New year bringing 200-plus new laws to state

[Charlie T Waite]

[Subdeacon Joe]

Only 200?   Here we have over 1200.

[Blackwater 53393]

Couldn't access the article!  Are these gun laws??

[Charlie T Waite]

14 minutes ago, Blackwater 53393 said:

Couldn't access the article!  Are these gun laws??

Gun laws are addressed and a focus in the article

[Subdeacon Joe]

3 hours ago, Blackwater 53393 said:

Couldn't access the article!  Are these gun laws??

 

 

New year bringing 200-plus new laws to state

By Nick Draper

 Published 4:52 am CST, Monday, December 24, 2018

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More than 200 pieces of legislation signed in 2018 will become law Jan. 1.

State Rep. C.D. Davidsmeyer of Jacksonville said that the laws vary from the mundane, such as dictating when certain departments have to have their vehicle’s oil changed, to helpful like the Telehealth Act that will allow more clinicians to provide remote services for patients.

Some of them, however, he feels overreach in ways, such as several of the new gun laws that will be put in place like SB 3256 that will require a 72-hour waiting period for all gun purchases in the state including those made by non-residents at Illinois State Police recognized gun shows. Previously, only handguns were subject to a 72-hour period with the rest under a 24-hour period.

“A lot of these gun laws I have taken to task,” Davidsmeyer said. “What is the issue we’re trying to eliminate? Will the bill actually accomplish that goal? On waiting periods, I personally don’t have a problem with waiting periods but a lot of the time if someone is going to do something crazy, they’re going to find the means to do it.”

 

 

“While I don’t mind waiting for 72 hours to get a new shotgun so I can go hunting, someone else may,” he added. “In Illinois, we’re kind of second-class citizens in our own state. Out of state, if you have your (Firearm Owners Identification) card you can go pick up whatever you want.”

Another law would allow relatives of a gun owner to petition a court to grant a restraining owner if the gun owner is proved to be a danger to themselves or others. A judge could also order that the gun owner’s FOID card be suspended and firearms be removed between 14 days to six months.

 

“I have concerns about the constitutionality of confiscating somebody’s gun without them having done anything,” Davidsmeyer said.

Active shooter safety drills will also now be made mandatory for all schools. The drills must be led by law enforcement, conducted within 90 days of the first day of school and all students and personnel must be present for the drill.

Davidsmeyer said that while he is totally for shooting drills and believes that schools should hold such drills for the safety of the students and staff, he questions whether or not mandating the drills by law is the best way to implement them.

 

“Having a mandate from the state doesn’t necessarily make everybody’s lives safer but it does take time away from actually educating kids,” he said. “A lot of time these mandates don’t cost people money, it just costs time away from the goal of education. Should they be doing drills? Certainly. In this day and age, it never hurts to be prepared. I’m just worried about it taking time away from the ultimate goal of education.”

Another mandate is the requirement for all parents to have rear-facing car seats for all children under the age of 2 unless they weigh more than 40 pounds or more than 40 inches tall. Again, Davidsmeyer said that while the idea is a positive one it takes away a parent’s ability to judge what is best for their children.

“It’s something your doctor’s office should be advising you on,” he said. “I don’t know the government saying that you have to have your kid riding backward is the best way to do this.”

Other major laws coming into effect include a law banning all synthetic marijuana including those with slight formula alterations, a law removing insurance barriers for outpatient opioid and addiction treatment, a law mandating a written policy for internal review of officer-involved shootings, a law mandating sexual harassment policy for companies within Illinois, and a law ending severance packages for employees who have been fired for misconduct.