Chicago City Wire

Laura Fine introduced SB0262 in the Illinois Senate on Jan. 24, 2025, during the general assembly session 104, according to the Illinois General Assembly.

According to the Illinois General Assembly site, the legislature summarized the bill's official text as follows: "Amends the Illinois Controlled Substances Act. Provides that it is unlawful for any person to possess, purchase, deliver, sell, or possess with intent to sell a tableting machine or encapsulating machine knowing, or under circumstances where one reasonably should know, that it will be used to manufacture, compound, convert, produce, process, prepare, or otherwise introduce into the human body a controlled substance in violation of the Act. Provides that a violation is a Class 3 felony. Defines "encapsulating machine" and "tableting machine"."

The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.

In essence, the bill amends the Illinois Controlled Substances Act to make it unlawful for individuals to possess, purchase, deliver, sell, or possess with intent to sell tableting or encapsulating machines, if they know, or should reasonably know, these machines will be used to manufacture, convert, or prepare controlled substances for introduction into the human body in violation of the Act. Violators of this provision will be charged with a Class 3 felony. The bill defines "encapsulating machine" as equipment for filling capsules with substances to create solid contents, and "tableting machine" as equipment for molding substances into solid tablets.

Laura Fine has proposed another eight bills since the beginning of the 104th session.

Fine graduated from Indiana University in 1985 with a BA.

Laura Fine is currently serving in the Illinois State Senate, representing the state's 9th Senate District. She replaced previous state senator Daniel Biss in 2019.

Bills in Illinois follow a multi-step legislative process, beginning with introduction in either the House or Senate, followed by committee review, floor debates, and votes in both chambers before reaching the governor for approval or veto. The General Assembly operates on a biennial schedule, and while typically thousands of bills are introduced each session, only a fraction successfully pass through the process to become law.

You can read more about bills and other measures here.

