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Bill > HB2987


IL HB2987

IL HB2987
WAREHOUSE TORNADO PREPAREDNESS


summary

Introduced
02/06/2025
In Committee
05/27/2025
Crossed Over
05/20/2025
Passed
08/15/2025
Dead
Signed/Enacted/Adopted
08/15/2025

Introduced Session

104th General Assembly

Bill Summary

Reinserts the provisions of the bill with the following changes. In provisions concerning tornado safety plans, provides that the operator of a warehouse should coordinate with the warehouse's local emergency services and disaster agency and fire department or fire protection district to create plans that, when implemented, will be consistent with the local jurisdiction's response activities. Provides that copies of the plan and all updates made to the plan must be filed with the fire department or fire protection district in the jurisdiction in which the warehouse is located and the local emergency services and disaster agency in the jurisdiction in which the warehouse is located (instead of filed with the Office of the State Fire Marshal, the Illinois Emergency Management Agency and Office of Homeland Security, and the fire department, fire protection district, or local emergency services agency with primary responsibility for the warehouse). Provides that warehouse facilities constructed after the effective date of the Act must provide the means, through modification, installation, or demonstration via rational analysis, to meet a life-safety performance level for tornado loading that is equivalent to, or exceeds, the life-safety performance level for the most onerous of other building code-prescribed extreme environmental loading events. Sets forth provisions concerning that evaluation. Provides that, in lieu of a risk-targeted approach, the evaluating design professional may elect to follow prescriptive methods as outlined in the Federal Emergency Management Agency standard P-431, Tornado Protection: Selecting Refuge Areas in Buildings and the Best Available Refuge Area Checklist to ensure that shelter areas designated in tornado safety plans are qualified as the best available refuge areas. Removes provisions concerning tornado shelters and emergency supplies. Amends the Counties Code. Defines "building inspector". Requires a building inspector to hold a certification from the International Code Council in the area in which the inspector is inspecting or examining. Requires that the county keep on file a copy of the certifications of the persons doing inspections or examinations on its behalf. Provides that a building inspector may have a grace period of one year from the date of hire to acquire the certification required under these provisions. Amends the Illinois Municipal Code to add similar requirements for building inspectors. Effective immediately, except that provisions amending the Counties Code and the Illinois Municipal Code take effect January 1, 2027.

AI Summary

This bill establishes comprehensive tornado preparedness requirements for warehouses in Illinois, focusing on safety planning and structural resilience. Specifically, the bill requires warehouse operators to develop detailed tornado safety plans within 120 days of the Act's effective date, which must include floor plans, emergency exit routes, shelter areas, employee action protocols for tornado warnings and aftermath, and a list of emergency equipment. Warehouse operators must coordinate these plans with local emergency services and fire departments, and file copies with local jurisdictional agencies. For new warehouse facilities, the bill mandates that buildings must be designed to meet life-safety performance levels for tornado loading equivalent to or exceeding other extreme environmental loading events, with design professionals having the option to follow either performance-based risk analysis or prescriptive methods from Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) guidelines. Additionally, the bill amends the Counties Code and Illinois Municipal Code to require building inspectors to hold International Code Council certifications in their inspection areas, with a one-year grace period for new hires to obtain these certifications. The bill defines warehouses broadly using specific North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes and defines warehouse workers as those spending a majority of their working hours in such facilities. Most provisions take effect immediately, with building inspector certification requirements delayed until January 1, 2027.

Committee Categories

Government Affairs, Labor and Employment

Sponsors (15)

Last Action

Public Act . . . . . . . . . 104-0262 (on 08/15/2025)

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