Illinois 2023-2024 Regular Session

Illinois House Bill HB3643 Compare Versions

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Version 2 (New)

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1		-	August 11, 2023 To the Honorable Members of The Illinois House, 103rd General Assembly: Today, I will veto House Bill 3643 from the 103rd General Assembly. The bill would have amended the School Code to require the Illinois State Board of Education enter into a statewide master contract to provide religious dietary options to all Illinois school districts. I appreciate the hard work of the sponsors in the House and Senate and the advocates who worked to get this bill passed. Providing students with culturally appropriate meals at school is an effort I support. However, while well-intentioned, this bill requires the Illinois State Board of Education to enter into a master contract they cannot execute. Further, the General Assembly did not appropriate funding for such a contract. Local school districts, not the Illinois State Board of Education, have the expertise and understanding of local needs required to enter into food service contracts. Districts are already responsible for all their food service contracts and will continue to have the capability to enter into contracts with meal vendors based on the unique cultural needs of the students in their communities. Local school districts currently already engage in this practice and do so based on federal USDA nutrition guidelines. I look forward to continuing our work together to ensure every child receives a nutritious, culturally appropriate meal according to the existing USDA guidelines. Therefore, pursuant to Section 9(b) of Article IV of the Illinois Constitution of 1970, I hereby return House Bill 3643, entitled AN ACT concerning education, with the foregoing objections, vetoed in its entirety. Sincerely, JB Pritzker Governor, State of Illinois
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	3	+	1 AN ACT concerning education.
	4	+	2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
	5	+	3 represented in the General Assembly:
	6	+	4 Section 5. The School Code is amended by adding Sections
	7	+	5 10-20.85 and 34-18.82 as follows:
	8	+	6 (105 ILCS 5/10-20.85 new)
	9	+	7 Sec. 10-20.85. Religious dietary food options.
	10	+	8 (a) Throughout the State, students depend on schools to
	11	+	9 provide nutritionally balanced, low-cost or free school
	12	+	10 lunches each day. This Section is intended to accommodate the
	13	+	11 religious meal practices of students in a manner that elevates
	14	+	12 such accommodation over a school's compelling interest in
	15	+	13 providing students with nutritious, reasonable, and low-cost
	16	+	14 school lunches. The General Assembly intends for schools to
	17	+	15 accommodate requests for religious meals in accordance with
	18	+	16 this Section to the extent that the religious meal
	19	+	17 accommodations do not impose excessive or unjustified burdens
	20	+	18 on other students or jeopardize the effective functioning of
	21	+	19 the school lunch program.
	22	+	20 (b) In this Section, "religious dietary food option" means
	23	+	21 meals that meet specific foods and food preparation techniques
	24	+	22 that satisfy religious dietary requirements.
	25	+	23 (c) Subject to appropriation, to meet the requirement of
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	34	+	1 providing a religious dietary food option as part of a school
	35	+	2 lunch program, each school district shall provide religious
	36	+	3 dietary food options, including, but not limited to, halal and
	37	+	4 kosher food options. A school district is required to comply
	38	+	5 with this subsection only if the State Board of Education is
	39	+	6 able to secure a statewide education master contract and
	40	+	7 provide a religious dietary food option to the school district
	41	+	8 pursuant to subsection (e) of this Section. School districts
	42	+	9 shall meet this requirement by offering students the
	43	+	10 opportunity to order prepackaged meals made available by the
	44	+	11 State Board of Education through a statewide education master
	45	+	12 contract pursuant to Article 28A of this Code. By July 1 of
	46	+	13 each year, the State Board of Education shall notify school
	47	+	14 districts of any available prepackaged meal options for the
	48	+	15 upcoming school year. School districts shall adopt procedures
	49	+	16 regarding ordering, preparing, and serving prepackaged meal
	50	+	17 options offered under a statewide education master contract.
	51	+	18 All meal options provided by a statewide education master
	52	+	19 contract entered into to purchase religious dietary food
	53	+	20 options must meet federal nutritional standards and be
	54	+	21 eligible for federal free and reduced-price lunch programs.
	55	+	22 School districts may not be charged more than the reimbursable
	56	+	23 Type A lunch reimbursement amount for any meal offered under
	57	+	24 the statewide education master contract. Any meal offered
	58	+	25 under a statewide education master contract may not require a
	59	+	26 school district to purchase any special or additional kitchen
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	70	+	1 preparation equipment or storage equipment and may not require
	71	+	2 either any specialized staff, other than those staff members
	72	+	3 who are currently available in a school, or any special
	73	+	4 certifications.
