During the legislative action on March 18, 2026, several bills tracked by the Illinois State Association of Counties (ISACo) successfully moved out of House Committees.
House Ethics and Elections Committee Action
HB 1169 seeks to amend the Lobbyist Registration Act by waiving registration fees for 501(c)(3) entities with annual budgets under $5 million, a move designed to reduce financial barriers for smaller non-profit organizations engaging in the legislative process. This legislation would impact ISACo staff. ISACo supports the bill.
HB 1314 would amend the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act to clarify the authority of counties to establish their own independent ethics commissions. This legislation provides a standardized legal framework for the creation of County Ethics Commissions and the appointment of Executive Inspectors General, allowing county boards to manage administrative misconduct inquiries internally rather than relying solely on state-level entities. Under this bill, the commission would have jurisdiction over county board members, elected constitutional officers, and county employees, with members appointed by the County Board Chair with the advice and consent of the Board.
ISACo supports the bill.
House Energy and Environment Committee Action
HB 5475 amends to the Environmental Protection Act to introduce a comprehensive framework for monitoring perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, commonly known as forever chemicals or PFAS, within the state’s water and waste infrastructure. Under these new requirements, any facility designated by the state or federal Environmental Protection Agency as a major facility must incorporate periodic sampling into its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits. For publicly owned treatment works, this mandates the testing of influent, effluent, and biosolids for all PFAS compounds for which accredited analytical methods exist. Other major facilities are required to conduct regular sampling of their effluent to ensure these substances are tracked before they are released into the environment.
The legislation further strengthens the permit application process by requiring any entity seeking a wastewater discharge permit to fully characterize its discharge through sampling if there is a potential for PFAS to be present. This oversight extends to the land application of sludge or biosolids, as the Agency is prohibited from issuing such permits unless the application includes specific sample results for these chemicals. Once a permit for land application is granted, the facility must continue to perform periodic sampling to maintain compliance. For county governments and local municipalities that operate treatment plants or manage agricultural land application programs, these provisions establish a mandatory testing standard designed to identify and mitigate the spread of persistent chemical contaminants in local soil and water supplies.
ISACo has no position on the bill.
House Veterans Affairs Committee
House Bill 4336 amends the Counties Code, Township Code, and Illinois Municipal Code to clarify the scope of building permit fee waivers for veterans with disabilities. Under current law, disabled veterans (or their caregivers) are not charged building permit fees for home improvements needed to accommodate their disability. This bill expands and clarifies what counts as a “building permit fee” by explicitly stating that the exemption applies not only to the base permit fee, but also to related costs such as plan review or examination fees, inspection fees, and reinspection fees.
The legislation applies uniformly to counties, townships, and municipalities, and reinforces that these local governments may not impose any of these charges when the improvements are necessary to accommodate a veteran’s disability. Veterans must still complete required permit applications and provide proof of their status, but the bill ensures they are fully exempt from all associated permitting costs tied to accessibility improvements.
ISACo opposes the bill.
House Rules Committee Action
SB 2102 was approved by the House Rules Committee and sent directly to the House floor after having been previously approved unanimously by the House Revenue Committee in 2025.
The bill provides that a taxing district's budget and appropriation ordinance and estimate of revenues may be filed electronically with the county clerk. Provides that, if a taxing district's budget and appropriation ordinance and estimate of revenues are filed electronically with the county clerk, the county clerk shall accept and acknowledge that electronic filing by providing a receipt to the taxing district.
ISACo has no position on the bill.
These bills now move forward for further consideration by the full House.
In addition to these bills advancing, the House moved a large number of appropriation and "shell" bills out of committee ahead of the March 27 committee deadline.