As we get closer to 2024, ringing in the new year will bring plenty of change– including legal changes as hundreds of new laws take effect in Illinois.
According to a search of the Illinois General Assembly’s website, at least 318 laws have an effective date of Jan. 1.
For list of the top 64 laws to know starting in the new year, click here.
Here’s a look at what residents need to know before the clock strikes midnight on the new year:
Laws that impact motorists, commuters
2389: No vehicle shall be stopped or searched by law enforcement solely because of a violation of driving with any object placed or suspended between the driver and front windshield, rear windshield, side wings, or side windows.
HB 2431: Videoconferencing while driving will now be prohibited.
HB 2582: Motorcycle licenses will no longer be offered to residents under the age of 18, with specific exceptions.
HB 3876: Residents of Illinois who buy vehicles in another state must apply for registration and certificate of title no less than 45 days after the purchase of the vehicle.
SB 0896: Auxiliary lighting on motorcycles may not emit blue lights. Auxiliary lights may only emit red light if they are actively braking.
SB 1251: Operators of ambulances or other rescue vehicles must have specified training in the operation of that vehicle. In municipalities with population of under one million residents, sirens and lamps must be in operation at all times when pedestrians and other drivers are present, and when that vehicle has been called to a bona fide emergency or has been directed to disregard traffic laws in the operation of the vehicle. The ambulance must also slow down at red lights to achieve safe operation.
SB 1526: The Department of Transportation must develop a mobile app that provides motorists with updated travel conditions.
SB 1653: The Department of Transportation and local authorities must institute a pilot program to erect and maintain hazard bars, or visual signs and additional signage, for all viaducts and underpasses with a clearance of less than 15 feet. Hazard bars must hang at the same clearance level as the viaduct or underpass, and be located at least 500 feet in front of them.
SB 2028: Requires best practices on stranded motorists to be included in Illinois Rules of the Road publications.
HB 1342: A massive transit bill, the law will explore expanded reduced-fare service, require transit agencies to purchase emission-free buses, and will provide free transit to victims of domestic violence.
HB 2068: All employers with 50 or more employees, and that are located within one mile of regularly scheduled transit service, will be required to allow eligible employees to exclude public transit costs from their taxable wages.
SB 1892: Public transit benefits provided to a person with a disability by the Regional Transportation Authority shall automatically renew unless it is discontinued by that individual. The individual will need to submit proof of Illinois residency.
SB 0040: New single-family homes and newly constructed or renovated multi-unit residential buildings that have parking spaces must provide at least one electric vehicle-capable parking space for each residential unit. The law does not require developers or builders to install or run wire or cable for such charging stations, but requires them to construct buildings in a such a way as to allow for the installation of charging stations.
SB 1438: The Illinois Dig Once Act will examine ways to reduce the scale and number of repeated excavations related to roads, highways, tollways and expressways for the installation and maintenance of broadband infrastructure.
HB 0042: The IDPH may issue decals for autism awareness license plate decals.
HB 1581: Special registration plates may be issued to United States submarine veterans.
HB 1865: Vehicles owned or operated by private or public university and college police departments may purchase permanent registration plates for $8.
HB 2584: Allows the issuance of Lyme disease research vehicle decals by the Department of Natural Resources. $10 of each issuance and $23 of each renewal will go to the Tick Research, Education and Evaluation Fund, which will be paid as grants to the Illinois Lyme Association.
HB 3436: “Thank a Line Worker” license plate decals will be available. $10 of each original issuance and $23 of each renewal shall be deposited into the “Thank a Line Worker Scholarship Fund.”
Health care changes
HB 2077: Healthcare providers will be required to send prescriptions electronically for specific controlled substances. The bill also allows patients to obtain medical records from dentists who are closing their practices, among other changes.
HB 3203: Pharmacists may sell fentanyl test stripes over the counter. Test strips may also be distributed by county health departments.
HB 3957: Manufacturers and wholesale drug distributors will be required to abstain from price gouging in the sale of essential off-patent and generic drugs.
