with sufficient electric service for the station. So, not only does it allow… I misspoke when I said it only dealt with solar. It also deals with that."
"Okay. Well, this… to the Bill. This looks to be, potentially, a massive enhancement of what IDNR can do in… in terms of the green energy stuff in this state. I would advise a 'no' vote." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Representative Tarver is recognized."
"Thank you, Madam Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?" Speaker Hernandez, B.: "He indicates he will."
"Thank you. Jay, first of all, thank you for including me in the conversation on this Bill. I appreciate it. As you 10300115.docx 18 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 115th Legislative Day 5/28/2024 know, I had a Bill that is somewhat wrapped up in here, and I just want to make sure I understand a few things that's going on. And… and let me say, before… before I go there, the primary reason why I filed the Bill about good faith efforts was because, under this administration, there was a $500 million contract that Chase received. They had no participation on it over the course of four years. It was to renew in January, I believe it was 2023, if I'm not mistaken. And somehow, the university signed off on a full waiver for $100 million in August of 2022. So, before they even tried to fulfill the goals of the… the renewed contract, they already signed off on it, which is obviously an issue. And so, part of what I see in this Bill is it says a lot about how these agencies may establish goals, what good faith is. I know this is not your call, but I would like to see 'shall' at some point. I don't see the purpose of suggesting to agencies who've done nothing to date that they may do this. And then it goes on to say they may set goals…"
"I… Representative, I… I agree with you."
"Thank you."
"I agree with you."
"I appreciate that. I always love hearing somebody agree with me. But when I get to page 146 is where I'm a little bit concerned and confused because all the language prior to that talks about how these agencies and so on may establish good faith effort, may establish goals. But then it… what I'm seeing on page 146 and maybe other places as well is, it says, BEP shall develop, essentially, a criteria to determine if someone or an entity has made a good faith effort. It… pretty 10300115.docx 19 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 115th Legislative Day 5/28/2024 much anywhere you… you put control filing for good faith, you're going to see the same general paragraph, and I'm trying to see how those two can… how they line up."
"I… I believe… I'm told by staff, and I'll be honest with you, I didn't read your entire Bill…"
"Sure."
"…but I believe this was taken from your Bill."
"Okay. Well, the… the language, I think, is a little bit different from my Bill. But just overall… and maybe we can clean this up at another point. If throughout the Bill it talks about they may establish goals… they may establish goals and then it says… then you may establish what good faith efforts are. And then at another point, it says that you shall have proceedings to determine what those are. It just doesn't… it doesn't seem like that lines up. One is 'may,' one is 'shall.' There would be no purpose for the 'shall' if they don't actually provide for what a good faith effort is."
"It's my understanding that they wanted to keep this the same and that they… they may establish goals. And then they have the… they shall make sure and monitor that those goals are being met."
"Okay. It reads a little differently to me. I don't want to belabor the point. Overall, I think it's a good Bill. Obviously, I'm in support of it. I would like the opportunity to maybe talk to you offline on a go-forward basis about how to maybe tweak some of that language to make it a little bit clearer. But thank you for bringing the Bill forward. I appreciate it."
"Thank you." 10300115.docx 20 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 115th Legislative Day 5/28/2024 Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Representative Halbrook is recognized."
"Thank you, Madam Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?" Speaker Hernandez, B.: "He indicates he will."
"Thank you. Leader, I'm looking here on the bottom of page 50, on the Senate Amendment 1, paragraph (b), just kind of continuing on in a further vein of Representative Wilhour. It talks about these electrical vehicle charging stations. Are these… to the best of your knowledge, there at the bottom of page 50, the top of page 51, are these vehicle charging stations, are they designed or intended use for DNR personnel or other department personnel that may be coming and going from these parks, or what is the intent? 'Cause I don't see it there, what the intended purpose is."
"It could be used by… by anyone. If they have an electric vehicle that needs charging that is owned by the park, it could be utilized by them. Or an individual who is enjoying the park, while he enjoys the park, could charge his vehicle."
"Well, and to that point, it says it may adopt rules governing… governing the fees of the use of electric vehicle charging stations. I don't see a timeline to put these fees into existence. Until that's… I guess I'm curious why there isn't a timeline. If… why wouldn't we just say, hey, look, as soon as we put these stations in, we're going to start charging fees. In… in the meantime, who pays for electricity that… the people that might just be using the park, who pays for those… who pays for electricity there?"
"It's… it's my understanding that this Bill authorizes them to… to provide these electric vehicle charging stations. And I don't believe that they intend to put them in without 10300115.docx 21 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 115th Legislative Day 5/28/2024 charging a fee. Now, I think it would be different if they're used for their own vehicles. That would be silly to charge a fee to themselves. A fee on themselves to themselves. That doesn't make much sense. So, I don't believe that they intend to put any in until a fee structure has been adopted."
"Okay. Well, that's good to know. I… I just… I know the strain that our state budgets are on, especially DNR. We've talked about this in the past, over 400 projects that need a billion dollars' worth of capital improvements, and now we want to put charging stations in and we don't really have… doesn't say here in the statute or in this language about when we start charging. They just say they may adopt a fee. So, I would just… I just think this is a bad idea, and I urge a 'no' vote. Thank you." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Leader Hoffman to close."
"Well, thank you, Madam Chair… or, Madam Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. I think this has been roundly debated. I hope I have attempted to answer many, several questions. I believe this is a good Bill, and I ask for an 'aye' vote." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "The question is, 'Shall House concur in Senate Amendments 1, 2, 3, and 5 to House Bill 5511?' This is final action. All those in favor signify by voting 'aye'; all those opposed signify by voting '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 80 voting 'aye', 27 voting 'nay', and 0 voting 'present'. The House does concur to Senate Amendments 1, 2, 3, and 5 to House Bill 5511. And this Bill, having 10300115.docx 22 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 115th Legislative Day 5/28/2024 received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Representative Nichols, for what reason do you seek recognition?"
"Point of personal privilege, please." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Please proceed."
"I would like to thank Representative Will Davis and Representative Ford. On my way to Springfield today, I had a blowout and it was really kind of terrifying. But they pulled over and made sure that I was okay, and they stayed until the tow truck came. And I just wanted to publicly thank them and tell them that I love them for it 'cause a lot of people don't realize when we on these highways coming down here month after month, year after year that anything could happen. And going on four years, nothing has ever happened to me, but it was a traumatic kind of experience when you going, you know, 60, 70 miles an hour and for something like that to happen. So, thank you, Representative Ford and Will Davis, for actually pulling over and making sure that, you know, I was okay. And I called my family and I told them that they pulled over. And we had a couple other license plates that rolled by, but… I think Representative Syed, she waved at me while I was in the tow truck. So, thank you for at least caring. So, I just wanted to put that out there. And thank you, guys. Really, thank you." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "On page 8, on the Order of Concurrences, we have House Bill 5057, Representative Scherer."
"Thank you, Madam Chairman. Today, I'm presenting House Bill 5057 and its Amendments. This is a big moment for education and teachers. We've got things happening with 10300115.docx 23 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 115th Legislative Day 5/28/2024 separate… superscoring on the content test. Teachers that are taking the test to become teachers can now take the test before, during, or after student teaching. For those of you who voted on this earlier when it was over here, it also included removing questions about music theory and college algebra and statistics. Those two parts have been removed in an effort to try to reach an agreement. And the edTPA will now just have a little bit of an extension from… as we study it further from August to October. Happy to answer any questions. It came out of committee bipartisan unanimous, eight to nothing. I'd appreciate an 'aye' vote." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Leader…"
"ISBE is now on board with it." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Leader Windhorst is recognized."
"Thank you, Madam Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?" Speaker Hernandez, B.: "She indicated she will."
"Thank you. Representative, just for our side of the aisle, this is, essentially, a complete change from the Bill we voted on previously. Is that correct?"
"No, not complete. It… it still allows them to retake the parts of the content test they failed, which is the part that I've been working on for 12 years. The change is that the music questions will still be in the test and the math questions will still be in the test. And then the others."
"And in addition to that part, there are… there are two other things the Bill does. It extends the task force report to October 31 from August 1 of this year. Is that right?"
