Concealed Carry Debate

The Illinois House ended up conducting two “weekly orders of business” this week, one focused on concealed carry legislation and another focused on public pension reform.  The concealed carry session went well into late Tuesday evening as the members debated 27 amendments to HB 1155.  No final legislation was passed, but the session allowed both sides of the debate to voice their opinions on the matter.  Amendment 27 received the most votes, 67-48, and is widely seen as a “test vote” for HB 997 which is the principle concealed carry legislation being debated in the House.  Previously Speaker Madigan previously required a three-fifths majority vote for concealed carry legislation to pass the House, however, earlier this week it was reported that the sponsor may only need a simple majority.  HB 997 now sites on Second Reading in the House, after Speaker Madigan in a rare move agreed with the Republican minority to discharge the bill from the Judiciary Committee with a hearing and is now awaiting eight separate amendments to be debated.  We will continue to monitor this legislation on how it may affect the business community.