ISBA Director of Legislative Affairs Jim Covington reviews bills in Springfield of interest to ISBA members. In this episode he covers Public Act 97-1093 (New probate fee), House Bill 5151 (Medical malpractice and tobacco litigation), House Bill 4963 (Marriage equality) and House Bill 30 (Medical marijuana). More information on the bill is available below the video.

New probate fee. Public Act 97-1093 (Silverstein, D-Chicago; Feigenholtz, D-Chicago) creates a $100 fee to open a decedent's estate to fund the State Guardianship and Advocacy Commission. It exempts indigents, the State Guardian, any state agency, local public guardian, and state's attorney. (2) It also allows the court to appoint a limited guardian for a disabled adult who lacks some but not all of the required capacity. If the court finds that the ward is totally without the required capacity, it may appoint a plenary guardian. (3) It adds criteria for the termination of the guardianship or modification of the guardian's duties. Effective January 1, 2013.

Medical malpractice and tobacco litigation. House Bill 5151 (Clayborne, D- E. St. Louis) does three things in the Code of Civil Procedure. (1) Re-enacts and repeals statutory provisions so the text of those provisions conforms to the decisions of the Illinois Supreme Court in Best v. Taylor Machine Works and Lebron v. Gottlieb Memorial Hospital. (2) Caps contingent attorney’s fees in a medical malpractice action at 33 1/3 per cent of all sums recovered. (3) Limits the supersedeas bond requirement of all the appellants collectively in the tobacco settlement to $250 million. Senate Amendment No. 2 has been referred to Senate Executive Committee.

Marriage equality. House Bill 4963 (Harris, D-Chicago; Steans, D-Chicago) repeals the current prohibition against civil marriage of same-sex couples. Senate Amendment No. 2 has been referred to Senate Executive Committee. A copy of the statement of The Chicago Bar Association and the Illinois State Bar Association is here.

Medical marijuana. House Bill 30 (Lang, D-Skokie) allows patients who suffer from a “debilitating medical condition” such as cancer, HIV/AIDS, or hepatitis C to use and possess small amounts of marijuana if certified to do so by their regular physician. On third reading in the House.