Bill Number	Date Introduced	Short Description
SB0262	01/24/2025	Amends the Illinois Controlled Substances Act. Provides that it is unlawful for any person to possess, purchase, deliver, sell, or possess with intent to sell a tableting machine or encapsulating machine knowing, or under circumstances where one reasonably should know, that it will be used to manufacture, compound, convert, produce, process, prepare, or otherwise introduce into the human body a controlled substance in violation of the Act. Provides that a violation is a Class 3 felony. Defines "encapsulating machine" and "tableting machine".
SB1223	01/24/2025	Amends the Fair Patient Billing Act. Provides that medical creditors and debt collectors are prohibited from communicating with a patient regarding unpaid charges for the purpose of seeking to collect the charges and initiating a lawsuit or arbitration proceeding against the patient regarding the unpaid charges while an appeal of a health insurance decision is pending or was pending within 180 days. Sets forth provisions concerning medical debt interest under a reasonable payment plan, the applicable interest rate for judgments on medical debt, the effect of medical debt forgiveness on the contractual relationship between the medical creditor and the insurer or payor, and the applicability of the provisions.
SB0212	01/22/2025	Amends the Nursing Mothers in the Workplace Act. Provides that an employer shall provide 30 minutes of paid break time (rather than reasonable break time) to an employee who needs to express breast milk for her nursing infant child each time the employee has the need to express milk for one year after the child's birth. Provides that the employee may use other paid break time or meal time for any time needed in excess of 30 minutes. Provides that an employer shall provide paid break time (rather than reasonable break time) as needed by the employee unless to do so would create an undue hardship.
SB0250	01/22/2025	Amends the Genetic Information Privacy Act. Removes language exempting insurers that are issuing a long-term care policy from specified provisions. Provides that, with regard to any policy, contract, or plan offered, entered into, issued, amended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2026 by a health insurer, life insurer, or long-term care insurer authorized to transact insurance in this State, a health insurer, life insurer, or long-term care insurer may not: (1) cancel, limit, or deny coverage or establish differentials in premium rates based on a person's genetic information; or (2) require or solicit an individual's genetic information, use an individual's genetic test results, or consider an individual's decisions or actions relating to genetic information or a genetic test in any manner for any insurance purpose. Provides that the provisions may not be construed as preventing a life insurer or long-term care insurer from accessing an individual's medical record as part of an application exam. Provides that nothing in the provisions prohibits a life insurer or long-term care insurer from considering a medical diagnosis included in an individual's medical record, even if the diagnosis is based on the results of a genetic test. Effective July 1, 2025.
SB0114	01/17/2025	Creates the Fragrance Health and Safety Act. Provides that, beginning January 1, 2026, a person may not sell, offer for sale, distribute for sale, or distribute any cosmetic that contains any of the following intentionally added fragrance ingredients: Dibutyl phthalate, Diisononyl phthalate, Diethyl phthalate, Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, Dimethyl phthalate, Benzyl butyl phthalate, Di-n-octyl phthalate, Diisodecyl phthalate, Diethanolamine, Monoethanolamine, Triethanolamine, Formaldehyde, Benzophenone, Butylated hydroxyanisole, or Butoxyethanol. Provides for a $5,000 civil penalty for a first violation and a $10,000 civil penalty for each subsequent violation, with enforcement by the Attorney General. Defines terms.
SB0122	01/17/2025	Creates the Right to Repair Act. Provides that every manufacturer of an electronic or appliance product with a specified wholesale price or direct sales price shall make service and repair facilities available to owners of the product. Provides that the manufacturer shall make available to service and repair facilities and service dealers sufficient documentation and functional parts and tools, inclusive of any updates, on fair and reasonable terms, to effect the diagnosis, maintenance, or repair of a product for a specified period after the last date a product model or type was manufactured, regardless of whether the period exceeds the warranty period for the product. Provides that a service and repair facility or service dealer that is not an authorized repair provider of a manufacturer shall provide a written notice to any customer seeking repair of an electronic or appliance product before the repair facility or service dealer repairs the product that informs the customer that it is not an authorized repair provider for the product and shall disclose if it uses any used replacement parts or replacement parts provided by a supplier other than the manufacturer of the product. Provides that no manufacturer or authorized repair provider shall be liable for any damage or injury caused to any electronic or appliance product, person, or property that occurs as a result of repair, diagnosis, maintenance, or modification performed by a service dealer or owner. Provides that the provisions do not apply to a manufacturer that provides an equivalent or better, readily available replacement electronic or appliance product at no charge to the customer. Provides for limitations of the Act. Provides for civil penalties. Effective July 1, 2026.
SB0132	01/17/2025	Creates the Plastic Bottle Cap Reduction Act. Provides that, beginning January 1, 2029, a manufacturer may not sell, offer for sale, or distribute for sale in the State a single-use plastic beverage container with a plastic beverage cap unless the plastic beverage cap is composed of a plastic resin with the same resin identification code as the single-use plastic beverage container and the cap either (1) is tethered to the container in a manner that prevents the separation of the cap from the container when the cap is removed or (2) includes an opening from which the beverage can be consumed while the cap remains screwed onto or otherwise affixed to the container. Provides that a manufacturer that produces single-use plastic beverage containers shall provide to the Environmental Protection Agency upon request all information necessary for the Agency to determine the manufacturer's compliance with the Act. Provides for an entity with a legally recognized corporate relationship to a manufacturer to assume the manufacturer's responsibilities under the Act. Provides that the requirements of the Act do not apply to a manufacturer of beer, wine, or spirits that annually produces 50,000 gallons or less of any one or more of those products or to a manufacturer of beverages other than beer, wine, or spirits that annually produces 250,000 or fewer single-use plastic beverage containers containing its product. Provides that any person who violates any provision of the Act shall be liable for a civil penalty of $1,000 per violation per day. Authorizes the Attorney General or State's Attorney to prosecute violations of the Act. Defines terms.
SB0167	01/17/2025	Amends the PFAS Reduction Act. Provides that, beginning January 1, 2026, a person may not sell, offer for sale, or distribute for sale in this State a juvenile product if the product or a product component contains intentionally added PFAS. Provides for enforcement. Exempts from the Act's requirements products that are federally preempted, products already regulated by the Act, used products, prosthetic or orthotic devices, and any medical device or drug used in a medical setting or in medical applications regulated by the United States Food and Drug Administration. Defines terms.
SB0175	01/17/2025	Amends the Illinois Insurance Code. Provides that a group or individual policy of accident and health insurance or a managed care plan that is amended, delivered, issued, or renewed on or after January 1, 2026 shall provide coverage for the cost of a karyotype test or related hormone testing to diagnose Klinefelter syndrome. Amends the State Employees Group Insurance Act of 1971, the Counties Code, the Illinois Municipal Code, the School Code, the Health Maintenance Organization Act, the Limited Health Service Organization Act, the Voluntary Health Services Plans Act, and the Illinois Public Aid Code to require coverage under those provisions.
SB0073	01/13/2025	Amends the Illinois Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. Provides that on and after January 1, 2026, a person may not sell, distribute, or offer for sale baby food in the State that contains toxic heavy metals that exceed the limits established by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Defines "toxic heavy metal" as arsenic, cadmium, lead, or mercury and defines other terms. Provides that beginning January 1, 2026, each manufacturer of baby food shall test a representative sample of each production aggregate of the manufacturer's final baby food product for each toxic heavy metal. Requires monthly testing. Beginning January 1, 2027, requires each manufacturer of baby food to make certain information publicly available. Provides that if a consumer believes, based on information gathered through the use of the code included on the baby food product label, that baby food is being sold in the State with toxic heavy metals that exceed limits established by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the consumer may report that baby food to the Department of Public Health.