"That's correct, for the edTPA." 10300115.docx 24 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 115th Legislative Day 5/28/2024
"And then it also removes the restriction providing that no candidate may be allowed to student teach or serve as a teacher of record until the candidate has passed the applicable content area test. Is that accurate?"
"Yes. And a few years ago, we passed that Bill against my better judgement. And I feel like it should be up to the test taker. Do you want to take it before, after, or during student teaching instead of telling them they have to take it before they have any real-life experiences."
"All right. So, with those changes, just for Members on our side, your prior vote may not indicate where you want to be on this Bill. I'd look at those three provisions and vote accordingly. Thank you." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Representative Scherer to close."
"Appreciate an 'aye' vote. This is a great moment moving forward with the teacher shortage." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "The question is, 'Shall the House concur in Senate Amendment 3 to House Bill 5057?' This is final action. All those in favor signify by voting 'aye'; all those opposed signify by voting '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 102 voting 'aye', 0 voting 'nay', and 0 voting 'present'. And the House does concur in Senate Amendment 3 to House Bill 5057. And this Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Mr. Clerk, committee announcements."
Clerk Hollman: "The following committees will be meeting immediately: the Executive Committee will meet in Room 118, 10300115.docx 25 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 115th Legislative Day 5/28/2024 Human Services in Room D-1, Agriculture & Conservation in Room 115, Revenue & Finance in C-1, and Energy & Environment in Room 114. Meeting at 6:00 is Transportation, Vehicles & Safety in Room 115, Judiciary - Civil in Room 122B, State Government Administration in Room 413, and Elementary & Secondary Education: School Curriculum & Policies in D-1." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "The House will stand in recess for the call of the Chair. We'll be heading to committees. Mr. Clerk, Committee Reports."
"Committee Reports. Representative Rita, Chairperson from the Committee on Executive reports the following committee action taken on May 28, 2024: do pass Short Debate for Senate Bill 251, Senate Bill 867, and Senate Bill 952; and recommends be adopted, Motion to Concur with Senate Amendment(s) 1 and 3 for House Bill 4621, Motion to Concur with Senate Amendment(s) 1 and 2 for House Bill 4615, Motion to Concur with Senate Amendment(s) 1 and 2 for House Bill 4959, Motion to Concur with Senate Amendment(s) 1, 2, 3, and 4 for House Bill 5005, Motion to Concur with Senate Amendment(s) 1 and 4 to House Bill 5078, Motion to Concur with Senate Amendment(s) 1 and 2 to House Bill 5290. Representative Moeller, Chairperson from the Committee on Human Services reports the following committee action taken on May 28, 2024: recommends be adopted, Motion to Concur with Senate Amendment(s) 1 and 2 for House Bill 3521, and House Resolution 772, and House Resolution 773. Representative Harper, Chairperson from the Committee on Agriculture & Conservation reports the following committee action taken on May 28, 2024: recommends be adopted, Motion to Concur with 10300115.docx 26 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 115th Legislative Day 5/28/2024 Senate Amendment(s) 1 to House Bill 1855. Representative Burke, Chairperson from the Committee on Revenue & Finance reports the following committee action taken on May 28, 2024: recommends be adopted, Motion to Concur with Senate Amendment(s) 1, 2, and 3 for House Bill 3144, Motion to Concur with Senate Amendment(s) 1 and 3 for House Bill 4179, Motion to Concur with Senate Amendment(s) 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 for House Bill 4951. Representative Ann Williams, Chairperson from the Committee on Energy & Environment reports the following committee action taken on May 28, 2024: recommends be adopted, Motion to Concur with Senate Amendment(s) 3 to House Bill 3046. Representative Gong-Gershowitz, Chairperson from the Committee on Judiciary - Civil reports the following committee action taken on May 28, 2024: recommends be adopted, Motion to Concur with Senate Amendment(s) 1 to House Bill 4660. The Chairperson from the Committee on State Government Administration reports the following committee action taken on May 28, 2024: recommends be adopted, House Resolution 844. Representative Mussman, Chairperson from the Committee on Elementary & Secondary Education: School Curriculum & Policies reports the following committee action taken on May 28, 2024: do pass Short Debate for Senate Bill 458." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "On page 6, under the Motion of Concurrences, we have HB1855, Leader McCombie."
"Thank you, Speaker. HB1855, I ask for a Motion to Concur. The changes in the Senate, basically, strips everything other than the recording piece of this Bill. I ask for a Motion to Concur." 10300115.docx 27 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 115th Legislative Day 5/28/2024 Speaker Hernandez, B.: "The question is, 'Shall House concur in Senate Amendment 1 to House Bill 1855?' This is final action. All those in favor signify by voting 'aye'; all those opposed signify by voting '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 109 voting 'aye', 0 voting 'nay', and 0 voting 'present'. And the House does concur to Senate Amendment 1 to House Bill 1855. And this Bill, having received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. On page 7, we have HB32… 3521, Representative Cassidy."
"Cool. Hi, everybody. Sorry, my thing is not working. Give me a second. There we go. So, this is the language that we worked on that was House Bill 587 that addressed the concerns about a hospital's responsibility to report when providers… when health care providers were abuse… sexually abusing patients. A hospital affiliate used a loophole in the law to just move a doctor around and allow him to continue to abuse patients. This closes that loophole. We have more work to do to make sure that patients are safe in health care situations, but this is an important first start, and I ask that we concur in their Amendments." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Leader Windhorst is recognized."
"Thank you, Madam Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?" Speaker Hernandez, B.: "She indicates she will."
"Thank you. Representative, I believe you said this is the same as House Bill 587, which we voted on previously."
"It is, and it passed our chamber unanimously."
"Thank you." 10300115.docx 28 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 115th Legislative Day 5/28/2024 Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Representative Cassidy to close."
"Please vote 'aye'." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "The question is, 'Shall House concur in Senate Amendment 1 and 2 to House Bill 3521?' This is final action. All those in favor signify by voting 'aye'; all those opposed signify by voting '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 109 voting 'aye', 0 voting 'nay', and 0 voting 'present'. The House does concur to Senate Amendment 1 and 2 to House Bill 3521. And this Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. On page 7, we have HB4179, Representative Meier."
"Yes, I… the Amendments on this take out Cook County, DuPage County, Kane County, Lake County, McHenry County, and Will County. Everything else on this Bill is the same as it was before. It's an ambulance Bill, allowing districts to be created by the taxpayers in that by a referendum. I vote that you concur with the Senate on this Amendment and pass this Bill." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "The question is, 'Shall House concur in Senate Amendment 1 and 3 to House Bill 4179?' This is final action. All those in favor signify by voting 'aye'; all those opposed signify by voting '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 104 voting 'aye', 0 voting 'nay', and 0 voting 'present'. The House does concur to Senate Amendment 1 and 3 to House Bill 4179. And this Bill, having received a 10300115.docx 29 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 115th Legislative Day 5/28/2024 Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. On bottom of page 7, we have HB4615, Representative Walsh."
"Thank you, Madam Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. I would move to concur with Senate Amendments 1 and 2 to House Bill 4615. This is the yearly sunset omnibus package that we do at the end of Session every year. This… these Amendments first… first, with IDFPR, it provides an eight - month extension for emergency rulemaking authority and then provides a two-year extension of the authorization for IDFPR application deadlines to waive fees. Secondly, it's IDNR grant funds recovery, provides a one-year extension for restoring grant awards by DNR dealing with the OSLAD grants that were unable to be met during COVID-19. A third one is a Small Wireless Facilities Deployment Act. This is a five-year extension. And including in this is an agreement with the IML to raise the collocation fees from $200 per year to $270 per year. The next one is DuPage County municipal hotel operators' tax. It provides a two-year extension for that tax. Next one is the schools interfund transfers. This is a three-year extension for interfund transfers for schools outside of Cook County. And the last one is the public utilities extension for Cable Video Competition Law and the universal telephone service to bring them in line with the small cell deadline. Happy to answer any questions. Ask for an 'aye' vote." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Leader Hammond is recognized."
"Thank you. Will the Sponsor yield?" Speaker Hernandez, B.: "He indicates he will." 10300115.docx 30 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 115th Legislative Day 5/28/2024
"Representative Walsh, just real quickly, when it comes to the OSLAD grants, would hot tubs in campgrounds qualify under those grants the way it reads up here on the board?"
