Legislative Scene By Eugene Berghoff Director Government Services

CORPORATE PERSONAL PROPERTY TAX REPLACEMENT

H.B. 2569 has passed the House and is now pending in the Senate. This legislation provides many of the recommendations suggested by your Association and other organizations representing local governments including replacement on a dollar-to-dollar basis, an increase in bonding power and debt limits. H.B. 548 and H.B. 2700 failed to pass the House, but Senate bill 978 is pending in the Senate and it is very possible that near the end of the session a joint House/Senate conference committee will determine the final provisions of the legislation.

School districts and other local governments would receive their share, dollar-for-dollar of the 1978 total Corporate Personal Property Tax. They would be guaranteed no less than they received in 1978.

See the chart for further detailed analysis. (Page 27)

TOTTEN CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION #13 HELD IN COMMITTEE

Representative Donald Totten, Republican - Hoffman Estates, has introduced an amendment to the 1970 State Constitution to put a limit on government spending. His measure would limit state spending to no more than 8% of the average total personal income of Illinois residents for three prior calendar years.

Totten's proposal has been held in the House Revenue Committee but could be called for a second vote. Constitutional amendments for the 1980 ballot need not be acted upon by the legislature until next Spring. I still urge you to contact your state representative and senator to express your views in opposition to this legislation.

TAX AND SPENDING LIMITATIONS

H.B. 1431, H.B. 2563, and H.B. 2566 have passed the House with overwhelming approval. With minor differences they provide a limit on state and local spending and property tax increases according to increases in the total income of Illinois residents.

Local taxing districts would be required to publish newspaper notices and hold public hearings before they order any increases in property taxes. New taxing districts could not be formed unless approved by 2/3 vote of those voting in a referendum. Bonds, pensions, or tax rates approved by previous referendums would be exempt. Governor James R. Thompson's Tax Advisory Committee recommended this legislation last fall.

We oppose these bills as they add additional expenses to local governments will tend to bind the hands of local elected officials in the budget and spending process.

Your support is needed to defeat these bills by voicing your opposition to your state representatives and senators.

CPSC TO REVIEW PLAYGROUND SAFETY EQUIPMENT STANDARDS

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has scheduled a public meeting this spring to discuss staff recommendations to the Commission relative to development of safety standards for public playground equipment.

At the meeting the Commission will review draft safety standards for public playground equipment prepared for and submitted to the Commission by the National Recreation and Park Association in May, 1976. In addition to reviewing NRPA's documents, including a "Proposed Safety Standard for Public Playground Equipment," "Technical Rationale," and "Economic Impact Study," the Commission staff will review three technical reports from the National Bureau of Standards and CPSC staff position papers and analyses which update epidemiologic, human factors, and economic impact data.

STATUS OF BILLS

S.B. 26 — KEATS — Amends park District Code; allows park district to engage in the exchange of real property such property is of substantially equal value and of substantially the same suitability. (Passed Senate and House; Governor's desk)

S.B. 287 — EGAN ET AL — Amends the Child Labor Law to allow minors under 16 to work at ice skating rinks owned and operated by a school or unit of local government (Passed Senate — 2nd reading House)

S.B. 297 — HALL — Amends Sec. 11.2 of the Park District Code to allow park districts to levy their working cash fund tax "for not more than four consecutive years only" rather than "for not more than four of the years 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, and 1980 only." (Defeated 3rd Reading Senate—an amendment was proposed to change the working cash fund tax rate from a back door to a front door referendum which we could not support. We are considering attaching this Legislation as an amendment to another bill)

S.B. 303 — SOMMER — Amends The Park District Code. Allows that one of the four commissioners elected may serve a two year term of office. Effective immediately. (Passed Senate and House, but back to Senate for concurrence in amendment)

S.B. 305 — GEO-KARRIS ET AL — Amends "The Gas Revenue Tax Act," "The Public Utilities Revenue Act" and "The Message Tax Act." Exempts from the taxes imposed by those Act the gross receipts from the sale of gas or electricity or transmission of messages to units of local government or school districts. (Returned to Senate Revenue Committee)

S.B. 402 — RUPP — Amends The Park District Code. Authorizes park districts to issue revenue bonds for the purpose of constructing or expanding airports and landing fields in their districts. (Passed Senate and House; Governor's desk)

[ A portion of this article is missing from our hard copy version.]

