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Bill Summary · SB 1246

SB 1246 — Vehicle Registration Fee Waiver for Veterans with Service‑Connected Disabilities (Illinois)

Status: Introduced (104th General Assembly). Referred to Assignments; assigned to Appropriations — Public Safety & Infrastructure. Introduced Jan. 24, 2025 by Sen. Craig Wilcox.

Purpose / Intent

To waive the standard motor vehicle registration fee for Illinois vehicle owners who are military veterans and can present proof from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs that they have a service‑connected disability.

Key provisions

  • Amends the Illinois Vehicle Code (625 ILCS 5/3‑806.7).
  • Adds a new subsection providing that, beginning with the first registration year after the bill’s effective date, the standard registration fee (the base fee under Section 3‑806) for:
    • passenger motor vehicles of the first division, and
    • motor vehicles of the second division weighing not more than 8,000 pounds and registered under Section 3‑815, shall be waived for any vehicle owner who is a veteran and who presents proof from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs of a service‑connected disability.
  • The waiver applies to the standard/base registration fee only; existing statutory language continues to exclude additional fees (for specialty, personalized, or vanity plates) from the waiver.

Who would be affected

  • Primary beneficiaries: Illinois veterans who hold VA documentation showing a service‑connected disability and who own/are the registered owners of eligible passenger vehicles (first division and second division ≤ 8,000 lbs, registered under Sec. 3‑815).
  • State and local motor vehicle revenue streams: registration revenue collections would be reduced to the extent eligible veterans obtain the waiver.
  • Secretary of State/vehicle registration offices: administrative responsibility to verify VA documentation and apply the waiver at registration/renewal.

Eligibility / documentation

  • A vehicle owner must provide proof from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs of a service‑connected disability. The bill does not specify additional verification steps beyond presentation of that VA proof.

Procedural / effective date

  • The change is written to take effect beginning with the first registration year that begins after the effective date of the amendatory act (i.e., implementation keyed to the next applicable registration year after enactment).
  • Current legislative status: introduced and referred to committee assignment (see top of summary). Further committee action and floor votes are required for enactment.

Fiscal considerations

  • The bill does not include a fiscal estimate in the text. Waiving the standard registration fee would reduce fee revenue collected by the state (and potentially local distribution depending on law), with the magnitude dependent on (a) the number of qualifying veterans who register eligible vehicles and (b) the amount of the standard registration fee for those vehicle classes. Administrative changes to implement verification procedures could create modest one‑time/ongoing workload for registration offices.

Context / related provisions

  • Section 3‑806.7 already includes other vehicle registration reductions/waivers for certain active duty members and returning service members; this bill adds service‑connected‑disability veterans as an additional category eligible for a waiver of the standard registration fee.

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

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