March 25, 2022 State Capitol Report

Capitol Conference is here!

On Tuesday morning, the Illinois REALTORS® annual Capitol Conference will kick off with Speaker of the House Chris Welch welcoming nearly 400 REALTORS® to Springfield. During this year’s Capitol Conference members will be provided an inside look into our advocacy efforts and programs. Due to the Capitol’s strict COVID restrictions, the day will be a little different from past events but in following with the REALTOR® spirit, nothing keeps REALTORS® away from their advocacy.  Thank you for your engagement and efforts in protecting the real estate industry and private property rights! We cannot wait to see you on our most impactful advocacy day of the year.

This Week in Springfield

Both the Senate and House were in Springfield for session this week.  The House is now allowing the option of in-person or virtual hearings.  The Senate only provides for in-person hearings and requires a negative COVID test. In what we believe to be the “calm before the storm” as we are very close to the end of this session, there was very little substantive legislative floor action in both the House and the Senate. We are fully expecting a heavy amount of legislative action in the coming weeks.

Key legislation that became law this week

The House passed SB2803 which is fiscal year (FY2022) supplemental appropriation, the bill passed the Senate in early March. The bill appropriates a total of $4.1 billion to pay off several different outstanding debts. Including $2.7 billion to pay off a portion of the unemployment insurance debt; $900 million to pay towards state employee health insurance; $300 million for additional pension payments; and $230 million for the Prepaid College Tuition Program. Governor Pritzker signed the bill into law on Friday, March 25th (P.A. 102-0696)

Active Bills

Your Illinois REALTORS® Legislative Team remains focused on all last-minute amendments and discussions for bills that might be seeing action in the final 11 days of session. The following bills are “Active Bills” that the Illinois REALTORS® Legislative Team fully expect to be addressing in the last two weeks of session.

The bill amends the Illinois Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act by adding a section relating to the release or explosion of hazardous materials.  Specifically, to real estate, the bill mandates local plan commissions to create model rules requiring the disclosure, prior to the sale of homes, that the home is located near a railroad or street where hazardous materials may be transported. Illinois REALTORS® OPPOSE this bill.

As you’ll recall, the Source of Income bill this year, House Bill 2775, contained numerous other provisions that Illinois REALTORS® strongly opposed, including new affirmative defense to a legitimate eviction, and Source of Income provisions that were farther reaching than the local Chicago and Cook County ordinances. This week, an Illinois REALTORS®-drafted amendment stripping all of those onerous provisions out of the bill was accepted and filed by the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Villivalam (D-8th, Chicago).  The bill and the amendment have now been assigned to the Senate Executive Committee and are expected to be acted upon next week.  Due to the Senate amendment being added to this House bill, the bill must return to the House for concurrence.

Creates the Electric Vehicle Charging Act to mandate requirements for parking spaces that are electrical vehicle ready applicable to new or renovated residential buildings, including single-family home construction.  After much review by the Illinois REALTORS® Legislative Team and Legal Staff, it has been determined that we must continue to OPPOSE this bill. We have pledged to work on this bill with both Rep. Gabel and Senator Feigenholtz in the upcoming months.

Special permits and permitting fees required in the bill are just one of the many controversial issues involved with HB4903, that if passed, would establish a process for designating environmental justice communities.  For example, for “Environmental Justice” areas, there is a $200,000 permit fee for building/rehabbing projects.  Last minute discussions are now including the possible removal of this provision, but the bill includes numerous additional concerns for the coalition working against this bill, which includes the Illinois REALTORS®. However, recently many Senate Democrats are signing on as a co-sponsor and we expect legislative movement to happened next week. Stay tuned for updates.

As a result of the Surfside Condo collapse, condo owners are asking for reserve studies to be made available to residents.  This bill requires Condo HOAs to add reserve studies to the list of items that the HOA must make available upon request.  Illinois REALTORS® SUPPORTS this measure.

Makes clarifications in the Residential Real Property Disclosure Act. Illinois REALTORS® worked on this legislation with the Illinois Real Estate Lawyers Association, and we SUPPORT this legislation, as amended.

Intended to address wage theft issues across the construction industry, the bill provides that if a subcontractor failed to pay its employees, the primary contractor that hired the subs would be liable for a wage claim under the Wage Payment and Collection Act.  As originally written, the term, “primary contractor” would have included homeowners acting as the primary contractor for their own homestead. Following negotiations, the revised bill, which is now advancing, exempts homeowners acting as the primary contractor on his or her own residence.  As amended with this change, Illinois REALTORS® are NEUTRAL on the bill.

Next Week At A Glance

Keeping the spirit of “March Madness” and like we mentioned above with the slower paced legislative action this week, we are fully anticipating the end of session rush or “madness” to close out the year. Your Illinois REALTORS® Legislative team remain vigilant on all issues that affect the real estate industry and private property rights. STAY TUNED.

Thank you for reading the March 25, 2022 State Capitol Report. Click here to read previous reports.

Registration is Now Open!

April 25, 2023

Register Today!