May 20, 2025

Illinois legislators return to the Capitol to resume the Spring Legislative Session. Each chamber is scheduled to be in session this week for three days.

RECAP OF LAST WEEK- The House and Senate were in Springfield for this week's third day of session. No major floor action took place in either chamber. The House passed one bill, and 56 bills were moved to Third Reading across both chambers. 

Committee Action of Note 
• HB 742, Digital Asset Regulation passed Senate Executive 9-4-0 yesterday. This bill creates the Digital Assets and Consumer Protection Act. Provides that the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation shall regulate digital asset business activity in the state. 
• HB 1859, Community College Instructors/AI passed Senate Executive 7-3-0 yesterday. This bill provides that each board of trustees of a community college district shall require the faculty member who teaches a course to be an individual who meets the qualifications in the Illinois Administrative Code and any other applicable rules adopted by the Illinois Community College Board. Provides that a course may not, in lieu of a faculty member, use artificial intelligence as the sole source of instruction for students. Provides that nothing shall be construed to prohibit a faculty member from using artificial intelligence to augment course instruction.

ORDER OF THE DAY-Both the House and the Senate convene at noon. Committee hearings kick off at 2:00 p.m. and run throughout the afternoon. My sense is that both chambers will gavel in, perform ministerial functions and announcements and adjourn for partisan caucus. Caucuses become more important as the adjournment deadline approaches. It is an opportunity for the respective chamber leaders to outline the plan of work for the week ahead and to discuss caucus positions on issues and bills that will be considered throughout the week. It is also an opportunity for budgeteers to inform their caucus on the status of the negotiations for the State Operating Budget.

SUPPLEMENTAL RECORD-
• Yesterday, ICPAS sent an all-member federal legislative alert asking members to contact their Member of Congress in opposition to disparate treatment of pass-through entities in the legislation that will be voted upon by the full House.  If you have not already accessed the ICPAS Advocacy Platform, you can send a prepopulated message to your member of Congress here. Estimated time to complete is less than 2 minutes. 
• There are 9 session days remaining in the Spring Legislative Session.
• Expect a busy week with anticipated floor action on bills (2d/3rd Reading) aligning with committee action.
• Friday is 3rd Reading Deadline for bills originating in the opposite chamber.
• Last week, the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget and the legislature’s non-partisan Commission on Government Forecasting & Accountability presented revised revenue estimates for the remainder of FY 25 and for FY 26.  Both agencies’ revisions were a downward projection in state revenues leaving a $500 M hole in the governor’s proposed FY 26 State Operating Budget. This gap presents additional friction and challenges for the governor and the legislative leaders to agree upon spending priorities with inflationary increases. The Democratic legislative leaders will be further challenged in whipping the votes necessary to pass a budget with the requisite democratic votes.  With the large Democratic majorities in both the House and Senate, the disposition of negotiations has changed with not including Republican leaders at the table during leadership meetings. The matter is further complicated by Speaker Welch’s action of expelling moderate Representative Crespo from the House Democratic Caucus and removing him as Appropriations Chair of the State Government Administrative Committee, further fragmenting members of the moderate caucus who held up the budget last Spring.