With only a few days remaining before the pre-scheduled spring session adjournment date of May 24, it has become increasingly clear that legislators will miss the adjournment date and continue to tackle bills and negotiate a budget through the end of May. Deadlines for this week have been moved to next week and budget discussions are still ongoing and have been reported contentious as various factions within the majority party debate where money should go and where it should be cut as the state faces a $1 billion deficit.

 

Carbon capture negotiations continue, as there has been progress in negotiations between the business groups, labor, environmental groups, legislators, and the Governor's Office on legislation that would create a structure for carbon capture and storage (CCS) in Illinois as highlighted in HB 569 (Hoffman-D) and SB 3311 (Cunningham-D). Daily meetings took place this week, at the direction of the Governor's Office, and several issues are finally coming together.

Time is running out on SB 771 (Ellman-D), that creates the Wetlands Protection Act and attempts to restore protections for wetlands that were formerly protected by the Clean Water Act by moving them into state law under the authority of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. The bill, which IFCA opposes, was introduced on behalf of state environmental groups in response to a Supreme Court ruling, Sackett v. EPA, in May of 2023. That decision narrowed the scope of the Clean Water Act and limits the authority of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate the nation’s waterways.    

While discussions on the topic have continued this week, including the idea of amending the bill to simply study wetlands that no longer fall under the jurisdiction of the federal Clean Water Act as a result of Sackett v. EPA, sides are still far apart and the bill would still need to clear both chambers with a limited number of days left on the session calendar.