Public Act 100-0913
 
HB5544 EnrolledLRB100 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.