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HB 2444

ATTORNEY GENERAL-REPORTING

104th Regular Session Introduced by Amy Elik

The bill requires the Attorney General to track and publicly report annual hours, fees, and costs for OAG and outside counsel defending Illinois law’s constitutionality or interpre

Referred to Rules Committee
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Bill Summary · HB 2444

Summary — HB 2444: Attorney General reporting (Introduced)

Note on source documents: The materials provided include two different bills labeled “HB 2444” from different states. This summary focuses on the Attorney General reporting measure (the text and synopsis attributed to Illinois — “ATTORNEY GENERAL-REPORTING”), which matches the supplied title. The other text (Arizona local planning / zoning repeal) appears unrelated; tell me if you want a separate summary of that text.

Purpose and intent

Require the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) to track and publicly report annual metrics on the OAG’s and outside counsel’s time and spending when they defend the State in legal proceedings concerning the constitutionality or statutory interpretation of Illinois law. The intent is to increase transparency about resources devoted to those specific categories of legal defense.

Key provisions

  • Adds Section 4f to the Attorney General Act (15 ILCS 205):
    • The OAG must record, each fiscal year, the number of hours, legal fees, and costs incurred by:
    • OAG attorneys; and
    • Any outside counsel acting on behalf of the OAG, when defending the State in legal proceedings that relate to the constitutionality or statutory interpretation of Illinois law.
    • Reporting requirement: On or before July 1, 2026, and annually thereafter, the Attorney General must report those recorded annual totals to the General Assembly.
  • Effective date: the act takes effect immediately upon becoming law.

Who is affected

  • Primary: Office of the Attorney General (administrative/recordkeeping burden).
  • Secondary: Outside law firms/contract counsel who bill the OAG (their fees and hours will be tracked and reported).
  • Tertiary: The General Assembly and public (gain access to aggregate data on hours and spending for this category of legal defense).
  • Indirect: State budget oversight and appropriations processes may use the reported data.

Practical impact and considerations

  • Transparency: Provides annual, statewide-level visibility into time and dollars spent defending constitutional and statutory-interpretation cases.
  • Administrative burden: The OAG must implement or adapt systems to consistently capture hours, fees, and costs attributable to the specified class of cases (the bill does not define reporting granularity or format).
  • Limits and scope: The bill requires recording and reporting totals but does not (as drafted) limit litigation strategy, constrain use of outside counsel, or create spending caps. It also does not specify case-level or client-identifying detail, nor require a breakdown by case type beyond the two categories (constitutionality or statutory interpretation).
  • Potential legislative use: Lawmakers could use the report to assess resource allocation, question frequent or expensive outside counsel use, or propose budget or policy changes.

Legislative status & timeline (as provided)

  • Introduced: early February 2025 (filed 2/3/2025; introduced 2/4/2025 in Illinois materials).
  • Sponsor: Rep. Amy Elik (primary sponsor listed); the materials also list multiple additional cosponsors (some appear from other states — see note above).
  • Readings / referrals: First reading 2/4/2025; subsequently referred to committee(s) (Rules Committee and Criminal Jurisprudence noted in the provided actions); on 3/25/2025, referred directly to subcommittee by chair.
  • Next step: Committee/subcommittee consideration and any amendments before a possible floor vote.

If you want, I can:
- Produce a short one-paragraph summary for public distribution.
- Draft likely fiscal/administrative implications for the OAG (est. staffing/time to implement tracking).
- Summarize the unrelated Arizona HB 2444 (local planning/zoning repeal text) that was included.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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