Straight-ahead summaries built from the official bill text. We keep the source links front and center and leave the decision up to you.
HB4255 • 2026
CRIM CD-TRAVELING ANIMAL ACTS
This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.
Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.
CRIM CD-TRAVELING ANIMAL ACTS
These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.
Plain English: Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of HB4255 Select Language × The Illinois General Assembly offers the Google Translate™ service for visitor convenience.
Governor Approved
Effective Date July 1, 2026
Public Act . . . . . . . . . 104-0485
Sent to the Governor
Added as Alternate Co-Sponsor Sen. Suzy Glowiak Hilton
Added as Alternate Co-Sponsor Sen. Mary Edly-Allen
Third Reading - Passed; 051-004-000
Passed Both Houses
Added as Alternate Co-Sponsor Sen. Lakesia Collins
Second Reading
Placed on Calendar Order of 3rd Reading May 18, 2026
Do Pass Criminal Law ; 009-001-000
Placed on Calendar Order of 2nd Reading May 14, 2026
Rule 2-10 Committee Deadline Established As May 15, 2026
Added as Alternate Co-Sponsor Sen. Laura Fine
Added as Alternate Co-Sponsor Sen. Mike Simmons
Assigned to Criminal Law
Added as Alternate Co-Sponsor Sen. Julie A. Morrison
Added as Alternate Co-Sponsor Sen. Sara Feigenholtz
Added as Alternate Chief Co-Sponsor Sen. Sara Feigenholtz
Arrive in Senate
Placed on Calendar Order of First Reading
Chief Senate Sponsor Sen. Linda Holmes
First Reading
Referred to Assignments
House Floor Amendment No. 1 Adopted
Placed on Calendar Order of 3rd Reading - Short Debate
Third Reading - Short Debate - Passed 076-033-000
Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Janet Yang Rohr
Second Reading - Short Debate
Held on Calendar Order of Second Reading - Short Debate
Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Carol Ammons
Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Justin Cochran
Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Mary Gill
Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Anna Moeller
Added Chief Co-Sponsor Rep. Joyce Mason
Added Chief Co-Sponsor Rep. Michael Crawford
Added Chief Co-Sponsor Rep. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz
Added Chief Co-Sponsor Rep. Sharon Chung
Removed Co-Sponsor Rep. Joyce Mason
House Floor Amendment No. 1 Recommends Be Adopted Judiciary - Criminal Committee ; 009-002-000
Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Lindsey LaPointe
House Floor Amendment No. 1 Rules Refers to Judiciary - Criminal Committee
Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Laura Faver Dias
Placed on Calendar 2nd Reading - Short Debate
House Floor Amendment No. 1 Filed with Clerk by Rep. Kelly M. Cassidy
House Floor Amendment No. 1 Referred to Rules Committee
Do Pass / Short Debate Judiciary - Criminal Committee ; 008-005-000
Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Barbara Hernandez
Assigned to Judiciary - Criminal Committee
Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Margaret Croke
Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Dagmara Avelar
Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Diane Blair-Sherlock
Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Michelle Mussman
Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Joyce Mason
Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Kimberly Du Buclet
First Reading
Referred to Rules Committee
Filed with the Clerk by Rep. Kelly M. Cassidy
CRIM CD-TRAVELING ANIMAL ACTS
Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of HB4255 Select Language × The Illinois General Assembly offers the Google Translate™ service for visitor convenience. In no way should it be considered accurate as to the translation of any content herein. Visitors of the Illinois General Assembly website are encouraged to use other translation services available on the internet. The English language version is always the official and authoritative version of this website. NOTE: To return to the original English language version, select the "Show Original" button on the Google Translate™ menu bar at the top of the window. Choose Language English Afrikaans Albanian Arabic Armenian Azerbaijani Basque Bengali Bosnian Catalan Croatian Czech Danish Dutch Esperanto Estonian Filipino Finnish French Galician Georgian German Greek Gujarati Haitian Creole Hausa Hawaiian Hebrew Hindi Hungarian Icelandic Indonesian Interlingua Interlingue Inuktitut Irish Italian Japanese Javanese Kannada Khmer Korean Latin Latvian Lithuanian Luxembourgish Macedonian Malagasy Malayalam Maltese Maori Marathi Myanmar Nepali Norwegian Odia Pashto Punjabi Romanian Russian Samoan Sango Sanskrit Sardinian Sindhi Sinhala Slovak Slovenian Somali Southern Sotho Spanish Sundanese Swahili Swedish Tamil Telugu Thai Tigrinya Tonga Turkish Ukrainian Urdu Vietnamese Welsh Xhosa Yiddish Yoruba Zulu Powered by Translate Close Illinois General Assembly Top Navigation Bar Translate Learn Select General Assembly Search the 104th General Assembly Enter search terms for