THE ILLINOIZE: "It's a s#it show"...welcome to committee deadline week...Will Dems do anything about Choate?...Maybe I was wrong about the assault weapons ban cases
March 7, 2023
Good morning, Illinois.
It’s going to be a crazy week, campers.
The House and Senate are in at noon. Governor JB Pritzker does not have any public events.
A quick programming note for subscribers. Unless something insane happens today, don’t expect a newsletter tomorrow. I’m traveling this afternoon and evening for an event in the morning and I don’t think I’ll have time to put something together.
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Let’s get to it.
CRAZY COMMITTEE DEADLINE WEEK
“It’s a s#*t show,” one frustrated lobbyist texted me yesterday. “We are all scrambling.”
Friday is the deadline to get (most) bills out of committee and pretty much everyone is on edge.
Why?
2,500 bills have been assigned to committee and are awaiting action. Here’s a handy breakdown for you.
A large chunk in the Senate, some 900 bills, are shell bills introduced by the two caucus leaders, but the list of bills on the agenda is long. Expect the committees to take a while.
Another lobbyist said they were tracking over 300 bills this week alone.
There was a delay organizing committees this spring, shortening the time frame to get legislation through committee in regular order.
“It’s a cluster,” texted another lobbyist. “There was such a short time to work on them and get them ready for passage.”
There simply aren’t enough hours or the bandwidth to act on all of the bills that have been assigned, but, of course, can always come back in a shell bill.
“Nothing is ever dead in the General Assembly,” a lobbyist said.
A FEW BILLS WE’RE WATCHING
A few bills we’re keeping an eye on:
SB0125 (Ventura)- The odor of cannabis in a vehicle would not constitute probable cause for the search of the vehicle or person.
HB3466 (Ozinga)- Lifts the construction ban on new nuclear power plants in Illinois.
HB2723 (Hirschauer)- Requires all firearms to be locked in a safe while stored. Fines range from $500 to $10,000.
HB2497 (Burke)- Would allow the Inspector General to exempt state employees from the revolving door law.
HB3756 (Ozinga)- Would prevent the Legislative Inspector General to being forced to receive legislative approval before opening an investigation.
HB1568 (Yang Rohr)- Requires any lake, river, or stream that is capable of supporting use by commercial or recreational watercraft be open to public access. Farm groups believe it will impact thousands of private streams, creeks, and pods.
WILL DEMS DO ANYTHING ABOUT CHOATE?
After a series of reports in recent months outlining horrific abuses and the subsequent coverup at the Choate Developmental Center in southern Illinois, it isn’t clear if legislative Democrats are planning to move any reform legislation.
Rep. Charlie Meier (R-Okawville) will push for action in a news conference this morning in Springfield. He has introduced HB1298, HB2998, and HB3545 to address facilities like Choate other private providers, so-called Community Integrated Living Arrangement (CILA) homes.
One would study using electronic monitoring and recording to prevent abuse and require more site inspections of the state facilities.
Recently asked about a plan to fix the embattled facility, Gov. JB Pritzker couldn’t provide any concrete ideas. He has suggested the facility could be closed.
All of Meier’s bills are scheduled for hearing this week, but it isn’t clear if they will be advanced by legislative Democrats.
MORE ANALYSIS ABOUT THE ASSAULT WEAPON SUITS
I’ve been repeating the suggestion I’ve heard from some smart folks in recent months telling me the court challenges of the assault weapon ban is fully a federal court issue and not an issue that will be settled in state court.
University of Illinois College of Law Professor Jason Mazzone weighed in yesterday to tell me the opposite:
That's not right. The challenges that have been brought in state court involve claims under various provisions of the Illinois state constitution as well as based on the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. If state courts hold, and especially if the Illinois Supreme Court holds, that the law violates the state constitution for reasons independent of the federal Constitution then the law is invalid regardless of what any court decides under the Second Amendment. Indeed, if the Illinois Supreme Court were to uphold state court rulings invalidating the law purely on the basis of the Illinois state constitution, even the U.S. Supreme Court would have no role to play because the Second Amendment issue would no longer matter. Lots of laws meet their end in state courts under state constitutions.
So, there you have it. I’m still trying to figure out, by the way, if the Macon County ruling Friday applies statewide or just to the plaintiffs. There seems to be come confusion out there.
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