Chicago City Wire

Laura Fine introduced SB1531 in the Illinois Senate on Feb. 4, 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: "Creates the Disposable Food Service Container Act. Provides that, beginning January 1, 2030, a person may not sell or distribute in this State a disposable food service container that is composed in whole or in part of polystyrene foam. Specifies that the prohibition does not apply to any activity authorized under an ordinance or resolution adopted by a unit of local government on or before January 1, 2024 or with respect to sales made to a unit of local government for use by the unit of local government for its internal operations. Sets forth penalties for violations of the Act. Limits home rule powers. Effective immediately."

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

In essence, the bill establishes the Disposable Food Service Container Act, prohibiting the sale or distribution of disposable food containers made wholly or partly of polystyrene foam in Illinois starting Jan. 1, 2030. Exceptions include activities authorized by local government ordinances or resolutions adopted by Jan. 1, 2024, or sales to local governments for internal use. Violators face civil penalties escalating from $250 for the first offense to $1,000 for subsequent offenses within a 12-month period. Enforcement can be pursued by the state's Attorney General or county State's Attorney, with collected penalties supporting the Environmental Protection Trust Fund. The bill restricts home rule units from creating conflicting regulations and is effective immediately.

Laura Fine has proposed another 22 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
SB1531	02/04/2025	Creates the Disposable Food Service Container Act. Provides that, beginning January 1, 2030, a person may not sell or distribute in this State a disposable food service container that is composed in whole or in part of polystyrene foam. Specifies that the prohibition does not apply to any activity authorized under an ordinance or resolution adopted by a unit of local government on or before January 1, 2024 or with respect to sales made to a unit of local government for use by the unit of local government for its internal operations. Sets forth penalties for violations of the Act. Limits home rule powers. Effective immediately.
SB1561	02/04/2025	Provides that the Act may be referred to as the Cash Assistance to Strengthen Households (CASH) Act. Amends the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Article of the Illinois Public Aid Code. Provides that the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Program is inoperative after June 30, 2026 and is replaced by the Cash Assistance to Strengthen Households (CASH) program. Contains provisions concerning persons eligible for CASH assistance, including pregnant persons without dependent children and assistance units headed by a caretaker relative, as defined; income thresholds; immigration status; the amount of aid paid to eligible assistance units; application requirements; income verification requirements; eligibility redeterminations; substitute payees; transitioning assistance units from TANF to CASH; and Department rules to implement the CASH program. Makes conforming changes in other Articles of the Code. Effective July 1, 2026.
SB1582	02/04/2025	Creates the Appliance Standards Act. Directs the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to adopt minimum efficiency standards for covered products. Provides for testing, certification, and labeling of covered products. Contains provisions concerning enforcement of the Act's requirements. Provides for administrative rulemaking by the Agency. Makes findings. Defines terms.
SB1603	02/04/2025	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 not impose any prior authorization or utilization management controls on covered behavioral health services. Makes conforming changes to the State Employees Group Insurance Act of 1971, the Illinois Municipal Code, the School Code, the Health Maintenance Organization Act, and the Medical Assistance Article of the Illinois Public Aid Code. Requires the Department of Insurance and the Department of Healthcare and Family Services to establish a process for receiving complaints from providers and covered individuals for violations of the mandate. Grants the Department of Insurance and the Department of Healthcare and Family Services the authority to issue cease and desist orders and administrative fines. Amends the Prior Authorization Reform Act. Provides that the Department of Healthcare and Family Services shall adopt rules consistent with the Act. Provisions amending the Prior Authorization Reform Act are effective immediately.
SB1604	02/04/2025	Amends the State Board of Education Article of the School Code. Provides that, subject to appropriation, beginning with the 2025-2026 school year, the State Board of Education shall award competitive grants on an annual basis to school districts and other educational units that have school social work interns to assist those school districts and other educational units in the funding of school social work internships approved by the interns' educator preparation programs by providing stipends. Sets forth the stipend amount. Provides that the State Board of Education shall annually disseminate to school districts and other educational units that have school social work interns a request for applications for grants. Provides that grant applications shall be accepted on an annual basis. Provides that the State Board of Education shall establish procedures for submitting requests for stipends and issuing funds to approved applicants. Provides for prioritizing grants if an appropriation is insufficient to fund all applications for grants. Provides that for any school year in which grants are awarded, the State Board of Education shall produce a report on the awarding of grants, in cooperation with the school districts and educational units that are awarded grants. Sets forth requirements for the report. Provides that the report shall be posted on the State Board of Education's Internet website each school year in which grants are awarded. Amends the Board of Higher Education Act. Provides that, subject to appropriation, the Board of Higher Education shall establish and administer a grant program to support the field placement of social workers. Provides that the Board shall distribute the funds appropriated for this purpose in the form of grants to public or nonpublic institutions of higher education to expand opportunities for students who are intending to become social workers and to assist students in pursuing social-work related field placements, internships, and other work opportunities. Sets forth other requirements concerning the operation of the grant program. Effective immediately.
SB1411	01/31/2025	Amends the Health Care Surrogate Act. Provides that if an individual without decisional capacity has an operative and unrevoked living will and the attending physician, in accordance with Section 4 of the Illinois Living Will Act, determines that the individual has a terminal condition and records the condition in the individual's medical record, then the individual's surrogate decision maker, in the order of priority under subsection (a) of Section 25, is authorized to consent to a POLST on behalf of the individual to ensure that the individual's wishes are respected.
