Illinois

Amends the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Systems Act. Provides that the Department of Public Health shall issue an annual Freestanding Emergency Center license to a facility if the facility complies with specified requirements, except that: (i) the Freestanding Emergency Center may be located in a municipality with a population greater than 50,000 inhabitants and (ii) the Freestanding Emergency Center may, if operated as provider-based under specified federal regulations, describe itself or hold itself out to the general public as a hospital emergency department in its advertising and marketing activities.

Amends the Prior Authorization Reform Act. Provides that a health insurance issuer may not require prior authorization for: a prescription drug prescribed to a patient by a health care professional for 6 or more consecutive months, regardless of whether the prescription drug is a non-preferred medication pursuant to the patient's health insurance coverage; the following prescription drugs or the therapeutic equivalent approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration: insulin; human immunodeficiency virus prevention medication; human immunodeficiency virus treatment medication; viral hepatitis medication; estrogen; and progesterone; or human immunodeficiency virus pre-exposure prophylaxis and post-exposure prophylaxis drugs approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration; Truvada; Harvoni; Descovy; and Apretude.

Amends the Illinois Lottery Law. Allows a licensed lottery sales agent to enter into an agreement with a third-party entity to assist with processing the sale of lottery tickets on behalf of the licensed lottery sales agent. Requires the licensed sales agent to provide a copy of agreement to the Lottery Control Board within 5 business days of execution. Requires the agreement to include at least the following: (1) terminal usage cannot be commingled at the location; (2) a ticket may only be sold to a person physically located in the State; (3) a third-party entity shall not share or sell user data to an entity unaffiliated with the retailer or third-party entity; and (4) the third-party entity shall adhere to all rules established by the Board related to the sale of lottery tickets. Effective immediately.

Creates the Agricultural Protection Area Act. Directs the Department of Agriculture to establish and administer a voluntary statewide program for the creation and recognition of agricultural protection areas and to adopt rules. Authorizes the Department to appoint an Agricultural Protection Area Commission to advise the Department and to make recommendations on applications to designate land as an agricultural protection area. Provides procedures for review of an initial application to designate land as an agricultural protection area, for renewal after 20 years, and for adding land to or removing land from an agricultural protection area. Requires recording of agricultural protection areas. Limits local regulations within agricultural protection areas and limits home rule powers and functions. Declares that agricultural activities within an agricultural protection area are not a public nuisance. Restricts eminent domain for nonagricultural purposes. Declares findings. Defines terms.

Amends the State Employees Group Insurance Act of 1971. Adds to the definition of "community college benefit recipient" a person who is receiving retirement income from a self-managed plan account under the State Universities Article of the Illinois Pension Code and who meets other requirements. Amends the State Universities Article of the Illinois Pension Code. In the definition of "retire" and "retirement", provides that a participant in the self-managed plan retires, and the participant's retirement begins, when the participant is eligible for retirement under the Article, and the Retirement System Reciprocal Act (Article 20 of the Code) if applicable, and the participant begins receiving retirement income from the participant's self-managed plan account.

Amends the Department of Veterans Affairs Act. Requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to develop and implement a statewide military history initiative aimed at preserving Illinois' war and veterans' memorials, monuments, plaques, and historic sites. Creates the Illinois War and Veterans Memorials and Monuments Fund as a special fund in the State treasury to support the preservation and restoration of outdoor memorials, monuments, plaques, and historic sites located within the State that highlight the service and sacrifice of Illinois' military veterans. Provides that, subject to appropriation, moneys in the Fund shall be expended to provide grants to local governments, historic societies, and veterans' organizations seeking to restore, repair, or maintain memorials, monuments, plaques, or historic sites within their communities. Requires the Department to establish criteria on how to identify war and veterans' memorials, monuments, plaques, and historic sites that are in need of preservation or restoration or other forms of aid, and match them with grants and other sources of funding based on the scope of the preservation or restoration project and on the grant applicant's ability to carry out and complete the project. Requires the Department to create and maintain a digital archive of Illinois veterans' records, letters, and oral histories and make such materials readily accessible to the general public and local schools. Requires the Department to partner with State colleges and universities to collect and preserve personal documents, photos, and interviews with Illinois veterans. Amends the State Commemorative Dates Act. Designates April 9 of each year as Illinois Veterans' Legacy Day to be observed throughout the State as a day to recognize and honor the service and sacrifice of Illinois' military veterans with suitable activities designed to teach and preserve Illinois' military history and build social connections between Illinois' veterans population and school-aged youth. Amends the School Code. Requires the State Board of Education to prepare and make available to all school boards teaching modules on Illinois' military history for public school students enrolled in grades 6 through 12.

Amends the Illinois Income Tax Act. Provides that the research and development credit applies on a permanent basis. Effective immediately.

