"House Perfunctory Session will come to order. Committee Reports. Representative Barbara Flynn Currie, Chairperson from the Committee on Rules reports the following committee action taken on May 24, 2016: approved for consideration, referred to the Consideration Postponed Calendar is House Bill 4… correction… House Bill 746; recommends be adopted, referred to the floor is Floor Amendment #2 to House Bill 746, Floor Amendment #2 to Senate Bill 2306; approved for consideration, referred to Third Reading is House Bill 3689."
"Members and guests are asked to be at their seats. Members and guests are asked to be at their seats. We shall be led in prayer today by Pastor Tim Filkins who is the minister with Three Rivers Baptist Association in Shorewood, Illinois. Pastor Filkins is the guest of Representative Riley. Members and guests are asked to refrain from starting their laptops, turn off all cellphones and rise for the invocation and Pledge of Allegiance. Pastor Filkins."
"Well, good afternoon, everyone. Let's invoke the Lord's presence and go to Him in prayer. Father God, first we love You and we honor You and we thank You for the opportunity to be here. We pray Your blessings over this group of Representatives, Father. They deal with heavy matters that affect the people of Illinois, and they deal on the past with things that might seem like minutia, like things that they have to deal with. I pray that You'll bless them. I pray that You will give them wisdom and honor and courage as they sacrifice time from their families, as they travel the roads to get here, as they sit in Session. As they weigh the matters 09900135.docx 1 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 135th Legislative Day 5/24/2016 that affect the people of Illinois. You have called them to legislate. You have called them to be our Representatives. And I know that they have to balance the will of the people with what's best for the people, and they have to use their own moral compass to guide them through those waters. So, Father, You've called them to these positions. And I ask that You would fill them with Your holy spirit and give them wisdom and understanding and eyes to see and ears to hear, Heavenly Father. We ask that Your will will be done in this great state and in this room. And we ask Your blessings on these Representatives, bring health and healing to their bodies, health and healing to their relationships. Give their family members, from whom they are absent so often, grace towards them and an understanding of what they must do. Thank You for calling them to it. Bless them as they go through it, Heavenly Father. And we thank You that they've decided to devote a season of their lives to legislating on behalf of the people of this great state. We praise You for all that You're doing and all that You're going to do. And we trust You with these heavy matters. And we trust You with the welfare of these great people. And we pray in Jesus' name. Amen."
"We should be led in the Pledge of Allegiance today by Representative Tabares."
"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."
"Roll Call for Attendance. Leader Currie." 09900135.docx 2 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 135th Legislative Day 5/24/2016
"Thank you, Speaker. Please let the record reflect the excused absences of Representatives Monique Davis and Sims."
"Representative Brown."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Please let the record reflect that Representative Tryon is excused this afternoon. Thank you."
Speaker Turner: "With 115 Members present, a quorum is established. Mr. Clerk."
Clerk Hollman: "Committee Reports. Representative Cassidy, Chairperson from the Committee on Juvenile Justice & System- Involved Youth reports the following committee action taken on May 24, 2016: do pass Short Debate is Senate Bill 2370. Representative Beiser, Chairperson from the Committee on Transportation: Regulation, Roads & Bridges reports the following committee action taken on May 24, 2016: recommends be adopted is Senate Joint Resolution 30, Senate Joint Resolution 33, Senate Joint Resolution 34. Introduction of Resolutions. House Resolution 1269, offered by Representative Phelps, is referred to the Rules Committee."
"Mr. Clerk, Agreed Resolutions."
Clerk Hollman: "Agreed Resolutions. House Resolution 1268, offered by Representative Leitch. House Resolution 1270, offered by Representative Phelps. House Resolution 1272, offered by Representative Yingling. House Resolution 1273, offered by Representative Bradley."
"Leader Currie moves that the House adopt the Agreed Resolutions. All in favor say 'aye'; all opposed say 'nay'. In the opinion of the Chair, the 'ayes' have it. And the Resolutions are adopted. Members, an announcement. The 09900135.docx 3 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 135th Legislative Day 5/24/2016 Amendment deadline will be Wednesday, May 25 at the hour of 12 noon; Wednesday, May 25, 12 noon, Amendment deadline. Members, on page 10 of the Calendar, under Senate Bills on Second Reading, we have Senate Bill 2138, Representative Sullivan. Would you like to move the Bill to Third Reading? Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."
"Senate Bill 2138, a Bill for an Act concerning civil law. Second Reading of this Senate Bill. Amendments 1 and 2 were adopted in committee. No Floor Amendments. No Motions are filed."
"Third Reading. Senate Bill 2734, Representative Gabel. Mr. Clerk, please new… read the Bill."
"Senate Bill 2734, a Bill for an Act concerning health. Second Reading of this Senate Bill. Amendment 1 was adopted in committee. No Floor Amendments. No Motions are filed."
"Third Reading. Senate Bill 2155, on page 5 on the Calendar, under Senate Bills on Third Reading. Representative Kelly Burke. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."
"Senate Bill 2155, a Bill for an Act concerning finance. Third Reading of this Senate Bill."
"Representative Burke." Burke, K.: "Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Senate Bill 2155 requires that recognition by the Community College Board include a review of Public Act 99-482, which is posting requirements, open meetings, things about contract for executives in the community college level. It is the intent of this Bill that it reflects the intent of Public Act 99-482. And it is intended to have full disclosure of all the items related to 09900135.docx 4 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 135th Legislative Day 5/24/2016 the contracts that were put forward in that… in that… in that Bill. And it basically just provides a way to make sure the community colleges are complying with the… with the requirements of that Bill and it does that through the recognition process which is done by the Illinois Community College Board. I know of no opposition. And I ask for an 'aye' vote."
"On that, we have Representative Zalewski."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"She indicates that she will."
"Representative, for the purpose of legislative intent I heard you say, I think, what you're going to say again, but I'll ask it anyway 'cause you can never be too careful. The Legislature requires recognition by the Community College Board to include a review of Public Act 99-482 and laws regarding employment contracts. Is it your intent that the Bill reflect the intent of Public Act 99-842 (sic-99-482), which is to exclude collective bargaining contracts in this review by the Advisory Committee referenced in the legislation?" Burke, K.: "Yeah. The legislation is only intended to provide oversight of employment contracts, those employment contracts that are defined under Public Act 99-482."
"Thank you, Representative. Thank you, Mr. Speaker."
"The Chair recognizes Representative Ives."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To the Bill. I just served on the Presidential Search Committee for the College of DuPage, and there was a lot of criticism of the Bill last year that we passed that dealt with higher education contracting and 09900135.docx 5 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 135th Legislative Day 5/24/2016 whether or not there was too much oversight. I am proud to sit here and tell you we have an excellent outstanding candidate who actually is now the College of DuPage President, and that the Bill that we put in place that was… provided for oversight of these contracts, was… was a wonderful thing for the taxpayers. There was also a threat saying that there was a possibility too much oversight would lead people to not actually apply for the job. That is not what happened. We had 380 applicants for the College of DuPage job, 380. So, overwhelmingly, this is something that is good for taxpayers, and it's good for also the employee that's going to be contracted, because they know that they were vetted and it was an open process and nobody can actually take that away from them in the future. This is a good Bill. I encourage everybody to vote for it. Thank you."
"The Chair recognizes Representative Pritchard."
"Thank you, Mr. Sponsor. Will the Spike… Speaker yield… or the Sponsor yield?"
"Sponsor indicates that she will yield."
"Representative, could you give us a little more clarity as to what this Bill will do?" Burke, K.: "So, it… during the recognition process by the Illinois Community College Board, which occurs every five years, it's a review of the functions and operations of each individual community college. One of the factors that they'll be looking at during this already existing recognition process is the compliance by the Community College Board… the individual community college with the requirements of… of Public Act 99- 482, specifically that the severance under any contract may 09900135.docx 6 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 135th Legislative Day 5/24/2016 not exceed one year's salary and applicable benefits. The contract must have a determinate start and end date, not to exceed four years. The contract may not include any automatic rollover clauses and all renewals or extensions of contracts must be made during open meeting of the board and that public notice must be given when the employment contract is entered into."
"Yeah. This oversight will be by ICCB?" Burke, K.: "Correct. During their already existing recognition process. It will just be another factor that they look at during the recognition process."
"Very good. Thank you. It sounds like a good Bill."
"Representative Burke to close." Burke, K.: "I ask for an 'aye' vote."
"The question is, 'Shall Senate Bill 2155 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, please take the record. On a count of 114 voting 'yes', 0 voting 'no', 0 voting 'present', Senate Bill 2155, having received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Representative Andrade, for what reason do you seek recognition?"
"Point of pervonal… personal privilege, please."
"Please proceed, Sir."
"Ladies and Gentlemen, I'd like to… last year I introduced this same group; the group above me here is Communities United. They fight again from Chicago all the way to Springfield, over 211 miles, to ask us to shift gears. 09900135.docx 7 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 135th Legislative Day 5/24/2016 That Illinois should shift gears and we should prioritize summer youth jobs. So, I just want to thank them and a great job done coming all the way down here from Springfield."
"One hundred and ten miles, that's impressive. Welcome to your Capitol. Representative Cloonen, for what reason do you rise?"
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A point of per… point of personal privilege."
"Please proceed, Representative."
"Yes. Today, in the far back of the gallery, we'd like to welcome over 50 4-H members from across Illinois who are attending the University of Illinois extension 4-H Legislative Connection event being held today and tomorrow at the Capitol. These youth will be visiting Members of the House who represent the Illinois 4-H Youth Leadership Team and speaking for Illinois 4-H program. The teams are from 21 different counties throughout the state representing nearly 200 thousand 4-H participants in all 102 counties. They represent a huge variety of Illinois 4-H programming efforts from both urban and rural programming efforts, leadership programs such as Teens as Teachers, and we are involved in many different 4-H projects as from child development to livestock, the arts, to Shooting Sports, food and nutrition, to leadership and many other subjects. Working with the teams this week are Patricia McGlaughlin, Deb Stocker, Erica Austin of the University of Illinois Extension and Jeanne Harland, Jerry Hicks and Pam Weber, members of the extension service and partners. As a former 4-H member, let us all give them a welcome." 09900135.docx 8 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 135th Legislative Day 5/24/2016
Speaker Turner: "Thank you and welcome to your Capitol. Representative Meier, for what reason do you rise?"
