SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - All new state of Illinois vehicles could be assembled in North America under proposed legislation introduced by state Rep. Mike Smiddy, D-Hillsdale.
"Too many of Illinois' tax dollars pay for vehicles assembled overseas," Smiddy said. "This bill will mean that more of Illinois' fleet of vehicles are made by the highly skilled automotive workers in North America, and that will mean more of our tax dollars are kept at home, where they benefit us most."
Smiddy introduced House Bill 3438 to require every vehicle the state buys or leases to be assembled in North America. The bill does not prohibit buying vehicles from foreign auto companies. Instead, the measure simply must use a facility in the United States or Canada for the physical assembly of the automobile. The measure would only apply to new vehicles and all foreign built vehicles currently owned by the state could still be used.
"The auto industry employs thousands of Illinoisans, and we owe it to those workers and their families to buy vehicles from companies that don't ship jobs overseas in search of cheap labor," Smiddy said. "I'll continue to support ideas that support this country's excellent automotive industry and put American workers back on the job."
Smiddy introduced a similar measure during the last legislative session. That bill received bipartisan support when it passed the house in 2014 but was never voted upon on the senate floor.
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