Illinois 2025-2026 Regular Session

Illinois House Bill HB3544 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026 HB3544 Introduced , by Rep. Bradley Fritts SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: New Act625 ILCS 5/3-699.8 Creates the Care for Retired Police Dogs Program Act. Creates the Care for Retired Police Dogs Program within the University of Illinois system to provide a stable funding source for the veterinary care of retired police dogs. Provides that the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois shall contract with a not-for-profit corporation to administer and manage the Program. Sets forth the required criteria a not-for-profit corporation must meet to be selected for a grant award. Subject to appropriation, requires the Board of Trustees to make grants to the not-for-profit corporation to be the disbursing authority for the Program. Provides that annual disbursements to a former handler or an adopter of a retired police dog to reimburse him or her for the cost of the retired police dog's veterinary care may not exceed $1,500 per dog. Requires the Board of Trustees to adopt rules to implement the Act. Makes a conforming change in the Illinois Vehicle Code. LRB104 09954 LNS 20024 b A BILL FOR 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026 HB3544 Introduced , by Rep. Bradley Fritts SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: New Act625 ILCS 5/3-699.8 New Act 625 ILCS 5/3-699.8 Creates the Care for Retired Police Dogs Program Act. Creates the Care for Retired Police Dogs Program within the University of Illinois system to provide a stable funding source for the veterinary care of retired police dogs. Provides that the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois shall contract with a not-for-profit corporation to administer and manage the Program. Sets forth the required criteria a not-for-profit corporation must meet to be selected for a grant award. Subject to appropriation, requires the Board of Trustees to make grants to the not-for-profit corporation to be the disbursing authority for the Program. Provides that annual disbursements to a former handler or an adopter of a retired police dog to reimburse him or her for the cost of the retired police dog's veterinary care may not exceed $1,500 per dog. Requires the Board of Trustees to adopt rules to implement the Act. Makes a conforming change in the Illinois Vehicle Code. LRB104 09954 LNS 20024 b LRB104 09954 LNS 20024 b A BILL FOR
2	2	104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026 HB3544 Introduced , by Rep. Bradley Fritts SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
3	3	New Act625 ILCS 5/3-699.8 New Act 625 ILCS 5/3-699.8
4	4	New Act
5	5	625 ILCS 5/3-699.8
6	6	Creates the Care for Retired Police Dogs Program Act. Creates the Care for Retired Police Dogs Program within the University of Illinois system to provide a stable funding source for the veterinary care of retired police dogs. Provides that the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois shall contract with a not-for-profit corporation to administer and manage the Program. Sets forth the required criteria a not-for-profit corporation must meet to be selected for a grant award. Subject to appropriation, requires the Board of Trustees to make grants to the not-for-profit corporation to be the disbursing authority for the Program. Provides that annual disbursements to a former handler or an adopter of a retired police dog to reimburse him or her for the cost of the retired police dog's veterinary care may not exceed $1,500 per dog. Requires the Board of Trustees to adopt rules to implement the Act. Makes a conforming change in the Illinois Vehicle Code.
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9	9	A BILL FOR
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12	12	1 AN ACT concerning retired police dogs.
13	13	2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
14	14	3 represented in the General Assembly:
15	15	4 Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Care
16	16	5 for Retired Police Dogs Program Act.
17	17	6 Section 5. General Assembly findings. The General Assembly
18	18	7 finds that:
19	19	8 (1) police dogs are an integral part of many law
20	20	9 enforcement and correctional efforts statewide, including
21	21	10 the apprehension of suspects through tracking and
22	22	11 searching, evidence location, drug and bomb detection, and
23	23	12 search and rescue operations;
24	24	13 (2) law enforcement and correctional agencies agree
25	25	14 that the use of police dogs is an extremely cost-effective
26	26	15 means of crime control and that police dogs possess skills
27	27	16 and abilities that frequently exceed those of existing
28	28	17 technology;
29	29	18 (3) the service of police dogs is often dangerous and
30	30	19 can expose them to injury at a rate higher than that of
31	31	20 non-service dogs; and
32	32	21 (4) police dogs provide significant contributions to
33	33	22 the residents of this State.
