West Cook News

Theresa Mah introduced HB3097 in the Illinois House on Feb. 6, 2025, during the general assembly session 104, according to the Illinois General Assembly.

According to the Illinois General Assembly site, the legislature summarized the bill's official text as follows: "Amends the School Code. Provides that, beginning with the 2025-2026 school year, the required support regarding the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) shall include providing time during the school day, not requiring a student to be excused from regularly scheduled class time, to complete or receive help with completion of a financial aid application. Effective immediately."

The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.

In essence, this bill mandates that starting in the 2020-21 school year, public high school students in Illinois must submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or a state financial aid application as a graduation requirement. Alternatively, a waiver created by the State Board of Education can be filed if the student or the parent chooses not to apply. School districts are required to offer necessary support and assistance to students and their parents for completing these applications. By the 2025-26 school year, schools must provide additional educational support regarding financial aid applications during school hours. Students facing extenuating circumstances preventing them from meeting these requirements may still be awarded a diploma if they meet other graduation criteria, and the school district can demonstrate it made good faith efforts to assist with the application or waiver process. The State Board of Education is authorized to establish rules for implementing these requirements, and the act becomes effective upon becoming law.

Theresa Mah has proposed another four bills since the beginning of the 104th session.

Mah graduated from the University of California in 1991 with a BA.

Theresa Mah is currently serving in the Illinois State House, representing the state's 24th House District. She replaced previous state representative Elizabeth Hernandez in 2023.

Bills in Illinois follow a multi-step legislative process, beginning with introduction in either the House or Senate, followed by committee review, floor debates, and votes in both chambers before reaching the governor for approval or veto. The General Assembly operates on a biennial schedule, and while typically thousands of bills are introduced each session, only a fraction successfully pass through the process to become law.

You can read more about bills and other measures here.

