Capitol Briefs: Expansion of postpartum coverage, ban on kangaroos among
hundreds of measures to pass House
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[April 20, 2024]
By ALEX ABBEDUTO
& COLE LONGCOR
Capitol News Illinois
news@capitolnewsillinois.com
 SPRINGFIELD – Illinois kangaroo owners are one step closer to being
forced to surrender their marsupials this week after the House passed a
bill criminalizing their possession.
That was one of more than 300 bills to pass the House ahead of a Friday
procedural deadline.
If it becomes law, House Bill 4446 would expand the list of outlawed
animals to include two species of wild cats – servals and caracals –
along with wallabies and kangaroos. Animals, like lions, tigers and
bears are already banned from being pets under current law.
Bill sponsor Rep. Daniel Didech, D-Buffalo Grove, assured Rep. Charlie
Meier, R-Okawville, his district’s petting zoo would be allowed to keep
its kangaroo, assuming it is under the care of a licensed handler.
“We are not closing petting zoos in Illinois,” Didech said during
debate. “This is actually a very serious bill that was brought to me by
law enforcement.”
He said it was in response to aggressive animal encounters in Vernon
Hills, Decatur and Bloomington.
The bill currently grants exemptions for films produced in Illinois to
use outlawed animals. It also prevents veterinarians who administer
emergency medicine to banned animals from being sued unless it’s a case
of malpractice.
The penalty for illegally owning one of the illegal animals remains a
Class C misdemeanor. The measure passed the House 67-34 and heads to the
Senate.
AI-generated child porn
A bill that would outlaw the creation and sharing of child pornography
made using artificial intelligence unanimously advanced to the Senate
this week.
House Bill 4623, which was backed by Attorney General Kwame Raoul, would
expand current child pornography laws to also cover AI-generated child
pornography.
The bill sponsor, Rep. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz, D-Glenview, said if
AI-generated child pornography rapidly increases, law enforcement’s
ability to identify real cases would be more difficult. She also said
“while no real child may be harmed with AI-generated content, the harm
is that it normalizes abusive behavior” by depicting the crime.
Pregnancy and postpartum care
A bill expanding insurance coverage of pregnancy, postpartum and newborn
care advanced to the Senate Thursday as well.
Under House Bill 5142, which is backed by Gov. JB Pritzker, insurance
coverage through certain state-regulated plans would be extended to
include doulas, midwives, home births, lactation consultants,
breastfeeding supplies and more. Other insurance plans, like those
federally regulated under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act,
or ERISA, would be excluded.
The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Robyn Gabel, D-Evanston, said she thinks
increasing coverage of this type of care will save women’s and babies’
lives.
Financial experts estimate implementing these changes would cost the
Department of Insurance $260,000.
The bill passed out of the House 72-37. During debate, a few Republicans
expressed concerns with this coverage also being extended to people
undergoing abortion services.
Junk Fees Ban
A proposal to bar companies that aren’t already subject to price
regulations from imposing “junk fees” on consumers passed the House
Thursday in a 71-35 vote.
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State Rep. Bob Morgan, D-Deerfield, is pictured on the House floor
on Thursday, April 18. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Jerry Nowicki)
House Bill 4629, called the Junk Fee Ban Act, would require companies to
provide consumers with the full price of the provided goods or services
thereby removing back-end, hidden fees.
Bill sponsor Rep. Bob Morgan, D-Deerfield, said when he was recently at
a restaurant, the receipt listed a surcharge to cover the increased cost
of food rather than increasing the prices on the menu. His bill would
ban such practices and increase transparency, he said.
“Junk fees are exactly what they sound like. They're hidden, deceptive,
predatory fees. They're added by businesses without you knowing,” Morgan
said Thursday. “And they exploit each and every one of us for their
extra profit.”
Climate Change Curriculum
The House passed a measure that requires the Illinois State Board of
Education – if funding is appropriated by lawmakers – to provide
professional development to teachers regarding climate change
curriculum.
Bill sponsor Rep. Janet Yang Rohr, D-Naperville, said teaching the topic
of climate change is already required within the state’s school code due
to its adoption of the Next Generation Science Standards. Those
standards have been adopted by 44 states around the country, she added.
The proposal would give ISBE the authority to provide training materials
to teachers based on that curriculum.
House Bill 4895 passed the House in a 70-37 vote Thursday with only
Democratic support.
The proposal would require a one-time $300,000 expense, which would need
to be approved separately, according to Yang Rohr.
Prisoner Medical Release Hearings
A bill to add transparency and reporting measures to prisoner medical
release hearings passed in a 72-34 vote Wednesday.
House Bill 5396 would amend the Joe Coleman Medical Release Act, which
took effect in 2022. That law established the process for an inmate to
petition the Prisoner Review Board for an early release due to terminal
illness or medical disability.
Rep. Will Guzzardi, D-Chicago, said the bill aims “to make sure PRB
complies with the letter and the spirit of the original law.”
“It's my view that there are individuals who are perhaps eligible for
release under this Act who haven't been able to take advantage of it
yet,” Guzzardi said. “But in order for us to really make sure that that
happens, we have to have these hearings working right.”
The bill clarifies that hearings concerning a prisoner’s potential
release are public by default unless requested to be closed by the
petitioning inmate. The petitioner has the right to attend the hearing
to speak on their own behalf.
The bill would also require the PRB to provide public notice including
the petitioner’s name and attorney, the docket number, and the hearing
date. Voting would take place during the public hearing. If the petition
is denied, the PRB must publish a decision letter outlining the
statutory reason for denial and an estimated cost, including medical
expenses, of keeping the inmate incarcerated.
Capitol News Illinois is
a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government. It is
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funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R.
McCormick Foundation, along with major contributions from the Illinois
Broadcasters Foundation and Southern Illinois Editorial Association. |
