ISBA Statehouse Review for the week of August 16

ISBA Director of Legislative Affairs Jim Covington reviews bills in Springfield of interest to ISBA members. In this episode he covers the Radon Resistant Construction Act, Mechanics Lien Act, Trust modernization I, Trust modernization II, Order of protection and Child support and dissipation claims. More information on each bill is available below the video.

Radon Resistant Construction Act. Public Act 97-953 (McAsey, D-Lockport; Collins, D-Chicago) creates the Radon Resistant Construction Act. It requires all new residential construction include passive radon resistant construction. "New residential construction" is any original construction of a single-family home or a dwelling containing two or fewer apartments, condominiums, or townhouse. "Passive radon resistant construction" includes an installed pipe that relies solely on the convective flow of air upward for soil-gas depressurization and may consist of multiple pipes routed through conditioned space from below the foundation to the roof above. Effective June 1, 2013.

Mechanics Lien Act. Public Act 97-966 (Althoff, R-Crystal Lake; Tyron, R-Crystal Lake) requires work to be done or materials furnished within three years for residential property and five years for any other kind of property. Senate Bill 3792 sunsets on January 1, 2016, and the limitation then reverts to three years for any kind of property at that time. Effective January 1, 2013.

Trust modernization I. Public Act 97-920 (McAsey, D-Lockport; Dillard, R-Hinsdale) modernizes Illinois trust law by allowing "decanting" of trusts. Public Act 97-920 allows an irrevocable trust to evolve to meet a family's changing needs without court involvement. It is modeled after the laws of Delaware and New York. Effective January 1, 2013.

Trust modernization II. Public Act 97-921 (McAsey, D-Lockport; Silverstein, D-Chicago) Public Act 97-921 adds flexibility to Illinois estate planning and administration of trusts by the use of "directed trusts." Directed trusts allow a settlor to establish a trust and separate the administrative authority between a trustee and another person or entity acting as a fiduciary, such as an investment advisor, distribution advisor, or trust protector. It is modeled after Delaware law, and more than 30 states already allow for directed trusts in some form. Effective January 1, 2013.

Order of protection. Public Act 97-919 (McAsey, D-Lockport; Mulroe, D-Chicago) makes it a Class 4 felony to violate an order of protection if the defendant had been convicted in another state of domestic battery or certain crimes of violence or been the subject of an out-of-state order of protection. It also makes the actions of a defendant who directed the actions of a third party to violate this section accountable as if those actions had been personally done by the defendant without regard to the mental state of the third party. Effective August 10, 2012.

Child support and dissipation claims. Public Act 97-941 (Mulroe, D-Chicago; Soto, D-Chicago) does two things affecting dissipation claims and child support. (1) It 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 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) It 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. Effective January 1, 2013.