May 17, 2024 State Capitol Report

After a true full week of session, both the House and Senate adjourned early this afternoon for the weekend. They are scheduled to return for the final week of the 103rd General Assembly on Monday, May 20.

The State Legislative Team spent this week responding to amendments and defending last minute problematic legislation, while continuing their work to advance Illinois REALTOR® initiatives that will provide legislative avenues to provide financial aid for first-time home buyers with SB 3487 and eliminate unlawful evictions from occurring and preserving a communities housing stability in HB 5432. (more below)

Please watch Illinois REALTORS® 2024 President Matt Silver’s testimony advocating for the creation of a homebuyer savings account, SB 3497, before the Illinois Senate Revenue Committee Wednesday, May 15.

With today being the deadline to move a bill from 2nd reading to 3rd reading for floor consideration next week, both chambers’ days were full of committee hearings and floor action. In these final weeks, bills and policy positions can change instantly and issues that have not been discussed in months can re-emerge with a simple amendment. Due to another complete team effort between Illinois REALTOR® members and staff, our advocacy team had another successful week at the Capitol. Below are the highlights of this week’s legislation.

Bills of Interest

The following “Bills of Interest” saw legislative action in committee this week.

This bill amends the Code of Civil Procedure. Provides that in the Eviction Article the term “impounded” has the meaning ascribed to the term in the Court Record and Document Accessibility Act. In that Article, replaces the term “seal” with “impound”.  The bill is an initiative of the Chicago Bar Association to codify changes in criminal terminology into Illinois’ Civil Code. Illinois REALTORS® OPPOSE HB 5023 due to one very problematic section that can be found in the final paragraph of the 58-page bill. Sec (b-5) would change Illinois’s Civil Code to allow sealing or “impounding” of eviction files “upon agreement” of all parties. Even with the language stating “upon agreement” HB 5023 is an attempt to prevent the public from being able to see a perspective tenants’ eviction records.  Illinois REALTORS® do not disagree with the bill’s intent or any other section of HB 5023 and believe that removing Sec (b-5) would not deter or diminish the overall legislative intent in anyway.  Illinois REALTORS® appreciates the sponsors partnership on this issue and will continue to work to clarify this language to make sure future landlords have an opportunity to view eviction records and currently we are requesting a floor amendment to remove the problematic section.  The bill was placed on 3rd reading this week in the Senate but was held due to the REALTORS® concerns. Please be ready to respond if the bill is called for a vote in current form. Stay Tuned on HB 5023.

At the suggestion of  Illinois REALTORS®, HB 5501 was introduced to highlight that in a sale of a condominium unit by a unit owner, no condo association may exercise any right of refusal, option to purchase, or right to disapprove the sale not only on the basis that the purchaser’s financing is guaranteed by the Federal Housing Administration or for a discriminatory or otherwise unlawful purpose. Illinois REALTORS SUPPORTED this legislation. HB 5502 passed both chambers on May 16.

This bill amends the Mobile Home Park Act. Provides that operating a mobile home park without a current license shall result in a fine of $10 per day per site. Provides that licenses issued under the Act are nontransferable. Provides that if a mobile home park is sold, the application for a new license shall be mailed to the Illinois Department of Public Health and postmarked no later than 10 days after the date of sale. Provides that delinquent licensing fees and reinspection fees of the prior owner or owners are to be paid by the new owner before a license is issued. Requires the current name, address, email address, and telephone number of the licensee and mobile home park manager to be displayed at all times on the mobile home park property in a location visible to the public and protected from weather. Illinois REALTORS® is NEUTRAL on the bill. HB4467 passed the House and is on Third reading in the Senate.

