Gov. Rauner signs law to better educate students on loan debt; takes other bill action

SPRINGFIELD - Illinois college students will have more information on hand to make financial decisions under legislation signed into law today by Gov. Bruce Rauner. Senate Bill 2559 will require the Illinois Student Assistance Commission to develop a three-year pilot program to better educate students on loan amounts, repayment and interest.
 
Each public university and community college will be required to send an annual letter detailing the current loan and annual repayment amounts to all students with college loans.

"We've seen student debt skyrocket in recent years," Rauner said. "This is an opportunity for those students to stay on top of the cost of education and the debt they are incurring."

The legislation was sponsored in the Senate by Senator Steve Stadelman of Rockford.

"Thousands of Illinois students graduate from college each year and face the reality that they owe tens-of-thousands of dollars in student loans. For many of these students, it's the first time they fully realize the expense of their education," said Stadelman, D-Rockford. "This new law will ensure students know up-front about the cost of their education and can make better financial decisions to save them money later on."

Rauner also took action today on the following bills:
 
Bill No.: HB 489
An Act Concerning Government
Action: Signed
Effective: Jan. 1, 2019
 
Bill No.: HB 1262
An Act Concerning Education
Action: Veto
Note: Veto Message Below
 
Bill No.: HB 4118
An Act Concerning Local Government                              
Action: Signed
Effective:  Immediately
 
Bill No.: HB 4345
An Act Concerning Government                                
Action: Signed
Effective: Jan. 1, 2019
 
Bill No.: HB 4348
An Act Concerning Local Government                                                          
Action: Signed
Effective: Jan. 1, 2019
 
Bill No.: HB 4412
An Act Concerning Public Employee Benefits
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
 
Bill No.: HB 4469
An Act Concerning Elections                        
Action: Amendatory Veto
Note: Veto Message Below
 
Bill No.: HB 4658
An Act Concerning Education
Action: Signed
Effective: Jan. 1, 2019
 
Bill No.: HB 4661
An Act Concerning Public Employee Benefits                               
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
 
Bill No.: HB 4751
An Act Concerning State Government
Action: Signed
Effective:  Immediately
 
Bill No.: HB 4888
An Act Concerning Criminal Law                           
Action: Signed
Effective: Jan. 1, 2019
 
Bill No.: HB 4936
An Act Concerning State Government                              
Action: Signed
Effective: Jan. 1, 2019
 
Bill No.: HB 4965
An Act Concerning Public Aid
Action: Signed
Effective: October 1, 2018
 
Bill No.: HB 5203
An Act Concerning Law Enforcement Training
Action: Signed
Effective: Jan. 1, 2019
 
Bill No.: HB 5231
An Act Concerning Law Enforcement Officers 
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
 
Bill No.: HB 5303
An Act Concerning Local Government
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
 
Bill No.: HB 5317
An Act Concerning Wildlife
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
 
Bill No.: HB 5342
An Act Concerning Public Employee Benefits
Action: Veto
Note: Veto Message Below
 
Bill No.: HB 5544
An Act Concerning State Government
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
 
Bill No.: HB 5547
An Act Concerning Finance
Action: Signed
Effective: Jan. 1, 2019
 
Bill No.: HB 5558
An Act Concerning Health
Action: Signed
Effective: Jan. 1, 2019
 
Bill No.: HB 5595
An Act Concerning Finance
Action: Veto
Note: Veto Message Below
 
Bill No.: HB 5599
An Act Concerning Public Aid
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
 
Bill No.: HB 5682
An Act Concerning State Government
Action: Veto
Note: Veto Message Below
 
Bill No.: HB 5689
An Act Concerning Regulation
Action: Amendatory Veto
Note: Veto Message Below
 
Bill No.: HB 5741
An Act Concerning Safety
Action: Signed
Effective:  Immediately
 
Bill No.: HB 5795
An Act Concerning Education 
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
 
Bill No.: SB 43
An Act Concerning Finance                            
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
 
Bill No.: SB 335
An Act Concerning Regulation
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
 
Bill No.: SB 427
An Act Concerning Local Government                             
Action: Veto
Note: Veto Message Below
 
Bill No.: SB 452
An Act Concerning Education
Action: Signed
Effective:  Immediately
 
Bill No.: SB 1246
An Act Concerning Civil Law
Action: Signed
Effective: Jan. 1, 2019
 
Bill No.: SB 2289
An Act Concerning Civil Law
Action: Signed
Effective: Jan. 1, 2019
 
Bill No.: SB 2419
An Act Concerning Regulation
Action: Amendatory Veto
Note: Veto Message Below
 
