Shampoo bottles, telehealth, property taxes in over 275 new Illinois laws

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed over 275 bills into law recently. Here is what you need to know about changes to taxes, hotel shampoo, light bulbs and virtual health care.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker just signed over 275 bills into law on subjects ranging from occupational licensing to taxes to hotel shampoo bottles.

Here’s what you should know about some of the bills signed into law during August.

Taxes

Pritzker signed a bill that would eliminate the grocery tax, two property tax bills that fail to promise real relief and one bill that expands sales taxes to out-of-state business shipping products to Illinois.

House Bill 3144 ends the statewide 1% grocery tax, joining the 37 states that do not impose a tax on groceries. However, municipalities will be able to impose a local grocery tax by ordinance without first asking voters. Some cities are already doing so.

Senate Bill 2936 would allow municipal governments to reduce property taxes for newly remodeled single-family residences up to the value of the alteration.

Senate Bill 3455 commissions the Illinois Department of Revenue to study the entire property tax system in the state, including a comprehensive review of assessments, collections, exemptions and the tax levies themselves.

Neither SB 2936 nor SB 3455 would actually reduce the overall property tax burden. Neither deals with the No. 1 driver of property taxes: overpromised public pensions.

Senate Bill 3362 expands the reach of local retail taxes by requiring businesses outside of Illinois that ship tangible personal property to customers in Illinois to collect the local sales tax in addition to the state tax.

Employment

Pritzker signed two bills addressing jobs programs in the state.

Senate Bill 2907 requires the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to publish a report on all state and federally funded job training and workforce development programs to “identify successful programs, areas for improvement, and potential areas of duplication or overlap in order to optimize the efficiency and effectiveness of State and federally funded job training and workforce development efforts.”

Senate Bill 3155 gives DCEO discretion not to require businesses that failed to maintain the minimum employment numbers from March 2020 to the beginning of 2024 to repay tax credits. This bill is likely meant to allow some latitude to employers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, but giving the final decision to DCEO means the department will be picking the winners and losers.

Occupational licensing

Pritzker signed four bills that expand licensed professionals’ ability to practice in the state.

Senate Bill 3211 reduces the work experience needed for a family therapist to be exempted from having to pass the licensing examination he or she would otherwise have to take.

Senate Bill 3467 is a common-sense law that expands exemptions for speech-language pathology assistants and candidates to perform duties under the supervision of a licensed speech-language pathologist.

Senate Bill 3767 allows the registration of a landscape architect who is registered under the laws of another state or country if the licensing requirements at the time of issuance in that jurisdiction were substantially equivalent to the Illinois requirements then in force.

Senate Bill 3740 allows real estate agents from any state that meets certain requirements to qualify for an Illinois license.

Health care

Illinois expanded telehealth options while adding additional personnel requirements for hospitals in an insurance network.

Senate Bill 2586 and House Bill 5087 established the practice of remote-based dentistry and physical therapy. These bills reduce barriers and expand options for patients in the state.

Senate Bill 2461 requires every in-network hospital for health insurance providers to have at least one radiologist, pathologist, anesthesiologist and emergency room physician as a preferred provider in a network plan. It gives the Department of Insurance the authority to require additional types of medical specialists to be included as preferred providers in similar plans.

Product bans

House Bill 2960 bans hotels from offering single-use plastic bottles containing personal care products, such as shampoo, in their hotel rooms. Hotels may provide single-use bottles by request at a location other than guest rooms or public or shared restrooms, such as at the front desk or reception.

In an effort to reduce mercury poisoning, House Bill 2363 bans the sale and distribution of most common fluorescent light bulbs by 2026. Pin-based fluorescent light bulbs have until 2027. The bill makes narrow exceptions for medical, photography, photocopy equipment, and certain other specialized uses.

Conclusion

What is missing from this list of over 275 new laws is any action to deal with the state’s nation-leading public pension debt or the resulting second-highest property taxes. If lawmakers want to stop residents from leaving the state, they must address policies driving residents away.