January 13, 2023 State Capitol Report

Lame Duck Session

The 2023 Lame Duck session and the 102nd General Assembly officially adjourned Tuesday. It was one of the most eventful and impactful Lame Duck sessions in recent memory. During the Lame Duck session, several pieces of legislation advanced, with most of the floor action and discussion being dominated by controversial issues ranging from assault weapons, to wind and solar farm siting to reproductive health care. An abnormally high number of bills were passed during this Lame Duck session, concluding the 102nd General Assembly in an emphatic way. The Advocacy Team was engaged in the following bills of interest to the Illinois REALTORS®.

Legislative Action this Week in Springfield

Click the bill number to view additional information

The bill increases the county recorder’s feed for recording real estate related documents from $9.00 to $18.00. The increased fees will be deposited into the Rental Housing Support Program Fund administered through the Illinois Housing Development Authority. This new funding source is considered to be one part of a plan to focus on improving the housing shortage. The bill also creates the Illinois Rental Housing Support Program Funding Allocation Task Force to be in effect until September 30, 2024. The Governor will make the selection of the task force members and to include county clerks from throughout Illinois. Illinois REALTORS® SUPPORTED this legislation. HB3878 passed the House (72-36-1) and the Senate (34-18-1) and will now be sent to the Governor for signature.

This is a trailer bill (a follow-up bill) regarding the Grand Prairie Water Commission that will enable communities in the southwest suburban region to collaboratively address fast-approaching water shortages. Partnering with the City of Chicago to access water from Lake Michigan, the participating communities will need time to formalize the commission, design the solution, obtain financing, complete land acquisition, and build the alternative water supply system. As anticipated during consideration of the initial legislation, supporters of this trailer legislation believe it is time to enable the Commission to utilize modern construction, procurement, financial, and management practices. The bill was amended in the House to remove a restricted and specific use of eminent domain. The Illinois REALTORS® was NEUTRAL on the bill. HB5061 passed the House 104-0-0 and the Senate (54-1-0) and has been sent to the Governor.

Overview of major legislation that passed this week

  • Bans assault weapons and high-capacity magazines (HB5471)

  • Creates the Invest in Illinois Act and increases the state’s ability to site solar and wind farms over local governments (SB2951)

  • Provides statutory protection for reproductive health care (HB4664)

  • Provides rate relief for Ameren customers, subject to appropriations (HB4412)

  • Provides for five days of paid family leave for any reason (SB208)

  • Extends Edge Tax Credits and tourism assistance (SB2951)

  • Enables Grand Prairie Water Commission to address water shortages in southwest suburban region (HB2870)

  • Increases county recorder fees for recording real estate related documents from $9 to $18 with increase (HB3837)

Next Week: At-A-Glance

The new 103rd General Assembly was sworn in Wednesday, January 11th and within minutes HB1118 (Guzzardi, Logan Square) was introduced to repeal the state’s Rent Control Preemption Act passed in 1997.  We were not surprised to see the RENT CONTROL legislation and we expect to see an identical bill introduced in the Senate.  We also anticipate the introduction of legislation to make permanent the sealing of eviction records.  This was to be a temporary provision put into place during COVID.  Strategy and negotiation sessions are being set.  Watch for important updates on these two issues.

Next week committee and office assignments will be made for all legislators. The past week’s festivities did not deter legislation from being introduced.  On the first day of the 103rd General 1,124 House Bills were introduced. The Senate returns to Springfield on January 24th and the House on January 31st. The Illinois REALTORS® Advocacy Team looks forward to another successful year at the Capitol.

Stay Tuned!

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