A listing of all new laws scheduled to go into effect on January 1, continues.

Not all measures approved by the General Assembly go into effect on the first of the year. Bills which contain a specific effective date within the language of the measure and bills that carry an “immediate” effective date can go into effect at other times of the year.

The State Senate meets on the third floor of the north side of the Illinois State Capitol.

However, January 1 is the default date for a new law to become effective if there is no specific language specifying when it will become effective.

Under the Illinois Constitution, the legislature must set a “uniform effective date” for laws passed prior to June 1 of a calendar year. That uniform effective date, which is January 1, applies if the legislation does not otherwise specify when the law becomes effective.

A listing of all new laws scheduled to go into effect on January 1, follows.

Not all measures approved by the General Assembly go into effect on the first of the year. Bills which contain a specific effective date within the language of the measure and bills that carry an “immediate” effective date can go into effect at other times of the year.

However, January 1 is the default date for a new law to become effective if there is no specific language specifying when it will become effective.

Under the Illinois Constitution, the legislature must set a “uniform effective date” for laws passed prior to June 1 of a calendar year. That uniform effective date, which is January 1, applies if the legislation does not otherwise specify when the law becomes effective.

State Government, Insurance and Regulation continued

9-1-1 Directory (HB 2856/PA 98-0332): Would require the Illinois Commerce Commission to provide 9-1-1 operators with a directory of other call centers to be able to transfer calls out of their original jurisdiction.

Title Insurance (HB 1545/PA 98-0398): Makes several changes to the state’s regulations of the title insurance industry, giving the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) broader authority over other licensing, penalties, suspension or revocation of title insurance licenses. Also exempts limited liability companies from a requirement that every title insurance agent must be 18 years old.

Electric Bid Specification (HB 2623/PA 98-0434): Gives municipalities or other local governments that aggregate power the right to know the source of the power utilized under the aggregation.

Yearly Budget Requirements (HB 2947/PA 98-0460): Would requires that the Governor’s annual state budget submission include detailed tables and narratives as to any projected budget surplus or a projected budget deficit for the fiscal year. Also requires an estimate of individual and corporate income tax overpayments that won’t be paid back by the end of the fiscal year.

State Budget Online (HB 2955/PA 98-0461): Requires the state budget to be published online within 60 days of being signed into law.

Auto Insurance (SB 1940/PA 98-0539): Beginning with the 2016 registration year, this bill requires that mandatory insurance information must be provided before any vehicle registration can be issued. Any person that knowingly submits false insurance information shall be guilty of a Class C misdemeanor. Also requires that the remittance agents to turn this information over to the Secretary of State or face the loss or revocation of their license.

Fine Arts Purchases (SB 1723/PA 98-0572): Amends the CDB Act, the Illinois Procurement Code, and the Design-Build Procurement Act. Eliminates a duplicative Board charged with procuring and selecting art work to be displayed in public buildings. Makes minor changes to the Design-build Procurement Act. Clarifies what projects qualify under the Act and replaces the word “projects” with “construction projects” throughout the bill.

Budget Transparency (SB 2106/PA 98-0580): Creates the Governmental Transparency Task Force to create a plan to make the State budgeting process more transparent and publicly-accessible. Establishes a 16 member board comprised of appointments by the Governor and the four legislative leaders. Report due by January 1, 2015.

Grant Transparency (SB 2381/PA 98-0589): Increases grant transparency and gives the public greater access to information about state grants and how grant monies are distributed and used. Requires the state’s Chief Information Officer to work with state agencies to better report financial data. Would require all state grants to be posted online at data.illinois.gov, including name and zip code of the organization receiving the grant, a short description of the purpose; amount of the award, and date of the award.

This legislation was prompted in part by the controversial Neighborhood Recovery Initiative, which was the subject of an investigative report by the CNN television network. The report on the Neighborhood Recovery Initiative (NRI) found that the program paid teens to hand out fliers, take field trips to museums, march in parades with the Governor, and attend yoga classes.

The program lacked public scrutiny, guidelines and standards for the distribution of funding. The Governor moved $94M from his FY11 discretionary lump sums to the IL Violence Prevention Authority (IVPA). After those funds were transferred from the Governor’s lump sums to IVPA, the monies were further transferred to the non-appropriated IVPA Special Projects Fund. However, there was no clear way to review where the money was going and what programs it was going to. It took CNN a four-month investigation to reveal that funds were being questionably spent, and conveniently doled out just in time for the Governor’s election.