Another gas tax hike and other Illinois laws that go into effect July 1

July 1 is when spending starts on Illinois’ record $55.2 billion budget, when the state gas tax automatically goes up to 48.3 cents a gallon and when new laws take effect – some passed as long ago as 2023.

Here are nine laws passed by the 103rd Illinois General Assembly impacting gender, birth certificates for those under guardianship and for fetal deaths, climate change education, insulin costs, assisted living, overdose survival, court translators and prostitution records. All nine go into effect July 1.

Gender data, birth certificates

House Bill 2297 will have state agencies collect and report gender-inclusive data.

Starting July 1, “male and female” categories will be removed. To conform with gender inclusive initiatives, state agencies will collect and report data for  “man, woman, and persons who identify as non-binary or gender non-conforming” categories.

House Bill 4727 will waive fees for a new birth certificate or for a search for a birth record for those with a guardian.

Requests made by the Office of the State Guardian to the Office of the State Registrar of Vital Records in Springfield will have fees waived beginning July 1.

Senate Bill 3182 will allow parents to receive a certificate of birth following a spontaneous fetal death during or after a 20-week gestational period.

According to Liam’s law, if a stillbirth of a fetus occurs during or after 20 gestational weeks, parents have the right to receive a certificate of birth for their child. The law going into effect on July 1 will also replace “mother” with “patient.”

Climate curriculum mandate

House Bill 4895 will require public schools to teach students about the environmental and ecological effects of climate change by the 2026-2027 school year.

Environmental education in public schools includes instruction in conservation of natural resources addressing issues of air pollution, waste reduction and more. But starting July 1, the State Board of Education must “prepare and make available multi-disciplinary instructional resources and professional learning opportunities for educators.” The mandate is subject to lawmakers providing the funding so the state board can create curriculum instruction and teacher training that will identify factors impacting climate change and evaluate solutions that address and mitigate those impacts.

Insulin costs, assisted living

House Bill 2189 will cap out-of-pocket costs that insurance companies can charge for insulin.

The insulin discount program would allow participants to purchase insulin at a discounted, post-rebate price from insurers. The cost sharing reduces the cap for prescription insulin drugs from $100 to $35.

House Bill 5000 will make assisted living facilities more accessible.

This bill would allow a person in need of non-routine maintenance catheter care to be accepted into assisted living facilities. Catheter care can now be administered by a nurse that complies with the new infection control program. Prior to July 1, a person in need of non-routine maintenance catheter care may not have been accepted unless it was self-administered or administered by a health care professional.

Overdose survival

House Bill 5028 will make opioid antagonists such as Narcan available where state agencies are located.

Starting July 1, if a state agency has trained its employees in the use and administration of life-saving opioid antagonists that reverse opioid overdoses. Additionally, the Good Samaritan Act was amended to exempt employees of state agencies from civil liability for administering an opioid antagonist.

Foreign languages in court 

House Bill 5172 will give witnesses and self-represented and poor litigants the right to access a foreign language translator.

Beginning July 1, judges will no longer determine but are rather mandated to ask if an individual needs interpretive assistance. The availability to foreign language translators will inform people in a contested case of their right to request interpretive assistance in at least 13 languages.

Prostitution records sealed

House Bill 4410 will automatically seal felony prostitution arrests.

July 1 will also see Illinois change sex offense descriptions, such as “juvenile prostitution.” The term will be replaced with “commercial sexual exploitation of a child,” along with other terminology changes.

Lawmakers may not have fixed the state pension crisis or done anything to change Illinois’ status as having the No. 1 state and local tax burden, but at least state leaders will have ensured curriculum covers global warming, know how many gender non-conforming people are served by state agencies and guarantee a Gujarati translator will be in court when needed.