"Point of personal privilege."
"Please proceed, Sir."
"I'd like to introduce my Page for the day, Grace Gutjahr, and her parents, Dave and Susan, from Oakdale. She is now going to go to high school at Nashville. And I, too, would like to thank the 4-H kids for being here today. As an active 4-H leader in the State of Illinois, it's always good to see our youth out there and excelling. Thank you."
"Thank you, Representative. And welcome to your Capitol. Representative Ammons, for what reason do you rise?"
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A point of personal privilege, please."
"Proceed."
"Thank you so much. I wanted to do two things: welcome the 4-H students here to the Capitol. I also have a student who is my Page for today who is Aaron Amir Ammons who's here beside me, who's just graduated from eighth grade and is going to ninth grade and will be joining 4-H in agricultural and equestrian science. So, he may be a rodeo star one of these days and you guys will see him on the national rodeo scene. Welcome Amir to the Capitol today and congratulate him on graduating last Friday."
"Welcome, Amir and congratulations. On page 5 of the Calendar, we have Senate Bill 2157, Representative Burke. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."
"Senate Bill 2157, a Bill for an Act concerning education. Third Reading of this Senate Bill." 09900135.docx 9 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 135th Legislative Day 5/24/2016
"Representative Burke." Burke, K.: "Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Senate Bill 2157 amends the Public Community College Act to create a leadership training program for community college boards. It… it has specific topics in which the community college trustees would receive training. Throughout their six-year term, they would be required to complete four hours of training during the first, third and fifth years of the term. I ask for an 'aye' vote."
"See… Representative Sandack is recognized."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"The Sponsor will yield."
"Representative, I… I apologize. It was a little noisy even though we're so close. Could you kind of break down a little bit what your Bill does?" Burke, K.: "So, it requires training in various areas of professional development for community college boards. The professional development training should include training in the open meetings law, community college and labor law, Freedom of Information Act law, contract law, ethics, sexual violence on campus, financial oversight and accountability, audits, and the fiduciary responsibilities of community college members."
"There's a whole heck of a lot of training now being required. Are… Is this a mandatory Act or is it a permissive, suggestive Act?" Burke, K.: "It's mandatory. It's four hours…"
"Is it funded or unfunded?" 09900135.docx 10 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 135th Legislative Day 5/24/2016 Burke, K.: "There is no funding that is attached to this. Many community colleges already offer training, and there are various groups who can provide that training."
"But the community college would be getting their own training. This is community college…" Burke, K.: "No, no, no."
"Okay. So…" Burke, K.: "There are groups that offer… Just… we require the same thing, Representative, of school boards… K-12 school boards. And I think it's… we're dealing with a lot of very complex issues and obviously, very complex financials. And I think it's in the public's best interest for these trustees to have adequate training to do their jobs."
"I don't argue that at all, and I think it makes sense particularly because we've given, for instance, the open meetings Act or for FOIA. Those are things that came from us and asking them now to comply with it, and sometimes it gets nuanced and sophisticated so having a background to handle that's a good thing. Is this coming out of the College of DuPage thing or is this inspired by something else, too?" Burke, K.: "No, but mainly from the College of DuPage incidents."
"All right. 'Cause I was looking at the proponents and opponents, and it was one of those you almost needed a program to know who was who in the zoo. The Governor's Office is supportive, but… the Illinois Community College Trustee Association and the Illinois Council of Community College Presidents, at least by my analysis, are in opposition. Is that correct?" Burke, K.: "That's correct." 09900135.docx 11 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 135th Legislative Day 5/24/2016
"All right. Have there been attempts to work with the community colleges?" Burke, K.: "Yeah. I think they took a philosophical stance against the training being mandated."
"And in the aggregate, total for me, how much training…" Burke, K.: "Four hours…"
"…for each board." Burke, K.: "So, each… so, community college members have six-year terms."
"Right." Burke, K.: "They would be required to do four hours of training each two years."
"Each… so, each board member would have a singular requirement each two years of four hours." Burke, K.: "Correct."
"Is it an ongoing obligation like continuing education, or is it four hours period? That's it." Burke, K.: "Four hours period for that two years."
"All right. Thank you very much, Representative."
"The Chair recognizes Representative Franks."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"She indicates that she will."
"Representative, I think it's a great idea. I just have a couple of follow-ups though. Are we requiring our university trustees to do the same thing?" Burke, K.: "I believe… I don't want to misspeak. I believe there is another Bill that I am not carrying that has that requirement." 09900135.docx 12 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 135th Legislative Day 5/24/2016
"'Cause I'm just wonder… I think it's a good idea, because I'm thinking of what you're trying to do here. And I look at what we do locally, for instance, with our…" Burke, K.: "Right."
"…besides our community colleges, our school boards are those that spend more money than…" Burke, K.: "Yes."
"…all the other governments combined. Are there any requirements for local school boards to have the same type of training?" Burke, K.: "Those are already in place."
"Is it mandatory or is it permissive?" Burke, K.: "I… I believe we had this question pop up during committee and I believe it is mandatory and there is… I don't have the statute citation, but I could get it for you."
"'Cause I… I think that this is critically important, because I think that most folks who get on these boards, or on school boards, are doing it for the right reasons, but they might not have the financial background, for instance, to deal with some of the issues with bonding and other… and other issues. So, I think it's really great that people are going to be educated on this. But what I…" Burke, K.: "Absolutely."
"…what I'd like…" Burke, K.: "It's very complex."
"Yes. So, what I'd like to see, and perhaps it could be part of this Bill, on an Amendment, or perhaps a trailer Bill, to make sure that our university trustees, if we're requiring our community colleges, to also be required to undergo the 09900135.docx 13 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 135th Legislative Day 5/24/2016 same type of education. And I'd like to see it also extended mandatorily for our school boards and perhaps a different variation for those that are in a position to both tax and spend whether it be a municipality, township or even a county government, because I think many of the folks could use this primer, and I think it would serve the citizens well if people had a broader knowledge of these issues instead of having to learn only on the job." Burke, K.: "So, I'm going to follow up with you on the four-year. I believe there's something floating around. And we'll handle K-12 in another time space."
"Can you check that out because I…" Burke, K.: "I sure will."
"…I think it'd be a nice omnibus Bill." Burke, K.: "I'll find out for you today."
"All right. Thank you."
"The Chair recognizes Representative Leitch."
"Thank you. Will the Lady yield?"
"She indicates that she will."
"Representative, why do we need to make a… this a mandate? Why… why can't the… either the Association or the individual community colleges figure out their own training?" Burke, K.: "Well, as the previous speaker mentioned…"
"I can't hear anything, Mr. Speaker. Speaker, I can't hear in here."
"Members, can we please bring the noise level down so that we can hear the debate. Thank you very much." Burke, K.: "So as the previous speaker mentioned, all of our educational facilities including Illinois community colleges 09900135.docx 14 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 135th Legislative Day 5/24/2016 are very complex. There's a lot of laws and regulations that… that school has to comply with, that board members need to be aware of, as well as that the financials are extremely complicated, and sometimes you have board members who don't have a background training in those financials. So, I think it behooves the board. It behooves the community college. It behooves the taxpayers that people have some sort of training in order to adequately perform their jobs. And four hours, over a course of two years, is really not that burdensome."
"Thank you. I respect your opinion on it. My opinion is that these boards given their diversity that you identified, are capable of coming up with these programs themselves, and that I don't know why the General Assembly has to mandate this. In any event, thank you." Burke, K.: "You're welcome."
"The Chair recognizes Representative Ives."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"Indicates that she will."
"I like this Bill a lot. I think it's a great idea. I just had a question concerning who's… who's providing the training? And essentially, it is a qualified provider approved by the Illinois Community College Board. Is that correct?" Burke, K.: "That's correct."
"Do you… do you have any more detail, on that or how they're going to determine who's qualified or not?" Burke, K.: "So, they need to be approved by the Illinois Community College Board in order to be qualified to provide the training. So, it could be… I mean, it could be the board 09900135.docx 15 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 135th Legislative Day 5/24/2016 attorneys. It could be a group that provides training like the Illinois Community College Trustees Association. They would just need to have their… their content and materials and their program approved by the board."
"Okay." Burke, K.: "A lot of these groups already do training. This isn't… this is going on, but this codifies that it needs to be done on a regular basis and that everyone has to participate."
"Thank you. Mr. Speaker, to the Bill. And the… Representative Burke is absolutely right. This… a lot of this training is already taking place. The Trustees Association is kind of almost has a monopoly on the training. So, the good thing about this board… this legislation, is that it opens it up to competition from other people to get… to provide this training. It is not too much to ask when members are elected for six years, with six years of oversight and fiduciary responsibilities, to expect that they are going to have some training in areas where they may not understand fully their responsibility. This is a great measure for both trustees. I think that they would actually respond positively to having to know that they have to do this in training. I do not find it excessive. And I would… I would appreciate if the Sponsor would extend this type of mandate and this requirement on school boards, because what we've learned in yesterday's paper is that, you know, Lincoln-Way is also now under federal investigation for the improprieties of the spending which took over… which took place under a board that absolutely had no idea what they were doing, or how to check on the community college President. Now, to me, it's very distressing that 09900135.docx 16 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 135th Legislative Day 5/24/2016 community college Presidents are opposed to this. They should welcome that their trustees are as informed as possible. They should welcome that. So, I encourage an 'aye' vote. I think this is a great Bill."
"The Chair recognizes Representative McDermed."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To the Bill. As the Representative who largely represents the Lincoln-Way school board, I just wanted to comment that I love this Bill, to the extent that these requirements are in place for the K-12. I think that's great. What I would love to see and wish… in the ideal world… I think would be great is, how do you legislate actual oversight. Folks have oversight, but we know, at least at Lincoln-Way 210, that they weren't exercising their oversight. And I… if there was a way that you could legislate people, kicking… well that's… that's not a good way to put it… to actually putting the superintendent and/or the college President to the proof, to the test, asking those hard questions and forcing them to answer to the board as opposed to the other way around. If there was a way to really legislate that, I'd love for that to be in the Bill. As soon as I think of a way, I will make a Bill. In the meantime, I like the Bill. Thank you."
