I hope you and your family are doing well and enjoying spring!
It is my pleasure to provide this overview of the 2022 Legislative session that adjourned in the early hours of the morning on Saturday, April 9th. Despite this year’s shortened session, we passed a responsible and balanced budget, provided tax relief for Illinois families, and advanced a significant package of crime-fighting public safety measures.
I passed several bills this year that are headed to the Governor for his signature, aimed at improving the quality of life for seniors, nursing home residents, workers who suffer from a tragic loss, residents in manufactured housing communities, and more. Information on those bills, other legislation of note, and upcoming events are outlined in this newsletter.
If you ever have any questions, concerns, or requests for assistance please do not hesitate to contact my office at staterepmoeller@gmail.com or 847-841-7130. It is an honor to represent you in Springfield and my staff and I look forward to serving you.
Warmest Regards,
Anna
A Balanced State Budget and Inflation Relief
Increased Funding for Vital Services, Debt Reduction and A Rainy Day Fund
We passed a $46 billion FY23 Budget that is balanced, invests in critical programs, and services and provides tax relief for Illinois families. This year’s budget has two noteworthy components: the first is aimed at improving Illinois’ long term fiscal outlook and second, targeted relief for
residents impacted by inflation and rising property taxes. Overall, the budget prioritizes spending for human services, expanding access to healthcare, public safety, and education. We also passed a limited capital budget that invests in infrastructure and public improvements.
Family Relief Plan
The FY23 budget includes $1.8 billion in aid for people and families who are struggling with rising costs due to inflation.
Key initiatives include:
Suspending the grocery tax for a year-saving consumers $400 million
Freezing the gas tax for 6 months-saving consumers $70 million
A property tax rebate of up to $300 per household
We are permanently expanding and increasing the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) in Illinois. The EITC will now cover workers aged 18-25 and 65 and over and ITIN filers are now included with refundable credit.
To provide assistance to parents as they manage the pressures of inflation and other challenges, we are giving eligible tax filers a one-time direct check for $50 and $100 for each of their dependent children.
To further combat inflation, we are also creating the “Reducing Inflation Impact Fund” to provide additional funding to local governments.
Finally, we will also be doubling the tax credit for teachers purchasing classroom materials and there will be a sales tax holiday in August on school supplies for all consumers.
Budget Break-Down
The FY23 budget prioritizes critical human services, education, health equity, and public safety, including:
$350M increase for evidence-based education funding.
$150M for new affordable housing units, and $275M for affordable housing development programs.
$450M for the Healthcare Transformation Collaborative program for care in underserved areas.
$130M for legal assistance for those facing eviction as a result of COVID-19.
$68M in funding for universities and community colleges.
$113M to replace lead service lines.
$9.6B to fully fund our pension obligation for FY23, and an additional $200M pension payment.
$4B to pay down unpaid bills.
$1B to the once-depleted “Rainy Day Fund.”
Representative Moeller’s Legislative Initiatives
The following bills passed the House and Senate and will be sent to the
Governor for his signature.
Increased Bereavement Leave for Workers
SB3120 requires an employer to grant 10 days of unpaid leave for an employee who experienced the loss of parent, step-parent, grandparent, sibling or spouse, and for those who experienced a miscarriage, an unsuccessful round of IVF, a failed adoption match, a failed surrogacy arrangement, or a diagnosis or event that impacts pregnancy or fertility.
Landmark Nursing Home Funding Reform
HB0246 reflects over two years of hearings, negotiations, and work to reform the nursing home industry and protect the citizens of Illinois.
We listened to tragic stories of overcrowding and understaffing that happens in many nursing homes.
We learned how Covid-19 only exacerbated an already chronically bad situation. HB246 puts Illinois on track to provide the dignity, respect, and quality of care all seniors and nursing home residents deserve.
The bill will reduce the crowding of residents and ensure staffing is adequate to the care of those residents.
For far too long, our seniors, and their families, have been at the mercy of some nursing home facilities that placed profit over quality of care. Those practices must end; HB 246 will help to make that happen.
