Saturday, July 5

New laws take effect in July      Send a link to a friend

[JULY 5, 2003]  SPRINGFIELD -- Illinois consumers and businesses will have to dig deeper into their pockets beginning this month, since more than 300 fee increases took effect July 1 as part of the Democratic plan to balance the state budget, according to state Sen. Larry Bomke, R-Springfield.

Approved in Senate Bill 1903/Public Act 93-0032, the wide-ranging fee hikes include such items as pet food, used tires and boat registrations. Owners of coin-operated games will see a doubling of fees for each machine they operate, while farms face higher fees on feed and fertilizer. Nursing homes, hospitals, factories, insurance agents, construction companies and trash haulers are a few examples of groups that will encounter fee increases under the Democratic plan.                  

Senate Republican lawmakers opposed the increases, citing the effect on small business and consumers. These hikes, coupled with the loss of many tax incentives, could force businesses to pass costs on to consumers, lay off employees or simply move out of state, taking jobs and paychecks with them.

In response to two other recent bills many businesses and trucking companies have already expressed their desire to move to neighboring states with more favorable tax laws. The passage of a state death tax (Senate Bill 1725/Public Act 93-0030) and the narrowing of the rolling stock tax exemption on trucks (Senate Bill 841/Public Act 93-0023) both went into effect on June 20.    

In other legislation, a measure also taking effect July 1 provides senior citizens an opportunity to enroll in a prescription drug discount program, regardless of their income. Passed by the General Assembly in May, Senate Bill 3/Public Act 93-0018 creates a new, voluntary program that places a ceiling on drug costs at all participating pharmacies. It also requires the state to negotiate rebate agreements with drug manufacturers, allowing Illinois seniors to obtain their prescription drugs at a discounted price.          

Any senior citizen 65 years or older qualifies. As participants in the program, seniors will pay a $25 enrollment fee to participate and help pay for the program. Those already enrolled in the Circuit Breaker program are not required to pay the enrollment fee, and under the bill, they will automatically be enrolled and have access to discounts on medications not covered by Circuit Breaker.

Senate Bill 3 was approved without opposition by the legislature, and seniors should begin receiving discounts by January 1, 2004.

In other business, Senate Bill 744/Public Act 93-0021 implements the state's education spending for next year and contains a mixed bag for the students of Illinois. On the plus side, it raises the foundation level of education spending -- the minimum guaranteed to each Illinois pupil -- by $250, from $4,560 to $4,810 annually. However, many worthy programs, such as gifted education, family literacy, and substance abuse and violence prevention, are eliminated, despite Republican objections.    

 

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House Bill 2750/ Public Act 93-0014 gives community health providers who provide treatment to individuals with developmental disabilities a 4 percent cost-of-living adjustment. It also funds community-based addiction treatment services and other programs that help people overcome problems associated with drugs, alcohol, gambling and other addictions.         

Thanks to Republican efforts, House Bill 2750 also provides $100 million in grants for school districts that were overlooked in the Democrats' education budget.         

Changes to Illinois' crematory laws will help Illinois avoid a situation like last year's controversy in Georgia, where an unlicensed crematory improperly disposed of human bodies and provided families with false remains. House Bill 4696/Public Act 92-0675 establishes licensing requirements for Illinois' 64 crematories, encompassing the current regulatory efforts of state agencies.

House Bill 4911/Public Act 92-0629 creates intrastate fleet license plates, saving time and money for companies with large fleets of cars or trucks used for intrastate commerce. Under the new law, these companies will be able to register fleet vehicles in the same manner as interstate companies.

House Bill 5615/Public Act 92-0775 requires drivers who repeatedly drive without liability insurance to provide proof of financial responsibility or risk losing their license. Current law requires all vehicles to have proof of insurance in the form of an insurance card, but the new law will require those convicted of driving uninsured vehicles three or more times to provide the state with a written certificate from an insurance carrier certifying that it has issued a motor vehicle liability policy. If the policy lapses during the year, the insurance company will notify the state, and the driver will lose his or her license.

House Bill 5906/Public Act 92-0794 licenses treatment facilities to assure that patients in the end stages of renal disease receive quality care. End-stage patients undergo dialysis in the last stages of their treatment, and the new licensing will require such facilities to have trained doctors or nurses on-site to oversee patient care, adequate staff to meet medical and non-medical patient needs, and a minimum set of standards to ensure patient safety.

[News release]

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