Pritzker signs 270 bills impacting AI, digital driver’s licenses, property taxes

(The Center Square) – Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced 270 measures were enacted Friday, ranging from regulations over artificial intelligence, offering digital driver’s licenses and requiring climate change education in public schools.

The Illinois General Assembly this year approved more than 450 measures. Pritzker hasn’t vetoed any of them so far. Friday, his office announced the enactment of 85 House bills and 185 Senate bills.

Effective immediately, Senate Bill 3455 has the Illinois Department of Revenue and the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to evaluate the property tax system in the state.

State Rep. Tom Weber, R-Fox Lake, said he was on the property tax relief task force in 2019 and there were a lot of good initiatives introduced and not one thing came to fruition.

“Over 70% of our property taxes go to our school districts and they should be involved and we should try to understand where that 70% is going,” Weber said earlier this year on the House floor. “We don’t have property taxpayers involved and this is going to be another waste of time.”

Illinois has among the highest property taxes in the nation.

Beginning Jan. 1, 2025, Senate Bill 3426 makes changes to the motor fuel tax law to amend the method of calculating percentage change in the consumer price index annually. Illinois doubled the gas tax in 2019 and included an annual increase attached with inflation.

Local media outlets looking to sell to out-of-state buyers must notify the state and the company’s employees 180 days in advance of the sale beginning Jan. 1, 2025, under Senate Bill 3592.

“Private equity firms are coming and buying newspapers, consolidating them until they provide very little local news content with no local journalist and sometimes those newsrooms are shut down as what happened in southern Illinois not that long ago,” said state Sen. Steve Stadelman, D-Rockford.

State Sen. Jason Plummer, R-Edwardsville, argued the bill has nothing to do with hedge funds and could actually backfire, crippling local media.

A local media owner “has to go out and disclose to the world four months in advance that he’s thinking about selling it. He has to open up his employees and his advertisers to being poached, and it destroys the value of his business,” Plummer said.

Certain types of lightbulbs are banned with House Bill 2363. Beginning Jan. 1, 2026, the sale of screw or bayonet base compact fluorescent lamps will be prohibited. Pin-base compact fluorescent lamps or linear fluorescent lamps will be prohibited the following year.

Senate Bill 2960 bans small and single use plastic bottles in hotels with 50 rooms or more starting July 1, 2025. Then, on Jan. 1, 2026, any hotel regardless the size cannot provide small and single-use plastic bottles.

Artificial intelligence regulations were among the 270 bills enacted.

The Human Rights Act will be amended Jan. 1, 2026, under House Bill 3773 to protect employees from discrimination from the use of artificial intelligence in the workplace, and require transparency about the use of AI for employment-related decisions.

House Bill 4762 creates protections for performers and other individuals from wrongful use of AI voice or melody replicas. That’s effective immediately.

Beginning next year, House Bill 4875 prohibits the use of digital replicas created by AI in certain content without authorization of the recording individual.

House Bill 4623 clarifies that Illinois’ child pornography laws apply to images and videos created by AI.

Several measures impact education.

Beginning July 1, 2025, House Bill 4895 requires public high schools to “provide learning opportunities on the impacts of climate change and solutions for addressing the crisis.”

State Rep. Dan Ugaste, R-Geneva, said he thinks the legislature is starting to impose too much of what they believe the educators should be teaching Illinois children.

“We instead are interjecting a political ideology on our schools and children and asking that to be taught. I’d rather them reach their levels in math and reading and then we start worrying about things like this,” said Ugaste before the bill passed.

House Bill 4175 prohibits the use of corporal and physical punishment in all schools.

“When I was working with [Illinois State Board of Education], because we were going to extend this to private schools, they suggested we do an explicit ban that includes both public and private schools in school code,” said state Rep. Margaret Croke, D-Chicago, when the measure passed in April.

The measure takes effect Jan. 1, 2025

Government agencies have some new laws to follow.

Senate Bill 3434 allows the Illinois Emergency Management Agency and Office of Homeland Security to adopt rulemaking authority for state funded grant programs managed by the agency. During debate, Republicans raised concerns.

State Rep. Ryan Spain, R-Peoria, was critical of the measure. He said it chips away authority the Legislature has in helping craft rules.

“We all saw firsthand how giving up too much control can create problems for the state of Illinois, we saw in the pandemic, let’s not head down the same road again,” Spain said during floor debate.

The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services must include a haircare plan to focus on culturally competent haircare beginning Jan. 1, 2025, under House Bill 5097.

Criminal charges of unlawful use of a weapon and other similar charges are changing titles with House Bill 4500 beginning Jan. 1, 2025.

State Rep. Kam Buckner, D-Chicago, said he was not intending to change the level of punishment with such a criminal conviction, just changing the title of the charge to more accurately reflect the offense.

He argued in a committee earlier this year that some of those who are charged and convicted with being illegally in possession of a firearm but not using it in the commission of another crime were charged with unlawful use which carries a negative stigma.

Beginning next year, the Illinois Secretary of State can start to issue mobile ID cards and driver’s licenses with House Bill 4592.

State Rep. Jeff Keicher, R-Sycamore, asked if handing your cell phone over to law enforcement is basically consenting to a search.

Buckner said language in the legislation says showing or handing your phone over to display the digital ID does not serve as authorization for law enforcement to search, view or access other data in your phone.

Beginning Jan. 1, 2025, the Illinois Secretary of State can offer an 8-year driver’s license. Also Jan. 1, 2025, Senate Bill 3406 requires the Rules of the Road publication to include information about transporting hazardous materials.

Drivers having to appear in court are granted more notice before a potential suspension for failure to appear with House Bill 277, effective Jan. 1, 2025.

Someone who has had their license plate stolen can get free ones from the Illinois Secretary of State’s office beginning Jan. 1, 2025, under Senate Bill 3471.

Effective Jan. 1, 2025, Senate Bill 3203 prohibits insurers from denying coverage for inhalers and establishes a cap of $25 for a 30-day supply. The State Employees Group Insurance Program must provide coverage for FDA-approved Alzheimer’s treatment beginning July 1, 2025.

Medically necessary colonoscopies will be required coverage for insurance beginning Jan. 1, 2026, with House Bill 2385.

You can get non-ablative laser hair removal at a medical spa without a doctor on-site beginning Jan. 1, 2025, with House Bill 4357.

Tenants can pay landlords through cash or paper check to avoid transaction fees beginning Jan. 1, 2025, under House Bill 4206. The Landlord Retaliation Act in House Bill 4768 outlines protections for tenants and prohibitive actions by landlords in attempting to resolve an issue. That’s effective Jan. 1. Landlords are also prohibited from charging a fee to access a tenant screening report beginning next year with House Bill 4926.