Bill Number	Date Introduced	Short Description
HB3097	02/06/2025	Amends the School Code. Provides that, beginning with the 2025-2026 school year, the required support regarding the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) shall include providing time during the school day, not requiring a student to be excused from regularly scheduled class time, to complete or receive help with completion of a financial aid application. Effective immediately.
HB2959	02/06/2025	Amends the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Act. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning the short title.
HB2992	02/06/2025	Creates the Healing Opportunities through Psilocybin Equity Pilot Program Act. Details findings, purposes, statutory construction, and definitions. Establishes the Illinois Psilocybin Advisory Board within the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. Provides duties of the Board. Provides that the Department of Public Health, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, the Illinois State Police, and the Department of Revenue have certain duties, functions, and powers under the Act. Provides for a program development period, with certain requirements. Provides for different types of licenses starting on or before July 1 of the year 3 years after the effective date of the Act, with certain requirements. Provides immunity from certain criminal civil liability for a licensee or licensee representative with respect to manufacture, delivery, and possession of psilocybin products. Provides requirements for psilocybin services. Provides for discipline of licensees. Provides for civil and criminal penalties for violations. Provides for certain administrative hearings. Limits home rule. Imposes a tax upon purchasers for the privilege of using psilocybin at a rate of 15% of the purchase price. Establishes the Psilocybin Control and Regulation Fund and the Illinois Psilocybin Fund as special funds in the State Treasury for certain purposes. Makes other provisions. Amends the Freedom of Information Act to exempt certain information under the Healing Opportunities through Psilocybin Equity Pilot Program Act from disclosure. Amends the State Finance Act and the Illinois Independent Tax Tribunal Act of 2012 to make conforming changes. Amends the Illinois Vehicle Code to add psilocybin or psilocin as defined in the Healing Opportunities Through Psilocybin Equity Pilot Program Act to provisions regarding driving while under the influence. Effective immediately.
HB3018	02/06/2025	Appropriates $9,000,000 from the General Revenue Fund to the Department of Public Health for continued funding to the Illinois Association of Free and Charitable Clinics. Effective July 1, 2025.
HB3019	02/06/2025	Amends the Regulatory Sunset Act. Changes the repeal date of the Illinois Dental Practice Act from January 1, 2026 to January 1, 2036. Amends the Illinois Dental Practice Act. In the definition of "branches of dentistry", adds oral and maxillofacial pathology, dental public health, oral medicine, and orofacial pain to the included specialties. Creates a temporary dental hygiene license for dental students who meet certain requirements. Provides that a licensee holding a temporary dental hygiene license must practice under the supervision of a dentist. Provides that the temporary dental hygiene license is active for one year from its issuance date. Changes the implementation deadline for an order regarding the services that are necessary to be performed on a patient who is in a State or federal prison and who cannot travel to a dental office to 180 days of the order's issuance (rather than 45 days of the order's issuance). Removes language providing that provisions concerning public health dentistry are inoperative on and after January 1, 2026. Effective immediately.
HB3094	02/06/2025	Amends the Transportation Benefits Program Act. Provides that the Act does not apply to a covered employer in the construction industry with respect to employees with whom the covered employer has entered into a bona fide collective bargaining agreement. Makes changes to definitions.
HB3095	02/06/2025	Amends the Guardianship and Advocacy Act. Provides that each regional authority shall consist of at least 7 members and no more than 9 members (rather than 9 members) appointed by the Director of the Guardianship and Advocacy Commission. Makes a conforming change.
HB3096	02/06/2025	Amends the School Code. Provides that, beginning with the 2025-2026 school year, each high school must designate at least one member of its staff as a contact for matters related to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), annually provide the individual's name and contact information to the State Board of Education and Illinois Student Assistance Commission, and inform high school seniors that this individual is available to answer questions about FAFSA or to refer them to an appropriate resource. Provides that the contact shall serve as a designated point of contact for information from the State Board of Education and Illinois Student Assistance Commission related to FAFSA, and shall be required to participate in annual training for which the individual shall be eligible to receive continuing professional development units. Effective immediately.
HB3165	02/06/2025	Amends the Open Meetings Act. Provides if a public body is a local school council organized under the Chicago School District Article of the School Code, then, subject to certain requirements, an open or closed meeting subject to the Act may be conducted by audio or video conference, without the physical presence of a quorum of the members, as long as specified conditions are met. Amends the Chicago School District Article of the School Code. Provides that at a local school council's annual organizational meeting, the local school council shall take a vote to determine if meetings shall be held in-person or remotely; however, provides that a declaration by the Governor or Director of Public Health limiting the size of or prohibiting an in-person meeting shall supersede a local school council's vote to meet in-person. Provides that a local school council has the power and duty to pass resolutions requesting action from a member of the Chicago Board of Education representing the school, and to forward such resolutions to the member. Removes language providing that a school placed on probation that fails to make adequate progress in correcting deficiencies is subject to new local school council elections. Provides that the criteria for determining whether a school should remain on probation or the criteria for determining when a school is in educational crisis shall be delivered to each local school council on or before August 1 (rather than October 31) of each year. Effective immediately.
HB3172	02/06/2025	Amends the Liquor Control Act of 1934. Establishes a third-class wine-makers license. Provides that a third-class wine-makers license allows the manufacture of up to 250,000 gallons of wine per year and the storage and sale of such wine to distributors in this State and to persons without the State, as may be permitted by law. Provides that a person who has a third-class wine-maker's license and annually produces less than 250,000 gallons of wine may make application to the Illinois Liquor Control Commission for a self-distribution exemption to allow the sale of not more than 25,000 gallons of the exemption holder's wine to retail licensees per year and to sell cider, mead, or both cider and mead to brewers, class 1 brewers, class 2 brewers, and class 3 brewers that sell beer, cider, mead, or any combination thereof to non-licensees at their breweries. Provides that a wine-maker's premises license shall allow a licensee who concurrently holds a third-class wine-maker's license to sell and offer for sale at retail in the premises specified in such license up to 250,000 gallons of the third-class wine-maker's wine that is made at the third-class wine-maker's licensed premises per year for use or consumption but not for resale in any form. Provides that a wine-maker's premises license shall allow the licensee to sell and offer for sale at up to 3 (instead of 2) additional locations for use and consumption and not for resale. Sets forth licensing fees for a third-class wine-maker and for a fourth location of a wine-maker's premises license.