"Representative Burke to close." Burke, K.: "I ask for your 'aye' vote."
"The question is, 'Shall Senate Bill 2157 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? Members, please record yourself. Mr. Clerk, please take the record. On a count of 96 voting 'yes', 09900135.docx 17 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 135th Legislative Day 5/24/2016 17 voting 'no', 0 voting 'present', Senate Bill 2157, having received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Senate Bill 2403, Representative Mitchell. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."
"Senate Bill 2403, a Bill for an Act concerning regulation. Third Reading of this Senate Bill."
"Representative Bill Mitchell." Mitchell, B.: "Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. Senate Bill 2403 requires each hospital to adopt, implement and periodically update evidence-based protocol for the early recognition and treatment of patients in sepsis. If the Body would give me leave, I would like to… in the gallery, is Mr. and Mrs. Tony Galbo, and I'd like them to stand. They're… Mr. and Mrs. Galbo lost their daughter, Gabby… and this Bill is known as Gabby's Bill… Gabby's Law… four years ago to sepsis infection. And the Galbos have really dedicated their lives to saving other children… other people. So, I would like to… as you can see the picture of… of Gabby there. They've dedicated their lives to this cause of saving human beings. And I… they have my tremendous respect and admiration. And so, with that, I would certainly like to take any questions."
"Seeing no debate, the question is, 'Shall Senate Bill 2403 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, please take the record. On a count of 115 voting 'yes', 0 voting 'no', 0 voting 'present', Senate Bill 2403 having received 09900135.docx 18 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 135th Legislative Day 5/24/2016 the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. House Resolution 1139. Mr. Clerk."
"House Resolution 1139, offered by Representative Bennett. RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we designate the first Friday of May 2016 as "Recycle Thin Film Friday"; and be it further RESOLVED, That "Recycle Thin Film Friday" is established in the State of Illinois as an effort to reclaim used thin-film plastic bags and to encourage consumers to use reusable bags."
"Representative Bennett."
"Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. This is a truly a tremendous day. This Resolution of course we call it the Thin- Film Friday. And this Resolution that was just read before you was put together by a number of students at the high school level along with their teacher Paul Ritter. They are with us today. They helped write this and put this together. So, this is actually an effort and a process in helping them understand the political process, and how things come together, and how Resolutions and Bills are put together, and how they're voted on in committee, and how they're voted on here on the House Floor as well. So, I have with me today… I have Paul Ritter's… and his class to my left over here. And the students' names are: Megan Heller, Molly Ruddy, Connor Wolf, Seth Cunningham, Steve Corrigan, Jacob Jiles, Adam Holzhauer and again, the teacher is Paul Ritter. So, they worked very hard on this. And this has taken us several months actually worked on this. And this is something near and dear 09900135.docx 19 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 135th Legislative Day 5/24/2016 to their heart. And again, I appreciate the efforts as they worked through this. And what we basically want to do is make the first Friday of May 2016 as 'Recycle Thin-Film Friday'. I move for an 'aye' vote."
"Gentleman moves for the adoption of House Resolution 1139. All in favor say 'aye'; all opposed say 'nay'. In the opinion of the Chair, the 'ayes' have it. And the Resolution is adopted. On page 3 of the Calendar, on House Bills under Third Reading, we have House Bill 5417, Representative Ford. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."
"House Bill 5417, a Bill for an Act concerning criminal law. Third Reading of this House Bill."
Speaker Turner: "Mr. Clerk, out of the record. The Chair recognizes Leader Currie."
"Thank you, Speaker. Please let the record reflect that Representative Kelly Burke is excused for the rest of the day."
"Thank you, Representative. House Bill 5762, Representative Harper. Out of the record. House Bill 6162, Representative Skoog. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."
"House Bill 6162, a Bill for an Act concerning employment. Third Reading of this House Bill."
"Representative Skoog."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. House Bill 6162 creates the Employees Sick Act Leave. It provides that an employee can use personal sick time to attend the medical needs of family members. This is an effort to address the challenges facing 1.7 million caregivers in Illinois that juggle the work and caring for loved ones at home. It defines personal sick time 09900135.docx 20 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 135th Legislative Day 5/24/2016 leave, it specifies the family members as the child, a spouse, a sibling, a parent, a mother-in-law, a father-in-law, a grandchild, a grandparent, or a stepparent. It does not extend the maximum period of leave, and an employer is not required to offer sick time if they do not have it already. He is not required to offer sick time. It is an initiative of the AARP. It has the… supported by a broad coalition and the Chamber of Commerce is neutral on this. I ask for an 'aye' vote. But I will take any questions, if anyone wants to ask any questions."
"Chair recognizes Representative Sandack."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have an inquiry of the Chair first and then the question for the Gentleman."
"Please proceed."
"With respect… are we… was the third Amendment adopted? What exactly is on the board, and what is it that we're voting on?"
"Mr. Clerk."
"For House Bill 6162, two Amendments have been adopted: Committee Amendment #1 and Floor Amendment #2."
"So, there's… I understand. One more request of the Chair. Is there a third Amendment still in Rules?"
"Floor Amendment #3 has been referred to the Rules Committee."
"All right. Thank you. Then a few questions of the Sponsor."
"Sponsor indicates that he will yield."
"Rep… Representative, the third Amendment that's in Rules, is it your intention… Right here, Andy." 09900135.docx 21 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 135th Legislative Day 5/24/2016
"Oh, I'm sorry."
"Yeah, right here."
"Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Sandack."
"There's a… there's a Floor Amendment #3 that's in Rules. Is it your intention to abandon Floor Amendment #3?"
"Yes. We're going to move this forward without #3."
"All right. Then you represented that the Chamber was neutral. Is the Chamber neutral in the absence of Floor Amendment #3 being brought forward?"
"Yes, they are."
"And… help me out. How… how was that articulated to you?"
"They… they said that the Bill was good to go and…"
"Well, just… you mean, who?"
"No, I'm saying the Chamber."
"Who at the Chamber?"
"The representatives."
"Can you tell me… All right. We'll go on. There are a number of opponents to your Bill. You said that there were several proponents. Other than the Chamber, it looks like every single business organization with a presence in the State Capitol is against your Bill. Isn't that accurate to say?"
"There's a lot of opponents and there's a lot of proponents."
"There are. And why is your Bill needed, Represent… Representative? Why is it necessary that we codify, in law, something that typically is between an employer and employee?" 09900135.docx 22 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 135th Legislative Day 5/24/2016
"Well, if the employees don't have it already, they don't have to do it. But if an employer, and you're working for someone, and it's your loved one… we're talking about a loved one… whether it's your own son that has to go to… maybe has to go to Mayo's for a checkup that there's, you know, a really big illness. You can use that time to take your loved one. We're talking about loved ones here in your immediate family."
"Andy, I no… have no doubt, but this is… you're mandating something that frankly is between an employer and employee. And in many instances…"
"It's not a mandate."
"It's not a mandate?"
"It's not a mandate. If they don't have it, they don't have to do it."
"So, what it… what is it they have to have so that an employer must do it, then? What… what…"
"The… if…"
"…pacificates this becoming effective and a requirement?"
"The employer, if he does not have sick time, he does not have to do it."
"All right. But if he does have sick time, then it is a mandate, correct?"
"If he has sick time, they can use it for their loved one. So…"
"Right. But that means it's a requirement. So, if they have sick time for their employees, it is now a requirement. And you have a learned counsel to your right and she can… I 09900135.docx 23 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 135th Legislative Day 5/24/2016 think it's a mandate, if there's a… if there's a sick provision."
"Yeah. The mandate…"
"Okay."
"…if there… if there…"
"You're using… you're using that word. Okay. So, it is a mandate if there is a…"
"No. And if it's…"
"…policy in effect?"
"It's… it's up to their sick time that they have. So, they can… they can limit their sick time within a six-month period. So, the employer still has that capability to do that and say, hey, you could have two weeks or you… you can only have a week of sick time. Within that week, you can use it as your loved one."
"To the Bill. Ladies and Gentlemen, this may be a perfect example of stretching things too far, mandating too much, another… you know, big government knows better for small gov… for small companies and for employers. If you have a sick leave policy, you now have a requirement that it be extended. And that may be the right thing to do in our heart of hearts, but that's really in the… the sanctity of the employer, employment relationship. And in often cases, may be the subject of something done if there's a collective bargaining arrangement. This shouldn't be done at this level. It's to discourage, frankly, employers from having sick leave policies that can be stretched too thin. It's, again, a bridge too far. In all things that we do right here, this is in the 09900135.docx 24 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 135th Legislative Day 5/24/2016 category of well-intended but not well thought through. Vote 'no'."
"Chair recognizes Representative Franks."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"He indicates that he will."
"I'm trying to figure this out as well 'cause I see House Amendment #1 and House Amendment #2 were adopted. But #3 would take away the… the opposition. Can I ask why we're not adopting #3? What… what's your personal problem with it?"
"It is… it is going over to the Senate with Senator Collins. And they… they said they will be working on that when it goes over to the Senate."
"Okay."
"Continue working with… on the Bill over there."
"Okay. I'm just wondering why we don't and we're… only because time is short and if #3 would take away the opposition of everyone, I'm not sure why we just don't do it now. If your goal is to get it passed, I'm concerned that when you send it over and ask for them to send it back and fix it, that we're going to run out of time. So, if you want to get this implemented, I would think that you'd probably want to accept the Amendment now and move it back to Second, get the Amendment on and I think you would probably get the support of everyone on that side of the aisle."
"Would… Representative Franks, the… the opp… the opp… the opponents will then, you know, vote against the entire Bill, which I don't think the entire Bill wants… you don't want to crush the entire Bill do to the fact that I think this is a… this is a good Bill for… for the… for the right reasons." 09900135.docx 25 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 135th Legislative Day 5/24/2016
"No, I get that. I get that. And I understand you're on the right track here. My concern, though, on House Amendment #3. That would limit the power of Home Rule units from regulating personal sick leave benefits, and leave this to the exclusive power of the state, correct? Do you have a problem with that… with that idea? That's what I'm just wondering. Whose Amendment was #3?"
"That's IRMA's Amendment."
