The first two weeks of the spring session have wrapped up at the Illinois State Capitol — five days of legislative activity that have slowly began to reveal lawmaker priorities.

As in typical pre-State of the State address fashion, voting action came solely from committees with floor action in both chambers limited to resolutions and special recognitions. The legislative frenzy will pick up after Gov. JB Pritzker addresses the state legislature on Feb. 21, outlining his budget wish-list for the upcoming fiscal year.

Many of the early pushes are efforts years in the making.

Passing Karina’s Bill, which would permit law enforcement to remove firearms from a home when an order of protection has been filed, is a prime effort for Democrats.

More: ‘We need to strengthen domestic violence laws:’ Advocates urge passage of Karina’s Bill

For Republicans, in the super-minority in both the House and Senate, it’s renewed calls for ethics reform ahead former House Speaker Michael Madigan’s October trial date. Bipartisan support is present in a bill modifying the estate tax threshold for Illinois farmers.

All told, more than 8,500 have been filed in the 103rd Illinois General Assembly.

Here’s a sampling of those bills to know before lawmakers return to Springfield on Feb. 20.

Funeral home remains

When Dylan and Elizabeth Bricker turned to a Carlinville funeral home last year, they expected to receive the bodily remains of their deceased mother. Instead, they received the ashes of another person.

The Brickers were among the nearly 80 families affected by Heinz Funeral Home’s mishandling of human remains. Funeral home owner Albert “August” Heinz has since had his license to operate in the state permanently revoked by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.

More: ‘Unimaginable:’ Family who got wrong remains from funeral home ponders next move

Now, several local legislators are advocating bills they believe will keep failures like these from happening again.

Senate Bill 2643 from Sen. Doris Turner would establish a unique identifier tagging system for human remains and require documentation of where certain body parts are going and what services were provided. IDFPR along with the state Comptroller’s office and Illinois Department of Public Health would also be authorized to inspect businesses handling human remains.

“The status quo is not working,” Turner, D-Springfield, said during a Thursday press conference. “If we don’t establish a chain of custody and the unique identifier standard, we’ll be right back here in the same situation.”

At the same time, Sen. Steve McClure, R-Springfield, with support from Reps. Mike Coffey, R-Springfield, and Wayne Rosenthal, R-Morrisonville, is moving forward with Senate Bill 3263. The bill would criminalize the mishandling of human remains as a Class 4 felony — carrying a potential prison time of one to three years.

Turner has not taken a position on McClure’s bill. Sangamon County Coroner Jim Allmon is confident Turner’s bill will garner bipartisan support.

“We’ve got several family members here that have been affected by this,” he said. “And since day one when this happened, the question is ‘Why haven’t there been any charges filed? What’s going on with this?’”

Proposal for statues of Reagan, Obama at Capitol

Introduced by Sen. Tom Bennett, R-Gibson City, Senate Bill 2905 would allow the placement of two new statues of former President Ronald Reagan and former President Barack Obama on the Capitol grounds.

The bill would require the Office of the Architect of the Capitol to find placements for the statues and talk to the governor and General Assembly about the final choice. The bill plans that funds for this project can be collected through donations, so the bill requires a separate account to be set up to collect all donations from any source, public or private. The funds will also be used for placement and future maintenance of the statues.

Pipelines and carbon capture

While several carbon dioxide pipeline projects stalled last year, Sen. Steve McClure is leading two bills that will establish new regulations on the carbon capture and sequestration industry.

Navigator CO2 Ventures and Wolf Carbon Solutions LLC pulled applications with the Illinois Commerce Commission in 2023, with Navigator ultimately cancelling its 1,350-mile pipeline.

Prior to its cancellation, Navigator had only received 13.4% of the easements to construct its pipeline in the state as of June. If it moved forward, the Nebraska-based company could have used eminent domain to secure the lands needed to build its pipeline. Senate Bill 2860 would keep pipeline companies from doing so.

“This bill protects our landowners,” he said during a phone interview Thursday. “These companies need to get buy-in from landowners.”

McClure is also heading up Senate Bill 3441, establishing a moratorium on the construction of new pipelines as the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Association drafts updated regulations. PHMSA announced it would create new guidelines following a 2020 pipeline burst in Satartia, Mississippi forcing the evacuation of more than 40 people.

Getting pipeline projects off the ground has proven to be a challenge especially since many residents are concerned of potential pipeline bursts. Illinois Manufacturers’ Association president and CEO Mark Denzler however sees opportunity for the industry to help the state meet its renewable energy goals.