Bill No.: SB 2424
An Act Concerning Regulation
Action: Signed
Effective: July 1, 2019
 
Bill No.: SB 2524
An Act Concerning Health
Action: Signed
Effective:  Jan. 1, 2019
 
Bill No.: SB 2559
An Act Concerning Education
Action: Signed
Effective: Jan. 1, 2019
 
Bill No.: SB 2560
An Act Concerning Business
Action: Signed
Effective: Jan. 1, 2019
 
Bill No.: SB 2569
An Act Concerning Local Government
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
 
Bill No.: SB 2579
An Act Concerning Courts
Action: Signed
Effective:  Jan. 1, 2019
 
Bill No.: SB 2587
An Act Concerning Regulation
Action: Signed
Effective: Jan. 1, 2019
 
Bill No.: SB 2693
An Act Concerning Education
Action: Signed
Effective:  Immediately
 
Bill No.: SB 2696
An Act Concerning State Government
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
 
Bill No.: SB 2877
An Act Concerning Regulation                           
Action: Signed
Effective: Jan. 1, 2019
 
Bill No.: SB 2884
An Act Concerning Public Employee Benefits
Action: Signed
Effective: Jan. 1, 2019
 
Bill No.: SB 2899
An Act Concerning State Government                           
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
 
Bill No.: SB 2939
An Act Concerning Education                            
Action: Signed
Effective: Jan. 1, 2019
 
Bill No.: SB 3009
An Act Concerning Business                            
Action: Amendatory Veto
Note: Veto Message Below
 
Bill No.: SB 3017
An Act Concerning Safety                            
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
 
Bill No.: SB 3108
An Act Concerning Civil Law                           
Action: Signed
Effective: Jan. 1, 2019
 
Bill No.: SB 3141
An Act Concerning Revenue                           
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
 
Bill No.: SB 3192
An Act Concerning Government                          
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
 
Bill No.: SB 3193
An Act Concerning State Government                          
Action: Signed
Effective: Jan. 1, 2019
 
Bill No.: SB 3237
An Act Concerning State Government                           
Action: Signed
Effective: Jan. 1, 2019
 
Bill No.: SB 3240
An Act Concerning Safety                           
Action: Signed
Effective: Jan. 1, 2019
 
Bill No.: SB 3464
An Act Concerning Local Government                           
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
 
Bill No.: SB 3489
An Act Concerning Criminal Law                           
Action: Signed
Effective: Jan. 1, 2019
 
Bill No.: SB 3503
An Act Concerning Local Government                                                       
Action: Signed
Effective: Jan. 1, 2019
 
Bill No.: SB 3504
An Act Concerning Regulation                         
Action: Signed
Effective: Jan. 1, 2019
 
Veto Message for HB 1262 is below:
 
To the Honorable Members of
The Illinois House of Representatives,
100th General Assembly:
 
Today I veto House Bill 1262 from the 100th General Assembly, which walks back the progress that was made on mandate relief for school districts as a part of last year's funding reform legislation.
 
This legislation would require that when the State Board of Education submits to the General Assembly requests of school boards or superintendents for relief from certain state mandates, the requests must be reviewed by the entire General Assembly, and not a panel of the four leaders.
 
Last year, Public Act 100-465 changed the process for how requests by school boards to have state mandates waived are handled. The new process allows the requests to be reviewed by the four legislative leaders as opposed to the entire General Assembly before the State Board is allowed to approve them. The purpose of this change was to streamline the waiver process and allow more flexibility when school districts do not believe that a given mandate serves the best interests of their students. Reintroducing categories of mandates that need to go to the entire General Assembly demonstrates a step backward and begins to unravel the incremental progress that was recently made on mandate reform.
 
Therefore, pursuant to Section 9(b) of Article IV of the Illinois Constitution of 1970, I hereby return House Bill 1262, entitled "AN ACT concerning education," with the foregoing objections, vetoed in its entirety.
 
Sincerely,
 
 
Bruce Rauner
GOVERNOR
 
Veto Message for HB 4669 is below:
 
To the Honorable Members of
The Illinois House of Representatives,
100th General Assembly:
 
Today, I return House Bill 4469 with specific recommendations for change.
 
This legislation commendably increases access to voting for individuals detained in county jails through the establishment of polling places and facilitation of vote-by-mail opportunities. Every citizen eligible to vote should be able to exercise that right, and I fully support this expansion of access to the democratic process.
 
However, this legislation also mandates that the Department of Corrections, as well as county jails across the state, take part in voter registration and education efforts that exceed the legitimate role of law enforcement, corrections and probation personnel.
 