"Okay. Do you have a problem with that Amendment? Are you not… when you say it's going to work out… be worked on in the Senate…"
"I just think it's going to cause some issues with the Home Rule."
"Okay. That's… I wasn't sure. Okay. So, what… what's the…"
"Absolutely."
"The underlying Bill as amended with Amendments 1 and 2 would not require an employer to implement a sick policy leave, correct?"
"Correct."
"It would only say that if you have a sick policy leave, then these enumerated individuals would be able to be cared after by… by someone who was taking sick leave, correct?"
"Correct."
"Okay. So, let's assume an employer has… gives you five days of sick leave for the year. And then, you have a sick father-in-law, and are going to take care of your sick father- in-law and you spend more than five days. So, during those first five days, the employer would probably pay you for your time because that'd be an accrued benefit, correct?" 09900135.docx 26 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 135th Legislative Day 5/24/2016
"Correct."
"But then after that, if you were continued to take care of your sick father-in-law, what would happen to the employee? Would the employee then be subject to dismissal, or would the employee then still be able to keep the job but not being able to be paid?"
"Well, you… from my… my understanding is you… you can't use more… you're not going to add sick time to it. They're not going to add in more sick time. You could use the FLMA and… and approach your employer and see if that would work, but you're not going to get any more sick time."
"Now, will… will this affect… I'm glad you brought that up. Will this affect the FMLA, the Family Medical Leave Act?"
"Absolutely not."
"Okay. So, under FMLA, how much time can employees take off to treat a sick family member?"
"I think it's six months."
"That… that long?"
"Twelve weeks, 12 weeks."
"Twelve weeks."
"Sorry."
"Okay. So, it's 12 weeks… is about three months."
"Yes."
"Okay. Now, under the FMLA, are the same folks… are the same family members enumerated in FMLA as you are enumerating in this Bill?"
"Yes."
"So, it's not an extension of FMLA; it's a codification of FMLA. Is that what you're saying?" 09900135.docx 27 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 135th Legislative Day 5/24/2016
"Yes."
"Okay. 'Cause that's what I was trying to figure out. So, what you're basically doing then is keeping the State Law on the same level as the Federal Law, in allowing folks to take off during sick leave, for the same folks who'd be able to take off for FMLA?"
"Yes, absolutely."
"Okay. Thank you very much."
"Thank you."
"Chair recognizes Representative Kay."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Would the Sponsor yield for a few questions?"
"Sponsor indicates that he will yield."
"Thank you. Representative, I'm curious. Does your Bill, or the intention of your Bill, supersede Federal Law?"
"No, it does not."
"Does it stack on to Federal Law?"
"If you have sick leave as an employer. If you don't have it, it doesn't, because you don't have sick leave."
"Okay. So…"
"You don't have to add it."
"So, why wouldn't you just take FMLA to begin with? Isn't that what it's for?"
"Well, you have sick time that you've earned. And I feel that you… since you've earned it, you worked it and you earned it, why can't you use that for a loved one? It's your sick time. You can use it the way… an employer… it's your sick time; you earned it." 09900135.docx 28 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 135th Legislative Day 5/24/2016
"Well, why… why not use vacation time then? You've earned that."
"We're talking about sick time here, though. We're not talking…"
"Well…"
"…vacation time."
"…we're… we're…"
"It's totally different. It's totally different. Sick time is totally different than your vacation time."
"Well, you're talking about trying to keep your job in the workplace by providing days of care to someone in your family, and that's exactly what FMLA is for. So, what you're saying…"
"We…"
"…I think you're saying and maybe… correct me if I'm wrong… but you're saying, well, I'd like this leave time here, and then I'd like to take FMLA, and I'd also like a personal day and I'd like vacation time. And pretty soon, we have no employee at work."
"We could do a trailer Bill or a trailer on that… with vacation time, if you want to do that?"
"Well, it seems to me that if you're going to run a Bill like this, then you… you take away the obvious time that a person could use to do what you're doing and that would be a personal day. It would include a vacation days, because you're still, on those days, being paid a salary as well as help welfare and pension. So, I don't… I don't know exactly why we're running this Bill."
"Well…"
"It seems backward to me." 09900135.docx 29 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 135th Legislative Day 5/24/2016
"I feel we're running this Bill because if you have a loved one that you really, really care about, we reach into our hearts and we tear… we care for our loved ones 'cause we're not always here forever. And the… these people are very close to us and very important to us. And I think everyone in this General Assembly would say, you're my family, you're part of my heart and that's why you take a day off and say, hey, we're going to use my personal day to be with my loved one."
"Thank you, Representative. To the Bill. It's my… I guess it's my belief that we already have sufficient laws that are set out and have been set out since 1990 to take care of this very situation. And if not that, we have vacation and personal days. So, I think this is… it's been stated before maybe… it's… it's a Bill too far. I just think it's a Bill that's not necessary, and I would certainly find it very hard to support this Bill. Thank you, Mr. Speaker."
"Chair recognizes Representative Breen."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"He indicates that he will."
"All right. Representative, I just want to get clear. You had said that this was the same as Family Medical Leave Act, but to be clear, Family Medical Leave Act is unpaid. This will be paid, correct?"
"This is the stuff that you've already earned. It's paid sick leave. I mean, it's paid sick leave that you… that can use…"
"Well, and Representative, I… what… where have you worked where this was the way it was done, that you could use your 09900135.docx 30 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 135th Legislative Day 5/24/2016 sick leave for a grandchild sickness or a father-in-law sickness or what have you?"
"I called my local businesses and asked my advisory committee on… my business advisory committee. And many of the businesses in my… business communities in my area, have it in place right now, and you can use it for your child."
"And that's good that… that they've decided and other businesses have not, but the issue is that the Family Medical Leave Act already provides unpaid leave for this not paid leave for this. So, it's not… this is not FMLA,"
"But if you have a cancer patient or my father's been in cancer treatments for three years, or for a full year, and you're already out of your FMLA, wouldn't you want to still be with your dad if he's dying and he asked you to go up and get his cancer treatment?"
"Well, except… The whole point of sick leave is for the sickness of the employee, so they can get better and come back. They have personal days; they have vacation days or other issues. And you know, the… the other issue that we run into is mo… many modern employers use paid time off. And so, now you're mandating that folks use… you know, change the way that they're dealing with their paid time off to deal with these other issues."
"Representative…"
"Let me also, just, you know, real quick. This had come up in committee. If you have an employment contract that designates why sick leave can be paid, how… how is your Bill going to be able legally to modify that employment contract?"
"Sick leave is sick leave. It'll apply to anything." 09900135.docx 31 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 135th Legislative Day 5/24/2016
"Well, you can't…"
"I mean, if your son was sick…"
"…but you can't modify…"
"…if your son was sick, would… how would you take…"
"Right."
"…how would you take off?"
"The… the problem is if it's my sickness, that's what it's provided for, how do you then legally…"
"What do you do…"
"…under the contract's clause of the Illinois or U.S. Constitutions, change the collective bargaining agreement that's already been entered into, or an employment contract that's already been entered into?"
"Sick leave is sick leave."
"Right. It's not what you're trying to call it here. It's not… it's a different thing. You've created a new class of leave."
"It's still sick leave. It's just applied different."
"So, you believe that your Bill can modify existing collective bargaining agreements?"
"It's not modifying anything. You're just still using sick leave."
"Your Bill… so, just to be clear, is your Bill intended to modify existing collective bargaining agreements and employment contracts?"
"No, it's not."
"So, a collective bargaining agreement would not be modified by the language of your Bill as you read it?"
"No." 09900135.docx 32 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 135th Legislative Day 5/24/2016
"Well, I guess that has to be the basis for that then. I mean, which is it?"
"It's not changing anything in the contract."
"It's changing something that is defined in a different way. You're changing a definition under a contract."
"It's defined as sick leave."
"Which means… which from time at memorial has meant something different than what you're trying to accomplish here with this Bill."
"No, I don't think so."
"To the Bill. You know, I'm going to renew my call that this Body stop passing antibusiness Bills, maybe take off the rest of the term. We've only got nine more days or you know, a few more days. Just… just stop attacking Illinois businesses. Maybe we can send the signal we don't want you all to move to Wisconsin or Iowa or Florida or Texas. It'd just be nice. This… this is an unnecessary Bill. And please vote 'no'."
"Chair recognizes Representative Wallace."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"Sponsor will yield."
"Thank you for bringing forth this piece of legislation. We just heard lots of discussion about the business owner, the business, but we don't hear a lot about the worker. And so, this Bill will allow for a parent, who has a sick… sick child, to take sick leave?"
"Yes."
"And it will allow for an individual who has an ailing parent or loved one to take sick leave to care for them?" 09900135.docx 33 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 135th Legislative Day 5/24/2016
"Absolutely."
"And then we know that there are children who end up in like foster… foster care with maybe a grandparent. So, a grandparent could stay home and take care of a grandchild that may be sick?"
"Absolutely."
"Okay. Do you know the percentage of workers in Illinois or the percentage of households that are single head of household… the percentage of households that are headed by single moms?"
"Probably very high."
"One in five. And the average low-wage worker is a 35- year-old female single head of household. And so, I know I often speak about these issues in terms of the discrepancies that occur where female workers are concerned, but I think it's very important, because it keeps people trapped into a cycle of poverty. The loss of a job or the loss of wages would do that, but having the opportunity to stay home with a loved one, who is sick and still be able to return to your job so you can provide for them is extremely important. And for that I think if… To the Bill. This is good policy. This is a policy that is going to put the worker first. And I hope that everyone in this chamber will find it in there… in there heart, in their mind to think about those of us who get up and go to work every day, sometimes two or three jobs, to be able to make ends meet. And just one day of lost wages could be the difference between being able to buy groceries or pay your bills or pay your rent. And I think that we really need 09900135.docx 34 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 135th Legislative Day 5/24/2016 to consider that when we are taking this vote. And for that, I encourage an 'aye' vote and thank you to the Sponsor."
"Chair recognizes Representative Andersson."
"Man… thank you, Mr. Speaker. Question of the Sponsor."
"Sponsor will yield."
"Representative Skoog, I want to go back to a couple of questions that you were asked by the Representative from McHenry. It's my understanding that… that you believe that the Bill essentially parrots the Family Medical Leave Act. Is that correct?"
