LEGISLATIVE ALERT

ILLINOIS HOUSE BILL 3325

To:  Illinois Manufacturers, Distributors, and Installers

From:  Darrell Smith, Executive Director

Date:  April 6, 2009

Subject:  House Bill 3325

As a result of a major effort from a broad segment of industry members,             House Bill 3325 was coordinated with the enforcement community and                      legislators, developed and drafted, and  passed by the House to be              considered in the Senate over the next several weeks.

This legislation is a direct result of initiatives by several installers in Illinois              who worked with their respective legislators over the past year to consider a           revision to Illinois law that would establish standards for front side window            f       film under clearly defined options for visible light transmittance on the rear      windows.

There were several bills introduced during the 2009 session of the Illinois      Legislature including House Bill 4327.  Representative LaShawn Ford’s        legislative proposal establishes a petty offense for installing film in violation               of state statutory provisions. 

House Bill 3325 was introduced late in the session by Representative           Suzanne Bassi and co-patroned by Representative Jil Tracy and Representa-             tive Ford.  The legislation was developed with the support of the enforcement               community after a rigorous assessment of a number of options that provided     benefits to the consumer and the tinting businesses of the state as well as  addressing safety concerns from enforcement officials. 

House Bill 3325 offers several options to the current state regulations which              do not allow for tinting to be applied to the front side windows.  The new         provisions will allow the installer and customers the following options:

1. The legislation proposes that 50 percent visible light transmittance would                   be allowable on the front side windows if the rear windows have at least 30       percent.
2. A second option would be that if there is 35 percent on the rear then the             vehicle can have 35 percent on the front side windows. 
3. Should the consumer desire to retain the current dark tint on the rear                windows, then no additional tinting will be allowed on the front side                windows.
4. A 5 percent variance will be allowed to accommodate the slight differences            in film and the meter allowances that are recommended factory tolerances. 

The legislation is still being amended to achieve clarity for enforcement and             the industry, but the essential concepts and provisions have passed the             House unopposed.

Future Alerts will provide additional specifics, but House Bill 3325 and               House Bill 4327 should be strongly supported.