In a condensed session, things are moving quickly. Friday was the deadline for the 3rd Reading of House Bills and I am excited to say that five of my bills will be heading over to the Senate. As a result, I felt it was time to give a short update on where my legislation currently stands.
House Bill 4251– Increases the competitive bidding threshold for townships from $20,000 to $30,000 above which a township must put construction, waterworks, and sewer contracts up for competitive bid. The goal is to increase parity with other local government entities which have a higher threshold.
House Bill 4256– Allows a school district to waive the teacher evaluation requirement of any teacher in contractual continued service whose performance during the last school year in which the teacher was evaluated was rated as either “excellent” or “proficient.” This is for the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 school years only.
House Bill 4257– Beginning in the 2021-2022 school year, each professional educator licensee shall complete a total of 100 hours, rather than 120 hours, of professional development during the 5-year renewal cycle in order to renew the license. Also, would provide that, for the 2021-2022 school year only, a person with either an administrative endorsement or a Teacher Leader endorsement serving in an administrative capacity at least 50% of the day is not required to complete an Illinois Administrators’ Academy course.
House Bill 4680– Removes provisions requiring a veteran who has served as an active duty member of the United States Armed Forces, the Illinois National Guard, or reserves of the United States Armed Forces to apply in person for a fishing license, hunting license, or camping permit at a regional office of the Department of Natural Resources.
House Bill 4766– Would designate August 1 of each year as Sweet Corn Appreciation Day, to be observed throughout the State as a day to celebrate the importance of sweet corn to Illinois agriculture, and in recognition of family farmers.
As of writing this, I am also the House Sponsor for one Senate bill. The bill concerns protecting DCFS investigators and I am proud to take the lead on this in the House.
Senate Bill 1486– Authorizes child protective investigators to carry and use personal protection spray devices, such as mace, pepper mace, or pepper gas, for self-defense purposes while investigating a report of child abuse or neglect. Requires the investigator to receive training from the Illinois State Police who will establish a training program which will be funded by DCFS.
With a scheduled adjournment date of April 8th, the next five weeks will be quite the frenzy. As more Senate Bills arrive in the House, I will be sure to keep you updated. You can learn more about my legislative priorities by visiting my website at repmccombie.com.