Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Legislative Tracking topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Member reports changes to Illinois legislative reference site, warns of many shell bills and imminent filing deadline
Summary
Tom Walsh reported that the Illinois legislative reference site was modified and now lists numerous shell bills; he noted committee-related bill tracking differences with UCCI and mentioned an approaching filing deadline around the 24th.
Tom Walsh told the committee that the Illinois legislative reference site has been modified and now shows a large number of "shell" bills in the House Rules Committee report. He said the site lists bills through the 1,226 range and that many entries are shell bills labeled with headings such as "civil law tech," "criminal law tech," "health tech" and similar topic markers.
Walsh said the Illinois County Commissioners Association (UCCI) provides a shorter, county-focused bill list, but it does not always capture every bill relevant to county government. He noted a new remote legislative hearing process and that the Senate committee hearings were scheduled to begin Feb. 4, 2025. Walsh also mentioned a bill-filing calendar with an approaching deadline he described as the 24th and pointed to the Illinois Bill Drafting Manual (2012 edition) available on the state's website for members interested in drafting bills.
Walsh advised that while shell bills provide a vehicle to reserve a filing slot, getting a bill written, called for a vote and ultimately passed is a longer process that often requires amendments and negotiation. He offered meeting copies of schedules and the manual for members who want them.
No formal committee action was recorded on legislative strategy; the remarks were presented as informational status updates.
