Legislative Update -- March 4, 2021
March 4, 2021
-
As the 102nd Illinois General Assembly gets to work in committees to deliberate pending legislation, ILA is continually analyzing what's been introduced and developing positions. We are posting these on the Illinois Legislative Issues web page, which will be updated continually. ILA's Public Policy Committee and Advocacy Committee met this past Monday, and in PPC we discussed a number of bills, including ones that address a potential state Family and Medical Leave Act, a requirement for local governments to study possible consolidation, provisions for dissolution of a local government, and more. Please keep in mind that more than 7,000 bills have been introduced to date, only 300 of which have been assigned to substantive committees. 300 is still a large number, and we're focusing on ones that affect libraries, including those that impact us as public bodies and as employers, not just specific library law. Please monitor the web page above and let us know at ila@ila.org if there is a particular bill you are concerned about that you don't see there.
TAKE ACTION NOW! The Build America's Libraries Act, introduced in the U.S. Senate a few weeks ago, has now been introduced in the House with more than 50 original cosponsors! You may be seeing action alerts from ALA about this; NOW is the time to contact our Federal representatives to urge them to support this legislation (or thank them if they have cosponsored), which is groundbreaking (literally!) and would provide $5 billion for public library construction and renovation.
President Biden's COVID-19 Reconciliation package, passed by the House and now under consideration by the Senate, currently include $200 million in dedicated library funding, including a $2 million state minimum. There is also support for state and local governments. Please stay tuned.
iREAD Summer Reading Programs
Latest Library JobLine Listings