The bill will provide accountability by creating transparency as to who owns nursing homes, how much they profit and where those profits go.
It will incentivize proper staffing and ensure that the staff are given the training and compensation they deserve. This is a win for the staff of nursing homes as well. They have been overworked and underpaid for this critical work. They will now be compensated for their hard work and dedication.
HB246 will also modernize the method of payments made to nursing home facilities. The existing model has been criticized for wrongfully incentivizing therapy services and neglecting the fact that medically complex residents often need more complex care. The new model of payment focuses on the patient rather than the volume of services provided. It will attend to the unique, individualized, and characteristic needs, and goals of each patient.
The bill is a result of negotiations with all the stakeholders in the long-term care industry.
Support for Spouses of Nursing Home Residents
SB2962 is expands the amount of savings and income that spouses of residents in nursing homes may keep to care for themselves and their family. It is critically important that we recognize the needs of our seniors in our community when their spouse needs nursing home care.
In this time of rampant inflation, our seniors need help. By allowing them to keep more of their own hard earned income and assets, without jeopardizing the care of a spouse in a nursing home, we are showing them the respect that our seniors deserve.
For the last ten years, federal guidelines have increased what community spouses may keep of their own money, but Illinois has remained flat with no increases to account for inflation. This legislation will increase the amount community spouses are allowed to keep each year for the next ten years, until Illinois has “caught” up to the federal rates.
Designating US Rt. 20 the “Illinois Medal of Honor Highway”
In coordination with the Illinois Veterans Advisory Council, and with the support of colleagues including State Representative Stephanie Kifowit, I passed Senate Joint Resolution 28 that renames the entirety of U.S. Highway 20 running through Illinois the “Illinois Medal of Honor Highway”.
The brave men and women in our armed forces make huge sacrifices to keep us safe, and they deserve recognition for their service. I hope that lasting public declarations of our appreciation for this service, such as the Illinois Medal of Honor Highway, sends the message to Illinois’ veterans that we support them.
Support for the City of Elgin and the Coalition to Stop the CPKC Railroad Merger
HR773 declares support for the City of Elgin and the Coalition to Stop the Canadian Pacific – Kansas City Southern Railroad merger.
The proposed merger will negatively impact the City of Elgin and communities along the Milwaukee Northwest Line due to long freight trains blocking at grade crossings and creating public safety hazards, noise and possible environmental damage. HR773 urges the Federal Surface Transportation Board to reject the CPKC merger application.
Longmeadow Parkway Bridge Funding
Along with Representative Suzanne Ness, we successfully secured $17.5 million to help retire the bonds for the Longmeadow Parkway Bridge, and as a first installment of funding to eliminate the need for tolling on the bridge. The Longmeadow Parkway Bridge Corridor spans 5.6 miles and covers Algonquin, Carpentersville, East Dundee and West Dundee.
Consumer Protections Manufactured Housing
SB1097 requires transparency and regulation on owners of manufactured housing communities if they increase a tenant leasing price. The bill also restricts a park owner from charging or imposing a pet fee upon a resident that owns the home, unless a service related to the pet is offered by the park owner and accepted by the resident.
Other Important Legislation
Public Safety Package
We passed a smart-on-crime package to make our streets safer, support police, and help crime victims get the support they need.
We targeted carjackers and ringleaders who recruit youth. We also funded youth intervention programs.
We worked to ensure that victims and witnesses of violent crimes can come forward and receive support with relocation.
Mental health is receiving greater emphasis, with a new fund and grant program designed to provide behavioral health services for first responders.
We took recommendations from law enforcement to help them recruit and retain officers – while working to increase access to off-hours child care that helps first responders balance their schedule with family needs.
HR733)/HB 4850 – Title IX
HR 733 celebrates the passage of Title IX and recognizes the role it plays in the fight for gender equality. Republicans refused to support it.