legislation, members, committees, or schedules. ILGA.GOV LEGISLATION & LAWS Bills & Resolutions Public Acts Illinois Compiled Statutes Illinois Constitution Search Legislation Glossary Guide Reports & Inquiry Legislative Reports Special Reports FTP Site Legislator Lookup Capitol Complex Phone Numbers Rules & Regulations Illinois Register Administrative Rules Senate Members Schedules Committees Request for Remote Testimony Journals Transcripts Rules Audio/Video FOIA Information Senate Employment Opportunities Media Guidelines House Members Schedules Committees Submit testimony for House Committees Journals Transcripts Rules Audio/Video FOIA Information House Employment Opportunities Log In Mobile Top Bar Search the 104th General Assembly Enter keywords to search the Illinois General Assembly website. Full Text of HB4255 Home Legislation Full Text HB4255 - 104th General Assembly Bill Status Full Text Votes Witness Slips Select Menu Bill Status Full Text Votes Witness Slips Printer Friendly Version Introduced Engrossed Enrolled House Amendment 001 Public Act Printer Friendly Version Introduced Engrossed Enrolled House Amendment 001 Public Act Open PDF HB4255 Enrolled LRB104 16708 RLC 30113 b 1 AN ACT concerning criminal law. 2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 3 represented in the General Assembly: 4 Section 5. The Criminal Code of 2012 is amended by 5 changing Section 48-11 as follows: 6 (720 ILCS 5/48-11) 7 Sec. 48-11. Unlawful use of a covered animal an elephant 8 in a traveling animal act. 9 (a) Definitions. As used in this Section: 10 "Covered animal" means any of the following animals, and 11 hybrids of those animals: 12 (1) cougar (puma concolor); 13 (2) elephantidae; 14 (3) jaguar (panthera onca); 15 (4) leopard (panthera pardus), excluding Amur leopard 16 (panthera pardus orientalis); 17 (5) lion (panthera leo); 18 (6) non-human primate; 19 (7) tiger (panthera tigris); or 20 (8) ursidae. 21 "Mobile or traveling animal housing facility" means a 22 transporting vehicle such as a truck, trailer, or railway car 23 used to transport or house animals while traveling to an HB4255 Enrolled - 2 - LRB104 16708 RLC 30113 b 1 exhibition or other performance. 2 "Performance" means an exhibition, public showing, 3 presentation, display, exposition, fair, animal act, circus, 4 ride, trade show, petting zoo, carnival, parade, race, or 5 other similar undertaking in which animals are required to 6 perform tricks, give rides, or participate as accompaniments 7 for entertainment, amusement, or benefit of a live audience. 8 "Traveling animal act" means any performance of animals 9 where animals are transported to, from, or between locations 10 for the purpose of a performance in a mobile or traveling 11 animal housing facility. 12 (b) A person commits unlawful use of a covered animal an 13 elephant in a traveling animal act when he or she knowingly 14 allows for the participation of a covered animal an African 15 elephant (Loxodonta africana) or Asian elephant (Elephas 16 maximus) protected under the federal Endangered Species Act of 17 1973 in a traveling animal act. 18 (c) This Section does not apply to a performance of a 19 covered animal that: (1) takes place an exhibition of 20 elephants at a non-mobile, permanent institution, or other 21 fixed facility licensed by the United States Department of 22 Agriculture; and (2) is conducted by the non-mobile, permanent 23 institution, or fixed facility . 24 (d) Sentence. Unlawful use of a covered animal an elephant 25 in a traveling animal act is a Class A misdemeanor. 26 (e) The provisions of this amendatory Act of the 104th HB4255 Enrolled - 3 - LRB104 16708 RLC 30113 b 1 General Assembly are in addition to, and not in lieu of, any 2 other laws protecting animal welfare. This Section may not be 3 construed to limit any State law or rules protecting the 4 welfare of animals or to prevent a unit of local government 5 from adopting and enforcing its own animal welfare ordinances 6 and regulations. 7 (Source: P.A. 100-90, eff. 1-1-18 .) 8 Section 97. Severability. The provisions of this Act are 9 severable under Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes. 10 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1, 11 2026. Footer Disclaimer This site is maintained for the Illinois General Assembly by the Legislative Information System, 705 Stratton Building, Springfield, Illinois 62706. Contact ILGA Webmaster ILGA.gov uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. By continuing to browse ILGA.gov you consent to our use of cookies. Read About Cookies ILGA.GOV 2026 ILGA.gov | All Rights Reserved | ADA | Disclaimers | Learn This site is maintained for the Illinois General Assembly by the Legislative Information System, 705 Stratton Building, Springfield, Illinois 62706. Contact ILGA Webmaster ILGA.gov uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. By continuing to browse ILGA.gov you consent to our use of cookies. Read About Cookies ILGA.GOV 2026 ILGA.gov | All Rights Reserved | ADA | Disclaimers | Learn