103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
HB2966

 

Introduced 2/16/2023, by Rep. Nicholas K. Smith

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
625 ILCS 5/6-115  from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 6-115
625 ILCS 5/6-308
730 ILCS 5/5-9-3  from Ch. 38, par. 1005-9-3

    Amends the Illinois Vehicle Code. Deletes a provision that authorizes the Secretary of State to decline to process the renewal of a driver's license of any person who has not paid any fee or tax due under the Code and is not paid upon reasonable notice and demand. Provides that, whenever a person fails to appear in court and the court continues the case, if the clerk of the court elects to establish a system to send text, email, and telephone notifications, the clerk of the court may send notifications to an email address, may send a text message to the person's last known cellular telephone number, and if the person does not have a cellular telephone number, may telephone the person regarding the continued court date at the person's last known non-cellular telephone number. Deletes a provision that requires a court to enter an order of failure to appear if a person does not appear in court on or before the continued court date or satisfy the court that the person's appearance in and surrender to the court is impossible for no fault of the person. Amends the Unified Code of Corrections. Deletes language providing that an offender who defaults in the payment of a fine or any installment of that fine may be held in contempt and imprisoned for nonpayment and that the court may issue a summons for his or her appearance or a warrant of arrest. Effective immediately.


LRB103 25058 HEP 51393 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB2966LRB103 25058 HEP 51393 b

1    AN ACT concerning courts.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Illinois Vehicle Code is amended by
5changing Sections 6-115 and 6-308 as follows:
 
6    (625 ILCS 5/6-115)  (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 6-115)
7    Sec. 6-115. Expiration of driver's license.
8    (a) Except as provided elsewhere in this Section, every
9driver's license issued under the provisions of this Code
10shall expire 4 years from the date of its issuance, or at such
11later date, as the Secretary of State may by proper rule and
12regulation designate, not to exceed 12 calendar months; in the
13event that an applicant for renewal of a driver's license
14fails to apply prior to the expiration date of the previous
15driver's license, the renewal driver's license shall expire 4
16years from the expiration date of the previous driver's
17license, or at such later date as the Secretary of State may by
18proper rule and regulation designate, not to exceed 12
19calendar months.
20    The Secretary of State may, however, issue to a person not
21previously licensed as a driver in Illinois a driver's license
22which will expire not less than 4 years nor more than 5 years
23from date of issuance, except as provided elsewhere in this

 

 

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1Section.
2    (a-5) Every driver's license issued under this Code to an
3applicant who is not a United States citizen or permanent
4resident, or an individual who has an approved application for
5asylum in the United States or has entered the United States in
6refugee status, shall expire on whichever is the earlier date
7of the following:
8        (1) as provided under subsection (a), (f), (g), or (i)
9    of this Section;
10        (2) on the date the applicant's authorized stay in the
11    United States terminates; or
12        (3) if the applicant's authorized stay is indefinite
13    and the applicant is applying for a Limited Term REAL ID
14    compliant driver's license, one year from the date of
15    issuance of the license.
16    (a-10) Every REAL ID compliant driver's license issued
17under this Code to an applicant who is not a United States
18citizen or permanent resident, or an individual who has an
19approved application for asylum in the United States or has
20entered the United States in refugee status, shall be marked
21"Limited Term".
22    (b) Before the expiration of a driver's license, except
23those licenses expiring on the individual's 21st birthday, or
243 months after the individual's 21st birthday, the holder
25thereof may apply for a renewal thereof, subject to all the
26provisions of Section 6-103, and the Secretary of State may

 

 

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1require an examination of the applicant. A licensee whose
2driver's license expires on his 21st birthday, or 3 months
3after his 21st birthday, may not apply for a renewal of his
4driving privileges until he reaches the age of 21.
5    (c) The Secretary of State shall, 30 days prior to the
6expiration of a driver's license, forward to each person whose
7license is to expire a notification of the expiration of said
8license which may be presented at the time of renewal of said
9license.
10    There may be included with such notification information
11explaining the anatomical gift and Emergency Medical
12Information Card provisions of Section 6-110. The format and
13text of such information shall be prescribed by the Secretary.
14    There shall be included with such notification, for a
15period of 4 years beginning January 1, 2000 information
16regarding the Illinois Adoption Registry and Medical
17Information Exchange established in Section 18.1 of the
18Adoption Act.
19    (d) The Secretary may defer the expiration of the driver's
20license of a licensee, spouse, and dependent children who are
21living with such licensee while on active duty, serving in the
22Armed Forces of the United States outside of the State of
23Illinois, and 120 days thereafter, upon such terms and
24conditions as the Secretary may prescribe.
25    (d-5) The Secretary may defer the expiration of the
26driver's license of a licensee, or of a spouse or dependent

