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By Peter M. Murphy, 1985 was a banner year for parks and recreation in Illinois. The legislative platform introduced this spring was diverse, aggressive and set high goals for the Associations. Not only was this the first time that every item on our legislative agenda passed, but it was also the first time in the history of this State that Open Space Lands Acquisition and Development (OSLAD) was set up to be funded over a five-year period. A total of $4.6 million has been set aside for the acquisition and development of park land in FY '85. The pent-up demand for the long overdue State commitment to provide matching grant monies is demonstrated by the influx of applications to the Department of Conservation (DOC). The DOC reports that it has received more than 64 applications for these monies, representing requests of more than $10.4 million. Applications also show an increase in the participation of downstate park districts. Hearings on applications will be held after the first of the year with grants being finalized in March. Congratulations to DOC Director Mike Witte and his staff for their work in making this possible. FLSA Local governments are finally hearing good news from Washington in response to their call for modification of the costly impact of the Garcia v. San Antonio Metropolitan Authority decision. At this writing, amendments to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) are pending which will have the following impact: • A local government will be granted the option of giving compensatory time in lieu of paid overtime as long as the compensatory time is granted at time and a half. The comp time may be accrued up to a total of 480 hours and will represent a legal liability of the employer. • The Act will not apply to local governments until April 1986, and will eliminate any liability incurred for overtime pay under the Act prior to this time. Further payments for overtime pay may be delayed until Aug. 1, 1986 without penalty under the new provisions. • A person who performs work as a volunteer will not fall within the purview of this Act even though he receives expense money or a nominal fee. Finance Recent legislation affecting local government finance includes: H.B. 467 creating the Local Government Prompt Payment Act. H.B. 1258 amending the Tax Anticipation Act and permitting the issuance of general obligation notes which include principal, interest and costs of issuance. Changes include increasing the interest ceiling from eight percent to the floating rate authorized to public corporations in accordance with the G.O. Bond Buyers Index.
H.B. 1641 specifying the requirements for a public agency to purchase or invest in repurchase agreements. Deletes the provision restricting how much a public agency can invest in short-term obligations. H.B. 1785 providing that statements of receipts and disbursements shall be published and filed within six months rather than 90 days after the expiration of each fiscal year. S.B. 265 authorizing taxing districts to accumulate monies in a special reserve fund for the purpose of paying tax refunds. How did your legislator vote? One of the most frequently asked questions I hear from commissioners and professionals alike is "How supportive are my legislators for park and recreation issues?" This month's Legislative Scene attempts to give members a general picture of their legislators' support by showing one of the most important Continued on page 29 Illinois Parks and Recreation                                 26                                       November/December 1985
Key to Voting Records House Bill 570 (Build Illinois legislation making a substantive change in the Open Space Lands Acquisition and Development Act.) House Bill 993 (Build Illinois appropriation designating $4.6 million to OSLAD.) House Bill 1356 (Authorizes park districts to combine funds for the purpose of pooling investments.) House Bill 1393 (Authorizes local public entities to include the cost of risk care management programs within the levy for tort liability purposes.) House Bill 1394 (Removes the three-year limitation on recreation agreements for handicapped persons.) House Bill 1395 - Senate Amendment 1 (Attaches frontdoor referendum requirement. The Association was seeking a "no" vote on this amendment.) House Bill 1395 (Authorizes park districts to levy a tax, without referendum, for life safety purposes.) House Bill 1464 (Specifically authorizes forest preserve districts to fund museums, botanical gardens and environmental centers.) Senate Bill 566 (Amends the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF) article of the Pension Code to expand the definition of "sheriff's law enforcement employee" to include fulltime law enforcement employees of forest preserve districts. Senate Bill 1124 (Amends the Park District Code to authorize districts, subject to referendum, to change from four-year terms to six-year terms of office.)
Y - Yes Continued on page 30 Illinois Parks and Recreation                                 27                                       November/December 1985
Y - Yes continued on page 30 Key to Voting Records House Bill 570 (Build Illinois legislation making a substantive change in the Open Space Lands Acquisition and Development Act.) House Bill 993 (Build Illinois appropriation designating $4.6 million to OSLAD.) House Bill 1356 (Authorizes park districts to combine funds for the purpose of pooling investments.) House Bill 1393 (Authorizes local public entities to include the cost of risk care management programs within the levy for tort liability purposes.) House Bill 1394 (Removes the three-year limitation on recreation agreements for handicapped persons.) House Bill 1395 (Authorizes park districts to levy a tax, without referendum, for life safety purposes.) House Bill 1395 - Non-concurrence 1 (Seeks to remove front-door referendum provision amended to H.B. 1395 in the Senate.) House Bill 1395 - Non-concurrence 2 (Second attempt to remove Senate amendment. Note: Legislators were under tremendous pressure from the Taxpayers' Federation, Association of Realtors and the Farm Bureau to vote "no.") House Bill 1464 (Specifically authorizes forest preserve districts to fund museums, botanical gardens and environmental centers.) Senate Bill 1124 (Amends the Park District Code to authorize districts, subject to referendum, to change from four-year terms to six-year terms of office.) Senate Bill 1132 (Amends the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF) Article of the Pension Code to expand the definition of "sheriff's law enforcement employee" to include full-time law enforcement employees of forest preserve districts.) Illinois Parks and Recreation                                 28                                       November/December 1985
Y - Yes
Legislative Scene indicators, which is your legislators' vote on third reading. Keep in mind, however, that this does not tell the full story. There are many opportunities for a legislator to act in support or opposition to bills promoted by our Associations. These include committee votes, debate during the second and third reading stages of a bill and the offering of friendly or unfriendly amendments to a bill. Note, too, that bill sponsorship is a clear sign a legislator is actively working on behalf of parks and recreation. Bill introductions State Reps. Bruce Farley (D-Chicago) and John Cullerton (D-Chicago) have introduced two proposals in the Illinois House which are of special interest to our Associations. House Bill 2542 amends the Open Space Lands Acquisition and Development Act (OSLAD) to provide that local governments eligible for grants under the Act shall be grouped by population, and specifies that the amount of the grants within each group be based on the total population of local governments within the group. The bill also deletes the provision that no more than 10 percent of the funds appropriated for projects be expended on any single project. All grants may be made from appropriations from the General Revenue Fund.
House Bill 2543 appropriates $1,500,000 to the Illinois Department of Conservation (DOC) for making grants to units of local government under the Open Space Lands Acquisition and Development Act.
Illinois Parks and Recreation                                 29                                       November/December 1985
Y - Yes
Y - Yes Illinois Parks and Recreation                                 30                                       November/December 1985 |
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