SB 1889: When a pharmacist is not present in a pharmacy, a registered pharmacy tech, a registered certified pharmacy technician, a student pharmacist and other support staff are able to dispense prescriptions that have been verified by the pharmacist.
HB 1384: Insurance may not deny coverage for medically necessary reconstructive services that are intended to restore physical appearance.
HB 1565: Insurance must provide coverage for medically necessary vaginal estrogen, and must do so without a deductible, coinsurance, copay or any other cost-sharing that exceeds such payment amounts for treatment of erectile dysfunction.
HB 2130: The Insurance Data Security Law sets parameters for security around information obtained by insurance companies, and allows the state to take remedial action against companies that fail to comply with provisions of the law. The bill also makes changes to notification procedures in the event of a cybersecurity breach.
HB 2799: Insurance providers cannot have a higher standard of clinical evidence for the coverage of proton beam therapy than other types of radiation therapy treatments for cancer.
HB 3202: Insurance policies must cover medically necessary home saliva cancer screenings every 24 months if the patient is asymptomatic and at high risk for the disease.
HB 3955: Patients at University of Illinois Hospitals will not be unduly delayed provisions of their care, whether emergency or screening, to inquire about payment methods or insurance status.
SB 1665: Patients eligible for the Uninsured Patient Discount Act do not need to report guaranteed basic income payments as part of their eligibility check.
HB 2519: Hospitals must provide information and materials to voluntarily donate milk to nonprofit milk banks. Those materials must be provided to parents of newborn children upon discharge from the hospital.
HB 3428: Schools shall maintain a supply of opioid antagonists.
HB 3698: IDPH must establish family centers to provide counseling and mental health services to families who are indigent based on behavior or mental health conditions, as determined by IDPH rules.
HB 3809: Insurance shall provide coverage for therapy, diagnostic testing and equipment necessary to increase quality of life for children who have been clinically or genetically diagnosed with any disease, syndrome or disorder that includes low-tone neuromuscular impairment, neurological impairment, or cognitive impairment.
HB 3924: Schools shall provide instruction on the dangers of fentanyl to students in grades 9-12.
HB 3932: Students in grades 9-through-12 shall be educated on allergen safety, including ways of recognizing symptoms and signs of an allergic reaction, and steps to take to prevent exposure to allergens, and how to safely administer epinephrine.
SB 0067: Hospitals will be reimbursed for newborn screening tests for the presence of metachromatic leukodystrophy. The genetic disorder causes fatty substances to build up, particularly in the brain, spinal cord and peripheral nerves, and eventually causes the brain and nervous system to lose function because the myelin, which protects those nerves, is damaged.
SB 0188: Parents who consent to the performance upon their child of a health care service are allowed to inspect and copy the child’s records, so long as it is related to the service the parent consented to.
SB 0380: Individuals can bring action against any health care provider who knowingly or intentionally uses non-approved human reproductive material without the patient’s informed written consent.
HB 2076: IDPH must adopt criteria to identify distressed nursing home facilities quarterly.
HB 2858: Any person may report information about the suspicious death of an adult to an agency affiliated with the Department on Aging. Employers will not be allowed to discriminate against any employee who makes a good faith oral or written report concerning information about the suspicious death of an eligible adult.
HB 3172: This bill eliminates a law that prevented a person from being accepted for residency in assisted living facilities if the person required sliding scale insulin administration.
SB 0069: Every hospital must adopt an influenza and pneumococcal immunization policy that includes procedures for identifying patients age 50 or older for influenza vaccination and 65 and older for pneumococcal immunization. Previously the law only applied to those 65 and older.
SB 0216: Any guardian responsible for the care of someone with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia is required to complete a one-hour course within six months of appointment, and then once yearly thereafter.
HB 2039: IDPH and DCFS shall, at the request of local health departments, make any and all public health data related to residents of that jurisdiction available for purposes of preventing or controlling disease, injury or disability.
HB 2756: Those seeking licensing for massage therapy will be required to obtain one hour of continuing education related to domestic violence and sexual assault awareness each time they seek a new license or a renewal.