 

 

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1children living with the licensee, serving as a civilian
2employee of the United States Armed Forces or the United
3States Department of Defense, outside of the State of
4Illinois, and 120 days thereafter, upon such terms and
5conditions as the Secretary may prescribe.
6    (e) (Blank). The Secretary of State may decline to process
7a renewal of a driver's license of any person who has not paid
8any fee or tax due under this Code and is not paid upon
9reasonable notice and demand.
10    (f) The Secretary shall provide that each original or
11renewal driver's license issued to a licensee under 21 years
12of age shall expire 3 months after the licensee's 21st
13birthday. Persons whose current driver's licenses expire on
14their 21st birthday on or after January 1, 1986 shall not renew
15their driver's license before their 21st birthday, and their
16current driver's license will be extended for an additional
17term of 3 months beyond their 21st birthday. Thereafter, the
18expiration and term of the driver's license shall be governed
19by subsection (a) hereof.
20    (g) The Secretary shall provide that each original or
21renewal driver's license issued to a licensee 81 years of age
22through age 86 shall expire 2 years from the date of issuance,
23or at such later date as the Secretary may by rule and
24regulation designate, not to exceed an additional 12 calendar
25months. The Secretary shall also provide that each original or
26renewal driver's license issued to a licensee 87 years of age

 

 

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1or older shall expire 12 months from the date of issuance, or
2at such later date as the Secretary may by rule and regulation
3designate, not to exceed an additional 12 calendar months.
4    (h) The Secretary of State shall provide that each special
5restricted driver's license issued under subsection (g) of
6Section 6-113 of this Code shall expire 12 months from the date
7of issuance. The Secretary shall adopt rules defining renewal
8requirements.
9    (i) The Secretary of State shall provide that each
10driver's license issued to a person convicted of a sex offense
11as defined in Section 2 of the Sex Offender Registration Act
12shall expire 12 months from the date of issuance or at such
13date as the Secretary may by rule designate, not to exceed an
14additional 12 calendar months. The Secretary may adopt rules
15defining renewal requirements.
16(Source: P.A. 101-185, eff. 1-1-20; 102-659, eff. 1-1-22.)
 
17    (625 ILCS 5/6-308)
18    Sec. 6-308. Procedures for traffic violations.
19    (a) Any person cited for violating this Code or a similar
20provision of a local ordinance for which a violation is a petty
21offense as defined by Section 5-1-17 of the Unified Code of
22Corrections, excluding business offenses as defined by Section
235-1-2 of the Unified Code of Corrections or a violation of
24Section 15-111 or subsection (d) of Section 3-401 of this
25Code, shall not be required to sign the citation for his or her

 

 

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1release. All other provisions of this Code or similar
2provisions of local ordinances shall be governed by the
3pretrial release provisions of the Illinois Supreme Court
4Rules when it is not practical or feasible to take the person
5before a judge to have conditions of pretrial release set or to
6avoid undue delay because of the hour or circumstances.
7    (b) Whenever a person fails to appear in court, the court
8may continue the case for a minimum of 30 days and the clerk of
9the court shall send notice of the continued court date to the
10person's last known address and, if the clerk of the court
11elects to establish a system to send text, email, and
12telephone notifications, may also send notifications to an
13email address and may send a text message to the person's last
14known cellular telephone number. If the person does not have a
15cellular telephone number, the clerk of the court may
16telephone the person regarding the continued court date at the
17person's last known non-cellular telephone number. The notice
18shall include a statement that a subsequent failure to appear
19in court could result in a warrant for the defendant's arrest
20and other significant consequences affecting their driving
21privileges. If the person does not appear in court on or before
22the continued court date or satisfy the court that the
23person's appearance in and surrender to the court is
24impossible for no fault of the person, the court shall enter an
25order of failure to appear. The clerk of the court shall notify
26the Secretary of State, on a report prescribed by the

 

 