House Amendment 3 was adopted on the house floor and completely replaces the original bill with the Junk Fee Ban Act. The bill provides that it is a violation of the Act for a person to: (1) offer, display, or advertise an amount a consumer may pay for merchandise without clearly and conspicuously disclosing the total price; (2) fail, in any offer, display, or advertisement that contains an amount a consumer may pay, to display the total price more prominently than any other pricing information; (3) misrepresent the nature and purpose of any amount a consumer may pay, including the ability to refund the fees and the identity of any merchandise for which fees are charged; (4) fail to disclose clearly and conspicuously before the consumer consents to pay, the nature and purpose of any amount a consumer may pay that is excluded from the total price, including the ability to refund the fees and the identity of any merchandise for which fees are charged; or (5) offer, display, or advertise, including through direct offerings, third-party distribution, or metasearch referrals, a total price for a place of short-term lodging that does not include all required fees. Requires total price disclosures for retail mercantile establishments and food service establishments, and the disclosure of delivery fees. Illinois REALTORS® is monitoring this amendment to ensure that real estate services are not included. HB 4629 is on Third reading in the senate.

This bill creates the Digital Voice and Likeness Protection Act. Provides that a provision in an agreement between an individual and any other person for the performance of personal or professional services is contrary to public policy and is deemed unenforceable if the provision meets the conditions outlined in the bill. The bill has passed the House and put on the Calendar Order of Concurrence in the Senate.

This bill declares that it is against the public policy of the state for a landlord to take retaliatory action against a tenant. Prohibits a landlord from knowingly terminating a tenancy, increasing rent, decreasing services, bringing or threatening to bring a lawsuit against a tenant for possessing or refusing to renew a lease or tenancy because the tenant has in good faith has taken certain actions, including but not limited to: complaining of building, housing, health, or similar code violations to units of government, complaining or requesting the landlord to make repairs to the premises as required by a building code, health ordinance, other regulation, or the residential rental agreement. Creates remedies for violation by a landlord including damages, punitive damages, or recovering possession of the premises. Creates an affirmative defense under the Code of Civil Procedure in eviction actions if a landlord violates the Landlord Retaliation Act.  Illinois REALTORS® OPPOSE HB 4768 and have requested a floor amendment to add penalties for tenants that bring false claims of retaliatory acts against a landlord. The bill was placed on Third reading on May 14, but was not called on the Senate floor.

REALTOR® Initiatives

The Illinois Home Buyer Savings Accounts Act was drafted by Illinois REALTORS® to incentivize and create tax advantages for those saving to purchase a home. This new Act simplifies the process and provides financial aid for down payment assistance for eligible first-time and second-chance home buyers. SB 3497 would allow for the creation of designated savings accounts that would receive a tax deduction of up to $5,000 (for single filers) or $10,000 (for married/joint filers) per year for contributions to that account.

SB 3497 is an initiative that is being encouraged to be included in this years budget and was heard before the Senate Revenue Committee on Wednesday, May 15 for a subject matter discussion. 2024 Illinois REALTORS® President Matt Silver provided testimony on behalf of the REALTORS®. President Silver stressed the need for programs like the Illinois Home Buyers Savings Account to not only address the low inventory crisis, but the positive impacts that homeownership brings to schools, safety, communities and families. Your State Legislative Team is committed to seeing this program being restored and included in this year’s budget.

Special Thank You: We want to thank President Matt Silver for his time, effort, commitment and leadership on this important and needed initiative. We are all grateful and extremely proud of President Silver’s representation of all Illinois REALTORS®. Thank you !

HB 5432 prohibits municipalities from enforcing an ordinance that imposes a penalty or threat against a resident, property owner, tenant, landlord, or other person solely because of contact with a law enforcement agency. HB 5432 is aimed to eliminate mandates that municipalities and counties require property owners to follow that subjects all parties involved to federal fair housing violations and subject property owners specifically to even more possible detrimental state law violations. Conflicting state laws put landlords (and especially those who have a Real Estate Brokers License) in the position of losing “landlord licensing” with a municipality or potentially face a human rights violation and in-turn possibly lose their real estate broker’s license. HB 5432 passed the House Housing Committee in April and is on Second reading in the House. The Illinois REALTORS® State Legislative Team is still working with legislators to advance HB 5432 in the legislative process next week.

At-A-Glance

Both chambers will return Monday for what will likely be a very chaotic final week of session. We can expect legislation to be moving rapidly and your State Legislative Team will respond accordingly and may need to lean on the strength of and power of the REALTOR® voice and respond to a Call For Action at any moment, as always….Stay tuned!

Thank you for reading the May 17, 2024 State Capitol Report. Click here to read previous reports.