Inside:
- Chairing the Veterans Affairs committee
- Some bills starting to move
- Senior driving test bill passes committee
- Around the district
Chairing the Veterans Affairs committee
Last week I had the great honor of formally taking the chairmanship of the House Veterans Affairs committee and chairing its first hearing.
It was the first time a Republican has been the chairman of an Illinois House committee in 12 years. However, the work of the Veterans Affairs committee is nonpartisan: assisting our veterans and improving the services the state offers to them is not a Republican or Democrat issue. I am looking forward to getting to work with the committee’s important business as the spring progresses.
The first meeting was mostly organizational. We will start reviewing bills over the next few weeks. If you would like to listen in the committee’s hearings, you can do so at this link. The committee’s regularly-scheduled meeting time is Tuesdays at 4 p.m. in Room 413, though that can sometimes be delayed if House session or earlier committees run long.
Some bills starting to move
The first step in getting a bill passed once it has been introduced is to have a committee hearing. A few of my bills have recently been assigned to committees for review.
One of these is House Bill 1149, which creates the Educational Credit for Firefighting Experience Act. This week it was assigned to the House Higher Education Committee. The bill requires Illinois higher education institutions to develop a policy about awarding academic credit for training which was conducted as a firefighter. State law already provides such credit for EMT training, this bill would extend credits to firefighters.
Two of my bills have been assigned to the Revenue and Finance Committee. House Bill 1501 will help prospective farmers get started in agriculture by creating tax incentives for a landowner who rents farmland to a beginning farmer. House Bill 1150 will make changes to the process for terminating a property tax exemption in cases in which a taxing district fails to file a timely affidavit.
A fourth bill, House Bill 46, went to the Child Care Accessibility and Early Childhood Committee. This bill will help ease the child care shortage in Illinois by directing the state to provide documentation to translate applications for child care licensure. This bill passed the committee unanimously on Thursday morning. We still have a little bit more work to do before the final vote in the full House next month.
Bills will be heard in committee over the next month, with the deadline to get them out of committee and onto the House floor set for March 21.
Senior driving test bill passes committee
I am one of many co-sponsors of a bill which would raise the age for seniors who are required to take the Illinois driver’s test. Current Illinois law requires a driving test for all persons aged 79 and up. If this bill should pass, the requirement would rise to age 87. A person aged 79 or 80 must renew their license every four years, a process that requires a vision test and a behind-the-wheel driving test. Anyone between 81 and 86 must renew their license every other year, with the same requirements.
Last week the bill to raise the testing age passed the House Transportation Vehicles and Safety Committee unanimously.
The bill was drafted with the help of the Secretary of State’s office, which administers driving tests and issues driver’s licenses. It would remove the requirement for a driving test, but it would also change the law to allow immediate family members of seniors to report concerns about their relative’s driving ability. Only four other states currently do not allow such reporting of concerns.
The bill is now before the full House for consideration.
Around the District
We had some nice events around the 71st District this weekend.
We got the first Polar Plunge of the year into the books! They had to break ice off the water at Lake Storey on Saturday morning so we could plunge. There was great turnout and a lot of money raised for a great cause…Special Olympics.
Saturday night was pancakes at Rio Fire Protection District! There was great support from community members. We saw a lot of familiar faces and friends with some interesting discussions.
More news
State cracks down on Chicago gas utility as other utilities ask for rate increase
REAL ID deadline looms. What Illinois residents need to know
Nominate and choose the coolest products made in Illinois
IDNR seeking campground hosts for 2025 camping season
New program saves Illinois public college students thousands of dollars