"Naturally, yes."
"Yes. Okay. But there is one difference in my reading of the Bill and that is what level of employer it covers. The Family Medical Leave Act covers employers with 50 or more employees. Your Bill doesn't have any such limitation, does it?"
"No… no. It covers every employer that offers sick leave. If you don't off…"
"Co… correct. Your Bill covers every employer who offers sick leave…"
"Yes."
"…but Family and Medical Leave Act, the federal Bill, only applies to employers with 50 or more employees, correct?"
"Correct. So, small businesses that don't have Family Medical Leave, or they don't have currently sick time, they're not going to have to mandate this, because they don't have… they don't have it now they don't have to do it."
"Well, if it's a small business that has sick time, they do, right?" 09900135.docx 35 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 135th Legislative Day 5/24/2016
"Absolutely."
"Okay. So, there is a fundamental difference between Family Medical Leave Act and your Bill which is who it covers. And so, to… speaking to the Bill, I think that's the important distinction to make. If this were doing the same thing as Family and Medical Leave Act that might be one thing, because larger businesses can more easily absorb this sort of absence. However, small businesses have been specifically exempted out, that's been a carefully considered policy at the federal level for many years, and I don't think it's appropriate to upset that balance. Small businesses are… you know, have a lot tougher time to survive. If they want to offer this sort of thing, they should be allowed to and they are, but we don't need to mandate it. I'd urge a 'no' vote. Thank you."
"The Chair recognizes Representative Flowers."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Gentleman yield?"
"Sponsor will yield."
"Okay. Sir, your legislation, is it a paid sick leave?"
"Yes, it is."
"Okay."
"That they have earned."
"And so, is this sick leave, would this be a part of the employees' bargaining? This is theirs… it belongs to the employee."
"Yes."
"And so, if I have sick leave or vacation time, is that mine?"
"Absolutely." 09900135.docx 36 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 135th Legislative Day 5/24/2016
"Okay. And so, if I were to take a vacation and I get sick and I'm on vacation for a week, did I do something illegal, because I took a vacation and I became ill, or if I took a vacation and I wanted to take care of my mother-in- law, or I wanted to be with my grandchild because she's ill, but I told my employee… employer I was going on vacation? Did I do something wrong? Did I say something wrong?"
"No. I'm sorry."
"So, in other words, it's my vacation and I can do what I want to do, right, as long as I'm within compliance and if I return within the time that's due back. It's mine. And so, I'm just trying to figure out what is it about the sick leave… what am I missing in this conversation, because the sick leave does belong to the employee?"
"Absolutely."
"And so, if that employee happens to take their sick time, that's rightfully theirs that they've earned, because the employer's just not giving it to them. They earn that time. And if they want to use that time to take care of their loved one, is… is… why should that be a problem, and is that what your Bill's doing? Is that… am I right about what this Bill is doing?"
"Yes, you're right."
"Okay. To the Bill. You know, Ladies and Gentlemen, each and every last one of us that ran for office, guess what we said to all of our constituents that would listen to us. We said to them, your family matters. We're going to do everything that we can in the State of Illinois to make your life better. We want to fund education. We want to provide, 09900135.docx 37 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 135th Legislative Day 5/24/2016 to make sure, that in the absence of a job, that there's some benefits. You get hurt, there's some benefits. In the absence of whatever it is, we said that family matters. We talk about family value. Well, where is the family value, because this Gentleman want to pass legislation that would entitle employees to sick leave? Now, under the Medical Family Leave Act, you are entitled to not 12 weeks, but 12 months. And you get that 12 months because there's a law out there that says if you work 'x' amount of hours this is what you're entitled to. And you can get your job when you return. And this is the same principle. He is asking merely that for those jobs maybe that don't offer family sick leave because of the… an amount of employees that's included that we are asking that families be allowed to take care of other family members, if it's necessary. They should not have to lose their homes. They should not have to lose their… lose any type of benefits because they want to take care of a family member. That's all. Just take care of a family member. Can we not make families a priority in this state? At least make the families a priority. That's the reason why they're going to work every day, to provide a roof over their heads, food on the table, and make sure that they are okay. And how would you expect an employee to go to work knowing that they left their loved ones at home sick and they can become sicker because we left them home alone. With all due respect, for all of us who have loved ones at home, I would really humbly, respectfully appreciate an 'aye' vote for House Bill 6162. And let's send a message to everyone that the State of Illinois General Assembly know that our families matters because they have 09900135.docx 38 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 135th Legislative Day 5/24/2016 made a many of sacrifices so that we can be where we are. Please send a message that our family matters. Thank you. I would appreciate an 'aye' vote."
Speaker Turner: "Members, there are many people seeking recognition on this Bill. Please try to keep your comments and questions as brief as possible or we're going to move to a two-minute timer. The Chair recognizes Representative Ives."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To the Bill. So, we've had a lot of impassioned… speeches on this, but let's realize exactly what sick leave was about when it was originally designed. Sick leave was about the individual employee… hey, listen, we don't want you coming to work sick and infecting others, so we're going to give you a paid sick day that is for yourself personally. It has since… expanded and I recognize that, but that was the original intent. It was for the employee to not come to work. We know you still need the money. We know it's important for you to work. We know that you're going to sacrifice your health and infect others by coming to work to get that paycheck, so we're going to give you a paid sick day. That was the original intent of sick leave. So, you can do all the Bills you want about sick leave, all day long, and you can make as impassioned speech as you want to about how it's necessary to do what you do. But here's what's going to happen in the marketplace. Companies are going to move to a… to a situation where they say, guess what, you get three weeks leave; that's it; that's all you get. You do what you want with it, whether it's vacation, personal day, sick time, whatever you want to do with it. That's all you get. That's 09900135.docx 39 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 135th Legislative Day 5/24/2016 what they're going to go to, because you're mandating this on them that they use… that they use their resources as a way that you want them to do, and not the way their business model requires them to do to make a profit. So, go ahead, pass your Bill, but companies are going to do exactly what I said. Vote 'no'."
"Chair recognizes Representative Ammons."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"Sponsor will yield."
"I will be very brief. I just wanted to clarify because there's so much going on here around this Bill. Does the employee earn additional time under your Bill?"
"No."
"So, they don't get a increase in personal time either."
"No."
"And FMLA does not apply to your Bill, so they're not going to take 12 weeks off?"
"No."
"To the Bill. I believe we sometimes lose sight in this great Assembly of what we're actually trying to do when we're passing legislation. In this Bill, we're trying to address what is already statistically known in the United States, and certainly not an exception to Illinois, that families are considerably more… have illnesses… contract illnesses that we may not have gotten 10 years ago, and children tend to bring things home that they may not have gotten from home, from day cares, and the like. We also have a very elderly population, an aging population, that can't be ignored in this scenario. So, because the Bill does not increase accrual time, so even 09900135.docx 40 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 135th Legislative Day 5/24/2016 small businesses that may offer this that the employee doesn't get any more time whether they're sick or their child is sick. This actually is a good Bill for business. As a former business owner, I would not want an employee to have to leave their child at home with someone else who is sick at the time, and they can use their own personal time… they're not getting any more… they're not earning any more money, and they're not accruing any more time by using that personal time for a child or an elderly parent. This is a very reasonable Bill. It's a good business Bill because you're not making… you're not giving them any more money. They're only going to use what they already have. And so, to that point, I encourage an 'aye' vote. And I encourage it for business owners as well, because there's no separation, it shouldn't be, between the business owner and the employee that they care about. I think they care about them. So, if you care about an employee, you want them to be able to take care of their family needs as well through the course of their service with you. And so, I encourage an 'aye' vote on House Bill 6162."
"Chair recognizes Representative Greg Harris." Harris, G.: "To the Bill, Ladies and Gentlemen. You know, I also rise in support of this legislation 'cause when I… I heard this debate and I thought, you know, what… what is this mandate we're imposing on employers that does not exist. You know, what are we forcing people to give their employees that they don't already have and the answer is nothing. What we are asking businesses to do is to give their employees a little flexibility… a little flexibility with time and… that they've already earned under that employee's policy, to take 09900135.docx 41 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 135th Legislative Day 5/24/2016 care not only of themselves, but also an aged parent or a grandparent or a child. I mean, this seems like such basic humanity and common sense, Ladies and Gentlemen. This is not a mandate. This is not an added cost. Please vote 'yes'."
"Leader Lang."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"Indicates that he will."
"Thank you. Representative, how are you today?"
"I'm wonderful."
"Good. So, let's… let's go through some of this Bill. So, if a person wants to take sick days for these purposes and doesn't have any, are they allowed to take extra days?"
"No."
"No, I didn't think so. And if they use their sick days up for any purpose, are they allowed to get more?"
"No."
"No, I didn't think so. And if an employer has no sick day policy at all and employees are not given sick days, do they get extra days as a result of this Bill?"
"Absolutely not."
"No, I didn't think so. And… and are there people now that have sick days that call in sick when they're not sick because they have family things to attend to and they can't tell the employer the truth so they lie and they say they're sick just 'cause they have to?"
"I'm sure that happens."
"Yes, I thought so. And so does everybody else in this room. Mr. Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen, I heard one of the more incredible things I've ever heard on the House Floor, and 09900135.docx 42 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 135th Legislative Day 5/24/2016 I've heard a lot, coming from the other side of the aisle, one Member who said that sick days were created to protect employers. Really? Sick days were created to protect employers. Yes, I know, I know. We don't want sick people at the workplace, but that's not why sick days are created. Sick days are created because people get sick and sometimes they have to stay home and take care of themselves, so they can get back to work and be productive at work. This… sick days were not created to help employers. They were helped to… created to help people on the job. You heard… you heard Mr. Skoog's answers to my questions. It doesn't cost employers any more money. It doesn't require them to create more sick days. If a person's used up their sick days, they still can't get more. And we all know this to be true, if a person needs a day off for whatever reason and they have sick days, they will call in sick. So, what is the fiction that says this is somehow going to hurt employers? It's nonsense. And it's just a bunch of stuff made up so that people can stand on the House Floor and pretend they care about the business community. Well, we all care about the business community, but if employers don't want people to have sick days, if they don't want him to have days off, they should change their policies and say to their employees, you don't get sick days; we're not giving you personal time; you don't get time off, don't take holidays off. They can have whatever policy they want. This doesn't cost employers a dime. Vote for the Bill."
