With four weeks remaining until the Illinois General Assembly adjourns, below is a brief update on legislation that CCI is involved with.
- HB 5408: Abortion Access Grant Funds – OPPOSE. This bill would allow the state of Illinois to take $1 per month/per enrollee from monies collected by insurance companies in the State Health Care Exchange and spend those funds on abortion care to offset state Medicaid expenses. The bill passed the House, is waiting action in the Senate.
- HB 4839: Fetal Death Certificates – OPPOSE. This bill passed the House and has been sent to the Senate for consideration. CCI testified in opposition in committee to convey that unborn children deserve dignity with a death certificate.
- HB 5425: Human Composting – OPPOSE. The bill allows for human composting of deceased persons narrowly passed the House last week and now goes to the Senate. We have developed policy reasons to oppose along with a campaign to mobilize the Illinois Catholic Advocacy Network (I-CAN) asking Catholics to contact their state senators to vote NO on the bill.
- HB 4379: Adult Changing Stations – NEUTRAL. Upon our request, the bill sponsor agreed to amend the bill so no “place of education” would be required to retrofit a building for an adult changing station. The bill now only applies to new construction after January 1, 2029. The bill passed the House, is now waiting action in the Senate.
- SB 2805: Long Term Care Bill of Rights – OPPOSE. Among other items, this bill would require nursing homes to participate in significant training on sexual orientation and gender identity. The sponsors agreed to include religious liberty protections, yet they still could not pass the bill. It will not move further this year.
- HB 1429: Bill of Rights Homeless – SUPPORT. For the second year in a row, other interested parties opposition prevented this bill from passing the House. The bill is attempting to preserve the dignity of a homeless person by forbidding a municipality from criminalizing a person for being homeless. Authorities can still ask someone to leave a public park for health or safety reasons or to preserve access by the public. We will continue to work with other housing advocates in support of this legislation.
- HB 4223: Property Tax: Exempt Property – OPPOSE. This bill was not heard. It would have removed a religious entities exemption for annually filing a property tax exemption.
- Constitutional Amendment Enshrining Abortion: A resolution has not been introduced this year that would enshrine abortion in our state constitution. Illinois Right to Life remains active in misleading people to think this was a legitimate and immediate concern.
- Budget Request: Funding for Nonpublic Education. CCI is working with Agudath Israel and the Illinois Coalition of Nonpublic Schools to reinstate funding lost in fiscal year 2010 for the School Safety Educational Block Grant Program and the Textbook Loan Program. If successful it could mean an additional $20 million for nonpublic schools.
- Education Freedom Tax Credit (Federal): CCI’s Director of Government Relations, Jeanette Malafa, was recently in Washington, D.C. with other state education directors and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) lobbying on Capitol Hill for assistance with the Treasury Department’s rules for this new program. In Illinois, we continue to talk with interested groups about urging Governor Pritzker to opt-in to the program. This program benefits both public and non-public schools alike.