Another spring session of the Illinois House of Representatives is about to get underway.
We will be returning to the Capitol on Tuesday January 20th, to convene this year’s spring session. The Governor will offer his Budget Address and State of the State speech on February 18. House bills must be out of committees by the end of March and must have passed the full House by mid-April. Bills which come over from the Senate will be heard in House committees in early May and must be through the full House by later that month, though deadlines can sometimes be extended.
The House and Senate are scheduled to adjourn the spring session on Sunday May 31st.
It should be a busy year at the Capitol once again. Our state budget problems continue, and we still need to act on cleaning up corruption, addressing high energy prices and improving public safety. I am sure there will be many other important issues which emerge during the spring.
Please feel free to reach out to me through repswanson.com or my district office to let me know what you think about what we are doing in Springfield.
Firefighter training bill becomes law
More than 200 bills which the General Assembly passed back in the spring became law on January 1st. A bill I sponsored to help our firefighters was among them.
House Bill 1149 creates a college credit for training completed as a firefighter. Illinois already offers a similar opportunity for EMT training. This bill extends that credit to firefighters. The bill passed both houses unanimously.