"Representative Skoog to close."
"Thank you, Speaker. Thank you, House. House Bill 6162, the Employees Sick Act. We have to reach into our hearts and 09900135.docx 43 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 135th Legislative Day 5/24/2016 do the right thing. Is taking care of your child, your spouse, your sibling, your loved ones. It is not a mandate. And as a former business owner who went out and talked to many businesses in my community, talked to my local Chamber of Commerce, and they said very good Bill, I feel that we all should get together and show of some consideration for our employees in the workforce that you can take care of your loved ones 'cause they're a part of yourself. I vote… I think we shall need an 'aye' vote on this. And it's a very good Bill. Thank you very much, Speaker."
"The question is, 'Shall House Bill 6162 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, please take the record. On a count of 78 voting 'yes', 35 voting 'no', and 0 voting 'present', House Bill 6162, having received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Representative Brady, for what reason do you rise?"
"Point of personal privilege, Mr. Speaker."
"Please proceed, Sir."
"Thank you very much. Two points of personal privilege. Ladies and Gentlemen, please join me in welcoming to Springfield, first off, my Page for the day today, which is Carter Fairfield from Kingsley Junior High School back in my Legislative District. And also some good friends from Bloomington, Buddy Concklin and his wife Ellen Schroeder- Concklin, up there in the gallery to my right. Please give them a nice round of applause and welcome them to Springfield." 09900135.docx 44 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 135th Legislative Day 5/24/2016
"Thank you and welcome to your Capitol. Members on Senate Bill… Senate Bills under Third Reading, we have Senate Bill 140, Representative Brady. Senate Bill 140, Representative Brady. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."
"Senate Bill 140, a Bill for an Act concerning business. Third Reading of this Senate Bill."
"Representative Brady."
"Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Ladies and Gentlemen of the House, Senate Bill 140 just simply seeks to clarify in a manufacturing side of things a… excuse me… a small change in statute that affected small companies and was brought to me by Cummins industry in my Legislative District. And I'd be happy to answer any questions here as soon as I get the Bill up. Thank you."
"Seeing no debate, the question is, 'Shall Senate Bill 140 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, please take the record. On a count of 114 voting 'yes', 0 voting 'no', 0 voting 'present', Senate Bill 140, having received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Senate Bill 210, Representative Bourne. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."
"Senate Bill 210, a Bill for an Act concerning criminal law. Third Reading of this Senate Bill."
"Representative Bourne."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Senate Bill 210 creates the Bath Salts Prohibition Act. It's an initiative of my local sheriff and state's attorney. It simply gives additional tools for 09900135.docx 45 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 135th Legislative Day 5/24/2016 them to battle with the growing problem in rural areas of the state, in my district specifically, with the use of… use of bath salts which are synthetic drugs not related to the bath salts you use from like Bed, Bath & Beyond. It specifically targets retailers. This Bill is a small fix. There's certainly is a lot more to do… passed unanimously through the Senate. And I would ask for your 'yes' vote, and I'm open to any questions."
"Seeing no debate, the question is, 'Shall Senate Bill 210 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, please take the record. On a count of 114 voting 'yes', 0 voting 'no', 0 voting 'present', Senate Bill 210, having received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Senate Bill 211, Representative Cabello. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."
"Senate Bill 211, a Bill for an Act concerning criminal law. Third Reading of this Senate Bill."
"Representative Cabello."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Ladies and Gentlemen of the House, this is the same Bill as what we passed on the House side. Provides that a photocopy of United States currency is deemed to be a competent evidence in a court of law. This is an agreed upon Bill. No opposition. I'd appreciate an 'aye' vote."
"Seeing no debate, the question is, 'Shall Senate Bill 211 pass?' All in favor vote 'aye'; all opposed vote 'nay'. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all 09900135.docx 46 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 135th Legislative Day 5/24/2016 voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, please take the record. On a count of 114 voting 'yes', 0 voting 'no', 0 voting 'present', Senate Bill 211, having received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Senate Bill 212, Representative Fine. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."
"Senate Bill 212, a Bill for an Act concerning criminal law. Third Reading of this Senate Bill."
"Representative Fine."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Members of the House. SB 212 amends the Cannabis Control Act. What this does is right now if there's property seized, or money taken during a drug bust, that money is divided between the State's Attorneys Office and police departments. And what this Bill does is it allows the State's Attorneys Office or the police department to use these funds for things like drug education and drug prevention."
"Seeing no debate, the question is, 'Shall Senate Bill 212 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, please take the record. On a count of 114 voting 'yes', 0 voting 'no', 0 voting 'present', Senate Bill 212, having received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Senate Bill 232, Representative Andrade. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."
"Senate Bill 232, a Bill for an Act concerning education. Third Reading of this Senate Bill."
"Representative Andrade." 09900135.docx 47 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 135th Legislative Day 5/24/2016
"Thank you, Chairman. Ladies and Gentlemen, this is… it's a very simple Bill. It passed the Senate unanimously. Provides that a student shall be classified as a resident of a community college district if they are currently residing in the district, and are youth currently under the legal guardianship of DCFS, or have recently been emancipated by… from DCFS or have previously met residency requirements but had a placement change into a new community college district. Students who fixed the bulk prerequisites are not subject to the 30-day register requirements that the general population must abide by."
"Seeing no debate, the question is, 'Shall Senate Bill 232 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, please take the record. On a count of 113 voting 'yes', 0 voting 'no', 0 voting 'present', Senate Bill 232, having received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Senate Bill 42, Representative Lilly. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill. Out of the record. Senate Bill 238, Representative Chapa LaVia. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."
"Senate Bill 238, a Bill for an Act concerning education. Third Reading of this Senate Bill."
"Representative Chapa LaVia."
"Hi, Speaker, Members of the House. It provides funding ramp to allocate additional funds for early childhood block grant into the birth to three education programs. Under the current law, the State Board of Education would have an allocation that entire… or early childhood education block 09900135.docx 48 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 135th Legislative Day 5/24/2016 grant increases in FY15 to '16 towards birth to three programs to meet statutory requirements. I'll take any questions."
"Seeing no debate, the question is, 'Shall Senate Bill 238 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, please take the record. On a count of 114 voting 'yes', 0 voting 'no', 0 voting 'present', Senate Bill 238, having received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Senate Bill 320, Representative Feigenholtz. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."
"Senate Bill 320, a Bill for an Act concerning government. Third Reading of this Senate Bill."
"Representative Feigenholtz."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This Bill is a… forms a task force that begins to look at some very, very serious problems that we have in Illinois around youth arrested with mental health disorders. There was an Amendment on it to make our Republican counterparts equal partners on this task force because I know they have an extraordinary interest in collaborating and helping get to 'yes' on this. I'm happy to answer any questions."
"Seeing no debate, the question is, 'Shall Senate Bill 320 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? Representative Ammons, Franks, Stewart, Lilly. Mr. Clerk, please take the record. On a count of 77 voting 'yes', 34 voting 'no', 0 voting 'present', Senate Bill 320, having received the 09900135.docx 49 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 135th Legislative Day 5/24/2016 Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Senate Bill 462, Representative Andrade. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."
"Senate Bill 462, a Bill for an Act concerning regulation. Third Reading of this Senate Bill."
"Representative Andrade."
"Thank you. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen, Senate Bill 462 is an agreed Bill that provides that persons may be licensed as hearing instrument dispensers after completing education requirements with a program deemed equivalent by the Department of Public Health to such standards which exist under current law. And it also adds instrument dispensers to the list in current law will make certify that a person has a hearing or a speech disability. I respectfully request an 'aye' vote."
"Seeing no debate, the question is, 'Shall Senate Bill 462 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, please take the record. On a count of 114 voting 'yes', 0 voting 'no', 0 voting 'present', Senate Bill 462, having received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Senate Bill 466, Representative McAuliffe. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."
"Senate Bill 466, a Bill for an Act concerning regulation. Third Reading of this Senate Bill."
"Representative McAuliffe."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker and Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. Senate Bill 46… 466 would provide that insurance 09900135.docx 50 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 135th Legislative Day 5/24/2016 plans and Medicaid shall cover breast tomosynthesis unless the federal CMS considers this coverage to be a mandate. I'd be happy to answer any questions and hope for its passage."
"Seeing no debate, the question is, 'Shall Senate Bill 466 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, please take the record. On a count of 114 voting 'yes', 0 voting 'no', 0 voting 'present', Senate Bill 466, having received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Senate Bill 579, Representative Hernandez. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."
"Senate Bill 579, a Bill for an Act concerning State Government. Third Reading of this Senate Bill."
"Representative Hernandez."
"Thank you, Speaker and Members of the House. Senate Bill 579. The Bill relates to the governance of student members of the Board of Trustees of public universities. Currently, student members of the Board of Trustees of public universities have full… full voting rights and privileges on all matters, and they may attend executive session. An exception though to these voting rights involves matters that are a direct conflict. And for example, that would be faculty members' tenure and their promotions. That would be considered conflicts of interest. However, the university President and Chancellor are not considered faculty, and student members of the Board of Trustees may vote on those issues of employment and compensation. This is current law. 09900135.docx 51 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 135th Legislative Day 5/24/2016 The Bill just simply codifies that. I ask for your 'aye' vote."
"On that, we have Representative Franks."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"She indicates that she will."
"Representative, right now how are trustees appointed or are they elected?"
"They… they are appointed by the Governor."
"And what about the student trustee? Is the student trustee also appointed by the Governor?"
"No. My understanding is, no, they're not."
"Okay. So, what does this Bill do then?"
"So, the Bill simply codifies… the reason why we have this Bill is that there was a report given that there was a President at one of the universities that was trying to make the case that it was a conflict of interest."
"To have a student trustee? Wouldn't it be easier to just fire the President?"
