HB3554

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COLLECTION AGENCY ACT

What this bill does

Amends the Regulatory Sunset Act. Removes the Collection Agency Act from the list of Acts being repealed under the Act. Amends the Collection Agency Act. Makes changes concerning defined terms; exempt persons and entities under the Act; unlicensed practice; disciplinary actions; communication; informal conferences; penalties; investigations; the record of hearing; oaths; findings and recommendations; hearings; orders; and returned payments. Provides that the fee rate a collection agency can charge may be modified by rule to not less than 25% of the amount of child support actually collected by the collection agency but not greater than 35%. Repeals provisions concerning the Collection Agency Licensing and Disciplinary Board and provisions concerning when a person acts as a collection agency. Makes other changes.

Sponsor: Harry Benton Chamber: House Introduced: 2025-02-07
Stuck
P(Advance)
14.7%
Chance it ever reaches a milestone (committee, floor, etc.). Not “next step.”
P(Law)
0.0%
Chance it becomes law given where it is now (stage, momentum).
Forecast
1.1%
Low P(law) at intro — sponsor & topic only; no progress or delay.
Confidence: 85%

Calculating prediction drivers...

Pipeline Progress

Current stage: In Committee · Last action 409 days ago · STAGNANT

How does a bill become law in Illinois?
  1. Introduction of Bill

    A member of the Senate or the House introduces a bill, which is assigned a unique identifying number (e.g., "H.B. ___" for House bills and "S.B. ___" for Senate bills). If not enacted, it must be reintroduced in the next General Assembly with a new number.

  2. Committee Work — Hearings

    The bill goes to the appropriate committee, which holds hearings to gather expert opinions and determine the need for the legislation.

  3. Committee Work — Markup, Amendments, Report

    The committee may make amendments to the bill. If approved, a committee report endorsing the bill is issued.

  4. Floor Debate

    The bill is debated and can be further amended. The debate transcripts are accessible online for public viewing.

  5. Passage and Consideration in Second Chamber

    If the bill passes in the first chamber, it moves to the second chamber for a similar review process. If both chambers approve, it goes to the governor.

  6. Gubernatorial Action

    The governor can sign the bill into law, veto it, or take no action (resulting in an automatic law after 60 days). The type of veto can be total or amendatory. Once signed, the bill becomes a Public Act and is assigned a Public Act number.

Sponsor Context

Hearings

This bill has not been scheduled for a committee hearing.

Witness slips

6 slips filed. Proponent / opponent / no position as filed with the committee.

Name Organization Representing Position Hearing committee Hearing date
Marc Reiter IDFPR IDFPR Proponent Financial Institutions & Licensing 2025-03-18
Marc Reiter IDFPR IDFPR Proponent Financial Institutions & Licensing 2025-03-18
Ashley Sharp Illinois Credit Union League Illinois Credit Union League Opponent Financial Institutions & Licensing 2025-03-18
David Berland IDFPR IDFPR Proponent Financial Institutions & Licensing 2025-04-08
Marc Reiter IDFPR IDFPR Proponent Financial Institutions & Licensing 2025-04-08
Jim Morphew Sorling Northrup Great Lakes Credit and Collection Association No Position On Merits Financial Institutions & Licensing 2025-04-08

Roll-call votes

Total votes and outcome per event. Deciding vote = margin of 1; those voters on the winning side could have changed the outcome by flipping.

Date Chamber Type Description Yea Nay Present NV Outcome Margin Deciding voters
H Committee Financial Institutions & Licensing 8 4 0 0 Passed 4

Action History

20 actions recorded. Last action: 2025-04-11 — House Floor Amendment No. 2 Rule 19(c) / Re-referred toRules Committee. Each action's meaning and outcome signal are classified automatically.

