HB3497 amends the Illinois Regulatory Sunset Act to change the timing of required performance reviews for agencies and programs that are scheduled to expire under the Act. Under current law, the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget (GOMB) must study these agencies and programs annually in the relevant review period and report its findings to the Governor. The bill would instead require that study to occur in the calendar year two years before the scheduled termination date, rather than every year.
The bill also changes the Governor’s reporting deadline and cadence. Instead of making recommendations in each even-numbered year, the Governor would review GOMB’s report and submit recommendations to the General Assembly no later than December 1 of the year before the termination year, addressing whether the agency or program should be terminated, modified, or continued. The substantive factors GOMB must consider in the review remain largely the same, including public interest, regulatory burden, complaint processing, licensing requirements, and whether the regulated activity presents significant and discernible harm.
Impact
HB3497 would amend Sections 5 and 6 of the Regulatory Sunset Act, affecting the state’s periodic review process for regulatory agencies and programs subject to sunset. It would reduce the frequency of required GOMB studies from annual review to a single review in the two-year lead-up to termination, and it would align the Governor’s recommendation deadline to the year before expiration. The bill does not directly change licensing standards or agency powers, but it changes the procedural timeline used to evaluate whether regulated professions, occupations, businesses, industries, or trades should continue under state oversight.
Sentiment
Based on the bill text and the absence of recorded committee testimony or votes, the available record suggests a neutral, administrative measure rather than a controversial policy overhaul. The bill appears aimed at streamlining the sunset review process and making the review schedule more predictable. No opposition, support, or amendment debate is reflected in the provided materials.
Contention
The main potential point of contention is the shift from annual review to a less frequent, more targeted review window. Supporters may view this as reducing administrative burden and focusing resources closer to the actual sunset date, while critics could argue that less frequent review may reduce oversight or delay identification of problems in regulated programs. Another possible area of debate is the bill’s continued emphasis on whether regulation is necessary to prevent significant and discernible harm, which can affect licensing and occupational regulation policy, but no specific stakeholder objections are documented in the provided record.
Creating the regulatory relief division within the office of the attorney general and establishing the general regulatory sandbox program to waive or suspend rules and regulations for program participants.
To amend sections 121.95 and 121.951 of the Revised Code to revise the definition of "regulatory restriction" for purposes of administrative rulemaking and to specify that certain rule changes alone do not eliminate a restriction.