Illinois Rep. Rohr’s consumer coupon access bill passes House and Senate

Passed bill authored by State Rep. Janet Yang Rohr aims to ensure consumers can access paper coupons in grocery stores, addressing accessibility concerns for those without digital access, according to the Illinois General Assembly.

In the House, 71 Democrats and 34 Republicans voted in favor of the bill.

Meanwhile, in the Senate, 39 Democrats and 17 Republicans voted in favor of the bill.

Rohr introduced the bill in the Illinois House on Jan. 9, 2025 during the 104th session.

The legislation, known as HB0045, was passed on May 20, 2026 during the general assembly session 104.

According to the Illinois General Assembly site, the legislature summarized the bill’s official text as follows: “Amends the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act. Provides that a grocery store that offers a digital coupon to consumers shall make available a corresponding paper coupon of equal value. Provides that the paper coupons shall be easily accessible at the service desk and may also be placed in other locations around the store. Provides that a grocery store that violates the requirement commits an unlawful practice within the meaning of the Act.”

The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.

In essence, this bill amends the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act to require grocery stores offering digital coupons to provide corresponding paper coupons of equal value. These paper coupons must be easily accessible at the service desk and potentially in other store locations. Violating this requirement is considered an unlawful practice under the Act, aiming to ensure coupon accessibility for consumers regardless of their access to digital platforms.

The bill was sponsored by Rep. Aarón M. Ortíz (Democrat-1st District), Rep. Camille Y. Lilly (Democrat-78th District), and Rep. Carol Ammons (Democrat-103rd District), along with 36 other sponsors.

Bills in Illinois follow a multi-step legislative process, beginning with introduction in either the House or Senate, followed by committee review, floor debates, and votes in both chambers before reaching the governor for approval or veto. The General Assembly operates on a biennial schedule, and while typically thousands of bills are introduced each session, only a fraction successfully pass through the process to become law.

You can read more about bills and other measures here.

Rohr graduated from Northwestern University in 2002 with a BA and again in 2010 from University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Rohr, a Democrat, was elected to the Illinois State House in 2021 to represent the state’s 41st House District, replacing previous state representative Grant Wehrli.

Lawmakers listed as “Not Voting” were present for the vote but did not cast a vote. Those marked as having an “Excused Absence” were not present and formally provided a reason for their absence, which was accepted.