Amends the Public Higher Education Act. Provides that a public institution of higher education shall permit a student who is subject to a disciplinary proceeding to be assisted by an advocate of the student's choosing or, upon request, by an advocate provided by the public institution of higher education. Requires any written notice initiating a disciplinary proceeding to include a clear and conspicuous statement informing the student of the student's right to be assisted by an advocate. Provides that if a student does not have an advocate, the public institution of higher education shall make a reasonable effort to provide the student with access to an advocate. Provides that an advocate participating in a disciplinary proceeding shall receive training on the public institution of higher education's disciplinary procedures. Allows an advocate, with the consent of the student, to receive communications regarding the status of the disciplinary proceeding concurrently with the student and participate in meetings or hearings related to the disciplinary proceeding in a supportive capacity. Sets forth limitations. Allows the Board of Higher Education to adopt any rules necessary to implement the provisions.

Amends the Department of Early Childhood Act. In a provision requiring procedural safeguards for families by each public agency involved in the provision of early intervention services, provides that a parent or guardian, a provider, a regional intake entity, or the Department must request an impartial hearing on the due process complaint within 2 years after the date the parent or guardian, lead agency, or early intervention services provider knew or should have known about the alleged action that forms the basis of the due process complaint. Effective January 1, 2027.

Creates the Social Media Age Restriction Act. Provides that an operator of a social media platform shall take reasonable steps, including the implementation of an age assurance system, to prevent a child from creating or maintaining an account on the social media platform. Provides that an operator may enter into an agreement with application distribution services or device manufacturers to allow for user information to be shared for age assurance purposes. Provides that the provision does not apply to a parent or guardian who allows a child to use an account held by the parent or guardian. Sets forth provisions concerning a 30-day cure period and civil penalties. Provides that an operator shall have 180 days after the effective date of the Act to comply with the requirements of the Act. Effective immediately.

Amends the Personalized Algorithmic Pricing Disclosure Act. Provides that any entity that sets the price of goods or services using personalized algorithmic pricing, and that directly or indirectly advertises, promotes, labels, or publishes a statement, display, image, offer, or announcement of personalized algorithmic pricing to a consumer, using personal data specific to the consumer, shall include a specified disclosure. Sets forth exceptions to the provision. Provides that a violation of the Act constitutes an unlawful practice under the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act. Amends the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act to make a conforming change. Effective immediately.

Amends the Property Tax Code. In provisions concerning the homestead exemption for persons with disabilities, provides that, if the person with a disability is eligible to receive disability benefits under the federal Social Security Act, then the property is exempt from taxation under this Code. Effective immediately.

Amends the Attorney General Act. Requires the Attorney General to develop and provide guidance for electronic service by law enforcement of orders of protection issued under the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986. Amends the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986. Provides that if petitioner is granted a stay-away order, the court may order local law enforcement, to the extent possible, to periodically monitor the petitioner's residence, periodically patrol near the petitioner's residence, and investigate whether a violation of the order of protection has occurred. Permits electronic service of an order of protection after 2 unsuccessful attempts of personal service. Provides the circumstances in which electronic service may be used. Makes other changes.

Amends the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act. Provides for a child support calculation for shared physical care in which each parent exercises 110 or more overnights per year with the child or 110 or more overnight equivalents as determined by a court as a deviation from guidelines or upon agreement by the parties. Provides that overnight equivalents are calculated by using a method other than overnights if the parent has significant parenting time periods on separate days in which the child is in the parent's physical care and under the direct care of that parent but does not stay overnight. Provides that if parents have shared physical care of a child, the basic child support obligation is multiplied by 1.5 to calculate the combined shared care child support obligation; the court shall determine each parent's portion of the shared care child support obligation based on the parent's percentage share of combined adjusted net income; the shared care child support obligation is then computed for each parent by multiplying that parent's portion of the shared care support obligation by the percentage of time the child spends with the other parent and determining any adjustment for shared physical custody that is less than 146 overnights or overnight equivalents. Provides that the respective shared care child support obligations are then offset with the parent owing more paying the difference in child support. Creates a statutory table to calculate the child support if a parent has physical shared custody for less than 146 overnights or overnight equivalents per year. Provides that the shared care child support obligation after adjustment may not be greater than the amount that would have been ordered under the basic support guidelines in any event. Provides that a parent incarcerated for more than 180 days is presumed to be unable to pay any amount of child support, and this presumption may be rebutted by evidence establishing the ability to pay child support during incarceration. Provides a rebuttable presumption that a minimum child support obligation of $40 per month, per child, will be entered for an obligor who has actual or imputed gross income at or less than 100% of the most recent United States Department of Health and Human Services Federal Poverty Guidelines for a family of one person.

Amends the Illinois Vehicle Code. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning the short title.

Amends the Medical Assistance Article of the Illinois Public Aid Code. Requires the Department of Healthcare and Family Services, beginning January 1, 2027, to recompute the STAR rating of nursing facilities who had their antipsychotic medication quality measure score suppressed and their STAR rating set to one due to audit action by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Requires quality payments to such nursing facilities to be made based on the recomputed score. Provides that in order to facilitate the recomputation, nursing facilities may provide the Department with documentation regarding the status of the suppression of the score and STAR rating as well as the quarterly report issued by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that lists the long-stay rating points for the quarter.

