ISBA Director of Legislative Affairs Jim Covington reviews bills in Springfield of interest to ISBA members. This week he covers House Bill 6192 (Rewrite of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act), House Bill 6191 (Rewrite of the Parentage Act), Senate Bill 3823 (Sanctions for visitation violations), Senate Bill 2569 (Dissipation claims and child support), Senate Bill 3849 (Child support enforcement), House Bill 3960 (Calculation of child support) and Senate Bill 2488 (Cell phones in construction and school zones). More information on each bill is available below the video.

Please note that the General Assembly must send to the Governor passed legislation within 30 days from the date both chambers passed it. The Governor must sign, veto, or amendatorily veto a bill within 60 days of his receipt of it. The "drop date" is the 60-day deadline for each bill and is the date by which the Governor must take action.

If you're interested in what action he has taken on a specific bill or want to view the full text, visit the General Assembly's excellent website at http://www.ilga.gov.

Rewrite of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act. House Bill 6192 (Burke, D-Evergreen Park) rewrites the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act. It is the work product of the Illinois Family Law Study Committee, which the General Assembly that was charged with doing a 30-year review of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act. It was just introduced and there may be hearings on it this summer or fall.

Rewrite of the Parentage Act. House Bill 6191 (Burke, D-Evergreen Park) rewrites the Parentage Act. It is the work product of ISBA’s Family Law Section Council and the Illinois Family Law Study Committee. It was just introduced and there may be hearings on it this summer or fall.

Sanctions for visitation violations. Senate Bill 3823 (Sullivan, D-Rushville; Howard, D-Chicago) authorizes a judge to impose sanctions for visitation abuse similar to those that may be imposed for failing to pay child support, such as suspension of an offender’s driver’s license. Passed both chambers.

Dissipation claims and child support. Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act. Senate Bill 2569 (Mulroe, D-Chicago; Soto, D-Chicago) does two things affecting dissipation claims and child support. (1) Requires notice of intent to claim dissipation to be filed no later than 60 days before trial or 30 days after discovery closes, whichever is later. The notice must include an identification of the property dissipated and the date, dates, or periods of time during which the marriage began undergoing an irretrievable breakdown and when the dissipation occurred.

No dissipation may be considered if it occurred five years before the filing of the petition for dissolution of marriage or three years after the party claiming dissipation knew or should have known of the dissipation. (2) Specifically grants the court the right to order one or both parties to make reasonable payments for health needs not covered by insurance, child-care, education, and extracurricular activities in addition to statutory child support. Passed both chambers.

Child-support enforcement. Senate Bill 3549 (Dillard, R-Westmont; Pihos, R-Glen Ellyn) authorizes a court to require a self-employed person who is found in contempt for failing to pay child support to (a) provide monthly financial statements from the business or the self-employment; (b) seek employment and report to the court information about his or her employment search; or (c) report to the Department of Employment Security for job-search services to find employment that will be subject to child support withholding. Passed both chambers.

Calculation of child support. House Bill 3960 (Tracy, R-Brown County; Martinez, D-Chicago) does not allow an obligor to use as a deduction in the calculation of net income any payments for premiums of court-ordered life insurance that reasonably secures payment of support for non-minor children and educational expenses, terms agreed to by the parties, or payment of maintenance (through existing or new life insurance). Passed both chambers.

Cell phones in construction and school zones. Senate Bill 2488 (Garrett, D-Lake Forest; May, D-Highland Park) allows a person to use a cell phone in voice-operated (instead of “voice-activated”) mode or by pressing a single button to initiate or terminate a voice communication. This also includes using a headset in this manner. Passed both chambers.