	74	+	5 (d) Any vendor offering halal food products to the school
	75	+	6 district shall certify that the food or food product is halal
	76	+	7 and that the vendor is in compliance with the Halal Food Act.
	77	+	8 Any vendor offering kosher food products to the school
	78	+	9 district shall certify that the food or food product is kosher
	79	+	10 and that the vendor is in compliance with the Kosher Food Act.
	80	+	11 The school district may rely upon these certifications.
	81	+	12 (e) The State Board of Education shall enter into a
	82	+	13 statewide education master contract under Article 28A of this
	83	+	14 Code with a vendor for packaged meals that meet both the
	84	+	15 federal and State nutritional guidelines for school lunch
	85	+	16 programs, as defined in the School Breakfast and Lunch Program
	86	+	17 Act, for the purpose of providing a statewide option for
	87	+	18 school districts to purchase meals that meet the requirements
	88	+	19 of this Section. The State Board of Education may enter into as
	89	+	20 many contracts as needed in order to provide access for school
	90	+	21 districts statewide. The contract must include packaged meal
	91	+	22 delivery directly to any requesting school in this State at a
	92	+	23 uniform delivery cost, regardless of the school's location.
	93	+	24 The State Board of Education shall notify all school districts
	94	+	25 of the award of the contract as required in subsection (c) of
	95	+	26 Section 10-20.21 of this Code. Upon notice, a school district
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13		-	To the Honorable Members of
14		-
15		-	The Illinois House,
16		-
17		-	103rd General Assembly:
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20		-
21		-	Today, I will veto House Bill 3643 from the 103rd General Assembly. The bill would have amended the School Code to require the Illinois State Board of Education enter into a statewide master contract to provide religious dietary options to all Illinois school districts.
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23		-
24		-
25		-	I appreciate the hard work of the sponsors in the House and Senate and the advocates who worked to get this bill passed. Providing students with culturally appropriate meals at school is an effort I support. However, while well-intentioned, this bill requires the Illinois State Board of Education to enter into a master contract they cannot execute. Further, the General Assembly did not appropriate funding for such a contract.
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29		-	Local school districts, not the Illinois State Board of Education, have the expertise and understanding of local needs required to enter into food service contracts. Districts are already responsible for all their food service contracts and will continue to have the capability to enter into contracts with meal vendors based on the unique cultural needs of the students in their communities. Local school districts currently already engage in this practice and do so based on federal USDA nutrition guidelines. I look forward to continuing our work together to ensure every child receives a nutritious, culturally appropriate meal according to the existing USDA guidelines.
30		-
31		-
32		-
33		-	Therefore, pursuant to Section 9(b) of Article IV of the Illinois Constitution of 1970, I hereby return House Bill 3643, entitled AN ACT concerning education, with the foregoing objections, vetoed in its entirety.
34		-
35		-
36		-
37		-	Sincerely,
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	106	+	1 may purchase prepackaged meals from the contracted vendor as
	107	+	2 needed in order to comply with subsection (c) of this Section.
	108	+	3 (105 ILCS 5/34-18.82 new)
	109	+	4 Sec. 34-18.82. Religious dietary food options.
	110	+	5 (a) Throughout the State, students depend on schools to
	111	+	6 provide nutritionally balanced, low-cost or free school
	112	+	7 lunches each day. This Section is intended to accommodate the
	113	+	8 religious meal practices of students in a manner that elevates
	114	+	9 such accommodation over a school's compelling interest in
	115	+	10 providing students with nutritious, reasonable, and low-cost
	116	+	11 school lunches. The General Assembly intends for schools to
	117	+	12 accommodate requests for religious meals in accordance with
	118	+	13 this Section to the extent that the religious meal
	119	+	14 accommodations do not impose excessive or unjustified burdens
	120	+	15 on other students or jeopardize the effective functioning of
	121	+	16 the school lunch program.
	122	+	17 (b) In this Section, "religious dietary food option" means
	123	+	18 meals that meet specific foods and food preparation techniques
	124	+	19 that satisfy religious dietary requirements.
