ISACo News and Views Newsletter for August 12, 2019

August 12, 2019

ISACo News and Views

This Illinois State Association of Counties (ISACo) weekly News and Views newsletter contains an update on bills enacted into law by the Governor including increased county taxation authority on recreational cannabis sales, provides information about a funding opportunity for local governments to assist with their 2020 census counts, references Illinois Department of Revenue (IDOR) estimates for Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 Personal Property Replacement Tax (PPRT) revenues, includes a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announcement declaring an agricultural disaster area in Illinois, provides a link to a National Association of Counties (NACo) federal advocacy toolkit and invites counties to join ISACo.

2019 Spring Session Resources

ISACo's summary of the major legislative issues addressed during the 2019 Spring legislative session is available via this link.

ISACo's Bills of Interest to Counties Approved by the General Assembly - 2019 report is available via this link. (Updated)

Please visit our website (www.isacoil.org) for additional resources and information.

Increased County Cannabis Taxation Authority Signed into Law

ISACo is pleased to announce that Governor J.B. Pritzker signed Senate Bill 2023 into law (P.A. 101- 0363 - available via this link ).

The new law includes a provision allowing all counties to impose a tax on recreational cannabis sales not to exceed 3% for sales that occur within municipalities. The tax must be imposed in quarter percent increments and is permissive by county.

The previously-approved recreational cannabis law (P.A. 101-0027 - available via this link ) allowed counties to impose a tax not to exceed 3.75% on sales that occur within unincorporated areas, but limited county taxation authority to 0.75% for recreational cannabis sales within municipalities.

P.A. 101-0363 provides counties with the same taxation authority on recreational cannabis sales possessed by municipalities for sales that occur within municipalities. The new permitted county tax for sales within municipalities will be an amount not to exceed 3%.

ISACo advocated for this increased authority through correspondence and conversations with the Governor's Office and will continue to advocate aggressively for county issues.

ISAC0 updated our recreational cannabis Policy Brief ( available via this link ) to reflect the new law.

Governor Bill Actions

Last week, Governor J.B. Pritzker signed several bills into law. Some of these new laws affect or are of interest to counties. The new laws are listed below.

HB 303 (P.A. 101 - 0228) - Sick Leave Disclosable Pension Payment

The new law ( available via this link ) adds accumulated sick leave to disclosable payments in the Illinois Pension Code. Effective immediately.

HB 344 (P.A. 101-0229) - Electronic Monitoring in Certain Facilities

The new law ( available via this link ) allows electronic monitoring in community-integrated living arrangements and developmental disability facilities. Effective January 1, 2020.

HB 1583 (P.A. 101 - 0239) - Requesting Arrest Warrants Electronically

The new law ( available via this link ) allows arrest warrants to be requested electronically. Effective January 1, 2020.

HB 2252 (P.A. 101 - 0253) - Gender Neutral County Clerk Statutory Language

The new law ( available via this link ) makes all county clerk language gender neutral. Effective immediately.

HB 2309 (P.A. 101 - 0255) - Availability of Certain Protective Order Petitions

The new law ( available via this link ) prevents a petition for an emergency stalking no contact order, civil no contact order, or emergency order of protection from becoming publicly available before the order is served on the respondent. Effective January 1, 2020.

HB 2723 (P.A. 101 - 0268) - Task Force on Strengthening Child Welfare Workforce

The new law ( available via this link ) increases the number of members on and extends the work of the Task Force on Strengthening the Child Welfare Workforce for Children and Families. Effective immediately.

HB 2767 (P.A. 101 - 0215) - Suicide Prevention for Law Enforcement

The new law ( available via this link ) establishes suicide prevention measures and training for law enforcement officers. Effective January 1, 2020.

HB 2931 (P.A. 101 - 0274) - TIF District Extensions

The new law ( available via this link ) extends numerous TIF districts by 12 years. Effective immediately.

HB 3151 (P.A. 101 - 0279) - Illinois Sentencing Policy Advisory Council

The new law ( available via this link ) removes the sunset of the Illinois Sentencing Policy Advisory Council. Adds the Cook County Sheriff, or his or her designee as an ex-officio member of the Council. Provides that the Council shall determine the qualifications for and hire the Executive Director. Effective immediately.

HB 3711 (P.A. 101 - 0293) - Baby Diaper Changing Stations in Public Restroom

The new law ( available via this link ) ensures public restrooms have at least one baby diaper changing station. Effective January 1, 2020.

SB 62 (P.A. 101 -0296) - Impact of Bankruptcies on Expired Liens

The new law ( available via this link ) clarifies how bankruptcies impact expired liens under the Cook County Recorder’s Office. Effective immediately.