HB 3087: The Director of Agriculture may declare a temporary halt on the sale, movement or exhibition of certain types of animals to prevent the spread of disease in the state. Such declarations can be made in increments of 30 days.
HB 3849: The Department of Agriculture should encourage food manufacturers to use uniform terms to communicate quality dates and safety dates on food packaging.
SB 0836: Each manufacturer of architectural paint must submit a plan for the establishment of a postconsumer paint stewardship program.
SB 0759: Podiatrists may provide vaccinations to individuals age 18 or older after receiving proper training. That can include influenza, tetanus, and COVID-19 vaccinations.
Laws that center on education
HB 0342: The state Board of Education must develop a district-level Children’s Adversity Index to measure community childhood trauma exposure and requires teachers to provide instruction on trauma-informed practices.
HB 2392: Any teacher who is a member of a statewide association representing teachers and is elected to represent that group in federal advocacy work may spend up to 10 days in a school term representing the association in such a fashion with no deduction of wages. The association will be required to reimburse the employing school district for the cost of a substitute teacher.
HB 2503: Any person who wishes to take a course not offered by their local community college may take that course at another community college, and will be charged the price they would have been charged at their local school.
HB 2789: In order to be eligible for state grants, a public library or library system shall develop a written policy prohibiting the practice of banning books. Alternatively, libraries may adopt the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights.
HB 3402: When hiring physical education, music or visual arts educators, school districts must prioritize the hiring of educators who hold a license and endorsement in those specific areas.
HB 3428: Schools shall maintain a supply of opioid-reversal agents.
HB 3559: A school building’s emergency and crisis response plan must include a plan for law enforcement to rapidly enter a school building in the event of an emergency.
HB 3592: In situations of alleged sexual abuse, witnesses who are under the age of 18 shall only be questioned by a hearing officer, rather than by the teacher accused of misconduct, or a representative of that teacher.
HB 3801: Retention bonuses of $4,000 per year shall be awarded to National Board-certified teachers employed in hard-to-staff schools on a first-come, first-served basis.
HB 3814: In the daily pupil attendance calculation, participation in a “Supervised Career Development Experience” shall be counted toward the calculation of clocked hours of school work per day. Parents and students will be required to obtain assignments missed because of those activities, which include events surrounding State FFA, 4-H programs and more.
HB 3822: The Board of Education must deliver a report to the General Assembly on how to incentivize dual language instruction in schools.
HB 3924: Schools shall provide instruction on the dangers of fentanyl to students in grades 9-12.
HB 3932: Students in grades 9-12 shall be educated on allergen safety, including ways of recognizing symptoms and signs of an allergic reaction, and steps to take to prevent exposure to allergens, and how to safely administer epinephrine.
SB 0099: Changes laws on how to document if a student has a disability. It also requires makes changes to how it’s determined if students are eligible for accommodations, and provides that such regulations be made easily-accessible for students.
SB 0183: An “Alternative School Bill of Rights” will take effect, by which a pupil who is offered a transfer to an alternative school in place of disciplinary action shall be provided with information by administrators. Makes other changes to placement in alternative educational facilities.
SB 1558: Models of study for credit must be made publicly-available to enable students to become direct support professionals for organizations that specialize in assistance for those with developmental disabilities.
SB 1709: The Department of Human resources shall partner with the Board of Education to provide technical assistance for the provision of mental health care during school days with the goal of increasing availability of mental health resources for students.
SB 2374: The State Board of Education shall establish a competitive grant program to support the development or enhancement of computer science programs in K-12 schools.
Laws that impact employee rights
HB 2068: All employers with 50 or more employees, and that are located within one mile of regularly-scheduled transit service, will be required to allow eligible employees to exclude public transit costs from their taxable wages.
HB 2493: All employees in Illinois will be allowed up to two weeks of unpaid leave in the event a family or household member is killed in a crime of violence.
HB 2907: No award of monetary damages shall be granted to employers in labor disputes, aside from those dedicated to damage done to an employer’s property as a result of conduct prohibited by law.
HB 3301: Independent contractors are now included in the definition of “newly hired employees” for purposes of the Unemployment Insurance Act.
