Legislative Update: Gov. Pritzker Signs a Significant Number of Bills Passed by the General Assembly

August 2, 2023

Legislative Update: Gov. Pritzker Signs a Significant Number of Bills Passed by the General Assembly

Governor Pritzker again chose the last Friday of the month to approve a significant number of legislative initiatives approved by the General Assembly. The governor has until August 15 to either approve or veto most of the over 500 plus bills that passed both the House of Representatives and Senate. Previously, on Friday, June 30, prior to the Independence Day holiday weekend, the governor signed 151 bills into law. Last week, on Friday afternoon, July 30, Gov. Pritzker approved over 130 bills. Bills of interest to NFIB and your business that have been approved by the governor, as of August 1, include: HB 219 (Hoffman/Harmon) amends the Wrongful Death Act to enable recovery of punitive damages. NFIB was adamantly opposed to this legislation. HB 2845 (Vella/Cappel) amends the Prevailing Wage Act to include the removal, hauling, and transportation of biosolids, lime sludge, and lime residue from a water treatment plant or facility and the disposal of biosolids, lime sludge, and lime residue removed from a water treatment plant or facility at a landfill. This legislation breaks the veil on transportation of materials and expands prevailing wage outside of the construction site. NFIB was adamantly opposed. HB 2907 (Yednock/Villavalam) amends the Labor Dispute Act. Provides that no award of monetary damages, except for damage done to an employer’s property as a result of conduct prohibited by law, shall be granted by any court of this State in any case involving a labor dispute. NFIB was opposed. HB 3396 (Yednock/Villavilam) Amends the Labor Dispute Act. Prohibits a person who, with the intent of interfering with, obstructing, or impeding a picket or other demonstration or protest, places any object in the public way commits a Class A misdemeanor with a minimum fine of $500. NFIB was opposed. HB 1363 (Guzzardi/Villa) amends the Gender Violence Act to define “employee,” “employer,” and “workplace” to clarify when an employer is liable for actions of employees. NFIB has argued for and negotiated these clarifications for close to 2-years. The legislation changes the definition of “gender-related violence” to also mean domestic violence. Provides that an employer is only liable for gender-related violence committed in the work environment by an employee or agent of the employer. Liability also only extends to gender-related violence that occurs while the employee was directly performing the employee’s job duties and the job duties were the proximate cause of the injury, or while an agent of the employer was directly involved in the performance of the contracted work and the contracted work was the proximate cause of the injury. Provides that an employer is liable for gender-related violence if the employer: failed to supervise, train, or monitor the employee who engaged in the gender-related violence; or failed to investigate complaints or reports directly provided to a supervisor, manager, owner, or another person designated by the employer of similar conduct by an employee or agent of the employer and the employer failed to take remedial measures in response to the complaints or reports. Requires an action against an employer for gender-related violence to be commenced within 4 years after the cause of action accrued. NFIB was neutral. HB 579 (Gabel/Gillespie) Creates an Illinois Health Benefits Exchange. Amends the Department of Insurance Law. Sets forth provisions concerning the Marketplace Director of the Illinois Health Benefits Exchange. Amends the Illinois Procurement Code. Sets forth provisions concerning an exemption regarding any procurements necessary for the Department of Insurance to implement the Illinois Health Benefits Exchange Law. Amends the Illinois Health Benefits Exchange Law. Provides that the Department of Insurance shall operate the Illinois Health Benefits Exchange as a State-based exchange using the federal platform by plan year 2025 and as a State-based exchange by plan year 2026. HB 2493 (Ortiz/Peters) amends the Victims’ Economic Security and Safety Act to allow an employee to take up to 10-days of unpaid leave from work for specified reasons relating to a family or household member who is killed in a crime of violence. NFIB was opposed. HB 2068 (Mah/Villivalam) creates the Transportation Benefits Program Act which requires employers allow a covered employee to elect to deduct from taxable wages and compensation the employee’s purchase of a transit pass to use public transit or for the purchase of qualified parking, up to a maximum level allowed by federal tax law. A “covered employer” includes an employer that employs 50 or more covered employees in Cook County and specified townships in the collar counties and at an address that is located within one mile of regularly scheduled transit stop.

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State:

Illinois

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