“One of my top priorities as a legislator is to improve education in the state,” Smith, Chairman of the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee, said. “We were able to prioritize spending in this year’s budget to secure an additional half a billion dollars for our schools.”
This year, Smith supported House Bill 5038 to double funding for early childhood education programs, which improves achievement test scores, increases graduation rates, and decreases behavior problems for students participating in these programs. Smith also sponsored HB 5077 to establish a school-to-work program to increase writing and digital literacy and HB 4443 to appropriate $1.5 million in new funding to improve the programs and services available to students with autism.
“I am proud that we were able to once again substantially increase education funding across the state,” Smith said. “We were also able to increase funding for early childhood education and funding for educational needs of autistic students. The General Assembly made great strides to improve educational opportunities for students and I look forward to continuing to improve the education of our future leaders.”
Increasing access to quality health care was another top priority for Smith during this year’s legislative session. Smith sponsored HB 4620 to improve the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease by requiring that state regulated insurance companies pay for heart disease screenings to combat heart disease, the number one killer of Americans. Smith also sponsored HB 4634, which would provide uninsured, low-income men with access to prostate and testicular cancer treatment.
“Increasing access to health care saves lives,” Smith said. “Someone’s health should not hinge on his or her ability to afford to go to the doctor. I am proud that we were able to act on several pieces of legislation that will help save thousands of lives in Illinois.”
Smith also worked to pass several public safety bills that would do even more to protect children and communities. Smith sponsored HB 3399 to prohibit sex offenders from residing or loitering within 500 feet of a school, park, day care or any other child facility, beginning at the edge of the property and supported HB 1998 to establish a Missing Sex Offender Database that would be available to help the public identify sex offenders who have not complied with the state’s registration requirements. He helped pass HB 5469 to require computer technicians to report child pornography found on a computer and restrict the access of criminals convicted of child sex crimes to the Internet. Finally, Smith supported HB 4320, prohibiting sex offenders from using computer-scrubbing software to hide their online activity and helping law enforcement officials in their investigations of suspected child pornographers.
This session, Smith also sponsored HB 4616 to require anyone selling a piece of property to disclose whether the residence had been a lab for the manufacturing of meth. Currently, sellers are required to disclose boundary line disputes, termites and unsafe levels of radon gas. Smith’s legislation adds meth production to that list.
Full text available at The Daily Ledger.