HB 3396: Any person who performs an action with the intent of interfering with, obstructing, or impeding a picket or other demonstrations or protests, or who places any object in the public way for such purpose, shall be subject to a Class A misdemeanor, with a minimum fine of $500.
HB 3491: Any laborer, worker or mechanic employed by a contractor or subcontractor and is paid in a sum less than the prevailing wage rate for work performed on a project has a right to legal action for whatever difference in salary there may be.
HB 3516: Employees are permitted up to 10 days of paid leave in a 12-month period to serve as an organ donor.
HB 3733: Employers shall email or mail copies of requested records to employees. Employers with remote workers shall provide specified information by email, or conspicuously post it on their website or an intranet site.
HB 3751: Non-citizens who are legally allowed to work in the U.S. will now be eligible to become police officers.
SB 0280: Most employers in Illinois will be required to provide covered employees with at least five days of paid leave per year.
SB 2034: Workers at companies with more than 250 employees are eligible for up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave if their child dies by suicide or homicide. Small employers of at least 50 people must allow for up to six weeks of unpaid leave. Leave must be completed within one year.
Laws focused on consumer protection
HB 1153: All counties with 70,000 or more inhabitants must create an office of county auditor, a reduction from 75,000 residents. The only county this will impact, according to U.S. Census data, is Vermilion county, which had a population of 72,337 as of 2020.
HB 1236: In competitive bidding situations, county boards shall take into account the bidder’s active participation in an apprenticeship program registered with the U.S. Department of Labor.
HB 1497: Car-sharing vehicles are exempt from the Automobile Renting Occupation and Use Tax if the tax was paid upon the purchase of the vehicle.
HB 1541: If gas or electricity is used as the only source of space cooling, then a utility may not terminate service on any day where the forecast includes temperatures of 90 degrees or warmer, or any day preceding a holiday or weekend when the NWS forecast includes temperatures of 90 degrees or above.
HB 1628: No landlord shall require a tenant to pay any amount by means of electronic funds transfer, including those that automatically debit funds on a recurring basis.
HB 2094: All marketing materials from mortgage companies not connected to a homeowner’s mortgage company must comply with specified requirements, so as not to mislead consumers.
HB 2123: The “Digital Forgeries Act” holds that individuals have rights to legal recourse if they are the target of “deep fakes,” or digitally-altered sexual images.
HB 2214: The Department of Human Services will be required to monitor the frequency with which SNAP benefits are stolen via card skimming, card cloning or other similar fraudulent methods, and submit a report on those thefts to the State’s Attorney.
HB 2217: Tenants must be provided a “Radon Guide for Tenants” pamphlet before agreeing to a lease. The tenant then has 90 days to conduct radon tests of the dwelling unit, and to have the permission of the property owner before taking radon mitigation steps. Leases can also be terminated in specific instances.
HB 2245: Cook County (or any county that exceeds three million residents) will be required to establish a vehicle theft hotline to facilitate the location of stolen vehicles.
HB 2269: All estate-planning documents must be able to be prepared electronically. Previously, only wills were included.
HB 2325: The bill provides that each full-service location at which residential mortgage licensee conducts any part of their business must be recorded with the state. Licensees may allow mortgage loan originators to work remotely if specified conditions are met.
HB 2500: Animal control facilities may not charge an adoption fee for dogs or cats if the person presents a valid ID or Illinois Person with a disability card with the word “veteran” printed on its face.
HB 2562: Owners or properties dedicated to residents age 55 and older must provide a common area whose temperature is maintained between 67 and 73 degrees. Properties without building-wide cooling and heating systems must provide a common gathering space where a cooling system operates when the heat index exceeds 80 degrees.
HB 3087: The Director of Agriculture may declare a temporary halt on the sale, movement or exhibition of certain types of animals to prevent the spread of disease in the state. Such declarations can be made in increments of 30 days.
HB 3097: The Amusement Ride and Attraction Safety Board may establish a schedule of fees for inspection and permit fees, and also makes changes in provisions of insurance, penalties and other safety concerns about amusement rides.