	125	+	20 (c) Subject to appropriation, to meet the requirement of
	126	+	21 providing a religious dietary food option as part of a school
	127	+	22 lunch program, the school district shall provide religious
	128	+	23 dietary food options, including, but not limited to, halal and
	129	+	24 kosher food options. The school district is required to comply
	130	+	25 with this subsection only if the State Board of Education is
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45		-	JB Pritzker
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	141	+	1 able to secure a statewide education master contract and
	142	+	2 provide a religious dietary food option to the school district
	143	+	3 pursuant to subsection (e) of this Section. The school
	144	+	4 district shall meet this requirement by offering students the
	145	+	5 opportunity to order prepackaged meals made available by the
	146	+	6 State Board of Education through a statewide education master
	147	+	7 contract pursuant to Article 28A of this Code. By July 1 of
	148	+	8 each year, the State Board of Education shall notify the
	149	+	9 school district of any available prepackaged meal options for
	150	+	10 the upcoming school year. The school district shall adopt
	151	+	11 procedures regarding ordering, preparing, and serving
	152	+	12 prepackaged meal options offered under a statewide education
	153	+	13 master contract. All meal options provided by a statewide
	154	+	14 education master contract entered into to purchase religious
	155	+	15 dietary food options must meet federal nutritional standards
	156	+	16 and be eligible for federal free and reduced-price lunch
	157	+	17 programs. The school district may not be charged more than the
	158	+	18 reimbursable Type A lunch reimbursement amount for any meal
	159	+	19 offered under the statewide education master contract. Any
	160	+	20 meal offered under a statewide education master contract may
	161	+	21 not require the school district to purchase any special or
	162	+	22 additional kitchen preparation equipment or storage equipment
	163	+	23 and may not require either any specialized staff, other than
	164	+	24 those staff members who are currently available in a school,
	165	+	25 or any special certifications.
	166	+	26 (d) Any vendor offering halal food products to the school
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47		-	Governor, State of Illinois
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	177	+	1 district shall certify that the food or food product is halal
	178	+	2 and that the vendor is in compliance with the Halal Food Act.
	179	+	3 Any vendor offering kosher food products to the school
	180	+	4 district shall certify that the food or food product is kosher
	181	+	5 and that the vendor is in compliance with the Kosher Food Act.
	182	+	6 The school district may rely upon these certifications.
	183	+	7 (e) The State Board of Education shall enter into a
	184	+	8 statewide education master contract as provided in subsection
	185	+	9 (e) of Section 10-20.85 of this Code. The State Board of
	186	+	10 Education shall notify the school district of the award of the
	187	+	11 contract as required in subsection (c) of Section 10-20.21 of
	188	+	12 this Code. Upon notice, the school district may purchase
	189	+	13 prepackaged meals from the contracted vendor as needed in
	190	+	14 order to comply with subsection (c) of this Section.
	191	+	15 Section 10. The University of Illinois Hospital Act is
	192	+	16 amended by adding Section 8h as follows:
	193	+	17 (110 ILCS 330/8h new)
	194	+	18 Sec. 8h. Religious dietary food options.
	195	+	19 (a) In this Section, "religious dietary food options"
	196	+	20 means meals that meet specific foods and food preparation
	197	+	21 techniques that satisfy religious dietary requirements.
	198	+	22 (b) The University of Illinois Hospital shall offer, upon
	199	+	23 request provided with reasonable notice, at the University of
	200	+	24 Illinois Hospital, religious dietary food options that comply
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	211	+	1 with federal and State nutritional guidelines. After an
	212	+	2 individual submits a request for a religious dietary food
	213	+	3 option, the University of Illinois Hospital shall make
	214	+	4 accommodations for the request as soon as the University of
	215	+	5 Illinois Hospital is able to provide the meals.
	216	+	6 (c) The provisions of this Section shall not infringe upon
	217	+	7 or affect any obligation in a contract entered into and in
	218	+	8 effect on or before the effective date of this amendatory Act
	219	+	9 of the 103rd General Assembly.
	220	+	10
	221	+	11 Section 15. The Halal Food Act is amended by adding
	222	+	12 Section 25 as follows:
	223	+	13 (410 ILCS 637/25 new)
	224	+	14 Sec. 25. State facility halal food options.
	225	+	15 (a) In this Section, "State-owned or State-operated
	226	+	16 facility" means either of the following:
	227	+	17 (1) A hospital that is organized under the University
	228	+	18 of Illinois Hospital Act.
	229	+	19 (2) A penal institution, as that term is defined under
	230	+	20 Section 2-14 of the Criminal Code of 2012, that is owned or
	231	+	21 operated by the State.