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1Secretary, of the court's order. The Secretary, when notified
2by the clerk of the court that an order of failure to appear
3has been entered, shall immediately suspend the person's
4driver's license, which shall be designated by the Secretary
5as a Failure to Appear suspension. The Secretary shall not
6remove the suspension, nor issue any permit or privileges to
7the person whose license has been suspended, until notified by
8the ordering court that the person has appeared and resolved
9the violation. Upon compliance, the clerk of the court shall
10present the person with a notice of compliance containing the
11seal of the court, and shall notify the Secretary that the
12person has appeared and resolved the violation.
13    (c) Illinois Supreme Court Rules shall govern pretrial
14release and appearance procedures when a person who is a
15resident of another state that is not a member of the
16Nonresident Violator Compact of 1977 is cited for violating
17this Code or a similar provision of a local ordinance.
18    (d) The changes made to this Section by this amendatory
19Act of the 103rd General Assembly apply to each individual
20whose license was suspended pursuant to this Section prior to
21the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 103rd General
22Assembly, and the suspension shall be lifted by the Secretary
23of State without further action by any court.
24(Source: P.A. 100-674, eff. 1-1-19; 101-652, eff. 1-1-23.)
 
25    Section 10. The Unified Code of Corrections is amended by

 

 

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1changing Section 5-9-3 as follows:
 
2    (730 ILCS 5/5-9-3)  (from Ch. 38, par. 1005-9-3)
3    Sec. 5-9-3. Default.
4    (a) (Blank). An offender who defaults in the payment of a
5fine or any installment of that fine may be held in contempt
6and imprisoned for nonpayment. The court may issue a summons
7for his appearance or a warrant of arrest.
8    (b) (Blank). Unless the offender shows that his default
9was not due to his intentional refusal to pay, or not due to a
10failure on his part to make a good faith effort to pay, the
11court may order the offender imprisoned for a term not to
12exceed 6 months if the fine was for a felony, or 30 days if the
13fine was for a misdemeanor, a petty offense or a business
14offense. Payment of the fine at any time will entitle the
15offender to be released, but imprisonment under this Section
16shall not satisfy the payment of the fine.
17    (c) (Blank). If it appears that the default in the payment
18of a fine is not intentional under paragraph (b) of this
19Section, the court may enter an order allowing the offender
20additional time for payment, reducing the amount of the fine
21or of each installment, or revoking the fine or the unpaid
22portion.
23    (d) (Blank). When a fine is imposed on a corporation or
24unincorporated organization or association, it is the duty of
25the person or persons authorized to make disbursement of

 

 

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1assets, and their superiors, to pay the fine from assets of the
2corporation or unincorporated organization or association. The
3failure of such persons to do so shall render them subject to
4proceedings under paragraphs (a) and (b) of this Section.
5    (e) A default in the payment of a fine, fee, cost, order of
6restitution, judgment of bond forfeiture, judgment order of
7forfeiture, or any installment thereof may be collected by any
8and all means authorized for the collection of money
9judgments. The State's Attorney of the county in which the
10fine, fee, cost, order of restitution, judgment of bond
11forfeiture, or judgment order of forfeiture was imposed may
12retain attorneys and private collection agents for the purpose
13of collecting any default in payment of any fine, fee, cost,
14order of restitution, judgment of bond forfeiture, judgment
15order of forfeiture, or installment thereof. An additional fee
16of 30% of the delinquent amount and each taxable court cost
17including, without limitation, costs of service of process,
18shall be charged to the offender for any amount of the fine,
19fee, cost, restitution, or judgment of bond forfeiture or
20installment of the fine, fee, cost, restitution, or judgment
21of bond forfeiture that remains unpaid after the time fixed
22for payment of the fine, fee, cost, restitution, or judgment
23of bond forfeiture by the court. The additional fee shall be
24payable to the State's Attorney in order to compensate the
25State's Attorney for costs incurred in collecting the
26delinquent amount. The State's Attorney may enter into

 

 

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1agreements assigning any portion of the fee to the retained
2attorneys or the private collection agent retained by the
3State's Attorney. Any agreement between the State's Attorney
4and the retained attorneys or collection agents shall require
5the approval of the Circuit Clerk of that county. A default in
6payment of a fine, fee, cost, restitution, or judgment of bond
7forfeiture shall draw interest at the rate of 9% per annum.
8(Source: P.A. 98-373, eff. 1-1-14.)
 
9    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
10becoming law.