Bill
HB 3493
The act preempts most local permitting and fees for State facility construction, while preserving specific environmental protections and requiring CDB coordination and fair compens
Status and key dates
- Bill number: HB 3493 — Enacted as Public Act 104-0313
- Filed/introduced: Feb. 2025 (filed in Feb.; introduced and moved through committees in March–May 2025)
- Governor approved: Aug. 15, 2025
- Effective date: January 1, 2026
- Sponsors: Rep. Joyce Mason (primary), Rep. Camille Y. Lilly (co-sponsor), Sen. Michael W. Halpin (chief sponsor in Senate)
- Related/companion bill: SB 1252
Purpose
- To limit the ability of local governments (including home rule units) to enforce local ordinances, permitting requirements, fees, or inspections against construction, reconstruction, improvement, or installation of State facilities under the Capital Development Board’s authority — while preserving narrowly defined environmental, wastewater, and other mandated protections and requiring coordination with local service providers.
What the law does — key provisions
- Preemption of local ordinances/permits: Except as described below, no local ordinance or permitting requirement may be enforced against construction, reconstruction, improvement, or installation of a “State facility” (defined as any capital project under the Capital Development Board (CDB) authority). Local governments may not require permitting fees or permit inspections for such State facility projects.
- Wastewater/environmental exception: Local ordinances or permitting requirements of sanitary districts or rules regulating municipally‑owned wastewater systems may still be enforced IF they are (i) mandated by State or federal laws, rules, or regulations, or (ii) related to environmental protection and supported by industry standards. Upon request, the CDB may require documentation verifying that such requirements meet the exception.
- Coordination requirements: The CDB must coordinate with local utilities on utility connection requirements and procedures and coordinate/consult with local units of government responsible for providing utility and fire protection services to ensure effective service provision.
- Compensation requirement: The CDB remains obligated to compensate units of local government for “fair and reasonable connection, restoration, or impact costs” — defined as demonstrated costs directly resulting from the CDB’s use/impact on local infrastructure or costs consistent with similar charges applied to private/non‑governmental projects.
- Home rule and constitutional note: The Act explicitly limits home rule units from regulating State facility projects inconsistently with this Section; it cites Article VII, Section 6(i) of the Illinois Constitution as the source of the limitation on concurrent home rule power.
- Large‑municipality carve‑out: The Section does not apply to municipalities with more than 500,000 inhabitants (e.g., Chicago) that have entered into comprehensive or project‑specific agreements with the CDB establishing alternative or supplemental terms. Those municipalities may still regulate use of public rights‑of‑way (streets, sidewalks, alleys) and the CDB must comply with municipal rules on street closures, temporary traffic control, and pedestrian access in the same manner as private entities.
- Applicability: Applies to State facility projects ongoing on the effective date and to projects that begin on or after the effective date.
Who is affected
- Directly: Capital Development Board, State agencies undertaking capital projects, contractors engaged on State facility projects.
- Indirectly: Local governments and units providing utilities, fire protection, and wastewater services; sanitary districts; local permitting and inspection staff; local revenue streams tied to permitting fees.
- Exceptionally affected: Large municipalities (>500,000) that have negotiated agreements with the CDB retain more local control over right‑of‑way matters.
Potential impacts and considerations
- Streamlines State capital projects by removing many local permitting/fee requirements and inspections, which may reduce project delays and costs for State construction.
- Limits local regulatory and revenue authority over State projects, though the CDB must reimburse demonstrable local infrastructure impacts consistent with industry practice or private project standards.
- Maintains environmental/wastewater safeguards where they are mandated by higher‑level law or supported by industry standards; provides a mechanism (CDB request) to verify such mandates.
- Preserves negotiated local control and operational oversight in large municipalities that have specific agreements with the CDB.
For more detail
- Full text added to the Capital Development Board Act as new Section 10.20 (20 ILCS 3105/10.20 new).
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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