100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2017 and 2018
HB5544

 

Introduced , by Rep. Anna Moeller

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
New Act

    Creates the Illinois Council on Women and Girls Act. Creates the Illinois Council on Women and Girls. Provides that the Council shall advise the Governor and the General Assembly on policy issues impacting women and girls in this State with specified goals. Provides for the appointment of members to the Council. Provides for the meetings and operations of the Council. Requires the Council to issue semi-annual reports on its policy recommendations by June 30th and December 31st of each year to the Governor and the General Assembly. Provides findings and declaration of policy. Provides a severability clause. Effective immediately.


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A BILL FOR

 

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1    AN ACT concerning State government.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5Illinois Council on Women and Girls Act.
 
6    Section 5. Findings and declaration of policy. The General
7Assembly hereby finds, determines, and declares the following:
8        (1) the number of women and girls, of all ages in
9    Illinois as of 2013, was close to half of the State's
10    population, at 6,560,187;
11        (2) approximately 13% of the total population of the
12    women are immigrants;
13        (3) Illinois women who work full-time, year-round,
14    earn 80 cents on the dollar compared with similarly
15    employed men;
16        (4) approximately 28.2% of those working in science,
17    technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields in
18    Illinois are women, compared with 28.8% nationwide;
19        (5) approximately 32.7% of women in Illinois have a
20    bachelor's degree or higher, which is an increase of about
21    8 percentage points since the 2000;
22        (6) women in Illinois who are unionized earn $122 more
23    per week, on average, than those who are not represented by

 

 

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1    a union;
2        (7) approximately 61% of women in Illinois are part of
3    the labor force, and 27.2% of businesses in Illinois are
4    owned by women;
5        (8) heart disease is the biggest killer of women in the
6    United States, and Illinois ranks 29 of 51 with a mortality
7    rate of 136.9 per 100,000 women, specifically, 133.8 for
8    Caucasian women, 79.8 Hispanic women, 186.1 for African
9    American women, 70.5 for Pacific Islander women, and 72.1
10    for Native American women;
11        (9) the female lung cancer mortality rates for women,
12    per 100,000, in 2011-2013, was 42.0 for Caucasian women,
13    11.6 for Hispanic women; 44.2 for African American women;
14    and 15.8 for Pacific Islander women;
15        (10) the female breast cancer mortality rates for
16    women, per 100,000, in 2011-2013, was 22.8 for Caucasian
17    women, 10.6 for Hispanic women, 32.6 for African American
18    women, and 11.5 for Pacific Islander women; and
19        (11) approximately 65.9% of women in Illinois are
20    registered to vote.
21    Based on the foregoing findings, the General Assembly
22determines and declares that it is the public policy of the
23State of Illinois to provide fair and equal access for women in
24Illinois to adequate healthcare, resources for professional
25and academic opportunity, and resources for safety and proper
26living conditions for them and their young children, paying

 

 

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1attention to the variances of impact in these areas along the
2lines of race and ethnicity.
 
3    Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:
4    "Council" means the Illinois Council on Women and Girls
5created by this Act.
6    "Woman" or "women" means persons who are biologically
7female or who are transgender and identify as female.
 
8    Section 15. The Illinois Council on Women and Girls.
9    (a) There is hereby created the Illinois Council on Women
10and Girls.
11    (b) The Council shall advise the Governor and the General
12Assembly on policy issues impacting women and girls in this
13State, including, but not limited to, the following goals:
14        (1) to advance the role and civic participation of
15    women and girls in this State;
16        (2) to put in place programs and advocate policies that
17    work to end the gender pay gap and discrimination in
18    professional and academic opportunities;
19        (3) to promote resources and opportunities for
20    academic and professional growth;
21        (4) to allow women and young girls to have legal
22    protections and recourse in cases of sexual harassment in
23    the workplace;
24        (5) to prevent and protect women from domestic

 

 

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1    violence;
2        (6) to provide proper standards of healthcare, and to
3    study the disparate impacts on women as it pertains to
4    diverse demographics;
5        (7) to protect women of the transgender community that
6    are marginalized in specific areas of safety, healthcare,
7    and opportunity; and
8        (8) to disseminate information and build relationships
9    between State agencies and commissions in furtherance of
10    the Council's goals under this Act.
 
11    Section 20. Council members.
12    (a) The Council shall consist of 21 members. The Governor
13shall appoint one member to be the representative of the Office
14of the Governor. The Governor, the President of the Senate, the
15Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Minority Leader of
16the Senate, and the Minority Leader of the House of
17Representatives shall also each appoint 4 public members to the
18Council. The Governor shall select the chairperson of the
19Council from among the members.
20    (b) Appointing authorities shall ensure, to the maximum
21extent practicable, that the Council is diverse with respect to
22race, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, and geography.
23    (c) Appointments to the Council shall be persons of
24recognized ability and experience in one or more of the
25following areas: higher education, business, law, social

 

 

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1services, human services, immigration, refugee services,
2community development, or healthcare.
3    (d) Members of the Council shall serve 2-year terms. A
4member shall serve until his or her successor shall be
5appointed and qualified. Members of the Council shall not be
6entitled to compensation for their services as members.
7    (e) The following officials shall serve as ex officio
8members: the Lieutenant Governor, or his or her designee, and
9the Chief of the Bureau of Refugee and Immigrant Services
10within the Department of Human Services, or his or her
11designee. Additionally, the Director, Executive Director, or
12Superintendent of the following State agencies shall each
13appoint one liaison to serve as an ex officio member of the
14Council: the Department on Aging, the Department of Children
15and Family Services, the Department of Healthcare and Family
16Services, the Department of Public Health, the Department of
17Labor, the Illinois State Board of Education, the Illinois
18Board of Higher Education, and the Illinois Community College
19Board.
20    (f) The Council may establish committees that address
21certain issues, including, but not limited to, communications,
22economic development, and legislative affairs.
23    (g) The Office of the Governor shall provide administrative
24and technical support to the Council, including a staff member
25to serve as the Council's ethics officer.
 

 

 

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1    Section 25. Meetings. The Council shall meet at least once
2per quarter. In addition, the Council may hold up to 2 public
3hearings annually to assist in the development of policy
4recommendations to the Governor and the General Assembly, and
5implement programming to meet its overall mission goals. All
6meetings of the Council shall be conducted in accordance with
7the Open Meetings Act. A majority of current non-ex-officio
8members of the Council shall constitute a quorum.
 
9    Section 30. Reports. The Council shall issue semi-annual
10reports on its policy recommendations by June 30th and December
1131st of each year to the Governor and the General Assembly.
 
12    Section 97. Severability. The provisions of this Act are
13severable under Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes.
 
14    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
15becoming law.