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37	37	104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026 HB3544 Introduced , by Rep. Bradley Fritts SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
38	38	New Act625 ILCS 5/3-699.8 New Act 625 ILCS 5/3-699.8
39	39	New Act
40	40	625 ILCS 5/3-699.8
41	41	Creates the Care for Retired Police Dogs Program Act. Creates the Care for Retired Police Dogs Program within the University of Illinois system to provide a stable funding source for the veterinary care of retired police dogs. Provides that the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois shall contract with a not-for-profit corporation to administer and manage the Program. Sets forth the required criteria a not-for-profit corporation must meet to be selected for a grant award. Subject to appropriation, requires the Board of Trustees to make grants to the not-for-profit corporation to be the disbursing authority for the Program. Provides that annual disbursements to a former handler or an adopter of a retired police dog to reimburse him or her for the cost of the retired police dog's veterinary care may not exceed $1,500 per dog. Requires the Board of Trustees to adopt rules to implement the Act. Makes a conforming change in the Illinois Vehicle Code.
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70	70	1 Section 10. Definitions. In this Act:
71	71	2 "Correctional agency" means a lawfully established State
72	72	3 or local public agency having primary responsibility for the
73	73	4 supervision, protection, care, custody, control, or
74	74	5 investigation of inmates at a correctional institution.
75	75	6 "Law enforcement agency" means a lawfully established
76	76	7 State or local public agency having primary responsibility for
77	77	8 the prevention and detection of crime or the enforcement of
78	78	9 penal, traffic, highway, regulatory, gaming, immigration,
79	79	10 postal, customs, or controlled substances laws.
80	80	11 "Retired police dog" means a dog that was previously in
81	81	12 the service of or employed by a law enforcement agency or a
82	82	13 correctional agency in this State for the principal purpose of
83	83	14 aiding in the detection of criminal activity, enforcement of
84	84	15 laws, or apprehension of offenders and that received
85	85	16 certification in obedience and apprehension work from a
86	86	17 certifying organization, such as the National Police Canine
87	87	18 Association or a similar certifying organization.
88	88	19 "Veterinarian" has the same meaning given to that term in
89	89	20 the Veterinary Medicine and Surgery Practice Act of 2004.
90	90	21 "Veterinary care" means the practice, by a veterinarian,
91	91	22 of veterinary medicine as defined in Section 3 of the
92	92	23 Veterinary Medicine and Surgery Practice Act of 2004. The term
93	93	24 includes annual wellness examinations, vaccinations, internal
94	94	25 and external parasite prevention treatments, testing and
95	95	26 treatment of illnesses and diseases, medications, emergency
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106	106	1 care and surgeries, veterinary oncology or other specialty
107	107	2 care, euthanasia, and cremation.
108	108	3 Section 15. Establishment of program. The Care for Retired
109	109	4 Police Dogs Program is created within the University of
110	110	5 Illinois system to provide a stable funding source for the
111	111	6 veterinary care of retired police dogs.
112	112	7 Section 20. Administration. The Board of Trustees of the
113	113	8 University of Illinois shall contract with a not-for-profit
114	114	9 corporation organized under Article 2 of the General Not For
115	115	10 Profit Corporation Act of 1986 to administer and manage the
116	116	11 Care for Retired Police Dogs Program. The Board of Trustees of
117	117	12 the University of Illinois shall select the not-for-profit
118	118	13 corporation through a competitive grant award process. The
119	119	14 not-for-profit corporation must meet all of the following
120	120	15 criteria:
121	121	16 (1) Be dedicated to the protection or care of retired
122	122	17 police dogs.
123	123	18 (2) Be exempt from taxation under Section 501(a) of
124	124	19 the Internal Revenue Code as an organization described in
125	125	20 Section 501(c)(3) of that Code.
126	126	21 (3) Have maintained such tax-exempt status for at
127	127	22 least 5 years.
128	128	23 (4) Agree to be subject to review and audit at the
129	129	24 discretion of the Auditor General in order to ensure
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140	140	1 accurate accounting and disbursement of State funds.