2025-02-07 Introduction & Filing
Filed with the Clerk byRep. Margaret Croke House Rule 6(b)
Bill officially submitted to the House Clerk during the session.
2025-02-18 Introduction & Filing
First Reading Senate Rule 5-1(d)/5-2; House Rule 37(d)/38
Formal introduction — title read into the official record. Required procedural step; bill now exists in the system.
2025-02-18 Committee Assignment
Referred toRules Committee Senate Rule 3-8(a); House Rule 18(a)
Sent to a committee (usually Rules in the House, Assignments in the Senate). The gatekeeping step — Rules/Assignments decides which substantive committee hears the bill.
2025-03-11 Committee Assignment
Assigned toFinancial Institutions and Licensing Committee Senate Rule 3-8(a); House Rule 18(b)
Sent to a substantive committee (e.g., Transportation, Revenue). This is where the bill gets a real hearing and evaluation.
2025-03-11 Amendment Actions
House Committee Amendment No. 1 Filed with Clerk byRep. Margaret Croke
[Amendment] Amendment sub-action.
2025-03-11 Amendment Actions
House Committee Amendment No. 1 Referred toRules Committee
[Amendment] Sent to a committee (usually Rules in the House, Assignments in the Senate). The gatekeeping step — Rules/Assignments decides which substantive committee hears the bill.
2025-03-12 Amendment Actions
House Committee Amendment No. 1 Rules Refers toFinancial Institutions and Licensing Committee
[Amendment] Amendment sub-action.
2025-03-18 Amendment Actions
House Committee Amendment No. 1 Adopted inFinancial Institutions and Licensing Committee; by Voice Vote
[Amendment] Amendment sub-action.
2025-03-18 Committee Action Positive
Do Pass as Amended / Short DebateFinancial Institutions and Licensing Committee; 008-004-000 Rule 3-11(a)(1), Rule 3-12(a)
Committee recommends passage. The most important positive gate — majority of bills never get here.
2025-03-19 Floor Process Positive
Placed on Calendar 2nd Reading - Short Debate Senate Rule 4-4(7-8)/5-2; House Rule 31(8-9)/38/52
Bill placed on the Second Reading calendar. Positive — bill is queued for floor action.
2025-03-26 Floor Process Positive
Second Reading - Short Debate Senate Rule 3-12(a)/5-4(a); House Rule 24(a)/40(b)/52(a)(1)
Bill reaches the floor amendment stage on Short Debate calendar. Major milestone — bill has passed committee and is on the floor.
2025-03-26 Floor Process
Held on Calendar Order of Second Reading - Short Debate Senate Rule 4-4(7-8)/5-2; House Rule 31(8-9)/38/52
Bill was ready for Second Reading but was paused/held by the sponsor. Usually indicates the sponsor is still negotiating amendments or gathering votes. NOT a negative signal — the sponsor controls the pace.
2025-03-31 Amendment Actions
House Floor Amendment No. 2 Filed with Clerk byRep. Margaret Croke
[Amendment] Amendment sub-action.
2025-03-31 Amendment Actions
House Floor Amendment No. 2 Referred toRules Committee
[Amendment] Sent to a committee (usually Rules in the House, Assignments in the Senate). The gatekeeping step — Rules/Assignments decides which substantive committee hears the bill.
2025-04-04 Cross-Chamber
Chief Sponsor Changed toRep. Harry Benton Senate Rule 5-1(d)/4-4(9-11); House Rule 37(d)/31(10-12)
Chief sponsor changed — may indicate leadership taking ownership or a strategic handoff.
2025-04-04 Co-Sponsorship Mild +
Added Chief Co-SponsorRep. Margaret Croke Senate Rule 5-1(a); House Rule 37(a)
Chief co-sponsor added.
2025-04-07 Amendment Actions
House Floor Amendment No. 2 Rules Refers toFinancial Institutions and Licensing Committee
[Amendment] Amendment sub-action.
2025-04-08 Amendment Actions
House Floor Amendment No. 2 Recommends Be AdoptedFinancial Institutions and Licensing Committee; 011-000-000
[Amendment] Amendment sub-action.
2025-04-11 Deadlines & Re-referrals Mild −
Rule 19(a) / Re-referred toRules Committee House Rule 19(a); Senate analog: Rule 3-9(a)
MISSED COMMITTEE DEADLINE — bill did not get a committee vote before the deadline and is re-referred to Rules/Assignments. The bill is NOT dead but faces an uphill battle to be reassigned. Most bills that hit Rule 19(a) do not advance.
2025-04-11 Amendment Actions
House Floor Amendment No. 2 Rule 19(c) / Re-referred toRules Committee
[Amendment] Amendment sub-action.

All actions (table)

Date Chamber Action Category Signal
2025-02-07 House Filed with the Clerk byRep. Margaret Croke House Rule 6(b) Introduction & Filing
2025-02-18 House First Reading Senate Rule 5-1(d)/5-2; House Rule 37(d)/38 Introduction & Filing
2025-02-18 House Referred toRules Committee Senate Rule 3-8(a); House Rule 18(a) Committee Assignment
2025-03-11 House Assigned toFinancial Institutions and Licensing Committee Senate Rule 3-8(a); House Rule 18(b) Committee Assignment
2025-03-11 House House Committee Amendment No. 1 Filed with Clerk byRep. Margaret Croke Amendment Actions
2025-03-11 House House Committee Amendment No. 1 Referred toRules Committee Amendment Actions
2025-03-12 House House Committee Amendment No. 1 Rules Refers toFinancial Institutions and Licensing Committee Amendment Actions
2025-03-18 House House Committee Amendment No. 1 Adopted inFinancial Institutions and Licensing Committee; by Voice Vote Amendment Actions
2025-03-18 House Do Pass as Amended / Short DebateFinancial Institutions and Licensing Committee; 008-004-000 Rule 3-11(a)(1), Rule 3-12(a) Committee Action Positive
2025-03-19 House Placed on Calendar 2nd Reading - Short Debate Senate Rule 4-4(7-8)/5-2; House Rule 31(8-9)/38/52 Floor Process Positive
2025-03-26 House Second Reading - Short Debate Senate Rule 3-12(a)/5-4(a); House Rule 24(a)/40(b)/52(a)(1) Floor Process Positive
2025-03-26 House Held on Calendar Order of Second Reading - Short Debate Senate Rule 4-4(7-8)/5-2; House Rule 31(8-9)/38/52 Floor Process
2025-03-31 House House Floor Amendment No. 2 Filed with Clerk byRep. Margaret Croke Amendment Actions
2025-03-31 House House Floor Amendment No. 2 Referred toRules Committee Amendment Actions
2025-04-04 House Chief Sponsor Changed toRep. Harry Benton Senate Rule 5-1(d)/4-4(9-11); House Rule 37(d)/31(10-12) Cross-Chamber
2025-04-04 House Added Chief Co-SponsorRep. Margaret Croke Senate Rule 5-1(a); House Rule 37(a) Co-Sponsorship Mild +
2025-04-07 House House Floor Amendment No. 2 Rules Refers toFinancial Institutions and Licensing Committee Amendment Actions
2025-04-08 House House Floor Amendment No. 2 Recommends Be AdoptedFinancial Institutions and Licensing Committee; 011-000-000 Amendment Actions
2025-04-11 House Rule 19(a) / Re-referred toRules Committee House Rule 19(a); Senate analog: Rule 3-9(a) Deadlines & Re-referrals Mild −
2025-04-11 House House Floor Amendment No. 2 Rule 19(c) / Re-referred toRules Committee Amendment Actions