Inside:
- Much more news to come
- Bill to educate on rare but life-threatening condition passes House
- More Swanson-sponsored bills headed to the Governor
- More news
Much more news to come
At the time of this writing, the House was approaching the conclusion of the spring session, but several important issues were still unresolved. The largest of these is the state budget, in which Governor Pritzker has proposed to spend a record $55 billion, with several potential tax increases needed to pay for it all.
Yesterday afternoon the House sent a bill over to the Senate which will eventually contain the budget, but as of right now the details of the spending plan are still behind closed doors. Much of this is still up in the air at this hour, with conditions rapidly changing. A Saturday vote looks likely, but it is far from certain.
The budget process includes three bills: 1) The budget itself, which outlines how much money will be appropriated for the different state agencies and programs, 2) The Budget Implementation Act, which directs state agencies on how to spend the funds appropriated by the budget, and 3) the Revenue for the budget, which unfortunately this year looks like it is going to include several tax increases.
Below is an update on some news from this week, while we await the outcome of the final hours of session. Please check back on Saturday for additional budget information, and next week for a more thorough wrap-up of the action in the House of Representatives in this spring’s session.
Bill to educate on rare but life-threatening condition passes House
A bill I am sponsoring to better educate Illinois health care providers on a rare but life-threatening condition called Amniotic Fluid Embolism (AFE) passed the House this week and is on its way to the Governor.
AFE can strike a pregnant woman suddenly and can endanger her life and the life of her unborn child if not treated quickly. However, because it is such a rare condition many health care providers do not immediately recognize the signs, causing life-saving care to be delayed, sometimes with fatal consequences.
The legislation, which was carried through the Senate earlier this year by Senator Neil Anderson, would direct the Department of Public Health to conduct educational activities for providers on the signs, symptoms and management of AFE so that they might be better equipped to move quickly and save a life.
In addition, the bill also directs the Department of Public Health to adopt rules requiring local health departments to make public announcements informing the general public when a positive case of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever is detected within its jurisdiction.
The bill passed 105-0 is now awaiting action by the Governor.
More Swanson-sponsored bills headed to the Governor
Last month five bills which I introduced in the House were passed and sent over to the Senate. I am pleased to report that four of those bills have now passed that body as well and are on their way to the Governor.
House Bill 1149 creates a college credit for training completed as a firefighter. Illinois already offers a similar opportunity for EMT training, this bill extends that credit to firefighters. The bill passed both houses unanimously.
House Bill 1754 creates the Tracking Infectious Cases Knowledgeably (TICK) Act to help the Department of Public Health and local public health agencies improve awareness and education about alpha-gal syndrome, a tick-borne condition which can cause severe allergic reactions. This bill also passed unanimously.
Another bill which passed unanimously was House Bill 3388 which allows vehicles like ATVs or watercraft to be designed as a “fire department vehicle” if the appropriate local authorities designate the vehicle for fire department use.
A fourth bill which makes some grammatical changes to state statutes governing the Department of Military Affairs also passed.
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