This week's Illinois State Association of Counties (ISACo) News and Views e-newsletter provides an update on the spring legislative session schedule, lists ISACo-tracked bills approved by the House and Senate during the week of March 27-31, links to a report with recently-filed amendments pertinent to counties, shares information about a newly-appointed State Representative, includes news about freight mobility investments, makes county officials aware of an effort by Attorney General Kwame Raoul and other state Attorneys General to restrict the use of a chemical pesticide, announces that the United States Department of the Treasury (Treasury) is opening the portal for reporting American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Project and Expenditure Reports, links to our March County Quarterly Newsletter, shares upcoming National Association of Counties (NACo) webinar opportunities, highlights ISACo corporate partner PMA-IPRIME and invites counties to join ISACo.

General Assembly Out of Session for Two Weeks

The Illinois House was in session Tuesday through Thursday last week considering resolutions and holding committee hearings. The Senate met Tuesday through Friday to debate and vote on legislation prior to the March 31 final passage deadline to pass Senate bills over to the House. 

The Illinois General Assembly is on spring break for the next two weeks. Both chambers will return on April 18. At that time they will have two weeks to pass substantive legislation out of committees in the second chamber. 

Key Session Dates Remaining 

April 28: Deadline – Substantive Bills Out of Committee in Both Chambers 

May 11: Deadline – Third Reading for Substantive House Bills in Senate 

May 12: Deadline – Third Reading for Substantive Senate Bills in House 

May 19: Adjournment 

Bills Approved by the House/Senate

The following ISACo tracked bills* were approved by the House/Senate during the week of March 27-31:

SB 46 - Illinois Waterway Ports Commission (No Position)

SB 69 - Hospital Licensing-Vaccination (No Position)

SB 125 - Vehicle Code-Cannabis in Vehicle (No Position)

SB 214 - Disability Illness (Oppose)

SB 317 - Property Tax-Taxing Districts (No Position)

SB 686 - Coroner Inquest Testimony (No Position)

SB 754 - Prepackaged Explosive Components-Crime (No Position)

SB 849 - Blue Ribbon Commission on Transportation Infrastructure and Policy (No Position)

SB 850 - Grocery Initiative Act (No Position)

SB 855 - Healthcare Worker Background Check Act (No Position)

SB 1066 - Property Conveyed to Lake County (Support)

SB 1225 - Property Tax-Common Area (Support)

SB 1438 - Illinois Dig Once Act (No Position)

SB 1463 - Minors-No Fees or Fines (Oppose)

SB 1497 - Nursing Home-Resident Consent (No Position)

SB 1515 - Packaging and Paper Stewardship (Support)

SB 1595 - Vital Records-Certificates (No Position)

SB 1617 - Health Care Credentialing (No Position)

SB 1646 - Pension Code-Cook County-Re-entering Service as Election Worker (No Position)

SB 1653 - Highway Code-Underpass Hazard Bar (No Position)

SB 1670 - FOIA-Medical Records (No Position)

SB 1675 - Property Tax-Religious Property (No Position)

SB 1710 - Vehicle Code-Bicycle Trail Signage (Oppose)

SB 1804 - EPA-Refrigerant (No Position)

SB 1834 - Juvenile Court-Unattended Minor (No Position)

SB 1866 - Code of Corrections-Probation (No Position)

SB 1960 - Vehicle Code-Electric Scooters (No Position)

SB 1988 - Property Tax-Appeals (No Position)

SB 1997 - Counties Code-Building Regulation (Support)

SB 2005 - Housing-Veterans Preference (No Position)

SB 2037 - Community Land Trust (No Position)

SB 2226 - Conservation Opportunity Area (No Position)

SB 2227 - Counties Code-Recorders (No Position)

SB 2277 - Property Tax-Interest (No Position)

SB 2278 - Vehicle Code-Truck Max Height and Weight (No Position)

SB 2287 - Property Tax-Historic Residence (No Position)

SB 2368 - Building and Residential Codes (Oppose)

SB 2371 - Labor-Criminal Justice Attorney (No Position)

*An ISACo tracked bill includes bills that directly or tangentially impact county finances and operations, bills that may be of interest to county officials for the performance of their duties and legislation presented "for your information." ISACo positions of "support" or "oppose" are usually reserved for bills that directly or tangentially impact county finances and operations. ISACo also supports member county initiatives that are consistent with ISACo's County Platform.

Amendments Filed Last Week

A list of amendments filed for ISACo tracked bills during the week of March 27-31 is available via this link. In some cases, an amendment includes provisions that, if adopted, make the legislation an ISACo-tracked bill.

New Representative Appointed 

Mary Gill, the current executive director of the Mt. Greenwood Community and Business Association, was appointed as the new state representative of the 35th District. Gill replaces Representative Fran Hurley following her appointment to the State Labor Relations Board by Governor Pritzker.

Freight Mobility Investments

On March 30, Governor JB Pritzker joined state and local leaders and the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) to announce a nearly $200 million investment in 22 projects that will improve the movement of freight throughout the state, creating jobs and economic opportunity while enhancing safety and local quality of life. Administered by IDOT using federal funds, the Illinois Competitive Freight Program is designed to implement the goals of the Illinois State Freight Plan. Successful proposals were ranked based on the plan's goals: increasing safety, improving reliability, and boosting intermodal connections and commerce at the local level.

Click on this link for a complete list of projects and awards.

Additional information is available via this link.

