Check out our list of 16 new laws that may affect you in 2016 – on the road, at school, in your home and around your neighborhood.

2. Many new or revised laws take effect
in the new year.
And you may know nothing
about them.
Wait, what!?

3. Don’t start a new year in the dark.
Learn about interesting new laws.

4. New protections for pets
• Impoundment of animals if owner is arrested for
cruelty. (SB 1735)
SB 125
SB 1735
HB 3231
HB 4029
Doggone it, we love our pets. Starting Jan. 1 Illinois will
step up efforts to protect them from neglect and abuse.
• Enhanced penalties for pet abuse in the
presence of children. (HB 3231)
• Misdemeanor charges for leaving pets out in
extreme heat or cold. (SB 125)
• Require shelters to scan lost pets for microchips within
24 hours. (HB 4029)
Read more: New Cullerton law protects pets from extreme weather

5. Many who wander are lost
SB 1846
Few experiences are more terrifying than the
disappearance of an elderly loved one with
dementia. A new law (SB 1846) requires
Illinois to establish a Silver Alert system to
help communities locate missing adults with
Alzheimer’s, dementia or other cognitive
impairments.
Read more:
Advancing tools to help locate wandering Alzheimer’s patients

6. State’s top squash
HB 208
• Illinois grows more pumpkins than any other
state, so it’s only natural that pumpkin
becomes the state’s official pie on Jan. 1 (HB
208).
• Fun fact: Illinois produced 745.8 million
pounds of pumpkin in 2014. The second top-
producing state was California with just
192.2 million pounds.

7. Protecting people & police
SB 1304
• Illinois is among the first states to establish
guidelines for the use of body cameras by
police. A new law (SB 1304) sets standards
for the use of cameras, storage of data and
the release of video to media and the public.
• The law also largely prohibits police use of
chokeholds and requires more training and
accountability for law enforcement.
Read more: Raoul, Sims, Anthony announce signing of landmark
law enforcement reforms

8. A deadly powder keg
• Illinois also will prohibit the purchase or sale of
powdered alcohol. (SB 67)
• Imagine the jitters that must come from drinking
28 cups of coffee. That’s how much caffeine can
be found in a single teaspoon of pure powdered
caffeine. A new law (SB 9) makes it a felony to
sell the potentially deadly substance in Illinois.
SB 9
SB 67Read more: Bertino-Tarrant, Silverstein drug bans signed into law

9. No blow, no go
HB 3533
• Under a new state law (HB 3533), people
convicted of a second DUI will be required to
use a breath alcohol ignition interlock device
and to have a restricted driving permit for at
least five years.

10. Taking charge of parking
HB 198
• Few things are more frustrating to an electric
car owner than pulling up to a charging
station and finding a non-electric vehicle
parked there. That’s what happened to one
Illinois driver, who then shared the story with
her state lawmaker. A new Illinois law (HB 198)
will fine those non-electric car owners $75.

11. A more perfect union
HB 4025
Tired of explaining the U.S. Constitution and
current events to disengaged youth and
clueless Internet trolls? A new Illinois law
(HB 4025) requires high school students to
complete two years of social studies with at
least one semester of civics.
Read more:
Tom Cullerton’s good government measure signed into law

12. Gas attack
A carbon monoxide leak at a rural Illinois
school in the fall of 2014 sent more than 180
students and staff to the hospital. A new law
(HB 152) now requires schools to have CO
detectors.
HB 152
Read more: School carbon monoxide detectors become law

13. Locking down safety
HB 3219
Children will be safer in Illinois homes
because of a new law (HB 3219) that allows
pharmacists to put a locking device on
dangerous and highly addictive prescription
medications. The locks have a combination
and function much like school locker or
bicycle locks.
Read more: Illinois to test locking devices for painkillers

14. Hit the books
• The transition from community college to
university should be a breeze for students
thanks to a new law (SB 806) that enables
those who earn associates degrees to be
classified as juniors when they transfer.
SB 806
Read more:
Kotowski’s common sense college proposal advances

15. License to dream
SB 23
• Undocumented residents and children of
immigrants will be able to obtain law
licenses beginning Jan. 1. Illinois is the third
state to offer these residents the chance to
practice and uphold the law without worrying
they are in violation of it. (SB 23)
Read more:
Chicago Daily Law Bulletin - Cullerton pitches a ‘license to dream’

16. I am who I am
• Beginning Jan. 1, Illinois will ban harmful and
ineffective gay conversion therapy on minors
by mental health professionals. The new law
(HB 217) also prohibits referring to
homosexuality as an illness when advertising
so-called conversion therapy service.
HB 217
Read more:
New law protects children from harmful “therapy” practices

17. Right to try
HB 1335
• After Jan. 1, terminally ill patients will have
the right to try experimental treatments once
they’ve considered all other FDA-approved
treatments. (HB 1335)

18. Canine comfort
• Children and intellectually disabled adults
who are victims of sexual abuse will be able
to have a service dog at their side for
comfort and companionship while
testifying in court. (SB 1389)
SB 1389
Read more:
Bennett works towards promoting compassionate courtrooms

19. Privacy for traveling moms
SB 344
• Traveling new mothers will have access
to special rooms where they can nurse
and pump in private in Illinois’ major
airports. The new law (SB 344) requires
Chicago’s O’Hare and Midway airports,
as well as all new and renovated airports,
to have lactation rooms by 2017.

20. Summaries of all new Illinois laws are
available on the Illinois General Assembly
Homepage: www.ilga.gov
www.IllinoisSenateDemocrats.com