SPRINGFIELD – Several new laws passed by State Senator Cristina Castro (D-Elgin) last year took effect Wednesday.

Senate Bill 455 allows a school nurse or school administrator to administer or supervise self-administration of medical cannabis infused products to a student who is a registered qualifying patient of the Medicinal Cannabis Pilot Program.

“Ideally, the parents of children who require medicinal cannabis would help with the administration process, but that’s not always possible,” Castro said. “By giving certain faculty members the ability to assist in the process, we’re allowing the kids who need these medicines as part of their treatments to receive them in a timely manner.”

Senate Bill 1191 allows a recently divorced individual to return to their pre-marriage surname without the need to publish a notice in a newspaper.

“A person shouldn’t have to jump through hoops in order to be called what they choose to be called,” Castro said. “Frankly, it’s a bit silly that this requirement even existed in the first place, and I’m glad to see that it no longer does.”

House Bill 3534 requires the Secretary of State to offer a non-binary gender option on state identification cards or driver’s licenses for individuals who do not have a male or female gender identity.

“The reality is that the male-female binary is not the full extent of possible gender identities,” Castro said. “This law allows individuals who identify as something other than male or female to feel comfortable when they look at the gender designation on their IDs and licenses.”

Other Castro-sponsored bills effective Jan. 1 include:

• House Bill 2156, which makes it unlawful for any business to offer consumers at retail a rebate card that charges dormancy fees and other fees after issuance of the card; and

• House Bill 2802, which requires a regional superintendent of a school district with fewer than 500,000 people to fill a vacancy on a school board within 30 days if the board failed to fill the vacancy after 60 days.

“2019 was a productive year, and I’m happy to see all the hard work pay off as these laws take effect,” Castro said.

A full list of bills that take effect today can be found here.