"Well, I would like to say they would, but we need to pass the Campground Hot Tubs Act that we passed earlier and then get it approved in the Senate. But, unfortunately, they hijacked this and brought it back to us."
"And… and I am more than happy to help you in the future to pass that hot tubs in campgrounds."
"Sounds great."
"Thank you."
"Thank you." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Representative Walsh to close."
"Ask for an 'aye' vote." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "The question is, 'Shall House concur in Senate Amendments 1 and 2 to House Bill 4615?' This is final action. All those in favor signify by voting 'aye'; all those opposed signify by voting '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 108 voting 'aye', 0 voting 'nay', and 0 voting 'present'. The House does concur in Senate Amendments 1 and 2 to House Bill 4615. And this Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. House Bill 4660, Representative Morgan."
"Thank you, Madam Speaker. House Bill 4660 is a combination of two Bills we had. One that we already passed in the House, House Bill 4660, but it also is combined with House Bill 4317, two Bills that deal with mechanics' liens. 10300115.docx 31 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 115th Legislative Day 5/28/2024 House Bill 4660, as you might recall, originally dealt with cleanup with regards to subcontractors and notices that subcontractors are required. They are two different provisions in the Bill that were slightly conflicting, and so there's clarity there. And the second piece is with regard to simplicity about the notice provisions for mechanics' liens. Once again, apologies to the nonlawyers in the room. It's very hyper-technical. I know of no opposition, but I ask for concurrence of House Bill 4660." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Leader Windhorst is recognized."
"Thank you, Madam Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?" Speaker Hernandez, B.: "He indicates he will."
"Thank you. Representative, I believe you covered this in your remarks, but just for clarity's sake. This Bill… or, the Senate took this Bill and combined two Bills. The Bill we're voting on, as well as HB4317. Both of those Bills passed our chamber unanimously when we voted on them previously. Is that correct?"
"That's correct. And my pledge to everybody is next time I'll try not to bring two mechanics' liens to the Illinois House of Representatives."
"Deal." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Representative Morgan to close."
"I urge an 'aye' vote. Thank you, Speaker." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "The question is, 'Shall the House concur in Senate Amendment 1 to House Bill 4660?' This is final action. All those in favor signify by voting 'aye'; all those opposed signify by voting 'nay'. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who 10300115.docx 32 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 115th Legislative Day 5/28/2024 wish? Mr. Clerk, please take the record. On this question, there are 109 voting 'aye', 0 voting 'nay', and 0 voting 'present'. The House does concur to Senate Amendment 1 to House Bill 4660. And this Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Representative Caulkins, for what reason do you seek recognition?"
"Point of personal privilege, please." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Please proceed."
"Thank you very much. Ladies and Gentlemen of the House, you know, we're wrestling tonight with a monumental decision about the budget. So, I thought I might take a little time here to reflect back on the last six years. As you probably know, this is my last term. So, I want to look back and I want to talk to you about our budgets for the last six years. You know, when… when we first started and I first started in here, the annual budget was about $40 billion. Today, we're looking at a $53 billion budget, which is about a 32 percent increase. So, I started to think about what's… what have we gained? What's happened over the last five or six years? You know, we've spent about $200 billion of taxpayer money over the last 5 years, and I wanted to go through a couple of things as to how that budget… what we've done for the people of Illinois. So, when we started in 2020, there were about 3 million people on Medicaid. Today, there's 3 and a half million people on Medicaid. So, actually, we haven't done much. Our Medicaid spending the night in 2020 was right about $13 billion. Next year, we're going to spend almost $20 billion on Medicaid. Now, let's talk about education because 10300115.docx 33 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 115th Legislative Day 5/28/2024 we speak a lot about education in here. K-12 enrollment in 2020 was about a million, almost 2 million kids. Today, we're at about a million-eight. Yet, K-12 spending out of the general revenue fund in 2020 was $8.8 billion. We're going to spend $10.3 billion next year. So, our student enrollment has gone down, and our spending has gone up over $2 billion. Same thing on higher education. 2020, we spent almost 1.9 billion. We're projected to spend $2.5 billion on higher education next year. So, how do we get there? Sales tax revenue in 2020 was 8,000,000,500. We're projecting sales tax revenue of 10,000,000,500. We are taking 2 billion more dollars out of the pockets of our taxpayers in just 5 years. Personal income tax revenues. In 2020, our personal income tax revenues were $19.7 billion. Next year, we're going to take 25.7 billion. That's 6 billion more dollars out of the pockets of our taxpayers. Property taxes, something we've never addressed in the five, six years I've been here. In 2020, we took $31.8 billion in property taxes. Next year, we're projected to take 36.6 billion. Additional $5 billion out of the taxpayers' pockets next year. So, what's happened? What's happened in the State of Illinois we've spent 20 billion… $200 billion? Well, companies are leaving. Companies are leaving Illinois. Headquarters for Caterpillar, Boeing, Citadel, Guggenheim Partners, all gone. Tyson Foods have closed down. Quaker Oats factory in Danville, going. Since the decennial… in 2020, the census. Since 2020, they estimate that we've lost an additional 240 thousand citizens since 2020. Unemployment. What's our $200 billion done for the unemployed in Illinois? Actually, nothing. Our unemployment is still one of the 10300115.docx 34 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 115th Legislative Day 5/28/2024 highest in the country. You know, the government is supposed to help people become independent. In Illinois, the number of people in the last six years dependent on the government has gone up almost a million people on Medicaid. Almost 100 thousand more people are dependent upon us for food stamps compared to when we started. So, as you debate and you think about voting for this budget, I ask you, what have we done for the people of Illinois in the last 5, 6 years with the $200 billion that we've spent? If you think that this money has been well spent, if you think that what we're doing here is helping the people of Illinois, then I guess you're going to vote for this budget. We've watched another billion dollars is going to be taken out of our taxpayers' pockets next year. We've done everything we can over the last five years, taxes, fees. We've done everything to get every dime we could out of this economy to pay for this wasteful spending that's really producted no positive results for the people of this state. So, I'm of the opinion that the only thing left, the only place left that we haven't taken money from our taxpayers is in the income tax. So, I'm going to predict that next year, when you sit here and you're debating how to make this budget work, you're going to be talking about an income tax increase. So, everybody that's listening, everybody out there that's listening, I want you to ask your candidate, ask your candidate that's wanting you to vote for them in November, 'Do you pledge not to vote for an increase in the income tax next year?' Ask those candidates before you choose to vote for them because I think the only way we're going to have any chance of balancing a budget next year is to go after your 10300115.docx 35 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 115th Legislative Day 5/28/2024 income tax, to raise the income tax on the people of Illinois. So, think about that when you vote for this budget this year with no cuts and, in fact, a billion dollars more in taxes, and really no way to balance this budget. So, think about that, and I hope your constituents ask you to make that pledge when you're running for re-election in November. Will you pledge not to raise the income tax on the citizens of this state next year to balance your budget?" Speaker Hernandez, B.: "On page 7, we have House Bill 3046, Representative Ann Williams." Williams, A.: "Thank you, Madam Chair. I move to concur in Senate Amendment #3. This Bill simply retains the underlying language, but provides that the EPA may propose rules rather than requiring them to do so. Again, this deals with potable and nonpotable water standards. And I'm happy to answer any questions." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Leader Windhorst is recognized."
"Thank you, Madam Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?" Speaker Hernandez, B.: "She indicates she will."
"Thank you. Representative, I just want to go through some of the things the Senate did with this Bill, and now we're seeing it again. If I have this right, the Senate Amendment 3, which we're considering this evening, allows treated municipal wastewater to be used for irrigation if an EPA permit has been obtained. Is that accurate?" Williams, A.: "That is correct."
"And then also, allows the EPA to propose and requires the Pollution Control Board to adopt rules to repeal the 10300115.docx 36 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 115th Legislative Day 5/28/2024 prohibition on the use of recycled sewage treatment plant affluent in drinking water." Williams, A.: "Basically, this just allows the EPA to take action, makes it permissive rather than mandating as was in the original Bill. So, this allows the EPA to take their time, take a look at it, decide when and if it's appropriate, if the technology advances to the point where the… where this is a good program in terms of water usage and wastewater usage."