HB 3236: Contracts, transactions and agreements that extend credit to a consumer to purchase a dog or cat will no longer be permitted.
Hb 3363: DCFS will be required to establish and maintain a database on the safety of consumer products or substances regulated by the department that is publicly available, searchable, and accessible through the internet. It also expands the definition of “children’s product” to products designed to be used by children age 12 and younger.
HB 3707: The Commerce Commission shall publish all consumer complaints against any towing company on its website.
HB 3808: Streaming services are not required to pay ‘franchise fees’ to local governments for utility lines owned, operated and paid for by cable companies. The change was instituted to prevent consumers from being charged franchise fees for streaming services.
SB 0800: If a repossession agency believes a vehicle that serves as collateral collects or stores personal information, they must clear, erase, delete or otherwise eliminate the personal information collected by the vehicle.
SB 0328: Any person or company that sells products or services that include automatic renewal must disclose the renewal terms clearly and conspicuously before the agreement is signed. They also may not charge credit or debit cards or payment mechanisms without first obtaining the consumer’s consent to the renewal offer terms. They must also make it clear how to cancel the automatic renewal before an agreement can be signed.
SB 0850: The Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity may designate an area as a food desert even if it doesn’t meet the qualifications set forth in the original Grocery Initiative Act. To do so, the government must use data that includes poverty metrics and access to existing grocery stores, among others.
SB 1440: It is unlawful to knowingly mail or send a postcard or letter if the correspondence does not disclose or disclaim any and all affiliations. Those disclosures must be made in unambiguous language, and must be printed in at least 14-point bold-face font in a black-outlined box.
SB 1463 – Fees and fines can no longer be assessed in Illinois to individuals under the age of 18, except for traffic tickets, boating or fishing violations, or municipal ordinance violations.
SB 1705: A series of tax exemptions will be given to active duty members of the U.S. armed forces, provided they purchase the property using a form of payment were the federal government is the payor.
SB 1741: Property owners with five or more residential units must furnish an itemized statement of damage allegedly caused to leased units within 30 days of a tenant’s departure if a security deposit is being withheld in part or in full.
SB 1817: It is a civil rights violation to refuse to engage in real estate transactions because of immigration status. Specific wording for the law allows for inquiries into immigration status if required by federal law.
SB 1896 – New and used licensed motor vehicle dealers will be allowed to conduct sales activities via the internet, and will be permitted to deliver vehicles to residences or other suitable locations.
Eyebrow-raising new laws
While it was already illegal to text and to talk on the phone without a hands-free device, HB 2431 will also prohibit you from having your camera on during videoconferences on Zoom and similar apps.
Drivers can still use the apps on hands-free mode, but will need to be able to turn them off with the touch of a single button, according to the legislation.
Speaking of driving, police will no longer be able to stop or search a vehicle solely on the basis of having an object, such as fuzzy dice, suspended between the driver and the front windshield, rear windshield, side wings, or side windows.
Motorcycles will also be impacted by SB 0896, as riders will no longer be allowed to use auxiliary accent lights that emit blue light. Such lights will also be prohibited from emitting red light in circumstances outside of doing so when the vehicle is being stopped.
Motorcycles will be allowed to equip forward-facing electric turn signals near the handlebars or the front fork assembly, but the lights must be white or amber in color.
Residents of Illinois communities with covered bridges, or other forms of low-clearance tunnels, will be happy to know the state is exploring a pilot program to explore better warning signage and other items to help prevent collisions.
SB 1653 will institute the program to erect and maintain hazard bars or additional signage on viaducts and underpasses with a clearance of less than 15 feet.
Hazard bars under that legislation must hang at the same clearance level as the viaduct or underpass itself, and must be located at least 500 feet in front of the area where the vehicle will go underneath.
One final law will apply to the display and encounters of specific animals. SB 1883 will make it unlawful for any person to allow any member of the public to come into direct contact with a bear, or a “non-human primate,” according to the terms of the law.
The law requires barriers of sufficient vertical height to be designed to prevent such contact, and violations will be considered Class B misdemeanors.
