Springfield Update

IAR State Capitol Report

The General Assembly was in session Tuesday April 28-Thursday, April 30 this week as work continued in committees on various bills. Next week marks a critical deadline- Friday, May 8th is the committee hearing deadline. As you know, the IAR has been actively lobbying against pending legislation (HB 1195 and SB 2101) that seeks to allow ALL municipalities in Illinois to create an independent entity called a “Land Bank Authority” (LBA). It is our understanding that the sponsor and proponents are intending to use one of these bills for limited provisions regarding liens and notices that have been agreed to by the lending lobby and the other bill will be used to advance the Land Banking Authority provisions. The IAR will remain vigilant in our opposition and we urge you to continue to contact your elected officials. The IAR position paper on the Land Banking Authority legislation is available on the IAR website. House Bill 2439, an initiative of the IAR was unanimously approved by the Senate Environment Committee this week. This bill, sponsored by Senator Iris Martinez and Representative Dan Reitz, amends the Illinois Radon Awareness Act to make necessary clarifications to the law, including a provision that clearly exempts transfers involving a dwelling unit located on the third story or higher above ground level, including dwelling units in condominiums and cooperatives. The IAR SUPPORTS this bill which is pending final passage in the Senate. Another radon related bill was also approved in the Senate Licensed Activities Committee. That bill, sponsored by Senator Jacqueline Collins and Representative Dan Reitz, prohibits the sale of a device to detect the presence of radon or radon progeny without the prior approval of the device from the Illinois Emergency Management Agency and requires that all electronic radon detection devices to be calibrated to ensure the accuracy and precision of their measurements. The bill also creates a Task Force on Radon-Resistant Building Codes to make recommendations to the Governor, the IEMA, IEPA and the Pollution Control Board concerning the adoption of rules for building codes. The IAR is represented on the Task Force. The IAR is NEUTRAL. The House unanimously passed Senate Bill 1053 this week marking FINAL action on this bill for the spring session. SB 1053, sponsored by Senator Don Harmon and Representative Sid Mathias, amends the Code of Civil Procedure to extend the time limit within which a judgment for possession obtained in an eviction action may be enforced from 90 to 120 days. The IAR was NEUTRAL on this measure which will be sent to the Governor for his consideration. A duplicate bill, HB 3690 was approved in the Senate Judiciary Committee this week and sent to the Senate floor. The Senate Agriculture and Conservation Committee advanced House Bill 1087 this week. This bill, sponsored by Senator John Sullivan and Representative Dan Reitz, modifies the existing Illinois Forestry Development Act and establishes into State law an Illinois Forestry Development Council. The Council is directed to study and evaluate the forest resources and forest industry of Illinois and the legislation spells out specific duties. A duplicate bill is scheduled to be heard in the House Agriculture and Conservation Committee next week (SB 1413). The IAR is NEUTRAL on these bills. The House Business and Occupational Licenses Committee advanced Senate Bill 1579 this week. This bill, sponsored by Representative Elaine Nekritz and Senator A. J. Wilhelmi, creates the Community Association Manager Act and require managers of community associations (condominiums, cooperatives, townhouse developments and other common interest communities) of more than 10 units to be licensed by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) after January 1, 2011. Licensed real estate brokers and salespersons are exempt from the education requirement. The IAR SUPPORTS this legislation which is now pending in the House. A duplicate measure (HB 271) is scheduled to be heard next week in the Senate Judiciary Committee. Also approved this week in the House Judiciary I- Civil Law Committee was Senate Bill 2111, sponsored by Representative Dan Reitz and Senator Don Harmon. This bill is an initiative of the Land Title Association related to disbursements of funds. An amendment was adopted to make a correction in the drafting of the bill. The IAR is NEUTRAL. The Senate Judiciary Committee approved several bills of interest this week. House Bill 153, sponsored by Senator Iris Martinez and Representative LaShawn Ford, requires that any deed executed under the Code of Civil Procedure or judgment vesting title by a consent foreclosure include the grantee’s or mortgagee’s name and the name of a contact person, street and mailing addresses and telephone number. The IAR is NEUTRAL. House Bill 688, sponsored by Senator Jacqueline Collins