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Macon Reporter

Sunday, December 22, 2024

Q2 2019 Legislation: Rep. Dan Caulkins sponsors or co-sponsors 31 bills

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Rep. Dan Caulkins (R-101) sponsored six bills in the second quarter of 2019, two less than the average Illinois state representative, and was added as a co-sponsor on 25 bills, 22 less than the average, according to a Macon Reporter analysis of data made available by the Illinois General Assembly.

During the second quarter, 117 representatives sponsored legislation, with Rep. Jay Hoffman (D-113) sponsoring the most with 36 bills. There were 120 representatives that co-sponsored legislation, with Rep. Elizabeth Hernandez (D-24) co-sponsoring 129 bills, more than any other representative.

When a bill is introduced to the House, the clerk reads the bill title before the House and it is automatically referred to the Rules Committee. If the Rules Committee thinks that the bill merits further consideration, it is assigned to another committee. If the committee reports favorably on the bill to the House, or if the committee has been discharged with respect to the bill, the bill will be ready for its second reading before the House.

According to House rules, a bill can be passed only after the House clerk has read the bill before the House on three separate days. However, many bills are introduced as shell bills in order to circumvent the rule requiring three readings before they can be passed. These shell bills, which are far more common in Illinois than in other states, are created with the purpose of beginning the often lengthy process of passing a new piece of legislation. But since they would only make trivial or meaningless changes in the law in the form that they initially appear, they are either left to die or are later changed to something more substantive that can be rushed to passage without bothering with procedure. This has the unfortunate effect of leading to laws that may not have been debated or discussed sufficiently.

Representatives that sponsor an inordinately large number of bills are often sponsoring many shell bills.

The following table shows the bills that Caulkins sponsored in the second quarter.

Bill Number
Date Introduced
Short Description
April 8
RECOGNIZE-NAT. DAY OF PRAYER
May 30
CONGRATS-GARY BIRSCHBACH
June 20
CONGRATS-JAMES A. CRIPE
April 11
HGHR ED-MILITARY COLL TRANSFER
April 11
SCH CD-STUDENT EXPULSION-GUNS
May 31
AGENT BENSYL MEMORIAL HIGHWAY

The following table shows the bills to which Caulkins was added as a co-sponsor in the second quarter.

Bill Number
Sponsors
Short Description
Rep. Darren Bailey (R-109)
TRANSPORTATION-TECH
Rep. Ann M. Williams (D-11); Sen. Don Harmon (D-39)
LOCATION SURVEILLANCE
Rep. Patrick Windhorst (R-118)
GA-PER DIEM & COLAS
Rep. Darren Bailey (R-109)
MEDICAID-NO GENDER SURGERY
Rep. Chris Miller (R-110)
SCH CD-NONPUBLIC SCH STUDENT
Rep. Sue Scherer (D-96)
EDUCATION-TECH
Rep. Marcus C. Evans, Jr. (D-33); Sen. Julie A. Morrison (D-29)
URGE CREATION OF CANCER CAUCUS
Rep. Sue Scherer (D-96)
US CONST-ART V-APPLICATION
Rep. Andrew S. Chesney (R-89); Sen. Brian W. Stewart (R-45)
TROOPER JONES-STORY HIGHWAY
Rep. Thomas Morrison (R-54)
CON AMEND-TAX-2/3RDS VOTE
Rep. Joe Sosnowski (R-69)
NO FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS TAX
Rep. Chris Miller (R-110)
FINANCIAL LITERACY MONTH
Rep. Jim Durkin (R-82)
CONGRATS-LISA GUINAN
Rep. Mike Murphy (R-99)
AMBUCS APPRECIATION MONTH
Rep. Charles Meier (R-108)
KASKASKIA WATERSHED PLAN
Sen. Sue Rezin (R-38); Rep. Emanuel Chris Welch (D-7)
SCH CD-SUPERINTENDENT AGREEMNT
Rep. Mark Batinick (R-97)
PRAIRIE RESEARCH-MICROPLASTICS
Sen. Jil Tracy (R-47); Rep. Lawrence Walsh, Jr. (D-86)
REVENUE-SCHOOL DISTRICTS
Sen. Michael E. Hastings (D-19); Rep. Kelly M. Burke (D-36)
PMP-LICENSED VETERINARIANS
Rep. Marcus C. Evans, Jr. (D-33)
SALVAGE VEHICLES-AUCTION
Rep. Mark Batinick (R-97)
VEH CD-ZIPPER MERGE
Sen. Emil Jones, III (D-14); Rep. André Thapedi (D-32)
COMPLETE COUNT COMMISSION
Sen. Scott M. Bennett (D-52); Rep. Carol Ammons (D-103)
EPA-MAHOMET AQUIFER
Sen. Kimberly A. Lightford (D-4)
ALTERNATIVE ELEC/GAS SUPPLIERS
Sen. Melinda Bush (D-31)
HOTEL CASINO EMPLOYEE SAFETY

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