Attorney General Raoul Seeks Restrictions on Sulfoxaflor

Attorney General Kwame Raoul joined with 12 Attorneys General seeking nationwide restrictions on the use of sulfoxaflor, a chemical pesticide that is toxic to bees and other pollinators.  Raoul said the coalition is composed of some of the nation’s leading agricultural producers who depend on pollinators to sustain their crops and natural ecosystems.

The coalition sent a letter to the United States Environmental Protection Agency warning that the unrestricted use of sulfoxaflor could have devastating effects on pollinators, ultimately harming the economy and endangering the nation’s food security. The group further urged the EPA to adopt reasonable restrictions on sulfoxaflor’s use and support further research into its potential impacts on human health and the environment.

Joining the Illinois Attorney General are the Attorneys General from Arizona, California, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Vermont and Washington.

Additional information is available via this link.

Treasury Department Opening Portal for ARPA Project and Expenditure Reports

The United States Department of the Treasury (Treasury) announced that the reporting portal for counties to submit their annual and quarterly American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Project and Expenditure (P&E) Reports will open on Monday, April 3. All counties must submit a P&E Report by April 30, 2023.

Please note that there is new information that is required for these April P&E Reports. Counties are now required to include the following information (these requirements DO NOT apply to expenditures that are paid for using lost revenue – EC 6.1):

1. Unique Entity ID Requirements for Subrecipients and Contractors: All subrecipients and contractors are required to have a Unique Entity ID (UEI) and have that number included as part of the reporting process. The UEI is the replacement for the previously used DUNS numbers, and they are issued by SAM.gov. While this requirement is not new, starting in April 2023’s P&E Report the report form will now return an error when no valid UEI is provided when creating new Subrecipient or Contractor entities. This was previously not explicitly required, but strongly urged by Treasury.
1. Treasury has stated that for the April 2023 P&E reporting form, if a pre-existing subrecipient or contractor record does not have a UEI, the system will simply flag it as a warning but not prevent them from submission of the entire P&E report.
2. However, ANY NEW subrecipient or contractor records will be required to have their UEIs provided and they cannot create those entities without one.
3. Treasury has stated they DO NOT KNOW how long they will be able to keep this flexibility available after April 2023 so counties should get their UEIs together ASAP.

1. New Subaward/Direct Payments Entity Type: All Subawards/Direct Payments records will be required to have an “entity type” selected before a subaward can be created. This field will capture whether the entity receiving the award or payment is a Subrecipient, Contractor, or Beneficiary. If a county attempts to create a new subaward for a subrecipient without a populated entity type field will result in an error. 

Additional information is available via this link.

ISACo County Quarterly for March 2023

ISACo's County Quarterly for March 2023 is available by clicking on the image below! 

Some of the content included within the County Quarterly is a message from new ISACo President and Kendall County Circuit Clerk Matt Prochaska, information about a dinner co-hosted by ISACo and the United Counties Council of Illinois (UCCI) and sponsored by ISACo corporate partner PMA-IPRIME during the February NACo Legislative Conference, a summary of a successful joint ISACo-Cook County event with members of Congress following the NACo Legislative Conference, an analysis of Governor Pritzker's proposed State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2024 budget and information for use in advocating for an increase in county funding through the Local Government Distributive Fund (LGDF).

Upcoming NACo Webinar

NACo has announced the following upcoming webinar opportunities. ISACo is a proud partner with NACo and encourages counties to participate in NACo membership and activities.

County Leaders Championing Justice Efforts in Local Communities

(Wednesday, April 5, 2023, 1:00pm-2:00pm CDT)

Counties are directing resources to programs, practices and policies to reduce the overuse and misuse of the criminal legal system, improve public safety, better serve residents with behavioral health conditions and improve community stability and health. County elected officials are championing these efforts to improve community members’ access to justice and behavioral health services. This webinar will feature county leaders who participated in NACo’s County Justice Peer Learning Network (PLN) to discuss local efforts and impacts achieved, as well as lessons learned throughout. To learn more about the impact of the PLN, visit here.

Click on this link to register for the webinar.

Reducing Jail Populations: Lowering Recidivism Through Jail-And-Community-Based Treatment and Services

(Thursday, April 6, 2023, 1:00pm-2:00pm CDT)

Reducing recidivism through effective jail- and community-based services can decrease jail admissions and populations and improve outcomes for people with criminal histories. 

Click on this link to register for the webinar.

CORPORATE SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT

This week's corporate partner spotlight highlights ISACo's partnership with Illinois Public Reserves Investment Management Trust™ (IPRIME™), is an investment pool for Municipal Treasurers acting on behalf of counties, townships, cities, towns, villages, libraries, park districts, water supply districts, fire protection districts, sanitary districts, housing authorities and other subdivisions of the State of Illinois.

The IPRIME Investment Shares Series is rated AAAm by Standard & Poor’s.

The Investment Shares Series is comprised of money market instruments having a maximum remaining maturity of one year (except U.S. government obligations that may have remaining maturities of up to two years).

The primary objectives of the Investment Shares Series are to offer the highest possible investment yield, protect principal, preserve liquidity and maintain Standard & Poor’s highest local government investment pool rating of AAAm. In addition, the Fund offers access to PMA Financial Network, LLC’s Fixed Income and Deposit Programs. With the experience and expertise of PMA, the Investment Shares Series grants investors access to a powerful investment management team that functions with a high standard of vision, synergy, and quality.

Click here to visit their website.

Click on this link to learn more about the benefits and opportunities available through ISACo's Corporate Partner Program.