The legislation was introduced in bill HB2482 on Feb. 7, 2017, when Rep. Norine K. Hammond (R-93) filed it with the House clerk.
According to the General Assembly website, the bill as introduced was designed to "amend the Illinois Vehicle Code to allow for the issuance of In God We Trust special license plate decals by the Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs".
After debate, the House passed the bill on March 29, 2017 and it arrived in the House on May 19, 2017, and both chambers agreed to the final version of the legislation on June 24, 2017. The bill was sent to the governor and signed into law on Sept. 8, 2017. The law went into effect immediately.
Illinois legislature enacts laws through bills that can be introduced in either the state House of Representatives or the state Senate. Either chamber of the legislature can reject or amend a bill before it becomes law. Legislators sometimes sponsor "shell bills" devoid of substantive provisions, introduced with the intention of being amended later to include actual legislation.
The following table shows the full history of actions on HB2482.
| Date | Chamber | Action |
|---|---|---|
| 2/7/2017 | House | Filed with the Clerk by Rep. Norine K. Hammond |
| 2/8/2017 | House | First Reading |
| 2/8/2017 | House | Referred to Rules Committee |
| 2/22/2017 | House | Assigned to Labor & Commerce Committee |
| 2/27/2017 | House | Added Chief Co-Sponsor Rep. John Cavaletto |
| 3/7/2017 | House | House Committee Amendment No. 1 Referred to Rules Committee |
| 3/7/2017 | House | House Committee Amendment No. 1 Filed with Clerk by Rep. Norine K. Hammond |
| 3/9/2017 | House | House Committee Amendment No. 1 Rules Refers to Labor & Commerce Committee |
| 3/15/2017 | House | House Committee Amendment No. 1 Adopted in Labor & Commerce Committee; by Voice Vote |
| 3/15/2017 | House | Do Pass as Amended / Short Debate Labor & Commerce Committee; 029-000-000 |
| 3/16/2017 | House | Placed on Calendar 2nd Reading - Short Debate |
| 3/23/2017 | House | Second Reading - Short Debate |
| 3/23/2017 | House | Placed on Calendar Order of 3rd Reading - Short Debate |
| 3/29/2017 | House | Third Reading - Short Debate - Passed 112-001-000 |
| 3/29/2017 | Senate | Arrive in Senate |
| 3/29/2017 | Senate | Placed on Calendar Order of First Reading March 30, 2017 |
| 3/30/2017 | Senate | First Reading |
| 3/30/2017 | Senate | Chief Senate Sponsor Sen. Jil Tracy |
| 3/30/2017 | Senate | Referred to Assignments |
| 3/31/2017 | Senate | Added as Alternate Chief Co-Sponsor Sen. Chuck Weaver |
| 4/25/2017 | Senate | Assigned to State Government |
| 5/2/2017 | Senate | Senate Committee Amendment No. 1 Referred to Assignments |
| 5/2/2017 | Senate | Senate Committee Amendment No. 1 Filed with Secretary by Sen. Jil Tracy |
| 5/4/2017 | Senate | Postponed - State Government |
| 5/5/2017 | Senate | Senate Committee Amendment No. 1 Assignments Refers to State Government |
| 5/10/2017 | Senate | Senate Committee Amendment No. 1 Adopted |
| 5/11/2017 | Senate | Do Pass as Amended State Government; 008-000-000 |
| 5/11/2017 | Senate | Placed on Calendar Order of 2nd Reading May 12, 2017 |
| 5/12/2017 | Senate | Second Reading |
| 5/12/2017 | Senate | Placed on Calendar Order of 3rd Reading May 15, 2017 |
| 5/19/2017 | House | Placed on Calendar Order of Concurrence Senate Amendment(s) 1 |
| 5/19/2017 | House | Arrived in House |
| 5/19/2017 | Senate | Third Reading - Passed; 053-000-000 |
| 5/23/2017 | House | Senate Committee Amendment No. 1 Motion Filed Concur Rep. Norine K. Hammond |
| 5/23/2017 | House | Senate Committee Amendment No. 1 Motion to Concur Referred to Rules Committee |
| 5/28/2017 | House | Senate Committee Amendment No. 1 Motion to Concur Recommends Be Adopted Rules Committee; 005-000-000 |
| 6/24/2017 | House | Senate Committee Amendment No. 1 House Concurs 098-000-000 |
| 6/24/2017 | House | Passed Both Houses |
| 6/24/2017 | House | 3/5 Vote Required |
| 6/24/2017 | House | House Concurs |
| 7/21/2017 | House | Sent to the Governor |
| 9/8/2017 | House | Public Act . . . . . . . . . 100-0477 |
| 9/8/2017 | House | Effective Date September 8, 2017 |
| 9/8/2017 | House | Governor Approved |
| 2/13/2019 | House | First Reading |
| 2/13/2019 | House | Filed with the Clerk by Rep. Dave Severin |
| 2/13/2019 | House | Referred to Rules Committee |
| 2/14/2019 | House | Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Allen Skillicorn |
| 2/14/2019 | House | Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Randy E. Frese |
| 2/14/2019 | House | Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Darren Bailey |
| 2/26/2019 | House | Assigned to Transportation: Vehicles & Safety Committee |
| 3/5/2019 | House | Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Elizabeth Hernandez |
| 3/6/2019 | House | Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Tony McCombie |
| 3/6/2019 | House | Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Jaime M. Andrade, Jr. |
| 3/6/2019 | House | To Special Issues Subcommittee (TVS) |
| 3/19/2019 | House | Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Natalie A. Manley |
| 3/29/2019 | House | Rule 19(a) / Re-referred to Rules Committee |
| 5/23/2019 | House | Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Andrew S. Chesney |
| 5/22/2020 | House | Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Jonathan "Yoni" Pizer |
| 1/13/2021 | House | Session Sine Die |
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