While Title IX has made several necessary advancements in the protection against sexual discrimination, there is still work to be done. HB 4850 makes an employer liable for gender related violence committed in the work environment – aiming to discourage workplace discrimination and abuse. Republicans voted no.
House Bill 4784 – Property Rehab
Safe, affordable housing leads to greater socioeconomic stability and more opportunities for working families. Housing is a human right, and Democrats are committed to making housing more affordable and accessible for all.
We passed HB 4784 to redevelop vacant and abandoned properties as affordable housing in communities of concentrated poverty.
Affordable housing will revitalize these communities and lead to greater employment and economic growth.
House Bill 4093 – Environmental Assessment in Permitting
All people, regardless of race, color, socioeconomic status or background, deserve to live in a clean and healthy environment and be protected from environmental pollution.
An environmental justice community is a community that is disproportionately exposed to environmental health hazards due to flawed, outdated environmental policies. People of color and low-income residents are more likely to live in these communities
To mitigate these issues, HB 4093 creates new requirements for issuing permits to own and operate a source of pollution and requires the IEPA to consider environmental justice communities during the environmental permitting process.
House Bill 5334 – Coverage for Genetic Testing for Breast and Ovarian Cancer
Everyone deserves affordable and accessible preventative health care. Democrats believe everyone should have bodily autonomy and the right to make decisions about their health care, but they need the most accurate information to do so.
HB 5334 requires individual, group accident, and health insurance policies to cover the cost of genetic testing for breast and ovarian cancer.
House Bill 4338 – Prenatal Vitamin Coverage
HB 4338 requires that physician-recommended prenatal vitamins are covered by individual and group accident and health insurance policies.
Families who just want to have a healthy baby and safe pregnancy should not be forced to pay exorbitant fees for medical necessities.
Healthcare is vital and we won’t let quality of care be restricted based on income.
House Bill 4343 – Medicaid Red-tape
This measure makes it easier for seniors and the disabled to maintain their Medicaid eligibility and received affordable long-term care.
HB 4343 cuts down on red tape that makes Medicaid difficult to navigate and increases the wait time for medical attention.
Groups with special needs deserve appropriate levels of care to remain safe and healthy. It is not an option for them to live without essential medical care.
House Bill 5142 – Health Insurance Sign-up
·HB 5142 creates an easy enrollment program for health insurance by allowing taxpayers to begin the process of signing up for health insurance through their tax returns.
·Making it easier to sign up for health insurance will expedite the process of getting healthcare. Long wait times for coverage means long wait times for care. Many people need care immediately, and waiting to be covered might not be an option.
This legislation will cut back on the accrual of more medical debt for Illinoisans. When people have less debt, they can spend more money stimulating their local economies and helping their communities thrive.
House Bill 1587 – Home Accessibility Support
HB 1587 provides financial assistance to people with disabilities to make home improvements that help support independent living.
People deserve to have the tools to live on their own, unencumbered by their disabilities.
By funding this assistance, we will create more independent homeowners and more consumers for local businesses, bolstering state and local economies.
House Bill 1780 – Drug Take-Back Bill
The Drug Take-Back Act (“Act”), created by HB 1780 to establish a single, uniform, statewide system of regulation for safe and secure collection and disposal of medicine through a uniform drug take-back program that is operated and funded by pharmaceutical manufacturers.
House Bill 4383- Ghost Gun Ban
Immediately prohibits the sale of unserialized gun parts, as these can be used to build ghost guns. The bill also requires that all unserialized guns must be serialized in the next six months. In the fight to stop gun violence, the passage of this bill marks a monumental step towards smart, safe firearm ownership.
House Bill 1571- First Responder and Shift Worker Child Care
This bill creates the Off-Hours Child Care Act, which allows the Department of Human Services the flexibility to design an off-hours child care program that meets the needs of first responders and off-hours workers. The legislation recognizes that finding child care is a burden on third shift workers (e.g. firefighters, paramedics, police, nurses, etc.) as most child care centers in Illinois are only open during normal work hours.
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