and Representative Marlow Colvin, is an initiative of the city of Chicago and is intended to expedite receivership procedures for abandoned or dilapidated condominium property. The IAR is NEUTRAL. House Bill 2351, sponsored by Senator Donne Trotter and Representative Harry Osterman, modifies existing law regarding excess funds from the now defunct Torrens fund in Cook County (Cook County had used this system of recording ownership interest in property- Illinois law abolished it in the early 1990s). The IAR SUPPORTS this bill. Legislation to ban text messaging while driving continues to advance in the General Assembly. The Senate Transportation Committee unanimously approved House Bill 71 this week. The bill prohibits a person from composing, sending or reading an electronic message while driving. Exceptions are in the bill for law enforcement, a driver reporting an emergency situation, a driver using an electronic communication device in hands-free or voice-activated mode and for a driver of a commercial vehicle reading a message on a permanently installed communication device. This bill is sponsored by Senator Martin Sandoval and Representative John D’Amico. The IAR will continue to MONITOR this issue. The Senate Local Government Committee advanced several bills of interest this week. House Bill 466, sponsored by Senator Michael Frerichs and Representative Naomi Jakobbson, amends the law related to pre-annexation agreements. The bill adds Champaign County to those counties specified to follow certain procedures. The IAR is NEUTRAL. House Bill 629, sponsored by Senator Deanna Demuzio and Representative Frank Mautino, specifies smaller site construction site stormwater permit fees. The IAR SUPPORTS this bill. House Bill 2451, sponsored by Senator Dan Rutherford and Representative Ken Dunkin, would allow municipalities to combine costs associated with certain nuisance liens (landscape, trees, garbage/debris, and pests) into a single lien. The bill also makes these four sections more consistent. The IAR is NEUTRAL. House Bill 3987 was debated and approved this week over the opposition of the municipal lobby. This bill, sponsored by Senator Don Harmon and Representative Julie Hamos expands the existing Energy Efficient Commercial Building Act first enacted in 2004 to cover both commercial and residential buildings (with certain exemptions). While HB 3987 expands the Act to cover both commercial and residential buildings there were important provisions added to address specific concerns of the IAR and the Home Builders Association which removed our opposition. The IAR is now NEUTRAL on this measure. Various bills were approved this week in Committee to extend the term of Tax Increment Financing Districts in various municipalities- including Downs (HB 241/SB 1553), Sherman (HB 870), Steeleville (HB 1086), Morris (HB 1628), Macomb (SB 242) and Washington (SB 1277). The IAR is NEUTRAL on these bills. The House Environment and Energy Committee approved Senate Bill 1489 this week with additional language added in an amendment. This bill, sponsored by Representative Elaine Nekritz and Senator Iris Martinez, creates the Green Infrastructure for Clean Water Act. The bill directs the Illinois EPA, in conjunction with the Department of Natural Resources, the Department of Transportation and the Capital Development Board, stormwater management agencies and other interested parties, to submit a report to the General Assembly and Governor on stormwater including green infrastructure use and benefits. Also to be contemplated is the feasibility of devoting 20% of the Water Revolving Fund to green infrastructure, water and energy efficiency and other “environmentally innovative activities” on a long-term basis. The IAR is MONITORING this issue. House Bill 2005, sponsored by Senator Jacqueline Collins and Representative Andre Thapedi, received unanimous approval in the Senate Financial Institutions Committee this week. This bill was negotiated in the House with the IAR and various lending groups. Currently Illinois law provides that if a sale is held and a party entitled to receive notice does NOT receive notice, that party may ask the court to set aside the sale PROVIDED that such party guarantees or secures by bond a bid equal to the successful bid at the prior sale. This bill modifies that language to provide that no such guarantee or bond is required if the party is the mortgagor, the real estate sold is residential real estate and the mortgagor occupies the residential real estate at the time the motion is filed. The IAR is NEUTRal

State Capitol Report is distributed Fridays when the General Assembly is in session. For more information, contact Greg St. Aubin, Director of IAR Governmental Affairs, gstaubin@iar.org or Julie Sullivan, Assistant Director, Legislative and Political Affairs, jsullivan@iar.org. Full text of legislation cited in this newsletter can be found at www.ilga.gov.