Therefore, pursuant to Section 9(e) of Article IV of the Illinois Constitution of 1970, I hereby return House Bill 4469, entitled "AN ACT concerning elections," with the following recommendation for change:
 
By deleting page 3, line 5 through page 10, line 21.
 
With these changes, House Bill 4469 will have my approval. I respectfully request your concurrence.
 
Sincerely,
 
 
Bruce Rauner
GOVERNOR
 
 
Veto Message for HB 5342 is below:
 
To the Honorable Members of
The Illinois House of Representatives,
100th General Assembly:
 
Today I veto House Bill 5342 from the 100th General Assembly, which allows aldermen and city council members in Chicago who served as firefighters to elect to receive a firefighter pension rather than a municipal employee pension upon retirement.
 
This change is an improper approach to governance because it creates special carve-out pension changes for a small number of individuals. Illinois has deeply troubled pension systems, and legislation ought to be pursued to put those pensions on a firmer footing rather than creating special carve-outs from current law. Changes like the ones in this bill also have the potential to constrict the Chicago Firefighter Pension Fund's ability to pay its obligations to other deserving emergency responders.
 
Therefore, pursuant to Section 9(b) of Article IV of the Illinois Constitution of 1970, I hereby return House Bill 5342, entitled "AN ACT concerning public employee benefits," with the foregoing objections, vetoed in its entirety.
 
Sincerely,
 
Bruce Rauner
GOVERNOR
 
Veto Message for HB 5595 is below:
 
To the Honorable Members of
The Illinois House of Representatives,
100th General Assembly:
 
Today I veto House Bill 5595 from the 100th General Assembly, which accommodates building trade associations by extending the filing date for annual submissions of demographic information for apprenticeship programs from March 1st to March 31st every year.
House Bill 5595 is an exact duplicate of Senate Bill 2637, which I signed into law as Public Act 100-0797. Enactment of House Bill 5595 is thus moot.
 
Therefore, pursuant to Section 9(b) of Article IV of the Illinois Constitution of 1970, I hereby return House Bill 5595, entitled "AN ACT concerning finance" with the foregoing objection, vetoed in its entirety.
Sincerely,
 
Bruce Rauner
GOVERNOR
 
 
Veto Message for HB 5682 is below:
 
To the Honorable Members of
The Illinois House of Representatives,
100th General Assembly:
 
Today I veto House Bill 5682 from the 100th General Assembly, which allows for greater recognition of volunteers who assist the Department of Veterans Affairs.
This bill is a duplicate of Senate Bill 3191, which I signed into law as Public Act 100-0889, making this bill moot.
 
Therefore, pursuant to Section 9(b) of Article IV of the Illinois Constitution of 1970, I hereby return House Bill 5682, entitled "AN ACT concerning State government" with the foregoing objection, vetoed in its entirety.
Sincerely,
 
Bruce Rauner
GOVERNOR
 
 
Veto Message for HB 5689 is below:
 
To the Honorable Members of
The Illinois House of Representatives,
100th General Assembly:
 
Today I return House Bill 5689 to remove unnecessary and unwarranted language requiring employee class representatives on the State Mining Board and the Miners Examining Board to be union members. 

As presented to me, this legislation makes certain safety standards utilized in underground mines in Illinois consistent with federal regulations. This legislation was intended to enhance safety regulations in mining in Illinois in a number of ways, providing for an optional walk test to determine a safe and appropriate distance between containers of breathing devices and refuge chambers as permitted by the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration.  It also increases the number of Self Contained Self Rescuers that must be located throughout the mine in to conform with federal regulations.  These enhancements were the product of lengthy negotiations between the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, coal mining industry, and safety regulators and I fully support making sure our miners are working in the safest possible conditions.

However, the language requiring employee members of the State Mining Board and the Miners' Examining Board to be union-affiliated does not speak to these core safety objectives and is unnecessary and, by creating an arbitrary restriction on membership, will filter out candidates for appointment who are best positioned to affect the safety goals of this legislation.  The coal mining industry in Illinois has changed considerably over time, with the last union coal mine in Illinois closing in 2013.  Appointments like these should be based upon qualifications and expertise regardless of union membership. Moreover, membership on State boards and commissions should represent to the greatest extent possible the diverse experience of the people of Illinois, and this bill in its current form is in opposition with that goal.  I am revising this legislation so that it can serve its intended safety purpose without being unnecessarily politicized.