"But it's possible the EPA could propose rules to remove that prohibition. Is that…" Williams, A.: "They could, of course, science backed."
"And that would eliminate… by passing this, we are eliminating our ability, at that moment, by our, I mean the General Assembly's ability, at that moment to weigh in unless we have new legislation?" Williams, A.: "We can certainly weigh in. I will point out that 16 states now have usage standards in place for potable water, 23 for nonpotable water. So, it's definitely something that we are trending toward and something that, I think, we should at least explore."
"And it appeared the vote in the Senate was 39 to 15, if I'm seeing that correct. Is that accurate?" Williams, A.: "I don't recall the exact vote, but that sounds right."
"Thank you." Williams, A.: "Thanks." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Representative Ann Williams to close." Williams, A.: "Appreciate an 'aye' vote." 10300115.docx 37 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 115th Legislative Day 5/28/2024 Speaker Hernandez, B.: "The question is, 'Shall House concur in Senate Amendment 3 to House Bill 3046?' This is final action. All those in favor signify by voting 'aye'; all those opposed signify by voting '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 72 voting 'aye'; 37 voting 'nay', and 0 voting 'present'. The House does concur to Senate Amendment 3 to House Bill 3046. And this Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. On page 7, we have House Bill 4926, Representative Moeller."
"Thank you, Madam Speaker. House Bill… as the Body will recall, House Bill 4926 amends the Landlord Tenant Act to prohibit a landlord from charging an application screening fee if an applicant provides a properly prepared reusable tenant screening report with all of the necessary information to the landlord free of charge. I am concurring… or, I move to concur with Senate Committee Amendment #1 that addresses some of the concerns that were raised by the landlord… the Illinois Rental Property Owners Association. It makes a few significant changes. One, it requires that the provided report contain all the criteria consistently used by landlords in screening prospective tenants. It makes clear that no provision of the Bill can prohibit a landlord from collecting and processing an application with supplemental information in addition to the report so long as the prospective tenant is not charged an additional fee for this report. And it refines the definition of reusable tenant screening report and provides that the report must be written 10300115.docx 38 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 115th Legislative Day 5/28/2024 and prepared by a consumer credit reporting agency. I would be happy to answer any questions and would continue to request a favorable vote on this legislation. Thank you." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Leader Windhorst is recognized."
"Thank you, Madam Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?" Speaker Hernandez, B.: "She indicated she will."
"Thank you. Representative, under… on the underlying Bill, it seemed that there were several opponents, landlord associations, rental property owners. Do we know what their position is with the Amendment?"
"It is my understanding that this brings them to neutral. The Amendment did address the concerns that were brought to me with the underlying Bill. And because of the timing of the Bill going through the… through the House, by the time they had reached out, we didn't have time to Amendment it. But it is my understanding that… that they are neutral on the legislation."
"One of the concerns that I was made aware of was the belief there was a lack of a third-party software that would be able to handle the situation addressed in the Bill. Did the Amendment deal with that aspect of it?"
"That was not the concern that was brought to… to me by the owners… or the rental owner association. The concerns that were brought to me were ensuring that the report was comprehensive enough to cover information that's typically gathered during a screening report. And also, you know, to… to ensure that were defining these reports consistent with the criteria that they use. The… the concern about having 10300115.docx 39 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 115th Legislative Day 5/28/2024 access to reporting software or online tools was… was not something that was raised."
"It appeared the vote in the Senate was 40-17-1, if I see that correct. Does that sound correct to you?"
"Yes. That's it."
"Thank you." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Representative Moeller to close."
"I would ask for an 'aye' vote. Thank you." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "The question is, 'Shall the House concur in Senate Amendment 1 to House Bill 4926?' This is final action. All those in favor signify by voting 'aye'; all those opposed signify by voting '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 70 voting 'aye', 38 voting 'nay', and 0 voting 'present'. The House does concur to Senate Amendment 1 to House Bill 4926. And this Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. House Bill 4942, Representative Moeller."
"Thank you, Madam Speaker. House Bill 4942 is… involves requiring coroners' offices to make timely reporting of fentanyl overdoses to local law enforcement so that local law enforcement agencies can investigate such overdose situations. I do concur with Senate Committee Amendment #1, which was requested by the coroners' association and addresses some of their concerns. It makes two changes. One, it clarifies that the reporting requirements are only for cases in which an overdose has been officially determined. And, two, changes the 24-hour reporting time frame to a… more 10300115.docx 40 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 115th Legislative Day 5/28/2024 of a prompt time frame to give coroners flexibility within certain parameters to report these… these deaths to local law enforcement. It is my understanding there is no opposition, and would ask for an 'aye' vote." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Representative Halbrook is recognized."
"Thank you, Madam Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?" Speaker Hernandez, B.: "She indicated she will."
"Thank you. Representative, early on there was a lot of opposition in committee and on the House Floor we had a lot of 'no' votes. You've made some changes in the Senate, or the Senate's made some changes, and you've talked about those briefly. When we discussed this in committee, on the floor, I… my research had indicated, after speaking with coroners, that the process that you had originally laid out here in this language was completely unworkable. That's the coroners' words. It was completely unworkable for them, and that's why they were opposed. That's why we voted partisan out of committee, and that why there were so many 'no' votes here on the House Floor. My understanding is that their opposition has been removed. Kind of speak to the two changes that you've put in here about the word 'officially,' and wherever else you've made a couple of changes. How… how does this make this better for the coroners and, evidently, is more workable to them? How does that do that?"
"Well, I know that the… the change in the… the reporting time frame gives them… gives them a little more flexibility in terms of when they receive the toxicology report and when they report that to local law enforcement. And so, that's why we made that change. And in tightening up the… the official 10300115.docx 41 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 115th Legislative Day 5/28/2024 overdose determination that it was… that the fentanyl had… had an overwhelming cause in… in that overdose, I believe, gave them more of… helped them be more supportive of this. But I had not heard from the coroners that they felt that the underlying Bill was unworkable. They were generally supportive. There were certain coroners who had opposition to the Bill, but, overall, the coroners' association was generally supportive but… and wanted to work on this legislation and supported the underlying need for the legislation. And… and that's why we've worked with them to, you know, make sure that they are, you know, completely comfortable and able to implement the legislation. And, in fact, according to our analysis, they have been brought in to… as a proponent, rather than just neutral."
"Well, Representative, thank you for that explanation. I think that puts us in a better position than we were earlier this spring. And so, with that, I will be supportive of your Bill, and I would urge the Members that were voting in the negative to be for your Bill tonight. Thank you." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Representative Moeller to close."
"Thank you. I would urge an 'aye' vote." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "The question is, 'Shall House concur in Senate Amendment 1 to House Bill 4942?' This is final action. All those in favor signify by voting 'aye'; all those opposed signify by voting '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 110 voting 'aye', 0 voting 'nay', and 0 voting 'present'. The House does concur to Senate Amendment 1 to House Bill 10300115.docx 42 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 115th Legislative Day 5/28/2024 4942. And this Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. On page 7, we have House Bill 4261, Representative Stuart."
"Thank you, Madam Speaker. I move to concur with Senate Amendments 1 and 3 to House Bill 4261." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Leader Windhorst is recognized."
"Thank you, Madam Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?" Speaker Hernandez, B.: "She indicated she will."
"Thank you. We have some task force and commission extensions in this Bill. Is that correct?"
"That's correct."
"It appears that one of them is the Creative Economy Task Force within DCEO that's actually created by this Bill. Is that accurate?"
"Yes. That is the only newly-created task force. That came from House Bill 4959 this year."
"And that was House Bill 4959, which passed our Body 97 to 9."
"Correct."
"And then we also have an extension of the Illinois Flag Commission. Is that accurate?"
"Yes. That is accurate. It gives a 10-month extension for the final appointments to be made so that work can begin and a 5-month extension to the due date for that commission. It… the question was asked in committee. The commission reports to the GA. It does not dictate any change to the state flag."
"And when is that report to be made to the General Assembly?" 10300115.docx 43 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 115th Legislative Day 5/28/2024
"As I understand it, the report is to be made by April 1 of 2025."
"They are also, it looks like, three or four changes to the School Code. What are those changes?"