	232	+	22 (b) Any halal food product offered by a State-owned or
	233	+	23 State-operated facility shall be purchased from a
	234	+	24 halal-certified vendor. Any person, organization, or vendor
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	245	+	1 falsely representing a food product it provides as halal or
	246	+	2 falsely representing itself as a halal-certified vendor is
	247	+	3 subject to penalties under this Act.
	248	+	4 (c) The provisions of this Section shall not infringe upon
	249	+	5 or affect any obligation in a contract entered into and in
	250	+	6 effect on or before the effective date of this amendatory Act
	251	+	7 of the 103rd General Assembly.
	252	+	8 Section 20. The Kosher Food Act is amended by adding
	253	+	9 Sections 0.05 and 1.5 and by changing Section 2 as follows:
	254	+	10 (410 ILCS 645/0.05 new)
	255	+	11 Sec. 0.05. Definition. In this Act, "kosher" means
	256	+	12 supervised, prepared under, and maintained in strict
	257	+	13 compliance with the laws and customs of the Jewish religion,
	258	+	14 including, but not limited to, the laws and customs of
	259	+	15 shechita requiring the slaughter of animals according to
	260	+	16 appropriate Jewish law, and in compliance with the strictest
	261	+	17 standards of Jewish law as expressed by reliable, recognized
	262	+	18 Jewish entities and Jewish rabbis.
	263	+	19 (410 ILCS 645/1.5 new)
	264	+	20 Sec. 1.5. State facility kosher food options.
	265	+	21 (a) In this Section, "State-owned or State-operated
	266	+	22 facility" means either of the following:
	267	+	23 (1) A hospital that is organized under the University
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	278	+	1 of Illinois Hospital Act.
	279	+	2 (2) A penal institution, as that term is defined under
	280	+	3 Section 2-14 of the Criminal Code of 2012, that is owned or
	281	+	4 operated by the State.
	282	+	5 (b) Any kosher food product offered by a State-owned or
	283	+	6 State-operated facility shall be purchased from a
	284	+	7 kosher-certified vendor. Any person, organization, or vendor
	285	+	8 falsely representing a food product it provides as kosher or
	286	+	9 falsely representing itself as a kosher-certified vendor is
	287	+	10 subject to penalties under Section 2 of this Act.
	288	+	11 (c) The provisions of this Section shall not infringe upon
	289	+	12 or affect any obligation in a contract entered into and in
	290	+	13 effect on or before the effective date of this amendatory Act
	291	+	14 of the 103rd General Assembly.
	292	+	15 (410 ILCS 645/2) (from Ch. 56 1/2, par. 288.2)
	293	+	16 Sec. 2. Any person convicted of violating Section 1 or 1.5
	294	+	17 of this Act, shall for the first offense, be guilty of a Class
	295	+	18 C misdemeanor and for the second and each subsequent offense
	296	+	19 shall be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.
	297	+	20 (Source: P.A. 77-2510.)
	298	+	21 Section 25. The Unified Code of Corrections is amended by
	299	+	22 adding Section 3-7-9 as follows:
	300	+	23 (730 ILCS 5/3-7-9 new)
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	311	+	1 Sec. 3-7-9. Religious dietary food options.
	312	+	2 (a) In this Section, "religious dietary food options"
	313	+	3 means meals that meet specific foods and food preparation
	314	+	4 techniques that satisfy religious dietary requirements.
	315	+	5 (b) Any Department of Corrections facility that provides
	316	+	6 food services or cafeteria services for which food products
	317	+	7 are provided or offered for sale shall also offer, upon
	318	+	8 request provided with reasonable notice, religious dietary
	319	+	9 food options that comply with federal and State nutritional
	320	+	10 guidelines at the Department of Corrections facility. After an
	321	+	11 individual submits a request for a religious dietary food
	322	+	12 option, the Department of Corrections facility shall make
	323	+	13 accommodations for the request as soon as the Department of
	324	+	14 Corrections facility is able to provide the meals.
	325	+	15 (c) The provisions of this Section shall not infringe upon
	326	+	16 or affect any obligation in a contract entered into and in
	327	+	17 effect on or before the effective date of this amendatory Act
	328	+	18 of the 103rd General Assembly.
	329	+	19 Section 97. Severability. The provisions of this Act are
	330	+	20 severable under Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes.
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