"So, I hope I made it clear. The… the report was that the student was… the President was looking to remove the student from voting. So, yeah, I understand your…"
"Yeah. I mean, I don't understand what these trustees do anyway. None of them said a word when we just cut their funding by 72 percent. Where were they? Where are these trustees when we know that the administration has grown by 31 percent, and they don't do anything to cut it? Why do we even need these trustees? Perhaps a better Bill would be to get rid of them all. Perhaps a better Bill may be to have some elected. Maybe we should have an elected State Superintendent 09900135.docx 52 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 135th Legislative Day 5/24/2016 of Education, so it's not a rubber stamp. Maybe we should have these guys elected 'cause I can't tell what the hell they do. Because they were… their… their silence when we cut their budget 72 percent was deafening, deafening. And they've done nothing about it, and they've done nothing about fixing the problems of the administration. I think we should amend this Bill and fire all of them. I understand what you're trying to do, but we're rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic here. We're playing around with Band-Aids on bullet holes. I understand what you're trying to do, but frankly, we should redo the whole system here, because these guys aren't doing their job and they ought to be ashamed of themselves."
"Representative Hernandez to close."
"Thank you. I hope to see that Representative Franks introduces a Bill. I ask for your 'aye' vote."
"The question is, 'Shall Senate Bill 579 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, please take the record. On a count of 95 voting 'yes', 16 voting 'no', 1 voting 'present', Senate Bill 579, having received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Senate Bill 399, Representative Zalewski. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."
"Senate Bill 399, a Bill for an Act concerning liquor. Third Reading of this Senate Bill."
"Representative Zalewski."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This Bill creates parity with municipal-owned libraries in that it allows for a library… a 09900135.docx 53 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 135th Legislative Day 5/24/2016 library district to apply for a permit to host receptions that involve alcohol. I'd ask for an 'aye' vote."
"Seeing no debate, the question is, 'Shall Senate Bill 399 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, please take the record. On a count of 68 voting 'yes', 43 voting 'no', 0 voting 'present', Senate Bill 399, having received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Senate Bill 805, Leader Currie. Out of the record. On page 2 of the Calendar… I'm sorry. On page 10 of the Calendar, we have Senate Bill 2216, under Second Reading. Representative Hoffman. Out of the record. Senate Bill 2929, Representative Rita. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."
"Senate Bill 2929, a Bill for an Act concerning public aid. Second Reading of this Senate Bill. Amendment #2 was adopted in committee. No Floor Amendments. No Motions are filed."
"Third Reading. Senate Bill 2196, Representative Hernandez. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."
"Senate Bill 2196, a Bill for an Act concerning education. Second Reading of this Senate Bill. No Committee Amendments. No Floor Amendments. No Motions are filed."
"Third Reading. House Bill 2736, Representative Arroyo. Would you like to move this to Third Reading? Out of the record. On page 17 of the Calendar, under the Order of Resolutions, we have House Resolution 1014, Representative Ford. Mr. Clerk." 09900135.docx 54 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 135th Legislative Day 5/24/2016
"Floor Amendment #1, offered by Representative Ford, has been approved for consideration."
"Representative Ford on Floor Amendment #1 to House Resolution 1014."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move to adopt House Floor Amendment #1. It simply changes the date for Child Care Awareness Week to this week."
"Gentleman moves for the adoption of Floor Amendment #1 to House Resolution 1014. All in favor say 'aye'; all opposed say 'nay'. In the opinion of the Chair, the 'ayes' have it. And the Amendment is adopted. Mr. Clerk."
"No further Amendments. No Motions are filed."
"Representative Ford."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move for the passage of House Resolution 1014 calling for this week to be Child Care Awareness Week."
"Seeing no debate, the Gentleman moves for the adoption of House Resolution 1014. All in favor say 'aye'; all opposed say 'nay'. In the opinion of the Chair, the 'ayes' have it. And the Resolution is adopted. On page 2 of the Calendar on the House Bills on Second Reading. We have House Bill 5210, Representative Gordon-Booth. Out of the record. Under Senate Bills on Third Reading, page 5 of the Calendar, we have 20… Senate Bill 2167, Representative Moylan."
"Senate Bill 2167, a Bill for an Act concerning criminal law. Third Reading of this Senate Bill."
"Representative Moylan."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Senate Bill 2167 creates the offense of false presentation. This offense occurs when 09900135.docx 55 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 135th Legislative Day 5/24/2016 someone obtains money, property, or other benefits by falsely representing him or herself as an active duty or veteran service member. False presentation is a petty offense punishable by a fine of at least a hundred but not more than $200. And I respectfully ask for an 'aye' vote."
"Seeing no debate, the question is, 'Shall Senate Bill 2167 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, please take the record. On a count of 113 voting 'yes', 0 voting 'no', 0 voting 'present', Senate Bill 2167, having received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Senate Bill 2137, Representative Cabello. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."
"Senate Bill 2137, a Bill for an Act concerning education. Third Reading of this Senate Bill."
"Representative Cabello."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Ladies and Gentlemen of the House, Senate Bill 2137 provides that beginning with 2016- 2017 school year, teachers and students shall include, at least once every two years, instruction on the Federal Americans with Disabilities Act as it pertains to the school's environment. I would respectfully ask for a 'yes' vote."
"On that, we have Representative Franks."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"He indicates that he will."
"Our analysis, Representative, indicates that the Illinois State Board of Education and the Attorney General's Office are both neutral. Why do we need this Bill?" 09900135.docx 56 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 135th Legislative Day 5/24/2016
"Well, I would… I would suggest that it would be… since we want to make sure that all of our teachers and schools are up do date as to what and how they deal with our folks with special needs, this would be a good way of making sure that they're up to date on the newest and best practices."
"Does it necessarily need to be mandated? Would this be better off as a Resolution encouraging them to do it, because I'm not sure that a teacher's time is best used on learning a Federal Law? Perhaps that… this might be something better for administrators to become acquainted on, and then giving that information to the teachers, if necessary, but I would imagine that it would be the administrators… would be the one that would be implementing these… these provisions and not the teachers. So, I'm concerned as to why we'd require the teachers to be mandated… to have this mandate on them when they're not the ones who'd be implementing it."
"Thank you."
"Do you understand my concern?"
"I do."
"Have… have any teachers asked for this?"
"Not of me. They may have of the Senate Sponsor."
"Okay. And this… our… our proponent says it's a Sponsor initiative. What's the genesis of this Bill?"
"The Sponsor of the Senate, not me."
"Okay. I just don't understand why we're doing an unfunded mandate for… on teachers that they're not going to be the ones that are implementing this. So, why would we require them to have this mandate when they're not the ones who are dealing with it?" 09900135.docx 57 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 135th Legislative Day 5/24/2016
"We've had lots of unfunded mandates go through here. I…"
"I get it."
"…I don't think this is going to be that much more."
"Okay. Well, then to the Bill. I appreciate it. Ladies and Gentlemen, understand this is an unfunded mandate that doesn't do anything. And it's… and it's a mandate to individuals who shouldn't be mandated. If we're going to be doing a mandate, it should be individuals who are implementing the law not the ones who are going to be bystanders. I think this is… I… it… I'm sure it's… the Senate Sponsor was well- intentioned, but you know, we hear from our schools all the time about unfunded mandates, all the time. And here we are, about to vote on another one that won't do anything except cost the taxpayers money. Not a thing, nothing, not at all. An absolute waste of taxpayer money. An absolute waste of paper to put this on the Code. An absolute waste of a Bill. I would ask… ask all of us to absolutely vote 'no'."
"Representative McDermed is recognized."
"Thank you. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"The Sponsor indicates that he will yield."
"Representative, isn't it true that the genesis of the Bill was, in fact, a teacher's unawareness of the Americans with Disabilities Act that resulted in the teacher throwing a student and her service animal out of the school. Isn't that the genesis of the Bill not, in fact, some administrator misdeed but some actual teacher ignorance?" 09900135.docx 58 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 135th Legislative Day 5/24/2016
"I wouldn't… I don't want to go there. This… that may have been a different House Bill. This is a Senate Bill. I have not spoken to the Senate Sponsor to find out…"
"It's what the analysis says."
"…the genesis of what their Bill is."
"The Chair recognizes Representative Wallace."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"He indicates that he will."
"Thank you, Representative Cabello, for bringing this piece of legislation forward. I do understand the concern of unfunded mandates; however, we should make sure that those who are entrusted to educate our children have the best training possible and are able… and equipped to deal with all students no matter what their ability is. So, thank you for bringing this legislation. I encourage an 'aye' vote."
"Thank you."
"Chair recognizes Representative Bill Mitchell." Mitchell, B.: "Thank… thank you, Mr… Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Representative Cabello, I just wanted to remind you. I presented this Bill for you in committee and did a bang-up job. And urge the… urge the Body to support this."
"Representative Cabello to close."
"Thank you, Ladies and Gentlemen of the House. I do not believe this is going to be a very large burden. It could be 10, 15 minutes every two years. I know our good friend from McHenry County has also had committee meetings in Chicago that had… that have no outcome. So, I don't want to talk about the wasteful spending of this state. Thank you." 09900135.docx 59 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 135th Legislative Day 5/24/2016
"The question is, 'Shall Senate Bill 2137 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, please take the record. On a count of 96 voting 'yes', 16 voting 'no', 0 voting 'present', Senate Bill 2137, having received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Senate Bill 2160, Representative Bradley. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."
"Senate Bill 2160, a Bill for an Act concerning revenue. Third Reading of this Senate Bill."
"Mr. Bradley."
"Thank you. This is an initiative of the Illinois Farm Bureau. It would extend the assessment program for filter strips. Filter strips are vegetative strips of land which prevent soil erosion and allow for filtering on farmland. I know of no opposition to this. I would ask for an 'aye' vote."
"Seeing no debate, the question is, 'Shall Senate Bill 2160 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, please take the record. On a count of 113 voting 'yes', 0 voting 'no', 0 voting 'present', Senate Bill 2160, having received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Senate Bill 2174, Representative Breen. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."
"Senate Bill 2174, a Bill for an Act concerning education. Third Reading of this Senate Bill."
"Representative Breen." 09900135.docx 60 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 135th Legislative Day 5/24/2016
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We… we had a similar Bill earlier on community colleges. This is the leadership training for the public university board members. You know, unlike on the community college side, there is no opposition to this particular Bill. And it's something that we think would be a very good thing. It's… it's got pretty similar details to the prior. Getting proper training for these board members who are not elected is important and we need to… need them to know their contract law, ethics, sexual violence on campus and how to prevent it, financial oversight and accountability, audits, fiduciary responsibilities and the like. So, I… I know… again, know of no opposition and would urge an 'aye' vote."
