Illinois 104th General Assembly Status: Introduced 4 D cosponsors

HB4311      — CRIM CD-OBSCENITY CIVIL ACTION

Last action — House Committee Amendment No. 2 Rule 19(c) / Re-referred to Rules Committee

  1. 1
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed House
  4. 4
    Passed Senate
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill has been introduced in the House. Introduced January 06, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee referral and hearing.

Odds of enactment

Low chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a low chance of becoming law.

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A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.

Prognosis

Not enough signal yet

Not enough signal yet to read this bill's trajectory — we surface a likelihood only once there's real movement (stage, sponsorship, committee, or votes) to point to.

Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.

Summary

Amends the Criminal Code of 2012. Provides that any person who is harmed by the unlawful sale, distribution, promotion, or exhibition of obscene material may bring a civil action against the individual or entity responsible for the violation. Provides that the prevailing plaintiff in a civil action under this provision may be entitled to compensatory damages for actual damages suffered as a result of the obscenity violation. Provides that a civil action for obscenity violations under this provision must be brought within 5 years of the discovery of the violation or the harm caused by the violation. Provides that, in any successful civil action, the plaintiff may be entitled to recover reasonable attorney's fees in addition to the damages awarded. Provides that a court may grant injunctive relief to prevent further violations of this provision, including the cessation of the sale, distribution, or exhibition of obscene material by the defendant. Provides that the civil action may be brought in the county where the defendant resides, where the unlawful sale, distribution, promotion, or exhibition occurred, or where the plaintiff resides, if applicable.

Bill Text

We don't have the full text on file for this bill yet.

Read HB4311 on the official Illinois source →

Action History

  1. House Committee Amendment No. 2 Rule 19(c) / Re-referred to Rules Committee

  2. House Committee Amendment No. 1 Rule 19(c) / Re-referred to Rules Committee

  3. Rule 19(a) / Re-referred to Rules Committee

  4. House Committee Amendment No. 2 Rules Refers to Judiciary - Civil Committee

  5. House Committee Amendment No. 1 Rules Refers to Judiciary - Civil Committee

  6. House Committee Amendment No. 2 Referred to Rules Committee

  7. House Committee Amendment No. 2 Filed with Clerk by Rep. Jay Hoffman

  8. Added Chief Co-Sponsor Rep. Rick Ryan

  9. Removed Co-Sponsor Rep. Rick Ryan

  10. House Committee Amendment No. 1 Referred to Rules Committee

  11. House Committee Amendment No. 1 Filed with Clerk by Rep. Jay Hoffman

  12. Assigned to Judiciary - Civil Committee

  13. Added Chief Co-Sponsor Rep. Katie Stuart

  14. Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Michael J. Kelly

  15. Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Rick Ryan

  16. Referred to Rules Committee

  17. First Reading

  18. Filed with the Clerk by Rep. Jay Hoffman

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 3 co-sponsors · 179 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (3)

Not signed on (179)

179 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 179 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

civil-rights
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does HB4311      do?
Amends the Criminal Code of 2012. Provides that any person who is harmed by the unlawful sale, distribution, promotion, or exhibition of obscene material may bring a civil action against the individual or entity responsible for the violation. Provides that the prevailing plaintiff in a civil action under this provision may be entitled to compensatory damages for actual damages suffered as a result of the obscenity violation. Provides that a civil action for obscenity violations under this provision must be brought within 5 years of the discovery of the violation or the harm caused by the violation. Provides that, in any successful civil action, the plaintiff may be entitled to recover reasonable attorney's fees in addition to the damages awarded. Provides that a court may grant injunctive relief to prevent further violations of this provision, including the cessation of the sale, distribution, or exhibition of obscene material by the defendant. Provides that the civil action may be brought in the county where the defendant resides, where the unlawful sale, distribution, promotion, or exhibition occurred, or where the plaintiff resides, if applicable.
Who sponsors HB4311     ?
HB4311      is sponsored by Jay Hoffman (Democrat), Katie Stuart (Democrat), Rick Ryan (Democrat), and Michael J. Kelly (Democrat).
What is the current status of HB4311     ?
This bill has been introduced in the House. Introduced January 06, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track HB4311     ?
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Last checked for changes 3 months ago · updated continuously

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