141	141	2 (5) Demonstrate the ability to effectively and
142	142	3 efficiently disseminate information and to assist former
143	143	4 handlers and adopters of retired police dogs in complying
144	144	5 with this Act.
145	145	6 Section 25. Funding.
146	146	7 (a) Subject to appropriations made by the General Assembly
147	147	8 from the Illinois Police K-9 Memorial Fund to the University
148	148	9 of Illinois for implementation of this Act, the Board of
149	149	10 Trustees of the University of Illinois shall make grants to
150	150	11 the not-for-profit corporation contracted by the Board of
151	151	12 Trustees of the University of Illinois under Section 20 to be
152	152	13 the disbursing authority for the Care for Retired Police Dogs
153	153	14 Program. These funds must be disbursed to the former handler
154	154	15 or the adopter of a retired police dog that served for 5 years
155	155	16 or more as a police dog upon receipt of:
156	156	17 (1) valid documentation from the law enforcement
157	157	18 agency or correctional agency from which the dog retired
158	158	19 that verifies that the dog was in the service of or
159	159	20 employed by that agency; and
160	160	21 (A) that the dog served 5 years or more with that
161	161	22 agency;
162	162	23 (B) that the dog served a total of 5 years or more
163	163	24 with 2 or more law enforcement agencies or
164	164	25 correctional agencies; or
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175	175	1 (C) that, notwithstanding the length of service
176	176	2 requirements elsewhere in this paragraph (1), the dog
177	177	3 served 3 years or more with one or more law enforcement
178	178	4 agencies or correctional agencies, was injured in the
179	179	5 line of duty while serving with a law enforcement
180	180	6 agency or correctional agency, and retired from the
181	181	7 agency the dog was serving with at the time of the
182	182	8 injury due to such injury; and
183	183	9 (2) a valid invoice from a veterinarian for veterinary
184	184	10 care provided in this State to a retired police dog and
185	185	11 documentation establishing payment of the invoice by the
186	186	12 former handler or the adopter of the retired police dog.
187	187	13 (b) Annual disbursements to a former handler or an adopter
188	188	14 to reimburse him or her for the cost of the retired police
189	189	15 dog's veterinary care may not exceed $1,500 per dog. A former
190	190	16 handler or an adopter of a retired police dog may not
191	191	17 accumulate unused funds from a current year for use in a future
192	192	18 year.
193	193	19 (c) A former handler or an adopter of a retired police dog
194	194	20 who seeks reimbursement for veterinary care under this Act may
195	195	21 not receive reimbursement if funds appropriated for the Care
196	196	22 for Retired Police Dogs Program are depleted in the year for
197	197	23 which the reimbursement is sought.
198	198	24 Section 30. Administrative expenses. The University of
199	199	25 Illinois shall pay to the not-for-profit corporation
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210	210	1 contracted by the Board of Trustees of the University of
211	211	2 Illinois under Section 20, and the not-for-profit corporation
212	212	3 may use, up to 10% of appropriated funds each fiscal year for
213	213	4 the not-for-profit corporation's administrative expenses,
214	214	5 including salaries and benefits.
215	215	6 Section 90. Rules. The Board of Trustees of the University
216	216	7 of Illinois shall adopt rules to implement this Act.
217	217	8 Section 100. The Illinois Vehicle Code is amended by
218	218	9 changing Section 3-699.8 as follows:
219	219	10 (625 ILCS 5/3-699.8)
220	220	11 Sec. 3-699.8. Illinois Police K-9 Memorial Plates.
221	221	12 (a) The Secretary, upon receipt of all applicable fees and
222	222	13 applications made in the form prescribed by the Secretary, may
223	223	14 issue special registration plates designated as Illinois
224	224	15 Police K-9 Memorial license plates. The special plates issued
225	225	16 under this Section shall be affixed only to passenger vehicles
226	226	17 of the first division, motorcycles, autocycles, or motor
227	227	18 vehicles of the second division weighing not more than 8,000
228	228	19 pounds. Plates issued under this Section shall expire
229	229	20 according to the multi-year procedure established by Section
230	230	21 3-414.1 of this Code.
231	231	22 (b) The design and color of the plates is wholly within the
232	232	23 discretion of the Secretary. The Secretary may allow the
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