Creates the Compassionate Use and Research of Entheogens Act. Establishes the Illinois Psilocybin Advisory Board. Provides a timeline for the Board. Provides that the Department of Public Health, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, the Illinois State Police, and the Department of Revenue may adopt rules and implement the Act. Provides for licensing to operate a service center, facilitate psilocybin services, manufacture psilocybin products, and test psilocybin products by certain State agencies, with certain requirements. Provides for the lawful manufacture, delivery, and possession of psilocybin products. Provides procedures for psilocybin services, including requirements for certain sessions, plans, and forms. Limits the sale of psilocybin products with certain restrictions. Provides for investigations and inspections under the Act. Provides for certain fees, fines, actions against a licensee, criminal penalties, and civil penalties for violations of the Act. Provides for administrative hearings and other requirements for disciplining an applicant or licensee. Provides requirements for psilocybin-producing fungi as a crop, food, or other commodity. Provides for labeling and packaging requirements. Imposes a tax on psilocybin. Establishes the Psilocybin Control and Regulation Fund and Illinois Psilocybin Fund as special funds in the State treasury. Limits home rule powers. Makes other provisions. Makes corresponding changes to the State Finance Act. Amends the Freedom of Information Act. Exempt certain correspondence and records under the Act. Amends the Illinois Independent Tax Tribunal Act of 2012. Adds the Act to the jurisdiction of the Tax Tribunal. Amends the Illinois Vehicle Code. Adds psilocybin or psilocin to the list of prohibited substances for a person driving or in actual physical control of a vehicle. Amends the Illinois Controlled Substances Act. Removes psilocybin or psilocybin products from the definition of "Controlled Substance". Removes psilocybin and psilocyn from the list of Schedule I controlled substances. Effective immediately.

Creates the Protect Communities from Unregulated Substances Act. Prohibits dispensing, distributing, manufacturing, or selling kratom or tianeptine products for human use unless approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Provides civil penalties of $10,000 per violation and authorizes enforcement by the Attorney General. Declares findings. Defines "kratom", "kratom product", and "tianeptine product". Includes severability. Effective immediately.

Amends the Illinois Banking Act, the Savings Bank Act, and the Illinois Credit Union Act. Directs the Secretary of Financial and Professional Regulation to adopt and enforce administrative rules that prohibit the imposition by a bank, savings bank, or credit union of charges in connection with (i) a check drawn or other written order upon, or electronic transfer sought to be effectuated against, insufficient funds or uncollected balances in a consumer account, whether or not the financial institution pays such check, written order, or electronic transfer or (ii) a check or other written order received by such an institution for deposit or collection drawn against a consumer account and subsequently dishonored and returned for any reason by the drawee. Amends the Uniform Commercial Code. Repeals a provision that authorizes the imposition of overdraft fees. Amends the Criminal Code of 2012 and the Interest Act to make conforming changes.

Amends the Illinois Vehicle Code. Provides that the provision regarding automated speed enforcement systems in safety zones applies only to municipalities with a population of 25,000 (rather than 1,000,000) or more inhabitants in a county with a population of 3,000,000 or more inhabitants.

Creates the Alpha-Gal Syndrome Reporting Act. Directs the Department of Public Health to adopt rules to track cases of alpha-gal syndrome within counties and statewide. Requires medical reporters to report diagnosed cases of alpha-gal syndrome to the Department. Provides that State reporting and tracking of cases of alpha-gal syndrome shall be independent from or concurrent with federal reporting or tracking, and that the Department has the duty to independently track cases in consultation and coordination with federal agencies. Directs the Department to adopt rules requiring a report of alpha-gal syndrome for an alpha-gal immunoglobulin E level of 0.1 kilounits per liter as a suspected case of alpha-gal syndrome through an electronic laboratory reporting system. Directs the Department to follow up on reported suspected cases. Directs the Department to submit an annual report to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and to publish the results of the tracking of cases of alpha-gal syndrome on the Department's website. Makes findings. Defines terms.

Amends the Illinois School Student Records Act. Provides that "school student record" also means any written or electronic communications and any accompanying attachments in whole or in part sent to or from a parent, guardian, or other family member of a student that are maintained by a school or at its direction or by an employee of the school and that relate to the education, health, safety, discipline, or well-being of the student, regardless of whether the student may be individually identified.

Amends the School Code. In provisions concerning State goals and assessment, provides that a student may not be considered proficient in mathematics or English language arts with a score on the Illinois Assessment of Readiness that is lower than 750/850, nor may a student be considered proficient in science with a score on the Illinois Science Assessment that is lower than 812/850. Provides that for the assessment administered by the State Board of Education for the purpose of student application to or admission consideration by an institution of higher education, a student may not be considered proficient in mathematics with a score that is lower than 22 on the ACT or its recognized equivalent, nor may a student be considered proficient in English language arts with a score that is lower than 42 on the ACT or its recognized equivalent. Effective immediately.

Amends the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity Law. Creates the High School and Area Vocational Center Grant Program. Provides that, subject to appropriation, the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity shall award grants to high schools, area vocational centers, and area career centers for the instruction and training of preapprenticeship students in the clean energy industry and the construction industry. Lists purposes for the Program. Requires the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to adopt rules.