Illinois Legislative News: March 30, 2026
Third Reading Consulting Group
Last week was a busy one at the State Capitol as the Illinois House of Representatives rushed to meet the March 27 deadline to pass House bills out of committee. The deadline is significant as it largely determines which bills will proceed further in the legislative process, although new language can be amended onto bills that have already advanced through the legislative process later in session. The Illinois Senate’s committee deadline occurred two weeks earlier, on Friday, March 13. However, that deadline came just a few days before the primary election, and many Senate bills that were not considered before the committee deadline had their deadline extended through March 27, giving the week a committee deadline feel in the Senate as well.
Last week, the House passed a total of 264 bills out of committee, and the Senate has passed a total of 21 bills out of committees. To meet the deadline, many of the bills that cleared committee this week will be held on second reading on the House Floor and sent back to committee with or without amendment language for further consideration.
Some significant bills that have passed out of their committees include the following measures:
- HB 4514 (Syed) amends the Public Utilities Act to require the Illinois Commerce Commission to hold at least one in-person public hearing in the service territory of any gas, electric, water, or sewer public utility that requests a general rate increase, allowing affected ratepayers to testify and provide input. HB 4514 passed the House Public Utilities Committee as amended by a vote of 11-6-0.
- HB 5196 (Morgan) amends the General Obligation Bond Act and the Illinois Pension Code to extend the Accelerated Pension Benefit Buyout Programs for SERS, SURS, and TRS through June 30, 2028 and authorizes an additional $700 million in State Pension Obligation Acceleration Bonds to fund buyout payments. HB 5196 passed the House Personnel & Pensions Committee as amended by a vote of 10-0-0.
- HB 3762 (González) creates the Workplace Extreme Temperature Safety Act, requiring the Director of Labor to adopt rules establishing excessive heat and cold standards for employers. HB 3762 passed the House Labor & Commerce Committee, as amended, by a vote of 18-10-0.
- HB 1581 (Ammons) creates the Adequate and Equitable Public University Funding Act, establishing a needs-based funding formula for distributing State appropriations to public universities based on student affordability, enrollment, persistence, and outcome metrics. HB 1581 passed the House Appropriations-Higher Education Committee as amended by a vote of 12-4-0.
- HB 910 (Buckner) establishes a framework for a statewide megaproject incentive program allowing municipalities to negotiate special agreements for large-scale developments, including freezing property tax assessments and providing sales tax exemptions on building materials. HB 910 passed the House Revenue & Finance Committee as amended by a vote of 13-7-0.
- HB 1429 (Olickal) amends the Bill of Rights for the Homeless Act to prohibit the State or local governments from imposing fines or criminal penalties against people experiencing unsheltered homelessness for life-sustaining activities on public property. HB 1429 passed the House Housing Committee as amended by a vote of 11-6-0.
- HB 1443 (Syed) creates the Health Care Availability and Access Board Act, establishing a board to protect State residents and stakeholders from high prescription drug costs by adopting the federal Medicare Maximum Fair Price as the upper payment limit for prescription drug products. HB 1443 passed the House Health Care Availability & Accessibility Committee by a vote of 8-4-0.
- HB 4248 (Hirschauer) creates the Algorithmic Pricing Transparency Act, requiring entities selling goods or services online to disclose when prices are generated using surveillance pricing and allowing consumers to opt out of personalized pricing in favor of a non-personalized baseline price. HB 4248 passed the House Consumer Protection Committee by a vote of 6-3-0.
- HB 4803 (Vella) creates the Electric Transmission Colocation and Siting Priority Act, establishing a priority order for siting new electric transmission facilities using existing utility corridors, State highway corridors, and new corridors, and requiring project labor agreements for construction on public rights-of-way. HB 4803 passed the House Public Utilities Committee as amended by a vote of 12-6-0.
- HB 4980 (Rashid) creates the Meaningful Human Control of Artificial Intelligence Act, requiring meaningful and continuing human review before public employers use automated decision-making systems for specified functions, and mandating initial and biennial impact assessments. HB 4980 passed the House Labor & Commerce Committee as amended by a vote of 18-9-0.
- HB 5045/SB 2968 (Mayfield/Johnson) amends the State Treasurer Act to allow the State Treasurer to establish and administer a nonprofit investment pool and electronic payment processing program for qualifying not-for-profit corporations in the State. HB 5045 passed the House Executive Committee by a vote of 11-0-0. SB 2968 passed the Senate Executive Committee by a vote of 10-3-0.
- HB 5319 (Katz Muhl) amends the Public Community College Act, allowing community college districts to establish and offer baccalaureate degree programs if specified conditions are met, including demonstrating expertise, resources, and sufficient student demand. HB 5319 passed the House Executive Committee by a vote of 12-0-0.
- SB 3772 (Villanueva) amends the Environmental Protection Act to require evaluation of environmental justice concerns in air pollution permitting, including whether applicable sources fall within areas of environmental justice concern, and establishes an Office of Environmental Justice within the Environmental Protection Agency. SB 3772 passed the Senate Executive Committee by a vote of 9-3-0.
This week, both chambers are on a break for the annual legislative spring recess. The House will return to Springfield on April 7, and the Senate will reconvene on April 14. Both the House and Senate have their initial chamber third reading deadline on April 17. Prior to the March 17 primary election, legislative action was slow, but now that General Assembly members are not focusing on campaigning, the remaining two months of session stand to be much busier than the first three months.
Important Upcoming Dates – Statewide
April 17 – Initial Chamber Third Reading Deadline
May 8 – Opposite Chamber Committee Deadline
May 22 – Opposite Chamber Third Reading Deadline
May 31 – Adjournment
November 3 – Illinois General Election