“You can’t have sustainable aviation fuel without carbon capture and storage. You can’t have the hydrogen hub without carbon capture and storage,” he said during a Wednesday press conference. “If we’re going to decarbonize, we can’t hit our carbon goals without carbon capture and storage.”

Student loan tax credits

In June, President Joe Biden tried to implement a student loan forgiveness program, but it was eventually shut by the U.S. Supreme Court in a 6-3 ruling that it was unconstitutional. This resulted in millions of people being blocked for up to $20,000 in federal student debt relief.

In response, several bills have been introduced creating tax credits for employers helping their workers pay student loans including Senate Bill 1313 from Sen. Meg Loughran Cappel, D-Shorewood, and House Bill 4435 from Rep. Katie Stuart, D-Edwardsville.

These bills would create an income tax deduction for any amount paid by a taxpayer on behalf of an employee of a taxpayer. This would be a part of an educational assistance program. The deductions would be limited to the first payment of $5,250, and if passed the bill would go into effect immediately.

“What a great way to attract workers or keep your workforce by saying ‘You have $25,000 in debt, I will pay it off for you as long as you work for me,’” said Denzler of Cappel and Elik’s pieces of legislation. “You know, it’s a great opportunity to help those individuals struggle with college debt, so making sure we have a great workforce.”

More: Illinois lawmakers call for statewide child tax credit to help thousands of families

Political deepfakes

Ahead of the New Hampshire primary, robocalls circulated featuring President Joe Biden’s voice. The issue was it not actually Biden talking, but instead an altered message known as an audio deepfake. Several bills are now being considered by state lawmakers to counter the growing threat of political disinformation.

Through House Bill 4644, distribution of media falsely depicting a person with the intention of affecting voter behavior would be prohibited. Those who violate this provision would be subject to misdemeanor charges.

Rep. Abdelnasser Rashid, D-Bridgeview, is sponsoring the bill which clarifies that it does not apply to clear parody or satire or to media outlets that air deepfakes if they are questioning its authenticity or have made a “good faith effort” to determine an ad is not deceptive.

House Bill 4933 from Rep. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz, D-Glenview, would similarly seek to prevent political deepfakes by allowing victims to take legal action against perpetuators.

Lawmakers passed deepfake legislation last year, permitting legal action against those that disseminated deepfake revenge porn online. It originally applied to all forms of deepfakes but was amended to account for First Amendment concerns in political ads of some lawmakers.

Fertility treatment

There have been a few bills that have been introduced that are working to help make fertility treatments more accessible. Senate Bill 2639 introduced by Sen. Mike Hastings, D-Frankfort, would help provide health insurance coverage for fertility treatments that have been recommended by a medical expert.

If a physician were to recommend any treatment including in vitro fertilization, gamete intrafallopian tube transfer, and zygote intrafallopian tube transfer, then there must be insurance coverage without any restrictions or requirements.

“It’s for those insurance companies that think that they know what’s best for someone else’s family planning,” said Hastings. “This bill will help women and families across Illinois and hopefully set an example for other states to follow.”

Police stop policies

One bill drawing the ire of Republican lawmakers and law enforcement agencies alike is House Bill 4603. The legislation from Rep. Justin Slaughter, D-Chicago, would prevent officers from stopping a driver for several reasons including driving up to 25 miles per hour over the speed limit, failing to wear safety belts or operating a vehicle with an expired registration sticker.

Already opposed to legislation ending cash bail in Illinois, Illinois Fraternal Order of Police State Lodge President Chris Southwood said the bill “takes the pro-criminal cake.”

“How many lives will be lost if we can’t stop dangerous drivers?,” he said in a statement. “Such a law will only benefit lawbreakers, and common sense must have taken a vacation when this bill was drafted.”

The legislation currently sits in the House Rules Committee, often a proverbial graveyard for bills that will never advance to a full chamber vote.

Online age verification

Introduced by Rep. Jed Davis, R-Yorkville, House Bill 4247 is aiming to help protect minors with more online safety measures.

It would require any commercial entities that produce harmful material for minors, to verify that the people using the websites and platforms are 18 and older. The verification must be done through a commercial database used by businesses or governmental entities. If any entities were to violate the act they would be subjected to civil liabilities for damages for a minor accessing the material. 

The bill so far has been assigned to the House Judiciary Civil Committee and several co-sponsors have been added to the bill.

Contact Hope Gadson: hgadson@gannett.com; Contact Patrick M. Keck: 312-549-9340, pkeck@gannett.com, twitter.com/@pkeckreporter