ISBA Statehouse Review for the week of March 14

ISBA Director of Legislative Affairs Jim Covington reviews bills in Springfield of interest to ISBA members. In this episode he covers Visitation and babysitting (House Bill 2992), TODI tweaks (House Bill 169), Raising the age of juveniles (House Bill 2404), Illinois Anatomical Gift Act (House Bill 2339) and SOS administrative hearings (Senate Bill 924). More information on the bill is available below the video.

Visitation and babysitting. House Bill 2992 (Harms, R-Watseka) gives each parent the “right of first refusal” to care for a minor child in lieu of using a babysitter. Provides that the use of baby-sitters, family members, or subsequent spouses is secondary to the right of first refusal. Provides that right of first refusal means that if either parent intends to leave the minor children for a period of four hours or longer, that parent shall first offer the other parent an opportunity for additional time with the children before making other arrangements for the temporary care of the children. Contains provisions concerning the setting of parameters regarding distance, transportation, and time constraints that may make the offering of additional parenting time impractical and therefore not required. Provides that the parent leaving the children with the other parent or with a temporary child care provider shall notify the other parent of the duration of the parenting time or temporary care of the children by other persons. Contains procedural requirements regarding the offering and acceptance of additional parenting time. Provides that the parent exercising additional parenting time shall provide the necessary transportation unless the parties agree otherwise. Provides that the new provisions are enforceable under the Section of the Act concerning visitation abuse. Scheduled for hearing in House Judiciary Committee Wednesday.

TODI tweaks. House Bill 169 (Bradley, D-Marion) makes six changes to the recently enacted Transfer on Death Instrument to clear up title questions, which are as follows.

(1) Current law states that if a beneficiary has not accepted the TODI within six months of the owner’s death, any co-beneficiary, contingent beneficiary, legatee, heir, or personal representative of the deceased owner’s estate may file a written demand on the non-accepting beneficiary requiring the filing of an acceptance or disclaimer within 30 days.

(2) House Bill 169 specifically defines the term “authorized representative” to mean “an agent under a power of attorney, a guardian, a standby guardian, a short-term or temporary guardian, an executor, an administrator, or an administrator to collect.” It was used in the TODI Act but not defined.

(3) House Bill 169 protects any purchaser or mortgagee who acquires its title or lien from the beneficiaries of the real estate for value and without notice before commencement of any action. But the amendment does not relieve the beneficiaries of liability to the claimant under the Act.

(4) Currently, a TODI may be used only for residential real estate as defined in the Residential Real Property Disclosure Act. This has caused several problems with residential cooperatives and condominiums that don’t fit with the TODI Act. House Bill 169 resolves this problem by deleting any reference to “units in residential cooperatives” and includes “common elements” as what may be passed by a TODI as it relates to a residential condominium unit.

(5) The current Act doesn’t prohibit an agent from creating or revoking a TODI if properly authorized under the instrument appointing the agent, but the concept of an agent doing so conflicts with the other requirements for the execution or revocation of a TODI. House Bill 169 eliminates the power to create or revoke a TODI by an agent even if expressly authorized under the agency.

(6) The current Act requires strict compliance with the signing, attestation, and acknowledgement provisions in Section 45. House Bill 169 adds the word “substantial” to this compliance requirement so that mere technical errors do not render the TODI void. Examples include if the notary public failed to include the names of the witnesses in its acknowledgement, or if the attestation clause fails to contain a provision stating the witnesses believed the owner to be of sound mind and memory.

Raising the age of juveniles. House Bill 2404 (Currie, D-Chicago) changes the definition of a delinquent minor to include a person who was under 18 (rather than 17) years of age when he or she committed an offense classified as a felony. These changes are prospective only.

Illinois Anatomical Gift Act. House Bill 2339 (Will Davis, D-Hazel Crest) rewrites the Illinois Anatomical Gift Act establish consistency between the Act and the core provisions of the Revised Uniform Anatomical Gift Act of 2006.

SOS administrative hearings. Senate Bill 924 (Raoul, D-Chicago) may be the shell bill for Secretary of State Jesse White’s revisions to the Vehicle Code. These revisions will repeal the current requirement of an administrative hearing to determine if drivers with who have driven impaired are safe to put back on the road with an RDP. Under his proposal, these drivers will simply be put back on the road with a BAIID device. No amendment has been filed yet to do this, but it is expected.