IPHA Advocacy Alert
This week only the Senate has scheduled session dates. Below is a list of bills which IPHA is tracking that will be heard in committees. Please consider filing a witness slip to make your voice heard on issues that are important to you and your community.
List of Bills in Committee with links for submitting witness slips
Bills in Committee – Week of March 9 - 13, 2026
SENATE PUBLIC HEALTH (Tue., Mar. 10, 2026, 2:00 PM, Room 400 Capitol Building)
SB3083 - SWIMMING FACILITY-DOG ACCESS (SEN. PAUL FARACI) Amends the Swimming Facility Act. Provides that a public swimming facility may allow dogs to enter and use a swimming pool if the specified conditions are met.
IPHA Position: OPPOSE | Link to File Witness Slip
SB3487 - HOSPITAL LICENSING-VACCINATION (SEN. LAURA FINE) Amends the Hospital Licensing Act. Requires every hospital to adopt an influenza and pneumococcal immunization policy that includes procedures for identifying patients age 18 or older (rather than 50 or older) for influenza immunization and 50 or older (rather than 65 or older) for pneumococcal immunization.
IPHA Position: SUPPORT | Link to File Witness Slip
SENATE BEHAVIORAL AND MENTAL HEALTH (Wed., Mar. 11, 2026, 11:00 AM, Room 400 Capitol Building)
SB2771 - SUICIDE PREVENTION INFORMATION (SEN. CHRISTOPHER BELT) Amends the County Shelter Care and Detention Home Act, the Illinois Local Library Act, the Public Library District Act of 1991, the Village Library Act, the Libraries in Parks Act, the Assisted Living and Shared Housing Act, the Nursing Home Care Act, the Child Care Act of 1969, the Illinois Public Aid Code, the Unified Code of Corrections, and the Probation and Probation Officers Act to require the placement of contact information for the 9-8-8 National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Amends the School Code. With respect to the comprehensive health education program, provides that a school board shall require each public school serving students in any of grades 6 through 12 to assess courses and seminars available to those students through their regular academic experiences and implement age-appropriate, evidence-based suicide prevention curricula if opportunities for integration exist. Further amends the Unified Code of Corrections. In provisions concerning an inmate's successful transition to the community, provides that release planning shall include access to suicide prevention resources.
IPHA Position: SUPPORT | Link to File Witness Slip
SB2971 - DHS-DEMENTIA TRAINING (SEN. CRISTINA CASTRO) Amends the Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities Act. Requires direct service workers employed by the Department of Human Services, or an agency contracted with the Department, to provide services under the Home Services Program to complete at least 2 hours of dementia training at the start of their employment and annually thereafter. Requires the training to cover subjects concerning Alzheimer's disease and dementia, safety risks, and communication and behavior. Requires the Department to provide contractors with dementia training curriculum on the required subjects. Provides that any other laws or rules that impose more rigorous dementia training for direct service workers under the Home Services Program shall apply. Exempts from the training requirements direct service workers who provide proof that they obtained equivalent dementia training in compliance with another law or rule. For personal assistants covered by a collective bargaining agreement, requires the Department to establish, in consultation with the joint training committee created under the collective bargaining agreement, different parameters and specific topics for curriculum covering dementia training.
IPHA Position: SUPPORT | Link to File Witness Slip
SENATE JUDICIARY (Wed., Mar. 11, 2026, 3:00 PM, Room 400 Capitol Building)
SB2805 - LONG-TERM CARE BILL OF RIGHTS (SEN. CELINA VILLANUEVA) Creates the Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Gender Expression in Long-Term Care Bill of Rights Act. Establishes rights for a client who lives in a long-term care facility, or who receives home care services from a home care provider, from discrimination on the basis of actual or perceived sex, actual or perceived sexual orientation, actual or perceived gender identity, actual or perceived gender expression, or actual or perceived HIV status. Provides that an aggrieved person may enforce violations of the Act against a long-term care facility or a home care provider and the staff of the long-term care facility or home care provider through a civil action. Sets forth provisions concerning gender identity in client records; required training for all long-term care facilities and home care providers; arbitration agreements; interpretation of the Act; and enforcement of rights, including civil penalties and other administrative actions. Amends the Assisted Living and Shared Housing Act, the Nursing Home Care Act, and the Home Health, Home Services, and Home Nursing Agency Licensing Act to require compliance with the Sexual orientation, Gender Identity, and Gender Expression in Long-Term Care Bill of Rights Act. Amends the Adult Protective Services Act to include intentional misgendering and unlawful discrimination in the definition of "abuse".
IPHA Position: SUPPORT | Link to File Witness Slip
SENATE ENVIRONMENT AND CONSERVATION (Thu., Mar. 12, 2026, 11:00 AM, Room 400 Capitol Building)
SB3556 - EPA-FEDERAL BACKSTOP (SEN. LAURA ELLMAN) Amends the Environmental Protection Act. In provisions concerning the regulation of air pollution, water pollution, drinking water, hazardous waste, and landfills, provides that the Illinois Pollution Control Board shall not adopt any standards that are less stringent than those existing in Board regulations. Provides that various provisions of the Act shall not be construed to limit the right of a person to submit to the Board, or for the Board to adopt, regulations more stringent than the regulations promulgated by the Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
IPHA Position: SUPPORT | Link to File Witness Slip
FAQ: How to File a Witness Slip
Don't forget, a phone call can be a very fast, immediate way to communicate your position on a bill or an issue with your Illinois legislator.
- Phone for Illinois House: 217-782-8223
- Phone for Illinois Senate: 217-782-5715
- Phone for Governor’s Office: 217-782-0244
Please reach out to if you have questions or want to discuss bills. The Illinois Public Health Association is so grateful for your partnership and advocacy on public health issues that impact our communities.
If you have questions, please contact Conny Moody, IPHA Government Relations and Compliance, at cmoody@ipha.com or email advocacy@ipha.com.