Illinois Parks and Recreation 24 July/August, 1979

Legislative Scene

(Continued from Page 27)

acquiring total real property holding in excess of 1 % of the total acreage of the county in which the district is situated, (interim study)

H.B. 1005 — SCHNEIDER ET AL — Amends Sections of the Park District and Municipal Code. Allows a single park district, municipality or recreational board to enter into joint agreements with other entities to provide recreational programs for the handicapped. (Passed House, Defeated Senate Local Government Committee)

H.B. 1028 — PIERCE ET AL — Amends Municipal Retirement Fund Article of the Pension Code to include governing boards of special recreation join agreements without designation of an administrative district within that Article. Removes the 3 year limit on the duration of such joint agreements. (Passed House, 3rd Reading Senate)

H.B. 1047 — DONOVAN ET AL — Amends Park District Code. Authorizes park districts to issue revenue bonds for purpose of constructing airports and landing fields in their districts. (Passed House, 2nd Reading Senate)

H.B. 1464 — HOFFMAN ET AL — Amends the Act concerning governmental tort immunity. Allows a local public entity to insure itself against and pay, from the tort fund, claims arising under the Unemployment Insurance Act. Allows a local public entity to raise funds for these claims through its rate making power or taxing power. (Passed House; 2nd Reading Senate)

H.B. 1480 — REDMOND — Amends Acting relating to forest preserve districts in counties of under 3,000,000. Deletes provision that county board acts as board of commissioners in districts coextensive with a county. (1980 Spring calendar)

H.B. 2218 — PARLEY ET AL — Amends An Act in relation to State revenue sharing with local governmental entities. Creates a Park Recreation and Open Space Distributive Fund in an amount equal to 1/48 of net revenue realized from Illinois Income Tax with monthly distribution to park districts, forest preserve districts and conservation districts on basis of population. (3rd Reading House)

H.B. 2219 — PARLEY ET AL — Amends the Illinois Lottery Law. Provides for depositing unclaimed lottery prize money into the Park, Recreation and Open Space Distributive Fund established by the 81st General Assembly for allocation to park districts, forest preserve districts and conservation districts. (3rd Reading)

H.B. 2604 — BIRCHLER ET AL — Creates Community Education Act. Provides for utilization of local community public buildings and services for community educational programs and needs. Specifies minimum requirements for such programs, and provides for funding and grants in relation thereto, (interim study)

COMPARISON OF CORPORATE PERSONAL PROPERTY TAX REPLACEMENT BILLS IN HOUSE
	HB548 (As Amended) Retail Merchants Pierce	HB2700 (As Amended) Gov. Thompson Ryan	HB 2569 McPike	HB2569 Amendment
Replacement Taxes:
Corporations	2 1/2%	2%	4.8%	3%
Estates & Trusts	1 1/2%	1 1/4%	4.8%	1 1/2%
Partnerships & Chapter "S" Corp.	1 1/2%	1%	4.8%	1 1/2%
Utilities
Telephone Electric Gas	3/4% of invested capital (long term debt and equity)	3/4% of Invested capital (long term debt and equity)	3/4% of invested capital (long term debt and equity)	3/4% of Invested capital (long term debt and equity)
Estimated 1980 revenue yield of replacement taxes	4963	421.7	857.22	$5334
Revenue Growth Limit	None	7%	None	None
First Distribution of New Tax	After June 30, 1979	After June 1, 1980	After Jan. 31, 1980	After Sept. 30, 1979
Frequency of Tax Distribution	Annual	Annual	Monthly	Quarterly
Tax Starts	July1, 1979	January 1, 1979	January 1, 1980	After July 31, 1979
Distribution Mechanism	Ratio of 1978 or 1979 collections	Basic: Ratio of 1978 collections	Ratio of most recent total tax extension	First allocation to Cook and Downstate based upon estimated 1978 collections (DLGA: 4/5/78) within the 2 areas by % of collections.
Long-Term	None	Priority usage: proportionate amount of debt service formerly financed by C.P.P.T.	None	None
Short-Term Borrowing	None	None	None	None
1Chapter S Corporations Only 2Illinois Economic and Fiscal Commission estimate 3IFFC estimate for calendar year 1980. Prior revenue uncertain at this time. 4Based upon IEFC estimates

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The House Sub-committee on Interior Appropriations on May 10 approved supplemental fiscal year 1979 funding of $20 million for the Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Program. The Subcommittee recommendation is expected to be considered by the full committee later this spring although no date has been set. No Senate action on this issue is expected until after House floor consideration.

Meanwhile, the Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service had essentially completed draft program planning and procedural regulations when the Senate Sub-committee on Interior Appropriations rejected an agency request to reprogram other FY 1979 funds to complete this part of the Administrations pre-grants work program. The Administration hopes to resolve this program in the near future.

Interim regulations on the planning aspects of the urban parks program could be published in the Federal Register by the end of May, with a 60-day comment period to follow. Interim regulations on program criteria and application procedures for both the rehabitation and innovative grants programs are anticipated in late June. These would also be subject to public comment. "We're still committed to letting grants this fiscal year," according to HCRS sources.

Illinois Parks and Recreation 27 July/August, 1979