HB5544eng 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB5544 Engrossed LRB100 20125 RJF 36163 b

AN ACT concerning State government.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Illinois Council on Women and Girls Act.

Section 5. Findings and declaration of policy. The General Assembly hereby finds, determines, and declares the following:

(1) the number of women and girls, of all ages in Illinois as of 2013, was close to half of the State's population, at 6,560,187;

(2) approximately 13% of the total population of the women are immigrants;

(3) Illinois women who work full-time, year-round, earn 80 cents on the dollar compared with similarly employed men;

(4) approximately 28.2% of those working in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields in Illinois are women, compared with 28.8% nationwide;

(5) approximately 32.7% of women in Illinois have a bachelor's degree or higher, which is an increase of about 8 percentage points since the 2000;

(6) women in Illinois who are unionized earn $122 more per week, on average, than those who are not represented by a union;

(7) approximately 61% of women in Illinois are part of the labor force, and 27.2% of businesses in Illinois are owned by women;

(8) heart disease is the biggest killer of women in the United States, and Illinois ranks 29 of 51 with a mortality rate of 136.9 per 100,000 women, specifically, 133.8 for Caucasian women, 79.8 Hispanic women, 186.1 for African American women, 70.5 for Pacific Islander women, and 72.1 for Native American women;

(9) the female lung cancer mortality rates for women, per 100,000, in 2011-2013, was 42.0 for Caucasian women, 11.6 for Hispanic women; 44.2 for African American women; and 15.8 for Pacific Islander women;

(10) the female breast cancer mortality rates for women, per 100,000, in 2011-2013, was 22.8 for Caucasian women, 10.6 for Hispanic women, 32.6 for African American women, and 11.5 for Pacific Islander women; and

(11) wide racial and ethnic disparities exist in Illinois pregnancy-related mortality rates, which in 2013, in deaths per 100,000 births, were 8.1 for Caucasian women and 28.9 for African American women, and the severe maternal morbidity rate for Illinois between 2011-2013 was higher than the national rate;

(12) teen pregnancy is often unintended and can have long-term negative health effects on future physical, behavioral, educational, and economic development of mothers and children, and teen birth rates in Illinois are significantly higher for African American and Hispanic teens than for Caucasian teens;

(13) women who are transgender experience high rates of discrimination, harassment, and violence in every aspect of their lives, including health care settings, other public accommodations, housing, and employment; and

(14) approximately 65.9% of women in Illinois are registered to vote.

Based on the foregoing findings, the General Assembly determines and declares that it is the public policy of the State of Illinois to provide fair and equal access for women in Illinois to adequate healthcare, resources for professional and academic opportunity, and resources for safety and proper living conditions for them and their young children, paying attention to the variances of impact in these areas along the lines of race and ethnicity.

Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:

"Council" means the Illinois Council on Women and Girls created by this Act.

"Woman" or "women" means all persons of the female gender, including both cisgender and transgender persons.

"Transgender" describes persons whose gender identity is different from the gender they were assigned at birth.

"Cisgender" describes persons whose gender identity is the same as the gender they were assigned at birth.

"Gender identity" means a person's deeply felt, inherent sense of who they are as a particular gender, such as female.

Section 15. The Illinois Council on Women and Girls.

(a) There is hereby created the Illinois Council on Women and Girls.

(b) The Council shall advise the Governor and the General Assembly on policy issues impacting women and girls in this State, including, but not limited to, the following goals:

(1) to advance the role and civic participation of women and girls in this State;

(2) to put in place programs and advocate policies that work to end the gender pay gap and discrimination in professional and academic opportunities;

(3) to promote resources and opportunities for academic and professional growth;

(4) to allow women and young girls to have legal protections and recourse in cases of sexual harassment in the workplace;

(5) to prevent and protect women from domestic violence;

(6) to provide proper standards of healthcare, and to study the disparate impacts on women as it pertains to diverse demographics;

(7) to promote increased access to reproductive health care;

(8) to protect women who are transgender from violence and harassment, and increase their fair and equal access to culturally competent health care, housing, employment, and other opportunities;

(9) to disseminate information and build relationships between State agencies and commissions in furtherance of the Council's goals under this Act; and

(10) to give significant attention to the inclusion of women of color in decision-making capacities and identifying barriers toward parity, and for leadership inclusion that works to realize America's founding principles of equity and opportunity for all.

Section 20. Council members.

(a) The Council shall consist of 21 members. The Governor shall appoint one member to be the representative of the Office of the Governor. The Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Minority Leader of the Senate, and the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives shall also each appoint 4 public members to the Council. The Governor shall select the chairperson of the Council from among the members.

(b) Appointing authorities shall ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, that the Council is diverse with respect to race, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, and geography.

(c) Appointments to the Council shall be persons of recognized ability and experience in one or more of the following areas: higher education, business, law, social services, human services, immigration, refugee services, community development, or healthcare.

(d) Members of the Council shall serve 2-year terms. A member shall serve until his or her successor shall be appointed and qualified. Members of the Council shall not be entitled to compensation for their services as members.

(e) The following officials shall serve as ex officio members: the Lieutenant Governor, or his or her designee, and the Chief of the Bureau of Refugee and Immigrant Services within the Department of Human Services, or his or her designee. Additionally, the Director, Executive Director, or Superintendent of the following State agencies shall each appoint one liaison to serve as an ex officio member of the Council: the Department on Aging, the Department of Human Rights, the Department of Children and Family Services, the Department of Healthcare and Family Services, the Department of Public Health, the Department of Labor, the Illinois State Board of Education, the Illinois Board of Higher Education, and the Illinois Community College Board.

(f) The Council may establish committees that address certain issues, including, but not limited to, communications, economic development, and legislative affairs.

(g) The Office of the Governor shall provide administrative and technical support to the Council, including a staff member to serve as the Council's ethics officer.

Section 25. Meetings. The Council shall meet at least once per quarter. In addition, the Council may hold up to 2 public hearings annually to assist in the development of policy recommendations to the Governor and the General Assembly, and implement programming to meet its overall mission goals. All meetings of the Council shall be conducted in accordance with the Open Meetings Act. A majority of current non-ex-officio members of the Council shall constitute a quorum.

Section 30. Reports. The Council shall electronically issue semi-annual reports on its policy recommendations by June 30th and December 31st of each year to the Governor and the General Assembly. The reports issued to the General Assembly under this Section shall be filed electronically with the General Assembly as provided under Section 3.1 of the General Assembly Organization Act, and shall be provided to any member of the General Assembly upon request.

Section 97. Severability. The provisions of this Act are severable under Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.