This House bill was scheduled to be heard in the Vehicles & Safety Committe in late February, but appears to have stalled. The bill is currently in the "Rules Committee" which is where it will remain until legislative leaders decide to move the bill back to committee for a vote. Most often when a bill does not progress out of committee for a vote on the House floor it is considered "stalled" if not altogether "dead."
However, the Senate Bill appears to be alive and well. Senate Bill 2627, as amended, is scheduled to be heard for a 3rd Reading and then a final vote in the Senate later this month. If the bill passes through the Senate, it needs to go through the House, and then could be signed into law by Governor Quinn. I've previously speculated that either the House or the Senate bill would progress, but not both. It now appears the Senate bill will be the one with a chance of becoming law in Illinois.
Senate Bill 2627 would make the following changes to the Illinois Vehicle Code:
- Requires all persons under the age of 16 riding a bike to wear a bicycle safety helmet;
- Requires all persons under 40 inches in height to only be a passenger on a bicycle while in a bicycle safety seat;
- Makes it illegal for a parent or guardian to allow a child under 12 years of age to ride a bike or be a passenger in violation of these requirements, but the penalty may be no more than $2 and most likely will result in probation;
- Specifically disallows police officers to use a violation of this law to to arrest a person or take them into custody.
