Kane County Reporter

Matt Hanson introduced HB3743 in the Illinois House on Feb. 7, 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. Requires each school district to include in its handbook for grades kindergarten through 12 railroad safety messaging. Allows a school to opt-out of the messaging requirement if the school district votes that the inclusion of such messaging is unnecessary."

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 each school district in Illinois include specific railroad safety messaging in the student handbook for kindergarten through 12th grade. The messaging advises crossing only at designated crossings, avoiding walking on train tracks due to legal and safety concerns, recognizing the signs and signals at public crossings, waiting for a clear view before crossing after trains pass, and heeding red flashing signals to avoid fines. It also highlights that recreation should not mix with rail infrastructure. School districts may opt out if their school board deems the messaging unnecessary based on local context or curriculum alignment. The act is set to take effect on July 1, 2026.

Matt Hanson has proposed another five bills since the beginning of the 104th session.

Hanson graduated from the University of Richmond with a BS.

Matt Hanson is currently serving in the Illinois State House, representing the state's 83rd House District. He replaced previous state representative Barbara 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
HB3743	02/07/2025	Amends the School Code. Requires each school district to include in its handbook for grades kindergarten through 12 railroad safety messaging. Allows a school to opt-out of the messaging requirement if the school district votes that the inclusion of such messaging is unnecessary.
HB3744	02/07/2025	Amends the Radiation Protection Act of 1990. Provides that all intrastate and interstate shippers or carriers (rather than intrastate and interstate carriers) of irradiated nuclear reactor fuel are required to notify the Illinois Emergency Management Agency and Office of Homeland Security no less than 7 days (rather than 24 hours) prior to any transportation of irradiated nuclear reactor fuel. Changes the definition of "carrier" and "irradiated reactor fuel". Adds a definition of "shipper". Provides that the Agency may collect, store, and dispose of uncontrolled sources of radiation that have entered the public domain and that the Agency considers to be a threat to public health and safety or the environment. Authorizes the Agency to assess actual costs, as appropriate, for the collection, storage, and disposal of uncontrolled sources of radiation that have entered the public domain and that the Agency considers to be a threat to public health and safety or the environment against any person that owns, owned, possesses, or is responsible for the radioactive material entering the public domain.
HB3848	02/07/2025	Amends the Newborn Metabolic Screening Act. Provides that, subject to appropriation, the Department of Public Health shall provide all newborns with screening tests for rare blood disorders, as determined by the Department. Requires the Department to adopt rules.
HB3280	02/06/2025	Amends the Illinois Income Tax Act. Creates a deduction for the full amount of union dues paid by the taxpayer during the taxable year if the taxpayer was not allowed a federal deduction under the Internal Revenue Code. Provides that, if any amount of union dues representing federal miscellaneous itemized deductions was allowed as a federal deduction, then the amount allowed as an Illinois deduction shall be a percentage of the union dues disallowed under the Internal Revenue Code. Provides that the deduction is exempt from the Act's automatic sunset provision. Effective immediately.
HB3281	02/06/2025	Amends the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986. Provides that whenever a law enforcement officer has reason to believe that a person has been abused, neglected, or exploited by a family or household member, the officer shall, if appropriate, arrest the abusing, neglecting, and exploiting party except in situations in which the alleged offending party is a juvenile. Provides that if the alleged offender is a juvenile, then the officer, based on the totality of the circumstances, may choose not to arrest the juvenile and instead may divert the juvenile or may assist the juvenile and his family in finding alternative placement.
HB3285	02/06/2025	Appropriates $575,000,000 to the Department of Transportation for expenses related to the Statewide Railway Program. Effective July 1, 2025.
HB2896	02/05/2025	Amends the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law in the Property Tax Code. Provides that a levy authorized for contributions to a Firefighters' Pension Fund for a municipality with a population of 500,000 or less is not considered a new rate. Effective immediately.
HB2897	02/05/2025	Amends the Illinois Income Tax Act. Provides that, beginning July 1, 2025, the Department of Revenue shall deposit 10% of the net revenue realized from the income taxes imposed under the Act directly into the Local Government Distributive Fund as that revenue is realized. Effective immediately.