The House returned to Springfield for this week's first day of session while the Senate will return tomorrow. Both chambers are scheduled to remain in session through Friday, the House's third reading deadline.
Extensive time was spent on the floor in the early afternoon with a handful of committees taking place into the early evening. 31 bills passed the House today, relevant action is highlighted below.
Both the House and Senate will return tomorrow, April 15th with floor action beginning at 12 pm. Committee hearings will begin at 10:30 am.
Floor Action of Note:
HB 2601, Meat Inspection passed the House 106-0-0. This bill provides that the Director of Agriculture may exempt from inspection animals slaughtered or any meat or meat food products prepared on a custom basis at a Type I licensee only if the Type I licensee: plainly marks all such articles prepared on a custom basis "NOT FOR SALE" (rather than "NOT FOR SALE-NOT INSPECTED") and satisfies certain other conditions.
HB 4206, Landlord/Tenant Payments passed the House 107-0-0. This bill provides that if a landlord uses a third-party payment portal to collect rental payments from tenants and if a transaction fee or other charge is imposed through the portal on rental payments made by e-check or other means, then the landlord shall allow the tenant to make rental payments by delivering a paper check to the landlord or the landlord's business office or by means that do not require the tenant to pay the transaction fee or other charge.
HB 4348, Diversity Training passed the House 92-11-0. This bill amends the Commission on Equity and Inclusion Act. Provides that the Commission shall supervise (rather than oversee) the implementation and effectiveness of supplier diversity training of the State procurement workforce (rather the implementation of diversity training of the State workforce).
HB 4350, Child Abuse Notice Posting Requirement passed the House 87-2-0. This bill creates the Child Abuse Notice Act. Requires certain businesses and establishments, including, but not limited to, day care centers, bus stations, and general acute care hospital emergency rooms, to post in a conspicuous place a notice developed by the Department of Children and Family Services that is aimed toward children under 18 and provides information on what constitutes physical and sexual abuse and how to report such abuse. Requires the notice to be at least 8 1/2 inches by 11 inches in size, written in a 16-point font, unless the notice is provided by electronic means. Requires the Department, in consultation with an accredited Children's Advocacy Center, to develop a model notice no later than 6 months after the effective date of the Act. Requires the Department to make the model notice available for download on the Department's Internet website and provide the notice upon request to eligible business, and other establishments. Provides that the notice shall be printed in English, Spanish, and in one other language that is the most widely spoken language in the county where the establishment is located and for which translation is mandated by the federal Voting Rights Act, as applicable. Imposes certain penalties on those businesses and other establishments that are subject to the Act that fail to comply with the Act's requirements.
Committee Action of Note:
HB 4629 HFA 2, Junk Fees-Opposed was recommended be adopted in House Consumer Protection Committee 5-1-0. With this amendment, the bill creates the Junk Fee Ban Act. 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; the disclosure of total payment obligations for physical fitness services; and the disclosure of delivery fees. Provides for limitations of the Act. Provides that the Attorney General may enforce violations of the Act as an unlawful practice under the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act. Preempts home rule. The Sponsor has worked in good faith to remove much opposition but the bill remains problematic for some industries. |