SB 75 (P.A. 101 - 0221) - Workplace Sexual Harassment and Discrimination Protection

The new law ( available via this link ) includes multiple provisions intended to address sexual harassment and discrimination in the workplace. The bill affects employers, including local governments, by requiring an independent review of allegations of sexual harassment made against local officials, imposing limitations on the use of contractual provisions that would inhibit sexual harassment reporting and making sexual harassment against contractual employees illegal. The new law takes effect January 1, 2020, with the exceptions of the Hotel and Casino Employee Safety Act taking effect July 1, 2020, and changes to the Illinois Governmental Ethics Act taking effect immediately.

SB 482 (P.A. 101 - 0306) - Fee Waiver for Expunging/Sealing Records in Cook County

The new law ( available via this link ) e xtends the sunset of a Cook County pilot program waiving fees for filing certain petitions to expunge or seal records. Repeals an unfunded Illinois Student Assistance Commission program. Effective immediately.

SB 1246 (P.A. 101 - 0318) - Video Gaming Location Investigations

The new law ( available via this link ) requires the Illinois Gaming Board to establish a policy on investigating underage gaming and drinking at any video gaming location. Effective immediately.

SB 1258 (P.A. 101 - 0320) - Availability of Overdose Data for Law Enforcement Purposes

The new law ( available via this link ) allows for increased use of overdose mapping software to provide law enforcement and health officials the data they need to respond swiftly and effectively to spikes in overdoses. Effective immediately.

SB 1378 (P.A. 101 - 0327) - Jury Service Protection from Discrimination

The new law ( available via this link ) ensures LGBTQ people are protected from discrimination in jury service. Effective January 1, 2020.

SB 1568 (P.A. 101 - 0338) - Coroner Reporting of Sudden Infant Deaths

The new law ( available via this link ) modifies coroner reporting of sudden infant deaths. Effective January 1, 2020.

SB 1651 (P.A. 101 - 0344) - Renewable Energy Regulation in Forest Preserve Districts

The new law ( available via this link ) Allows forest preserve districts to regulate renewable energy within their boundaries. Effective January 1, 2020.

SB 2023 (P.A. 101 - 0363) - Increased County Taxation Authority on Recreational Cannabis

The new law ( available via this link ) increases county taxation authority on recreational cannabis sales to mirror the authority granted to municipalities for sales within municipalities. The law also eliminates the sunset of the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Program Act, adds new conditions for eligibility purposes and expands the range of medical professionals who can certify eligibility of applicants to the program. Effective immediately.

2020 Census Funding Opportunity

The Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) announced that it has issued a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) to maximize Illinois' success in the 2020 Census. IDHS will award grants to eligible community organizations and local governments to encourage a complete count in the 2020 Census. The deadline for submitted applications is September 6, 2019 at 5:00 pm CT.

The full IDHS press release is available via this link.

IDOR Releases Fiscal Year 2020 Personal Property Replacement Tax Estimates

The Illinois Department of Revenue (IDOR) is required to provide an estimate of the amount of Personal Property Replacement Taxes (PPRT) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2020.

The FY 2020 PPRT allocations are estimated at $1,537 million. This is an increase of 15.4% over FY 2019 replacement tax allocations that totaled $1,332 million.

Additional information, including estimates by taxing district, is available on IDOR's website via this link .

USDA Declares Disaster Area in Illinois

Following Governor J.B. Pritzker's July 3 request in the wake of historic flooding across the state, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has declared an agriculture disaster in all 102 Illinois counties.

This will provide Illinois farmers with access to federal resources that include low-interest loans to restore or replace essential property, cover production costs, pay essential family living expenses, reorganize family farming operations or refinance certain non-real estate operating debts.

A press release from the Governor's Office is available via this link.

NACo Federal Advocacy Toolkit

The National Association of Counties (NACo) has developed a toolkit to empower county officials to influence federal policy. The August recess provides a unique opportunity for county officials to engage with their national representatives right at home, drawing their focus to critical local issues before they head back to Washington.

The toolkit is available via this link. ISACo values our ongoing partnership with NACo.

The Key to ISACo's Success is YOU!

Is your county a member of ISACo? If not, why not?

ISACo is a statewide association whose mission is to empower county officials to provide excellent service to their residents.

ISACo member counties are comprised of forward-thinking public servants who recognize that the challenges confronting county governments require new and innovative ideas, collaborative solutions and collective advocacy at the state and federal levels of government.

Members of the association will benefit from education and training opportunities, peer-to-peer networking, shared resources and robust representation before policymakers at various levels of government. ISACo creates and connects county officials to these opportunities and successfully equips them to make counties ideal places to live, work and play.

If your county is interested in discussing membership in ISACo, please contact Executive Director Joe McCoy at (217) 679-3368 or jmccoy@isacoil.org. Thank you for your consideration.

News and Views is a service provided by ISACo for county officials and staff. Please feel welcome to share with interested parties. You can contact ISACo Executive Director Joe McCoy at jmccoy@isacoil.org or (217) 679-3368 if we can be of service. Thank you for your support of ISACo.