SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WCIA) – Lawmakers are heading back to the state capitol Wednesday to finish where they left off before the new session starts.

“This is an opportunity to tweak something that you’ve already passed, or to take up something that you just didn’t get around to,” Kent Redfield, UIS professor emeritus, said.

Top on the list of items for lawmakers is voting on the assault weapons ban.

Redfield said lawmakers may use this time to make changes to the original bill.

“There will be some amendments that will be authored to try and make the bill more palatable for dealing with reservations different people may have,” Redfield said.

All legislation passed during the session only needs a simple majority of 60 votes in the House and 30 in the Senate to pass, compared to a supermajority during veto session. Redfield said bringing the assault weapons ban to a vote now could get lawmakers who were uncertain onboard.

“They may have been defeated, they may have chosen not to run again,” Redfield said. “They’re probably a little more willing to do risk taking, because they’re not facing new voters.”

Lawmakers aren’t just considering a ban on assault weapons for the session – they’re also looking at ways to increase incentives for manufacturing electric vehicles.

“This is a growing industry and we want to make sure that we put our best foot forward to make sure that we attract these companies,” State Senator Steve Stadelman (D-Rockford), said.

In 2021, Governor Pritzker signed the Reimagining Electric Vehicles in Illinois Act. The law gives tax credits to businesses to invest in manufacturing those kinds of cars and their parts.

But lawmakers are looking to go a step further – including establishing a closing fund.

It would set aside money for the governor to use when making deals with these companies to come to Illinois.

“We want as many tools in the toolbox as possible for the administration and the state of Illinois to attract these companies and the governor has identified other states that have these so-called closing funds that can help seal the deal when that agreement is near,” Stadelman said.

Stadelman said they don’t have an exact amount of how much they will allocate for the closing fund.