---
type: "Bill"
title: "VETERAN CDL APPLICATIONS"
description: "Amends the Illinois Vehicle Code. Provides a skills test waiver to personnel of the armed forces of the United States, including Reserve and National Guard members, applying for a CDL that meet the following: (1) have 2 years experience operating a military motor vehicle that is representative of the class of commercial motor vehicle for which the applicant is seeking a CDL, (2) are active duty or discharged within the past year, (3) are residents of Illinois or hold or are eligible for an Illinois driver's license, and (4) provide a skills test waiver form signed by the applicant and his or her commanding officer certifying the applicant qualifies for the skills waiver."
jurisdiction: "us/states/il"
legislature: "Illinois General Assembly"
session: "98th"
identifier: "HB 2563"
citation: "Illinois HB 2563 (98th)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: []
version_count: 3
action_count: 35
vote_count: 2
first_action: "2013-02-21"
last_action: "2013-07-08"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/8aebb1fe-e52e-4ee4-99f3-5cc86e515e57"
source_url: "http://ilga.gov/legislation/BillStatus.asp?DocNum=2563&GAID=12&DocTypeID=HB&LegId=74364&SessionID=85&GA=98"
source_hash: "580aebe2c35efda0b386683b1b58e2c4475cdd652535b269be5f2d92fd99c6ef"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-il"]
---

# Illinois HB 2563 (98th) — VETERAN CDL APPLICATIONS

Amends the Illinois Vehicle Code. Provides a skills test waiver to personnel of the armed forces of the United States, including Reserve and National Guard members, applying for a CDL that meet the following: (1) have 2 years experience operating a military motor vehicle that is representative of the class of commercial motor vehicle for which the applicant is seeking a CDL, (2) are active duty or discharged within the past year, (3) are residents of Illinois or hold or are eligible for an Illinois driver's license, and (4) provide a skills test waiver form signed by the applicant and his or her commanding officer certifying the applicant qualifies for the skills waiver.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **Introduced** (filed) — [source](http://ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?DocName=09800HB2563&GA=98&SessionId=85&DocTypeId=HB&LegID=74364&DocNum=2563&GAID=12&Session=&print=true)
2. **Engrossed** (committee substitute) — [source](http://ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?DocName=09800HB2563eng&GA=98&SessionId=85&DocTypeId=HB&LegID=74364&DocNum=2563&GAID=12&Session=&print=true)
3. **Enrolled** (enrolled) — [source](http://ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?DocName=09800HB2563enr&GA=98&SessionId=85&DocTypeId=HB&LegID=74364&DocNum=2563&GAID=12&Session=&print=true)

## Votes

- Third Reading — **58–0** (pass) · upper
- Third Reading — **89–19** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Robert W. Pritchard — primary (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2013-02-21** Filed with the Clerk by Rep. Robert W. Pritchard `filing`
- **2013-02-21** First Reading `reading-1`
- **2013-02-21** Referred to Rules Committee `referral-committee`
- **2013-03-04** Assigned to Transportation: Vehicles & Safety Committee `referral-committee`
- **2013-03-07** House Committee Amendment No. 1 Filed with Clerk by Rep. Robert W. Pritchard `amendment-introduction`
- **2013-03-07** House Committee Amendment No. 1 Referred to Rules Committee `referral-committee`
- **2013-03-11** House Committee Amendment No. 1 Rules Refers to Transportation: Vehicles & Safety Committee
- **2013-03-13** House Committee Amendment No. 1 Adopted in Transportation: Vehicles & Safety Committee; by Voice Vote `amendment-passage`
- **2013-03-13** Do Pass as Amended / Short Debate Transportation: Vehicles & Safety Committee; 009-000-000 `committee-passage`
- **2013-03-13** Placed on Calendar 2nd Reading - Short Debate
- **2013-03-15** Second Reading - Short Debate `reading-2`
- **2013-03-15** Placed on Calendar Order of 3rd Reading - Short Debate
- **2013-03-22** Removed from Short Debate Status
- **2013-03-22** Placed on Calendar Order of 3rd Reading - Standard Debate
- **2013-03-22** Third Reading - Standard Debate - Passed 089-019-001 `reading-3, passage`
- **2013-03-22** Added Chief Co-Sponsor Rep. Jerry F. Costello, II
- **2013-03-22** Arrive in Senate `introduction`
- **2013-03-22** Placed on Calendar Order of First Reading April 10, 2013 `reading-1`
- **2013-04-10** Chief Senate Sponsor Sen. Michael Connelly
- **2013-04-11** First Reading `reading-1`
- **2013-04-11** Referred to Assignments `referral-committee`
- **2013-04-23** Assigned to Transportation `referral-committee`
- **2013-04-24** Alternate Chief Sponsor Changed to Sen. Antonio Muñoz
- **2013-04-24** Added as Alternate Chief Co-Sponsor Sen. Michael Connelly
- **2013-05-08** Do Pass Transportation; 015-000-000 `committee-passage`
- **2013-05-08** Placed on Calendar Order of 2nd Reading May 9, 2013
- **2013-05-20** Second Reading `reading-2`
- **2013-05-20** Placed on Calendar Order of 3rd Reading May 21, 2013
- **2013-05-20** Added as Alternate Chief Co-Sponsor Sen. Wm. Sam McCann
- **2013-05-22** Third Reading - Passed; 058-000-000 `reading-3, passage`
- **2013-05-22** Passed Both Houses
- **2013-06-19** Sent to the Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2013-07-08** Governor Approved `executive-signature`
- **2013-07-08** Effective Date January 1, 2014
- **2013-07-08** Public Act . . . . . . . . . 98-0052 `became-law`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/8aebb1fe-e52e-4ee4-99f3-5cc86e515e57`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Illinois legislature records).