Therefore, pursuant to Section 9(e) of Article IV of the Illinois Constitution of 1970, I hereby return House Bill 5689, entitled "AN ACT concerning regulation," with the following specific recommendations for change:

On page 1, by replacing lines 23 through page 2, line 10 with the following:
"(3) Two mine officers from the employee class shall
have 4 years' years experience in an underground coal mine 
and shall hold certificates a first class certificate of competency
as an Illinois mine examiner.  
(4) The third mine officer from the employee class shall
have at least 4 years' years experience in a surface coal mine."
 
On page 4, by replacing lines 11 through 15 with the following:
 
"the members of the Miners' Examining Board shall
be employees of coal mines. Two of the members of the Miners' Examining Board
shall be from the employing class.".

 
With these changes, House Bill 5689 will have my approval. I respectfully request your concurrence.
Sincerely,
 
Bruce Rauner
GOVERNOR
 
Veto Message for SB 427 is below:
 
To the Honorable Members of
The Illinois Senate,
100th General Assembly:
 
Today I veto Senate Bill 427 from the 100th General Assembly, which increases the number of terms that an individual can serve as a member of the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Board.
 
I previously vetoed this legislation when Senate Bill 734 was passed by the General Assembly and maintain that this extension of term limits represents the wrong direction for Illinois. Illinoisans deserve to have their confidence restored in public servants, and we should be instituting more term limits on elected and appointed officials, not fewer.
 
Therefore, pursuant to Section 9(b) of Article IV of the Illinois Constitution of 1970, I hereby return Senate Bill 427, entitled "AN ACT concerning local government," with the foregoing objections, vetoed in its entirety.
 
Sincerely,
Bruce Rauner
GOVERNOR
 
Veto Message for SB 2419 is below: 
 
To the Honorable Members of
The Illinois Senate,
100th General Assembly:
 
Today, I return Senate Bill 2419 with specific recommendations for change.
This legislation updates the certification standards for surgical assistants to become registered to practice in Illinois and adds additional certification requirements for the renewal of this registration.
Maintaining a safe and effective healthcare environment is of the utmost importance. However, this legislation only serves to needlessly expand bureaucratic requirements without any demonstrable improvements in patient safety.
The Department of Financial and Professional Regulation is well-equipped to regulate this profession in a way that protects the health and safety of Illinois patients without needing to enforce membership in a private association. There has been an average of less than 1 disciplinary action per year against this profession since 2010, and surgical assistants already operate under the direction supervision of licensed physicians. All this legislation will accomplish is increasing the direct costs for professionals seeking to renew their license, which will indirectly be passed on to consumers in the form of even higher healthcare costs, while supporting a private organization's certification program that may not even relate to the practice area of a given surgical assistant.
Specifically, this legislation will create at least 80,000 hours of additional unnecessary compliance work by members of this industry and over $1.2 million of indirect costs over the next 10 years, on top of further restricting entry into the labor market for new workers.
While the certification requirements in law may make sense for the initial registration of surgical assistants, the reality of the highly-regulated environments in which they work makes statutorily required maintenance of this paper certification redundant. Instead of perpetuating barriers to work like this, Illinois should be making our economy and workforce more agile and responsive to the actual needs of our workplaces.
Therefore, pursuant to Section 9(e) of Article IV of the Illinois Constitution of 1970, I hereby return Senate Bill 2419, entitled "AN ACT concerning regulation", with the following specific recommendations for change:
By deleting page 2, line 10 through page 3 line 23.
 
With these changes, Senate Bill 2419 will have my approval. I respectfully request your concurrence.
Sincerely,
 
Bruce Rauner
GOVERNOR
 
 
Veto Message for SB 3009 is below:
 
To the Honorable Members of
The Illinois Senate,
100th General Assembly:
 
Today, I return Senate Bill 3009 with specific recommendations for change.
 
This legislation transfers the authority to appoint trustees of cemetery boards in certain counties to township supervisors, as opposed to the county board. This represents an effort to consolidate the appointment authority at a level of government closer to the body it is appointing. However, the legislation explicitly only applies to DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, and Will counties.
 
In an effort to create greater consistency across Illinois law and eliminate the countless carve-outs that litter our statutes where they do not serve a compelling purpose. I am therefore recommending an amendment to transfer the appointing authority to townships in any instance where the affected cemetery is located in a township, no matter what county it resides in. 
 
Therefore, pursuant to Section 9(e) of Article IV of the Illinois Constitution of 1970, I hereby return Senate Bill 3009, entitled "AN ACT concerning business", with the following specific recommendations for change:
 
On page 2, by replacing lines 8 and 9 with the following: "of such vacancy in writing, except that when said cemetery is located in a township the".
 
With these changes, House Bill 3009 will have my approval. I respectfully request your concurrence.
 
Sincerely,
 
 
Bruce Rauner
GOVERNOR