The Caucus Blog – New Year, New Laws 2024

New laws taking effect in 2024

In 2024, Illinoisans will see more than 300 new laws take effect. Here are few notable new laws:

Rep. Meier – Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program Awareness 

Public Act 103-119, House Bill 1156

Increases awareness of a free service by requiring long-term care facilities to post prominently on their website information about the free Illinois Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program.

Rep. Windhorst – Admissibility of Medical Records in Juvenile Court Hearings 

Public Act 103-124, House Bill 1434

Changes the Juvenile Court Act to allow the admissibility of certified hospital or public or private agency records in adjudicatory hearings on abused, neglected, or dependent minors.

Rep. Hammond – Waiving Residency Requirement for Law Enforcement Exams 

Public Act 103-287, House Bill 1767 

Amends the State Universities Civil Service Act and provides that in examinations for law enforcement personnel, the Illinois residence requirement shall be waived.

Rep. Sanalitro – Mortgage Marketing Consumer Protection 

Public Act 103-292, HB2094 

Aims to protect homeowners from being tricked into unnecessary mortgage refinancing through misleading mail advertisements from mortgage companies not affiliated with the homeowner’s home lender. The law focuses on protecting new and elderly homeowners who are new to the home buying process and more susceptible to deceptive mortgage marketing tactics.

Rep. Spain – United States Navy Submarine Veterans Plates 

Public Act 103-130, House Bill 1581 

Adds a classification of specialty plates for United States Navy Submarine Veterans and allows the Secretary of State to issue these license plates to veterans who served in the U.S. Navy as submariners.

Rep. Keicher – Helping Victims of Human Trafficking 

Public Act 103-35, House Bill 2418 

Creates a pathway to expunge criminal records for victims of human trafficking as they seek to recover from the trauma they have experienced; human trafficking victims are often forced to participate in unlawful activity by their traffickers.

Rep. Fritts – Removes Duplicate Motorcycle Testing 

Public Act 103-162, House Bill 2582 

Removes a duplicate test for motorcycle license applicants under the age of 18. The duplicate tests were identical and both incurred a fee for applicants, thus saving young motorcycle drivers both time and money.

Rep. Swanson – Lyme Disease Research Decals 

Public Act 103-0163, House Bill 2584 

Allows DNR to issue Lyme disease research decals. The proceeds will go into the Tick Research, Education and Evaluation Fund to be paid as grants to the Illinois Lyme Association for the purpose of fighting Lyme disease in Illinois.

Rep. Niemerg – Protecting Abused Children from More Trauma 

Public Act 103-164, House Bill 2607 

Ensures kids testifying in abuse cases will not have to confront their abusers in open court Establishes a rebuttable presumption that the testimony of a child victim under 13 years of age shall testify outside the courtroom and the child’s testimony shall be shown in the courtroom by means of a closed-circuit television.

Rep. Hammond – Proton Beam Therapy for Cancer Treatment 

Public Act 103-325, House Bill 2799 

Requires health insurers to provide coverage for medically necessary Proton Beam therapy for the treatment of cancer.

Rep. Hammond – Insulin Provision for Assisted Living Establishment Removed 

Public Act 103-444, House Bill 3172 

Removes a provision prohibiting a person from being accepted for residency to an assisted living establishment if the person requires sliding scale insulin administration unless self-performed or administered by a licensed health care professional.

Rep. Sanalitro – Home Saliva Cancer Screening Coverage 

Public Act 103-445, House Bill 3202 

Provides coverage for medically necessary at-home saliva cancer screenings every two years for patients who are either asymptomatic, are at high risk for cancer, or are demonstrating symptoms of cancer.

Rep. McCombie – Preventing Fentanyl Exposure 

Public Act 103-336, House Bill 3203 

Allows pharmacists and retail stores to sell potentially life-saving fentanyl test strips over the counter. Also allows a county health department to distribute fentanyl test strips at the county health department facility free of charge.

Rep. Cabello – Law Enforcement Medal of Honor Committee 

Public Act 103-189, HB3405 

Honors police and firefighters for their bravery and service. This law reorganizes the committee that awards the Law Enforcement Medal of Honor and changes how members are chosen and how long they serve.

Rep. McCombie – Support and Scholarships for Electrical Line Workers 

Public Act 103-349, House Bill 3436 

Allows the issuance of the Thank a Line Worker license plate decal by the Illinois Department of Education. Creates the Thank a Line Worker Scholarship Fund through the purchase of the decals, which shall be paid as grants in support of scholarships for students studying electrical distribution at an Illinois college or university.

Rep. Davidsmeyer – Helps Parents Obtain Health Records for their Developmentally Disabled Children

Public Act 103-474, Senate Bill 188 

Closes loopholes in the law to ensure that parents of developmentally disabled children can have access to health records without needing to take time off work to get a court order.

Rep. Niemerg – Extends the Care of Memorial Markers Along Illinois Highways 

Public Act 103-82, Senate Bill 1212 

Provides that a DUI memorial marker and a fatal crash memorial marker shall be maintained for four years instead of only two years currently. This would be from the date the last person was memorialized on the marker.

Rep. Hauter – Housing of Homeless Veterans
Public Act 103-0086, Senate Bill 1376
When considering factors for referring a homeless family with school age children to a shelter, the referring agency must now also consider the military status of any member of the family to determine their eligibility for state or federal benefits and other supportive services for homeless veterans and their families.

Rep. Davis – HOA Partnering with Townships for Road Repair 

Public Act 103-486, Senate Bill 1460 

Allows Homeowners Associations to contract with their townships to receive discounted rates on materials and services related to repairing and maintaining roadways.

Rep. Elik – Rural Education Advisory Council 

Public Act 103-497, Senate Bill 1787 

Creates the Rural Education Advisory Council. This council will work to serve rural schools and discuss the needs, challenges, opportunities, and functions of the rural districts, and report back to the State with recommendations.

Rep. Hammond – Dispensing of Medication at a Pharmacy 

Public Act 103-240, Senate Bill 1889 

Provides that when a pharmacist is not present, a registered pharmacy technician, a registered certified pharmacy technician, a student pharmacist, and other supportive staff shall dispense prescriptions that have received final verification by a pharmacist.

You can read the entire list of new laws taking effect in 2024 at the following link:

https://www.thecaucusblog.com/2023/12/new-laws-taking-effect-in-2024.html