"I know that there is one about the Teacher Performance Assessment Task Force. They… I serve on that task force, and we decided we just needed an extension of about three months to just make sure that we have a buffer time to complete our work. I'm not sure the others that refer to the School Code."
"Looks like there, if… if what I'm reading is correct, are three other extensions. One dealing with developing a plan to transition the test of content area knowledge in the endorsement area of elementary education, grades one through six, by July 1, 2026 to a content area test that contains testing elements that cover bilingualism, biliteracy, oral language development, foundational literacy skills, and development… developmentally appropriate high-order comprehension. Does that sound accurate?"
"The… the only place that we see the change to the School Code is in the date for that Teacher Performance Assessment Task Force, which deals with what we currently use as the edTPA, and it's looking at possible other alternatives. If you could point to a page or a line, that would help us."
"The… with the one you referenced, that is moving from August 1 to October 31?"
"Yes."
"While we're… I'll skip to one other while we're looking at the School…"
"Thank you." 10300115.docx 44 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 115th Legislative Day 5/28/2024
"…Code, and we'll come back to that. We also have the Rental Housing Support Program Amendment regarding the allocation… the Funding Allocation Task Force findings that will be made in… at the end of September 2024 rather than September 2023. Is that accurate?"
"Can you… which one are you referring to? The Rental Housing Support?"
"Correct."
"I have that it's a 15-month extension."
"What date do you have that is due by?"
"Shall report its findings by December 31 of 2024."
"And then there's a change to the State's Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor's Act?"
"Yes. Oh, that's the one that requires them to meet twice a year instead of four times a year."
"Thank you for answering my questions."
"Thank you very much." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Leader Davidsmeyer is recognized."
"Thank you, Madam Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?" Speaker Hernandez, B.: "She indicated she will."
"Representative Stuart, I just want to make a statement, and I also have a question."
"Sure."
"So, I think the State of Illinois has a wonderful flag. I don't think there's any need to extend that commission. And the other question that I have is, what is the Alternative Protein Innovation Task Force? Chirp, chirp. Chirp, chirp." 10300115.docx 45 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 115th Legislative Day 5/28/2024
"So, the task force was created in order to research how the alternative protein industry can be beneficial to the state. Basically, soy-based meat substitute items. We grow a lot of soy. New ways to use it."
"We certainly do, and we use it in our fuel…"
"Support those soy farmers."
"…not in our… okay. Nope, I appreciate that. I… not… not sure that I think we need that task force, but I will probably be a 'no' because of those two task forces."
"Representative Stuart to close."
"I would appreciate an 'aye' vote." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "The question is, 'Shall House concur in Senate Amendment 1 and 3 to House Bill 4261?' This is final action. All those in favor signify by voting 'aye'; all those opposed signify by voting '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 74 voting 'aye', 36 voting 'nay', and 0 voting 'present'. The House does concur to Senate Amendment 1 and 3 to House Bill 4261. And this Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. On page 8, we have HB5005, Representative Vella."
"Thank you, Madam Chair. I move to concur on House Bill 5005, Senate Amendment 1 through 4. Senate Amendment 1 is just a technical change. Senate Amendment 2 adopts… guts and replaces, adopts it with HB817 language. However, the Senate removed the HIIB for battery energy storage solutions. DECO and the energy providers will be meeting throughout the summer to reach a resolution on size threshold for eligible 10300115.docx 46 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 115th Legislative Day 5/28/2024 facilities. Senate Amendment #3 makes the addition of Kankakee to the CEJA hubs and makes addition of technical language from IHBE exempting CEJA workforce programs and DECO's Illinois Works programs for IHBE certifications. Senate Amendment 4 makes technical changes to help with implementation. This legislation is not intended to affect, conflict with, or negate any party's responsibility to comply with the certified transcript of payroll requirements contained in the Illinois Prevailing Wage Act if the underlying project is considered public works under the Prevailing Wage Act. I urge an 'aye' vote. Open for questions." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Leader Windhorst is recognized."
"Thank you, Madam Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?" Speaker Hernandez, B.: "He indicates he will."
"Thank you. Representative, appreciate you going through those parts of the Bill. This is very similar, as you said, to HB817, which we voted on earlier this year."
"That's correct."
"What were the changes that were in this Bill from House Bill 817? If you could briefly hit those again."
"Sure. It removes battery energy storage solutions or BESS from the HIIB incentive. The DECO is still trying to figure out what the appropriate wattage is and the size. So, they're going to be working through the summer to work on that. It adds Kankakee to the CEJA hubs and adds additional technical language from the IBHE exempting CEJA workforce programs and DCEO Illinois Works programs from the IHBE certifications. And that's about it. And then some other technical stuff." 10300115.docx 47 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 115th Legislative Day 5/28/2024
"When you and I spoke about this Bill previously, we discussed the potential cost impact of the prior Bill as well as the potential fiscal impact and… and economic growth. Do those numbers change with this Bill?"
"No, they do not."
"So, we are still expecting a cost over the life of these programs of 294 million to GRF and potential fiscal impact, I believe you said previously…"
"Twenty-one billion dollars."
"All right. Thank you." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Representative Ugaste is recognized."
"Thank you, Madam Speaker. To the Bill. I mentioned this the first time this Bill came up, and I'm going to mention it again because it's worth mentioning. I'll end up supporting this Bill, and I suspect many of you will, because I know we need to. We need to try and entice businesses to come to Illinois so our people have jobs. But, again, we're approaching this in the wrong manner. We're still doing nothing to fix the business climate in Illinois. That is the underlying problem. Over-taxation, over-regulation, high cost from litigation, it's all out there. And I was hoping, between the last time I spoke about this package and today, that we might do a little something about it. But, unfortunately, we haven't. And we all know what's before us and what's coming up, and we know what we're going to be voting on, so there's no chance of this happening before we all leave here. But as you're about to push your button for this Bill, I hope everyone really starts thinking about what is coming down the line. So, here we are. We're going to vote on a Bill to try 10300115.docx 48 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 115th Legislative Day 5/28/2024 and entice businesses to come here by offering them tax incentives and telling them your taxes will be lower. Yet, later, we have a Bill, HB4951, which is promising to raise taxes on businesses $700 billion. Or what… $700 million, almost a billion dollars. Let's not waste our time, folks. If we're going to vote that into place, if you're not seriously considering voting 'no' on the tax increases, there's no sense in doing this. We can dangle this in front of whomever, but when they know they're going to get taxed at the end of the day, they won't come. So, if you're serious about this, if you're serious about jobs coming to Illinois, about opportunity for our people, then vote for this, vote 'no' on the tax increase Bill, and let's start working on improving our business climate in Illinois." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Leader Davidsmeyer is recognized."
"Thank you, Madam Speaker. To the Bill. We… we had the opportunity to debate this last time on the floor, and I'm going to make a similar statement that I made last time. We continue to tax small businesses and individuals so that we can hand out big money to big business, corporate bailouts instead of taking care of the real job providers in the State of Illinois that are our small businesses and our individuals. So, by voting for this, you're voting for big business bailouts at the expense, at the expense, of our small businesses that are struggling to get by. Vote 'no'." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Representative Vella to close."
"Thank you. Just to be clear, no corporation gets a dollar until they put more in. No one gets anything unless they give jobs to the State of Illinois. So, this is not a bailout. In 10300115.docx 49 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 115th Legislative Day 5/28/2024 fact, the money that's going to come in to the State of Illinois, $20 billion over the next 30 years, is going to end up creating more small businesses, more jobs for the State of Illinois than… than I think any of us can even imagine. So, I'm urging an 'aye' vote." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "The question is, 'Shall House concur in Senate Amendments 1, 2, 3, and 4 to House Bill 5005?' This is final action. All those in favor signify by voting 'aye'; all those opposed signify by voting 'nay'. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, please take the record. On this question, there are 90 voting 'aye', 19 voting 'nay', and 0 voting 'present'. The House does concur in Senate Amendments 1, 2, 3, and 4 to House Bill 5005. And this Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. On page 8, we have House Bill 5078, Representative Rita."
