COMMITTEE ACTION THIS WEEK
Employment Reduction Penalties
This piece of legislation, SB 257 (Noland, D-Elgin), creates the Job Preservation Act of 2009 to prohibit companies that lose 100 or more employees due to outsourcing of jobs from receiving procurement contracts with the State, units of local government, or school districts and from receiving government grants, loans, tax incentives, or other economic incentives. Given the state and national economy and the number of job losses already in this state, it’s hard to believe that many companies in this state won’t be ineligible for a wide array of tax incentives. CICI and a number of business groups opposed this legislation in the Senate Labor Committee this week but to no avail. The bill passed to the Senate Floor but with some serious reservations from the committee’s democrats about it future prospects. CICI will continue in its opposition should the sponsor try to advance the bill out of that chamber.
IEPA Task Force on Water Supply Contaminants
What once was a proposal, HB 658 (Froehlich, D-Schaumburg), to create the Task Force on Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products and Other Emerging Contaminants in Drinking Water has been changed through an amendment in the House Environmental Health Committee to creat the Medication Education Disposal Solutions (MEDS) collaborative for the purpose of encouraging the environmentally responsible disposal of pharmaceuticals. The IEPA and MEDS are to focus on the development of an organization that will, among other things, provide information regarding best practices for the disposal of pharmaceuticals. The bill passed to the House Floor unanimously and awaits further consideration.
Green Buildings
This bill, HB 1013 (Boland, D-Moline), creates the Green Buildings Act to requires that state-funded building construction and major renovations of existing state-owned facilities must meet certain energy and environmental standards of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program rating system, the Green Building Initiative's Green Globes rating system, or an equivalent rating system. The bill allows for waivers of the standards by the Capital Development Board (CDB) or other agencies. CDB must also analyze and evaluate these standards after the earlier of 5 years or the completion of 10 projects.
CICI worked on this bill last year but the bill never passed both houses. CICI eventually became neutral on the legislation when other green building rating systems were also incorporated into the bill. CICI is also awaiting response back from CDB on potential ASHRAE standards to be included in the bill. This measure passed out of the House State Government Administration Committee and awaits further action on the House Floor.
NPDES Construction Site Storm Water Permits
This proposal, HB 629 (Mautino, D-Spring Valley), sets the fee for NPDES construction site storm water permits at $500 and prohibits the imposition of a NPDES construction site storm water permit fee on any person for storm water discharges from a construction site that is smaller than 5 acres. This measure passed out of the House Energy & Environment Committee and awaits further action on the House Floor.
Please note that the Chemical Industry Council of Illinois Legislator is not intended to convey legal advice or set forth all legal requirements applicable to particular circumstances.
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