Hundreds of bill signings: What still awaits on Gov. Pritzker's desk?

The last several weeks have seen Gov. JB Pritzker sign countless bills into law, topping 100 last week alone.

Among those signed include a bill requiring all school districts to offer full-day kindergarten by the 2027-2028 school year, one allowing cause of action for victims of deepfakes and sexually-altered images and another capping the price of a 30-day insulin supply at $35.

Monday the governor put his signature on Senate Bill 1818 - an initiative of Sen. Doris Turner, D-Springfield - to create a flag commission assigned with the task of determining whether or not Illinois needs a new state flag. After the commission is formed, the 21 members will select up to 10 flag designs by September 2024 and then submit a report to the General Assembly next December.

According to the Illinois General Assembly website, Pritzker has signed 513 bills and vetoed one due to "irreconcilable drafting errors" from the spring session as of Monday.

Still, others await the governor's John Hancock. A total of 53 bills - 37 from the House and 16 from the Senate - fit that depiction.

Some of these bills were a matter of mostly bipartisan agreement, including one that would protect profits made by child vloggers under the age of 16. Others, however, like one allowing but not requiring businesses to mark multiple-occupancy restrooms as all-gender were subject of testy debate.

Here's a look at a few bills pending action from the governor.

House Bill 218

Continuous challenges to the state's semi-automatic assault weapons ban have come so far. Now a bill that Pritzker has yet to sign has already gotten the goat of the firearms industry.

House Bill 218 would prohibit gun manufacturers from marketing their products to children or a paramilitary force if it is deemed a threat to public safety. Led by Rep. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz, D-Glenview, the bill passed in the Senate 34-22 and in the House 71-40.

Through the bill, lawsuits could be filed against gun manufacturers and distributers if the marketing could be seen as encouraging unlawful private militia activity or the possession or purchase of a firearm by those under the age of 18. Current state law requires gun owners 21 years and older to have a Firearm Owner Identification Card or to have an eligible parent or guardian sponsor.

Gun rights advocates have argued the bill would be unconstitutional on freedom of speech grounds. A similar argument has been made for another consumer fraud piece of legislation pertaining to crisis pregnancy centers, where a federal judge in Rockford temporarily blocked its implementation.

More: Injunction halts new law aimed at ending deceptive practices at Illinois pregnancy centers

Senate Bill 76

As the state moves forward with its keystone climate policy, one bill that had Democrats split on its purported benefits during the spring session has now been vetoed by the governor.

On Friday, the governor vetoed the bill out of concerns due to its vagueness and lack of regulatory framework.

"(T)his bill provides no regulatory protections for the health and safety of Illinois residents who would live and work around these new reactors," Pritzker said in his veto message, one of four vetoes he delivered on Friday. "My hope is that future legislation in Illinois regarding SMRs (small modular nuclear reactors) would address this regulation gap, and that Illinois will adopt standards that will have been reviewed by experts in the field along with the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission or another similar review panel."

Senate Bill 76 would have ended a 1980s-era moratorium on nuclear power plant construction put in-place as the federal government was trying to determine a location to dispose of nuclear waste safely. No such location has been set, but the bill still passed 84-22 in the House and 36-14 in the Senate.

Bill sponsor Sen. Sue Rezin, R-Morris, previously said her legislation would allow for the construction of SMRs- its smaller size able to be built in factories and assembled on site.

SMR proponents say they can be deployed in places like factories, replacing the need for things like coal-fired cogeneration plants. Opponents to the bill, however, do not believe nuclear energy is clean and would like to have a site for disposal.

Rezin said in a statement that she has already filed paperwork to override the veto during the upcoming Veto Session starting in October.

House Bill 3129

Joining states such as California, Colorado and Washington, House Bill 3129 would require employers with 15 or more employees to disclose the pay scale and benefits in job postings.

The Department of Labor could conduct investigations of violating through the proposed law. The requirements would apply to job board listings, newspaper ads and postings made by a third-party on behalf of an employer.

During the last week of session, the bill passed in the Senate with a 35-19 vote and then went back to the House passing 75-39. Proponents said the legislation would help employers attract talent, whereas opponents felt a burden would be placed on businesses already struggling to find workers.

The bill would go into effect on Jan. 1, 2025 if signed into law by the governor.

Reporters Andrew Adams and Hannah Meisel of Capitol News Illinois contributed to this report.

This story has been updated to denote the governor's veto of Senate Bill 76 on Friday.

Contact Patrick Keck: 312-549-9340, pkeck@gannett.com, twitter.com/@pkeckreporter.

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Hundreds of bill signings: What still awaits on Gov. Pritzker's desk?