"Hold on a second. Which one is this here? Is this the drone Bill? No, oh, this is Tinley Park. All right. Thank you, Madam Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. This is a, I would call it a trailer, to a Bill that we passed last General Assembly when we transferred the state property to the Tinley Park-Park District. There was a pin, or mix-up in the pin, and so this just fixes that transfer so it's complete like it should've been. Be happy to answer any questions." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Representative Sheehan is recognized."
"Thank you, Madam Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?" Speaker Hernandez, B.: "He indicates he will."
"Representative Rita, was there any opposition to Senate Amendment 1 or Senate Amendment 4?" 10300115.docx 50 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 115th Legislative Day 5/28/2024
"Not that I'm aware of."
"Thank you. To the Bill. If you ask any of the constituents or the stakeholders in the Tinley Park area, the Tinley Park Mental Hospital has been an absolute nightmare for well over a decade, especially over the past five years. There was bipartisan legislation that didn't move. There was inaction. Because of that inaction, a water main break burst 2 million gallons of contaminated water with asbestos and other hazardous materials to nearby wells, putting residents in danger. A structure fire at the abandoned facility happened. It was difficult to extinguish because of the overgrowth and the lack of a working fire hydrant, putting firemen in danger. There have been countless service calls responded to by local police departments at the facility, putting police officers' lives in danger. How many hard- earned taxpayer dollars were wasted due to this inaction? I'm going to support the Bill because the time for inaction is over, but in no way does that excuse all the negative politics on all sides at the expense of the taxpayers. I'm hopeful that all this negativity is behind us and that the new Tinley Park multi-purpose center is an overwhelming positive for the families, seniors, children, and visitors of Tinley Park." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Leader Rita to close."
"I'd ask for a favorable vote so that we could put this all behind us and make a wonderful place out in our region in the South Suburbs open space, green space for all families to enjoy and what the residents of Tinley Park have asked for. Thank you." 10300115.docx 51 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 115th Legislative Day 5/28/2024 Speaker Hernandez, B.: "The question is, 'Shall House concur in Senate Amendment 1 and 4 to House Bill 5078?' This is final action. All those in favor signify by voting 'aye'; all those opposed signify by voting '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 89 voting 'aye', 17 voting 'nay', and 0 voting 'present'. The House has concurred to Senate Amendments 1 and 4 to House Bill 5078. And this Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. House Bill 5290, Representative Cassidy."
"Thank you, Madam Speaker and Members of the House. Senate Floor Amendments 1 and 2 create the Medical Debt Relief Act, which will allow the Department of Healthcare and Family Services to establish a fund that will allow eligible patients to receive grant funds to discharge medical debt. One of the things I like most about this, while it's subject to appropriation, it also gives the department the opportunity to accept private funds and charitable funds to make those available as well. So, I think this is a very thoughtful approach to a problem facing a lot of our constituents and will create tools that our constituents can use to get out from the burden of medical debt. And I ask for your support." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Leader Windhorst is recognized."
"Thank you, Madam Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?" Speaker Hernandez, B.: "She indicated she will."
"Thank you. Representative, who will be eligible to participate in the program?" 10300115.docx 52 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 115th Legislative Day 5/28/2024
"To be eligible to participate, I want to get the number right, you have to… a family has to be at 400 percent of the federal poverty level and have medical debt equivalent to 5 percent of their annual income."
"For a family of 4, what is 400 percent of the poverty level annual income?"
"Math pause."
"And we can come back to that."
"Yes, let's do that."
"Okay. So, the program will be run through a nonprofit. Is that…"
"DHFS will set it up and work with a… a navigator. So, they will contract with a… with an organization that can provide that access."
"And the navigator will… will be where the individuals apply to, or will they actually apply to HFS for the relief?"
"I believe it is the navigator who then is… they are contracted through HFS. So, then HFS will provide reports on what the navigating organizations are providing. And did you say a family for… family of four?"
"Yes."
"That would be $31,200 a year. That's the poverty line, so 4 times that is 120-something."
"Yes."
"Hundred and twenty-five. We've got some good math heads over here."
"What are the criteria that are to be used in determining who will receive the support? Is it… or, the relief, rather. Is it first come, first serve, if they meet 10300115.docx 53 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 115th Legislative Day 5/28/2024 the eligibility requirements? Or are there some other discretion that will exist with the…"
"So, there are various rules in place, including there… there's a recommendation to give priority to hospitals and providers who serve a high percentage in volume of Medicaid customers, providers located in disproportionally impacted zip codes. So, there is… there is guidance to make sure that we're getting it to the places that it's… it needs to get most."
"And what do we expect the appropriation to be this year for this program?"
"I'm hearing from the peanut gallery around me that it's a $10 million line."
"And with that $10 million appropriation, do we have a… an expectant amount of relief that will occur with that?"
"Well, I think that what… what we will also be able to do is… is really leverage that money into more because there are so many foundations looking for effective ways to attack this problem. And so, this will be a great tool for folks in Illinois to be able to use. So, it's 10 million for a hundred million is the expectation, and there are annual reports due. So… so, we'll constantly re-evaluate that we're doing it in ways that are meeting the need."
"So, we expect a 10-time increase in debt relief to…"
"Yes."
"…state expenditure?"
"Yes."
"And this is a pilot program. How long was… is the pilot?" 10300115.docx 54 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 115th Legislative Day 5/28/2024
"The… the pilot program goes through July 1 of 2029."
"And just so we're clear, these… we're expending state dollars for private debt relief?"
"We are utilizing some state dollars, getting a great deal more in private foundation money, and ensuring that our most vulnerable and in-need population are not saddled with medical debt that could prevent them from moving on."
"Who will oversee the effectiveness of the program as it relates to the application process to make sure it's being handled in an ethical manner? Is that…"
"So, the annual reports to the Governor and the General Assembly will include the amount of medical debt purchased and discharged under the pilot program, the number of eligible residents who received relief from the program, the demographics of eligible residents, and the number and characteristics of health care providers from whom medical debt was purchased and discharged. So, we're always going to have the ability to re-evaluate and… and tweak and move as we need to."
"So, you anticipate, although it's a five-year pilot, that we will be back in succeeding years before that, addressing the program?"
"Yes. Yeah, we will get annual reports during that five- year pilot."
"Do we know of any other states or examples of public money being used to retire private debt?"
"I believe New York has done it. And we've seen a lot of private philanthropy step up but… but actually complain about having capacity to reach the people they need to reach. And 10300115.docx 55 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 115th Legislative Day 5/28/2024 this is that kind of partnership that will allow us to maximize the impact of philanthropic dollars with minimal state investment."
"Thank you." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Representative Caulkins is recognized."
"Thank you. Will the Sponsor yield?" Speaker Hernandez, B.: "She indicated she will."
"Thank you. Representative, these payments, this $10 million, will it go to the hospitals that have… and doctors that have provided the care? Is that where this money is going to go?"
"It will go to the holders of the debt. So, yes, that would be the providers."
"Well, holders of the debt is different."
"Well, it a… if you have a debt to a hospital…"
"Okay, but, I mean, in some of these instances, a hospital will sell their debt to a collector. Is that what you anticipate?"
"It's really to prevent anybody from getting to that place."
"So, will this hospital…"
"This will prevent people from finding themselves in collections."
"But is it, I guess, at a hundred percent? I mean, are the hospitals going to then transfer this debt to the collector agency at a hundred percent? Are they going to get paid back a hundred percent, or are they only going to get paid 10 cents on the dollar?" 10300115.docx 56 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 115th Legislative Day 5/28/2024
"The idea is to do this prior to a hospital selling that debt to a collection agency. Instead, this… the debt will be sold to this fund."
"At a hundred percent?"
"Yes."
"Okay. Then I don't see how you get from 10 million to a hundred million but…"
"That would be the private dollars being invested."
"Okay. And will people that are in this state illegally be eligible for this program?"
"I'm sorry, say it again."
"Will people who are in this state who are not citizens of the United States, will they be eligible to participate in this program?"
"It's silent on that."
"Pardon?"
"It is silent on that."
"Well, let me answer my own question. Because those people won't have any debt. We are going to put a billion dollars to paying their hospital costs in medical bills."
"That has nothing to do with this Bill, Sir."
"Yes, but we're not taking care of the citizens of this state."
