* The cheesehead makes a valid point…

It's early March in an odd-numbered year, so it's wacky proposed legislation season in many states.

Journalists will breathlessly report on these outrages.

Remember that most bills don't pass & aren't meant to pass. The wacky bills are signaling exercises–outrage is the point.

— Manny Teodoro (@MPTeodoro) March 2, 2023

* HB3412 was referred to Rules Committee on February 17th and is still there. ProPublica…

A new bill in the Illinois House aims to stop schools from working with police to issue students tickets for minor misbehavior, a harmful and sometimes costly practice that many districts have continued despite pleas to stop from the state’s top education officials.

An investigation by ProPublica and the Chicago Tribune revealed last year that school-based ticketing was rampant across Illinois, with police writing citations that can result in a fine of up to $750 for conduct once handled by the principal’s office. […]

The new legislation, introduced last month, would amend the state’s school code to make it illegal for school personnel to involve police to issue students citations for incidents that can be addressed through a school’s disciplinary process. […]

Ford’s legislation deals only with school tickets, which are issued for civil violations of local laws and often are adjudicated in administrative hearings. The bill is not intended to stop police from arresting students for crimes. It would also not prevent schools from seeking restitution from students for lost, stolen or damaged property.

* The proposal was referred to Senate Assignments on February 28. From WICS…

The Illinois Constitution could be seeing some changes.

A proposed amendment would see all gender-specific language change to gender-neutral terms.

This Senate Joint Resolution Constitutional Amendment (SJRCA) would allow the State to be more inclusive.

Phrases such as “governments are instituted among men” have been included since as early as 1970.

* SB2211 was referred to Senate Assignments on Feb. 10. Here’s Fox Illinois…

Senate Bill 2211 would restrict grocery stores from providing or selling plastic or paper bags to customers. […]

Senator Mary Edley-Allen sponsors the bill and said that they have been working on this for quite some time.

“I don’t know, I just think, wouldn’t it be a lovely sight to not see these bags hanging from tree limbs after there’s a big storm and a big wind? It seems like they’re just everywhere after the fact,” said Senator Edler-Allen.

She also said that a big reason why it has not passed yet is because of the inclusion of paper bags.

Though paper bags are more of a rarity, citizens have told lawmakers that they want to keep at least one of the two.

* SB2193 was assigned to Senate Executive on Feb. 28. From WIFR…

Illinois brew pubs may soon have a new way to increase their business after a bill that would allow them to ship their suds to remote customers was filed Thursday.

Senate Bill 2193 creates the “Brewer Shipper’s License” that mirrors the permit that lets winemakers ship their products to customers in other states using third-party delivery services like DHL, FedEx, and UPS.

Reed Sjostrom, co-founder of Prairie Street Brewing Co. in Rockford, says says if the bill becomes law, it will mean more sales and an opportunity to promote the Forest City.

“I think it will be huge to be able to represent Rockford and our brewery outside of our area,” Sjostrom said. “And if we can ship beer to all the states that can legally accept alcohol shipping, we can start sending beer to so many more people. And so many more people will know about our brand and our wonderful city.”

* Illinois Times…

State Rep. Will Guzzardi, D-Chicago, has introduced a bill that would prohibit auto insurers in the state from considering consumer credit information in setting rates. After a Feb. 28 hearing, the bill was sent to a subcommittee, a signal that it may not be considered by the full House this term.

If the measure were to pass, Illinois would join five other states that ban or limit insurance companies’ use of credit scores in determining policy rates. Outside of those states the practice is common; Fair Isaac Corp. (FICO), which created the concept of credit-based insurance scoring, estimates that 95% of auto insurers use credit-based insurance scores as a factor in setting premiums.

* HB29 was assigned to the House Judiciary Criminal Committee Tuesday. Here’s KHQA…

Illinois State Rep. La Shawn Ford, a Chicago Democrat, filed a bill that would create the offense of parental bullying.

Under House Bill 0029, a parent or legal guardian of a minor commits parental bullying “when he or she knowingly and with the intent to discipline, embarrass, or alter the behavior of the minor, transmits any verbal or visual message that the parent or legal guardian reasonably believes would coerce, intimidate, harass, or cause substantial emotional distress to the minor.”

The bill states parental bullying would be classified as a petty offense.

If convicted, a fine would be imposed and a portion of the fine would be placed in escrow for the purchase of a certificate of deposit for use by the victim when he or she attains 18.

* Rep. Flowers bill is now on 2nd reading. WJBD…

Efforts are underway to help improve literacy and add classes to Illinois public schools.

State Representative Amy Elik of Alton says one way to help kids learn how to read is to go old school and teach phonics. She is supporting legislation that requires phonics to be taught to kids.

“In education when you look back over a number of decades, there are things that work and suddenly they change. And I think there is always these new methods of instruction out there and are worth trying, it’s also important to recognize what works and to go back to it if need be.”

There’s also a proposal requiring high school juniors and seniors to take a course on personal finance. Another bill mandates a course on recognizing the signs of anxiety, depression and other mental illnesses.

* Check out the politically diverse House sponsorship of HB3203…

Rep. Tony M. McCombie - Wayne A Rosenthal - La Shawn K. Ford, Will Guzzardi and Michael J. Coffey, Jr.

Amends the Overdose Prevention and Harm Reduction Act. Provides that a pharmacist may sell fentanyl test strips over-the-counter to the public to test for the presence of fentanyl, a fentanyl analogue, or a drug adulterant within a controlled substance. Provides that a county health department may distribute fentanyl test strips at the county health department facility for no fee. Amends the Drug Paraphernalia Control Act. Provides that “drug paraphernalia” does not include equipment, products, or materials to analyze or test for the presence of fentanyl, a fentanyl analogue, or a drug adulterant within a controlled substance.

* Meanwhile, in Opposite Land…

Florida Sen. Jason Brodeur (R-Lake Mary) wants bloggers who write about Gov. Ron DeSantis, Attorney General Ashley Moody, and other members of the Florida executive cabinet or legislature to register with the state or face fines.

Brodeur’s proposal, Senate Bill 1316: Information Dissemination, would require any blogger writing about government officials to register with the Florida Office of Legislative Services or the Commission on Ethics.

In the bill, Brodeur wrote that those who write “an article, a story, or a series of stories,” about “the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, a Cabinet officer, or any member of the Legislature,” and receives or will receive payment for doing so, must register with state offices within five days after the publication of an article that mentions an elected state official. […]

Failure to file these disclosures or register with state officials, if the bill passes, would lead to daily fines for the bloggers, with a maximum amount per report, not per writer, of $2,500. The per-day fine is $25 per report for each day it’s late.