SB1425	01/31/2025	Creates the Artificial Intelligence Systems Use in Health Insurance Act. Provides that the Department of Insurance's regulatory oversight of insurers includes oversight of an insurer's use of AI systems to make or support adverse determinations that affect consumers. Provides that any insurer authorized to operate in the State is subject to review by the Department in an investigation or market conduct action regarding the development, implementation, and use of AI systems or predictive models and the outcomes from the use of those AI systems or predictive models. Provides that an insurer authorized to do business in Illinois shall not issue an adverse consumer outcome with regard to the denial, reduction, or termination of insurance plans or benefits that result solely from the use or application of any AI system or predictive model. Provides that any decision-making process for the denial, reduction, or termination of insurance plans or benefits that results from the use of AI systems or predictive models shall be meaningfully reviewed, in accordance with review procedures determined by Department rules, by an individual with authority to override the AI systems and determinations. Authorizes the Department to adopt emergency rules to implement the Act and to adopt rules concerning standards for full and fair disclosure of an insurer's use of AI systems. Makes a conforming change in the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act.
SB1468	01/31/2025	Amends the Township Code. Authorizes funds generated through a levy on property located in a special police district in an unincorporated area of a township in a county with a population of 1,000,000 or more inhabitants to be used to provide for public safety in unincorporated areas of the township. Prohibits the levied funds from being used to pay for (i) any portion of a school resource officer's wages or to facilitate any agreement with any law enforcement agency to hire a school resource officer or (ii) any portion of a red light camera, speed camera, or automated license plate reader. Defines "public safety" and "resource officer". Effective immediately.
SB1476	01/31/2025	Amends the Environmental Protection Act. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning the short title.
SB1477	01/31/2025	Amends the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Code. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning the short title.
SB1478	01/31/2025	Amends the Illinois Insurance Code. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning the short title.
SB1479	01/31/2025	Amends the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning the Department of Human Services.
SB1480	01/31/2025	Amends the Illinois Insurance Code. Provides that all group and individual health insurance policies issued, delivered, amended, or renewed in Illinois that provide coverage for medical or surgical conditions shall also provide coverage for crisis services, regardless of any difference in billing codes used for such services. Provides that coverage for crisis services may not be denied or restricted based on the modality or setting of the services; and that crisis services shall be covered whether delivered in person, through telehealth, or in a residential or outpatient setting, to the extent that such services are covered in other settings or modalities under the policy. Makes conforming changes to the State Employees Group Insurance Act of 1971, the Illinois Municipal Code, the School Code, the Health Maintenance Organization Act, the Telehealth Act, and the Illinois Public Aid Code. Amends the Strengthening and Transforming Behavioral Health Crisis Care in Illinois Act. Renames the Act the Crisis Continuum Sustainability Act. Provides that on or before December 31, 2028, and every 5 years thereafter, the Department of Human Services shall, subject to available funding and in collaboration with relevant stakeholders and State bodies, develop and submit a Statewide Crisis Continuum Strategic Plan to the Office of the Governor and the General Assembly, with the goal of ensuring every Illinoisan has timely access to appropriate and supportive behavioral health response during a behavioral health crisis. Requires the strategic plan to identify statewide goals, key stakeholders, and performance metrics for expanding access to behavioral health crisis continuum services across Illinois; address gaps in service delivery; and other matters.
SB1280	01/28/2025	Amends the State Commemorative Dates Act. Provides that the first full week of May is designated as Compost Awareness Week to be observed throughout the State as a week to recognize and promote the importance of composting and the use of compost in growing healthier food, supporting healthier soils, and creating a more sustainable world, and shall include all relevant activities connected to the annual theme of International Compost Awareness Week.
SB1306	01/28/2025	Appropriates $7,500,000 to the Illinois Student Assistance Commission for the Human Services Professional Loan Repayment Program. Effective July 1, 2025.
SB1341	01/28/2025	Amends the Business Enterprise for Minorities, Women, and Persons with Disabilities Act. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning rules and regulations for the establishment and continuation of narrowly tailored sheltered markets.
SB1346	01/28/2025	Amends the Managed Care Reform and Patient Rights Act. Provides that a health care plan shall provide annually to enrollees and prospective enrollees, upon request, a statement of all basic health care services and all specific benefits and services mandated to be provided to enrollees by State law or administrative rule, highlighting any newly enacted State law or administrative rule. Provides that this requirement can be fulfilled by providing enrollees the most up-to-date accident and health checklist submitted to the Department of Insurance, reflecting statutory health care coverage compliance by the health care plan. Requires the Office of Consumer Health Insurance to post in a prominent location on the Department's publicly accessible website an annual report on the development and implementation of federal, State, and local laws, regulations, and other governmental policies and actions that pertain to the adequacy of health care plans, facilities, and services in the State and summary of all State health insurance benefit related legislation enacted in the prior calendar year that includes, at minimum, a link to the Public Act, the statutory citation, the subject, a brief summary, and the effective date. Amends the Uniform Health Care Services Benefit Information Card Act. Adds a health benefit plan offering dental coverage to the list of plans required to issue a health care benefit information card. Specifies health care benefit information cards may be electronic or physical. Requires uniform health care benefit information to display on the back of the card a statement indicating whether the plan is self-insured or fully funded and if the plan is subject to regulation by the Department of Insurance. Makes other changes.
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.