"This is…"
"We're going to spend a billion dollars on health care for people…"
"…taking care of the citizens of this state. This has nothing to do with this Bill, Sir." 10300115.docx 57 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 115th Legislative Day 5/28/2024
"…and we're only going to put $10 million into this fund."
"I would be delighted to debate this Bill with you all bloody night."
"No."
"But this is not about this Bill."
"To the Bill." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "To the Bill."
"This Bill is going to put $10 million into a fund to pay medical bills for the hardworking people of this state, for families, for children. And yet, we're going to spend $100 billion on medical care for nonresidents of this country, for illegal aliens. This is totally unfair. It's a gross misuse of our tax money. We should be taking care of the people that live here and work here first and foremost. I urge a 'no' vote." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Leader Keicher's recognized."
"Thank you, Madam Speaker. To the Bill. I want to make a point here, but one of the things I think the prior speaker made a point on that I just want to clarify is I believe for the immigrant health care programs, we're spending not 100 million, but close to, if not exceeding, a billion dollars in the proposed budget before us. But when we look at what we're doing, it's a good thing, right? And that's why I think we've seen so many non-for-profits in our country support similar debt strategies for medical debt. But we had a great promise 15 years ago when we first saw the Affordable Care Act. And what has started out as a good intention with the Affordable Care Act has made a mockery out of affordability because of 10300115.docx 58 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 115th Legislative Day 5/28/2024 what we've seen happen in this chamber over the course of this spring and every spring that I've been here. We continue to make insurance for health care more and more expensive because of the mandates that we continue to pile on. We want to remove from the consumer the ability to make a decision about their own financial future, about the economies in their household, and about the idea that you have insurance to protect you from consequences. I think it's horrible when people don't have insurance and they find themselves in a bad situation, but the reason so many people find themselves in that place is because we've made insurance so unaffordable through mandates. There are tens of thousands of families in this state who would easily take on additional risk, additional higher deductibles without the mandates in exchange for a cheaper premium so that they could have it if the absolute worst struck their family. We need to continue to trust the American taxpayer to know what's in their own best interest and reintroduce a concept of consequences for the decisions that we make so that we can be there for the most vulnerable in our communities and support them. Thank you." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Representative Halbrook is recognized."
"Thank… thank you, Madam Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?" Speaker Hernandez, B.: "She indicated she will."
"Thank you. Representative, I'm just looking at some numbers here on my screen about the magnitude of this issue. I just want to kind of get a grasp of how large this issue really is. Our numbers are telling us that there's 1.9 million 10300115.docx 59 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 115th Legislative Day 5/28/2024 Illinois residents with medical debt in collections. Would you agree with those numbers? I… this is… I mean, I'm just trying to get an understanding if that's close to the right number."
"I… I don't have an exact number, but your Googles are as good as mine."
"Well, again, this is from staff and I trust them to be right. And I'm not trying to argue about that. I'm just trying to get a kind of an understanding about how big this… this issue is."
"I mean, what I know is that almost everyone I know has dealt with medical debt."
"Say that again. I didn't…"
"Almost everyone I know has had an issue with medical debt. It is about the most universal thing that we experience. And for us to be able to do something about it, this is an opportunity for us to work together and do something about it."
"Yeah. Well, I mean, if you don't have the numbers, again, I'm just… my next question would've been is, how many people would you believe by those numbers would qualify for this funding? But if you don’t have a number to start with, maybe that's not going to be able to come up with. If we had 1.9 million, I guess our numbers would indicate 1.7 million would… would qualify for this program. But we also see here there's something over $4 billion worth of debt held by this 1.9 million people in the State of Illinois. And why this is of interest to me is, it… there's 12 counties in Illinois, Central and Southern Illinois, mostly, that have 20 to 30 10300115.docx 60 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 115th Legislative Day 5/28/2024 percent of their residents living with this medical debt. So, when you look at the statewide, that's an average of, I think it's 12 or 13 percent, 14 percent statewide. So, we have kind of a… an extremely high number in Central and Southern Illinois. So, these numbers are kind of important to me and I'm just trying to understand. The bigger picture, to the previous speakers, you know, we… we have a couple of issues, and maybe I'll just go right to the Bill. You know, Representative Caulkins spoke about the health care cost of a billion dollars plus that we're spending on a population of people that's here illegally in this country. Representative Keicher… Leader Keicher talked about the government has gotten involved with health insurance and made it unaffordable to a lot of citizens in the State of Illinois. I think we've got to really look at reforming this system. A $10 million program as… as well intentioned as may be, and they may be able to… the Sponsor, you may able… it sounds like you're able to leverage those dollars to receive some private dollars to help alleviate this pressure. But I think we've just got to look at this thing overall, figure out how to reform our health care system, and figure out the priorities of the spending of the State of Illinois that it… if this is a worthy program, that it goes to provide some relief to these individuals and, again, not spend hundreds of millions or billions of dollars on a population of people that are here illegally. Thank you, Madam Speaker." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Representative Cassidy to close."
"I agree that we have a health care crisis in our country. I agree that access to health care and medical debt is a 10300115.docx 61 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 115th Legislative Day 5/28/2024 massive problem. And I love hearing from my colleagues over there that this doesn't go far enough, that we need to do more, that we need to make health care more accessible and more affordable. And so, I look forward to continuing to work for universal health care. I look forward to working with these guys to expand this program exponentially as we need to. Vote 'yes'." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "The question is, 'Shall House concur in Senate Amendment 1 and 2 to House Bill 5290. This is final action. All those in favor signify by voting 'aye'; all those opposed signify by voting '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 73 voting 'aye', 36 voting 'nay', and 0 voting 'present'. The House does concur to Senate Amendment 1 and 2 to House Bill 5290. And this Bill, having received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Mr. Clerk, Rules Report."
Clerk Bolin: "Representative Gabel, Chairperson from the Committee on Rules reports the following committee action taken on May 28, 2024: recommends be adopted, Motion to Concur with Senate Amendment(s) 1 for House Bill 4582." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Proceeding on the… Senate Bills on Third Reading, we have… on page 3, we have Senate Bill 3362, Leader Burke. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."
"Senate Bill 3362, a Bill for an Act concerning revenue. Third Reading of this Senate Bill." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Leader Burke is recognized." 10300115.docx 62 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 115th Legislative Day 5/28/2024
"Thank you, Madam Speaker. This is an initiative of the Department of Revenue, and it provides that retailers obligated to only collect and… Use Tax on sales to Illinois purchasers, when those sales are sourced outside of Illinois, would be obligated to collect and remit destination-based Retailers' Occupation Tax on those sales. This is, I would guess a… I guess I could call it a cleanup to the Leveling the Playing Field for Illinois Retail Act that we passed several years ago, and it just involves two classes of retailers and kind of closes a loophole to make sure that those retailers are subject to the Retailers' Occupation Tax rather than the Use Tax. I know of no opponents, and I ask for an 'aye' vote." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Leader Windhorst is recognized."
"Thank you, Madam Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?" Speaker Hernandez, B.: "She indicated she will."
"Thank you. Leader, I'm trying to think of the situation when this would apply. This… are these out of state companies that are selling in Illinois but may have a business footprint in Illinois as well?"
"That's correct. There's two examples that the Department of Revenue cited for me. The first would be that the seller is headquartered outside of Illinois and the sales are transacted outside Illinois. However, the seller has a physical presence in Illinois. For example, the seller may lease space, may maintain an inventory, or may have a brick- and-mortar store in Illinois. Under the way the law was written, there was a… that was an instance where they were still only obligated to pay the Use Tax, and this would bring 10300115.docx 63 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 115th Legislative Day 5/28/2024 them into paying just the full Retailers' Occupation Tax so that there would be not only the state sales tax, but the local sales tax. The second example that the Department of Revenue provided is that the seller is headquartered in Illinois, but the sales are transacted outside Illinois and fulfilled from inventory that's maintained outside Illinois. Again, that was a loophole, I think just a situation that they didn't account for. And in that case, the full Retailers' Occupation Tax would be applied to those two situations."
"In the first situation you mentioned, is the buyer in Illinois?"
"Yes, the buyer is in Illinois in both situations."
"In both situations. Do we have an estimated revenue expectation from this change?"