"Seeing no debate, the question is, 'Shall Senate Bill 2174 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, please take the record. On a count of 112 voting 'yes', 1 voting 'no', 0 voting 'present', Senate Bill 2174, having received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Senate Bill 2204, Representative Hernandez. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."
"Senate Bill 2204, a Bill for an Act concerning education. Third Reading of this Senate Bill."
"Representative Hernandez."
"Thank you, Speaker and Members of the House. Senate Bill 2204 is an initiative of the University of Illinois. The Bill changes the University of Illinois Student Board of Trustees requirement from three to any of the current three. 09900135.docx 61 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 135th Legislative Day 5/24/2016 So, if a student has proof of residency for at least six months, or has proof of a valid Illinois driver's license, or has a proof of a valid Illinois voter registration card, any one of the three would allow students to be elected to the Board of Trustees. The University of Illinois is pushing for the initiative to encourage more student participation. I ask for your 'aye' vote."
"Chair recognizes Representative Ives."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Sponsor yield?"
"She indicates that she will."
"Does this then allow non… noncitizens to become a student trustee?"
"Currently, undocumented students are able to attend university… universities. So, yes, this would allow them to be part of the pool."
"So… Well, I understand that… that we have Chinese students all over the… we have people from all over the world attend our universities, but this would also then allow noncitizens to be a trustee of the university."
"These would be residents of the Illinois… of Illinois. These would be also students of the university just allowing them to be part of the pool. They still have to be elected."
"But yes or no, a noncitizen could become a member of the Board of Trustees."
"They have to be elected."
"That… I'm just asking yes or no…"
"I think that an…"
"…a noncitizen…"
"…I think that answers the question." 09900135.docx 62 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 135th Legislative Day 5/24/2016
"No, I want to hear. Can a noncitizen become a member of the tr… as a… of a tru… become a trustee?"
"As long as you're a resident of Illinois and a student of a university, this Bill will allow you to be elected a student trustee."
"And do those student trustees… are they given voting rights?"
"That's correct."
"So… so, noncitizens will have voting rights at our public universities, correct?"
"Student residents and students of the university…"
"My question is…"
"…will allow to vote."
"…noncitizens will have voting rights at our public institutions. Is that correct?"
"I think I answered your question, Representative."
"Okay. To the Bill. The answer is that noncitizens will have voting rights at our public institutions. I encourage a 'no' vote."
"Representative Hernandez to close."
"I ask for your 'aye' vote. Thank you."
"The question is, 'Shall Senate Bill 2204 pass?' All in favor vote 'aye'; all opposed vote 'nay'. The voting is open. Have all voted who wish? Have all voted who wish? Members please record yourselves. Have all voted who wish? Mr. Clerk, please take the record. On a count of 61 voting 'yes', 49 voting 'no', 0 voting 'present', Senate Bill 2204, having received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby 09900135.docx 63 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 135th Legislative Day 5/24/2016 declared passed. Senate Bill 2213, Representative Zalewski. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."
"Senate Bill 2213, a Bill for an Act concerning safety. Third Reading of this Senate Bill."
"Representative Zalewski."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Senate Bill 2213 is an initiative of the Illinois State Police. It amends the FOID Act to require that circuit clerk… clerks notify State Police if there was no mental health adjudications or involuntary admissions to report the preceding six-month period. I'd ask for an 'aye' vote."
"Seeing no debate, the question is, 'Shall Senate Bill 2213 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, please take the record. On a count of 114 voting 'yes', 0 voting 'no', 0 voting 'present', Senate Bill 2213, having received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Senate Bill 2355, Representative Unes. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."
"Senate Bill 2355, a Bill for an Act concerning regulation. Third Reading of this Senate Bill."
"Representative Unes."
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Senate Bill 2355 is an initiative of the Illinois State Dental Society. It very simply states that if a contract is leased or sold to another insurer that notification must be given to the dentist within 30 days. I know of no opponents. And I ask for an 'aye' vote." 09900135.docx 64 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 135th Legislative Day 5/24/2016
"Seeing no debate, the question is, 'Shall Senate Bill 2355 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, please take the record. On a count of 114 voting 'yes', 0 voting 'no', 0 voting 'present', Senate Bill 2355, having received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Senate Bill 2393, Representative Pritchard. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."
"Senate Bill 2393, a Bill for an Act concerning education. Third Reading of this Senate Bill."
"Representative Pritchard."
"Ladies and Gentlemen of the House, this is a Senate Bill that tries to expand the availability of breakfast for our children going to school so that they're alert and ready to learn. This program allows breakfast to be served after the school bell instead of before so that those students that might be on a school bus and arrive late might still have an opportunity to have breakfast. This is federally funded. We also have in this provision that allows school districts to change the kind of breakfast after the bell program if their situation requires it and we set up a process for that to occur. I ask for your support."
"Seeing no debate, the question is, 'Shall Senate Bill 2393 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, please take the record. On a count of 113 voting 'yes', 0 voting 'no', 0 voting 'present', Senate Bill 2393, having received 09900135.docx 65 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 135th Legislative Day 5/24/2016 the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. Senate Bill 2282, Representative Flowers. Mr. Clerk, please read the Bill."
"Senate Bill 2282, a Bill for an Act concerning criminal law. Third Reading of this Senate Bill."
"Representative Flowers."
"Thank you. Senate Bill 2282 would allow individuals who are on parole, aftercare release, or mandatory supervised release to associate with other individuals who are on parole, aftercare release, or mandatory supervised release in limited instances when the activities are related to community programs, worship services, volunteering, and engaging with families. And I would appreciate an 'aye' vote."
"Chair recognizes Representative Sandack."
"Thank you. Will the Lady yield for a few questions?"
"She indicates that she will."
"Thank you. Representative, are the activities you just identified prohibited right now?"
"Yes. Currently, it's a violation of their parole if they associate with others without permission from the…"
"DOC."
"…the…"
"Parole."
"…supervisor or the parole person. And it costs the state way too much money because of technicalities. According to the information I have, in fiscal year 2014, there were 11 thousand mandatory supervised related violations. Those are violations that cost the state over $400 million, 9,250 of which were technical violation at a cost of $400 million. And 09900135.docx 66 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 135th Legislative Day 5/24/2016 it only costs the state a little more over than $1900 a month to maintain this mandatory supervised release."
"So, I want to make sure I understand… I understand exactly what you're trying to do. You're codifying certain activities that are required for parolees, activities that would seem to be better than whether it's treatment, psychological treatment, job training, et cetera. Is DOC not permitting this type of activity now? Are they… are they prohibiting people from getting services and having educational opportunities?"
"They're not… well, they have to get permission from their parole officer."
"Are they not getting permission?"
"And if they're… if they are not getting permission or if they fail to do so because they didn't know, if… if… a lot of these young people or these people are trying to get jobs and…"
"No, I get that. Right."
"…educate to better themselves. And so, they don't realize that they in violation of the parole by being in the company of others."
"Understood."
"Mmm mmm."
"And… and obviously, we want to get these folks… we want to get them off the bad trail they're on. We don't want them to be with recidivists. We want them to get education. I just thought it was interesting because my analysis says DOC says parolee agents already permit this. But if there's some 09900135.docx 67 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 135th Legislative Day 5/24/2016 ambiguity, I'd rather error on the side of making sure it's permissible."
"Well, all we have to do is look at the 1,100 technical violations and so, we know that there's a problem someplace and this Bill would correct that problem."
"Thank you, Representative."
"Thank you. And I would appreciate an 'aye' vote."
"Chair recognizes Representative Sullivan."
"Thank you, Mr. Speak… Spons… Mr. Speaker. To the Bill. Some of the ambiguity is this. Sometimes a community program will pop up and the ex-offender would have to… or the parolee would have to go… could not go because they would not have the time to go to their parole agent or their supervisor, whoever gives them the permission. And so, they would go and get… they would get incarcerated because of that. And so, what they're saying is we want to encourage people to go to… and this is written into the Bill and that's the key point here… community programs, worship services, volunteering, and engaging families. So, we write four things into the Bill that we would like folks, they're back out on the streets, to better their lives, but we don't want them to have to… something pops up, oh, wait, I can't go to that because I have to go talk to someone first. Well, so it does two things. It allows people to do good engaging activities and it saves taxpayers' dollars 'cause they don't have to keep going to their parole supervisor. And so, this is a wonderful Bill. I do believe you put me on it and if you… if we have not put me on it, I would like to be on it. And I encourage all… everybody to vote 'aye'." 09900135.docx 68 STATE OF ILLINOIS 99th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TRANSCRIPTION DEBATE 135th Legislative Day 5/24/2016
"Representative Flowers to close."
"I would appreciate an 'aye' vote. Thank you."
"The question is, 'Shall Senate Bill 2282 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, please take the record. On a count of 83 voting 'yes', 28 voting 'no', 0 voting 'present', Senate Bill 2282, having received the Constitutional Majority, is hereby declared passed. And now, allowing perfunctory time for the Clerk, Leader Currie moves that the House adjourn until Wednesday, May 25 at the hour of 10 a.m. All in favor say 'aye'; all opposed say 'nay'. In the opinion of the Chair, the 'ayes' have it. And the House is adjourned."
"The House Perfunctory Session will come to order. Introduction of Resolutions. Senate Joint Resolution 38, offered by Representative Phelps. And Senate Joint Resolution 54, offered by Representative Bellock. These Resolutions are referred to the House Rules Committee. First Reading of Senate Bills. Senate Bill 2920, offered by Representative Tabares, a Bill for an Act concerning safety. First Reading of Senate Bills. Senate Bill 2049, offered by Representative Currie, a Bill for an Act concerning appropriations. Committee Reports. Representative Currie, Chairperson from the Committee on Rules reports the following committee action taken on May 24, 2016: recommends be adopted, a Motion to Concur with Senate Amendment #1 to House Bill 4370. There being no further business, the House Perfunctory Session will stand adjourned." 09900135.docx 69