"There is, and it is… hang on one second. It… it's estimated… it's quite… quite large. It's estimated between 300 and 400 million dollars. And these are all sales tax dollars that would flow to different units of local government, including municipalities that have a sales tax, but in addition to some of the special sales tax… or some of the entities that collect sales tax, business district tax, the Metro East Transit District, McPier, just all… all the different special units of government that are entitled to sales tax."
"And the state would also collect… and that's the 300 to 400 million would be for the state portion?"
"No, that would just… that would be total. So, it would…"
"Total?" 10300115.docx 64 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 115th Legislative Day 5/28/2024
"Yeah. So, it would flow… it would… so, right now, the Use Tax only flows to the state. So, when you tax it in the way it's… we intended to tax it in the Leveling the Playing Field for Illinois Retailers tax, that would include the local tax. So, the state would collect their 6.25 percent, and then the locals would collect whatever their share is."
"And do we have a… a dollar figure for anticipated additional state revenues with this change, just state?"
"I don't. We could probably do some math. I… but I… you know what, I don't know that that there would be a state… because the Use Tax is already being collected. So, that would just… the state portion of the Retailers' Occupation Tax would be the same as the Use Tax."
"And this change has already been through the Senate, correct?"
"That… that is correct."
"I believe their vote was 41 to 13."
"That is correct."
"Thank you for answering my questions." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Representative Weaver is recognized."
"Does the Sponsor yield?" Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Indicates she will."
"Representative Burke, I know that this isn't your last Bill, but given that it's not 3 a.m. currently, I just want to take this opportunity to say it's been an absolute pleasure working with you. I really admire how you chair a committee. I've really enjoyed working with you on Revenue. I feel every time I've raised a concern that you've listened and that you 10300115.docx 65 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 115th Legislative Day 5/28/2024 genuinely serve your district to the best that we can, and it's just been a true pleasure."
"Thank you." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Leader Burke to close."
"I think this is a… a good Bill, and in the words of Representative Mary Gill, Mary 'Good Bill' Gill, please vote 'aye'." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "The question is, 'Shall Senate Bill 3362 pass?' All in favor vote 'aye'; all opposed vote 'nay'. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this question, there are 70 voting in 'favor', 35 voting 'against', and 0 voting 'present'. And this Bill, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. The Clerk is in receipt of Motions in Writing to waive the posting requirements for one Bill. Leader Lisa Hernandez is on the Motion." Hernandez, L.: "Madam Speaker, I move that the posting requirements be waived so the following Bill can be heard in committee: Senate Bill 698 to Transportation: Vehicles & Safety Committee." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Leader Windhorst is recognized."
"Inquiry of the Speaker on Senate Bill 698. I believe that has been through committee today." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "It wasn't properly posted."
"I would request a record vote on the Motion." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Leader Lisa Hernandez has moved to waive the posting requirements. All in favor vote 'aye'; all opposed vote 'nay'. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have 10300115.docx 66 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 115th Legislative Day 5/28/2024 all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? There being 71 in 'favor', 38 'against', and 0 voting 'present'. And this Motion, having received a Constitutional Majority, the posting requirements are waived. Mr. Clerk, committee announcements."
Clerk Hollman: "The following committees will be meeting immediately: Judiciary - Criminal will meet in Room 118, Adoption & Child Welfare will meet in Room 122B, and Transportation: Vehicles & Safety will meet in Room 115." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Members, we will be going to committees immediately, and we will stand at ease to the call of the Chair… stand in recess to the call of the Chair. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill, Senate Bill 251."
"Senate Bill 251, a Bill for an Act concerning appropriations. Second Reading of this Senate Bill." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "The House will stand in recess to the call of the Chair. Mr. Clerk."
"Second Reading of Senate Bills. Senate Bill 458, a Bill for an Act concerning education. Senate Bill 698, a Bill for an Act concerning local government. Senate Bill 867, a Bill for an Act concerning State government. Senate Bill 952, a Bill for an Act concerning civil law. Second Reading of these Senate Bills." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Mr. Clerk, Committee Reports."
"Committee Reports. Representative Slaughter, Chairperson from the Committee on Judiciary - Criminal reports the following committee action taken on May 28, 2024: recommends be adopted is the Motion to Concur with Senate Amendment(s) 2 and 5 to House Bill 681. Representative Costa 10300115.docx 67 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 115th Legislative Day 5/28/2024 Howard, Chairperson from the Committee on Adoption & Child Welfare reports the following committee action taken on May 28, 2024: recommends be adopted is the Motion to Concur with Senate Amendment(s) 1 and 2 to House Bill 4412. Representative Andrade, Chairperson from the Committee on Transportation: Vehicles & Safety reports the following committee action taken on May 28, 2024: do pass Short Debate is Senate Bill 698." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Under the Supplemental Calendar, we have Order of Resolutions. We have House Resolution 844, offered by Representative Meyers-Martin. Meyers-Martin is recognized."
"Thank you, Madam Speaker. I am presenting House Resolution 844, which asks the State of Illinois to join other states in recognizing the month of September 2024 being National Scarring Alopecia Awareness Month. As in other states, it's been documented that National Scarring Alopecia Awareness Month serves as a spark to increase advocacy efforts for scarring alopecia patients and to underscore the importance of understanding this rare disease. Bringing awareness to this disease can help those experiencing scarring hair loss remain confident and positive, despite their condition. The hair loss often carries a stigma that can only be dispelled with education and knowledge. So, I ask that this Body please provide an 'aye' vote for National Alopecia Awareness Month this September 2024." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Representative Meyers-Martin moves for the adoption of House Resolution 844. All those in favor say 'aye'; all those opposed say 'nay'. In the opinion of the 10300115.docx 68 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 115th Legislative Day 5/28/2024 Chair, the 'ayes' have it. And the Resolution is adopted. On page 9, on the Order of Resolutions, we have House… Senate Joint Resolution 49, Representative Stuart."
"Thank you, Madam Speaker. Senate Joint Resolution 49 deals with our educational support professionals, clinicians, like school social workers, school psychologists, school counselors, school nurses, and speech-language pathologists, and ask the Professional Review Panel, which is part of the evidence-based funding set up that we have for K-12 education, to conduct an analysis and financial modeling to evaluate the… the implications of implementing the recommended maximum caseloads and proper ratios for in… for the professionals in our schools." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Leader Windhorst is recognized."
"Thank you, Madam Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?" Speaker Hernandez, B.: "She indicated she will."
"Thank you. Representative, our analysis shows the State Board of Education is opposed. Do you know if they are opposed and have they expressed opposition to you?"
"They have not shared opposition with me."
"And it does appear, though, that the Principals Association, Association of School Boards, IEA, IFT, social… school social workers are in support of this Resolution."
"Yes."
"Thank you." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Representative Stuart moves for the adoption of House Resolution… Senate Joint Resolution 49. All those in favor say 'aye'; all those… all in favor vote 'aye'; all opposed vote 'nay'. The voting is open. Have all voted 10300115.docx 69 STATE OF ILLINOIS 103rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 115th Legislative Day 5/28/2024 who wish? Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, take the record. On this question, there are 109 voting 'aye', 0 voting 'nay', and 0 voting 'present'. And this Resolution, having received a Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared adopted. Leader Davidsmeyer, for what reason do you seek recognition?"
"Thank you, Madam Speaker. Point of personal privilege." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Please proceed."
"I just want to wish Jayme Siemer a happy birthday today. She spent all day with her favorite people. So, if we can all give her a giant round of applause for her birthday." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Mr. Clerk, Agreed Resolutions."
"Agreed Resolutions. House Resolution 841, offered by Representative Smith. House Resolution 842, offered by Representative Tarver. House Resolution 843, offered by Representative Guerrero-Cuellar. House Resolution 845 and 846, offered by Representative Avelar." Speaker Hernandez, B.: "Leader Gabel moves for the adoption of Agreed Resolutions. All those in favor say 'aye'; all those opposed say 'nay'. In the opinion of the Chair, the 'ayes' have it. And the Agreed Resolutions are adopted. Leader Gabel moves for the House stand adjourned until Wednesday, May 29, and stay here. All those in favor say 'aye'; all those opposed say 'nay'. In the opinion of the Chair, the 'ayes' have it. And the House stands adjourned." 10300115.docx 70