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Legal/Legislative Scene Legislature juggles heavy workload
By Peter M. Murphy The Illinois House of Representatives has introduced over 1,400 bills for consideration this legislative session. This is quite a feat for a year when only appropriation matters, and those substantive bills necessitated by "emergencies," are introduced pursuant to the rules of the General Assembly. The Senate has kept pace with over 740 bills introduced; however, few of these have made it past the Senate Rules Committee. The same is not the case in the Illinois House. State mandates
House Speaker Madigan has renewed his commitment to Illinois' local governments to assist in bringing to the attention of the members of the Illinois General Assembly, all of those bills which would require reimbursement under the Illinois State Mandates Act. These bills will now be listed on a separate page of the Illinois House Bill Calendar. While these steps fall short of some of the legislative proposals introduced this year requiring an extraordinary majority to pass legislation affected by the State Mandates Act, they do bring attention to the continuing problems that local governments suffer at the hands of the Illinois General Assembly (mandated programs without the commensurate funding). New bill introductions There are a number of bills which have been introduced this session that affect park, forest preserve and conservation districts. Some of the more significant of those have been listed below. Although a number of these propose to limit property taxes, in one way or another, it appears that these bills have little likelihood of success during this austere year for local government. More importantly, those bills, such as H.B. 3150 which appropriates monies under the Build Illinois Program to fund the Open Space Lands Acquisition and Development Act, and H.B. 3811 which proposes to designate the State's portion of the Real Estate Transfer Tax for OSLAD purposes, have little chance of passage in their proposed form without a general increase in the State Income Tax. The signs for such an increase at this time are not very favorable. If you have any specific questions in regard to any piece of legislation, including those listed below, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Bill introductions — House HB 2912 Farley-McGann-White-Saltsman-Granberg, Bugielski, Capparelli, Krska, Laurino, McNamara, Terzich and O'Connell — Amends the Revenue Act of 1939 to increase the General Homestead Exemption from $3,500 to $4,000 beginning on Jan. 1, 1988. HB 2313 Keane-Giglio-Sutker-Stern-Novzk — Amends The Truth In Taxation Act to eliminate the 105 percent threshold and include any increase, including debt service, in the tax levy. Requires the notice to be published at least twice at not less than one-quarter page in size.
HB 2914 Capparelli-DeLeo-McNamara-Terzich-Hannig, Bugielski, McGann and O'Connell — Amends The Truth in Taxation Act to change the application of the Act to include all increases, to change the procedures required of the taxing district, and to require three-fifths majority vote of the taxing district for levies which are more than 110 percent of the prior year's levy, and to require a referendum on all tax levies which are more than 115 percent of the levy of the preceding year. Also amends the Revenue Act of 1939 to prohibit the county clerk from extending a tax levy of a taxing district which is in violation of The Truth in Taxation Act. HB 3028 Black-Hicks — Amends the State Employees Group Insurance Act of 1971. Provides that units of local government may apply to director of Central Management Services (CMS) to have employees and dependents covered under the Act, the cost of coverage to be paid Illinois Parks and Recreation 13 May/June 1988 Bill introductions by the unit of local government. Authorizes director of CMS to promulgate rules concerning officers and employees eligible for coverage. HB 3039 Peterson, W. and Wojcik — Amends the Illinois Municipal Code and the Public Utilities Act. Exempts units of local government and school districts from municipal utility taxes. Prohibits municipalities from imposing home rule utility taxes on transactions involving units of local government and school districts. HB 3073 Hensel — Amends An Act to create forest preserve districts in counties under 3,000,000. Eliminates the power of a district under 600,000 to acquire an easement for a linear park or trail or in land contiguous to an existing park or preserve without the concurrence of the municipality within which the land is situated. HB 3085 Cullerton — Amends the Chicago Park District Act to provide that the general superintendent, secretary, and treasurer all serve at the pleasure of the commissioners rather than for a term of four years. Provides for the appointment of a superintendent of employment to serve at the pleasure of the commissioners. HB 3189 Wennlund — Amends The Park District Code to provide that bond limitations are computed by aggregating only the principal amounts outstanding. HB 3206 Mays-Daniels-Tate — Makes appropriations from various funds for the Build Illinois Program. Effective July 1, 1988. HB 3286 Novak — Amends the Forest Preserve District Act in counties under three million. Allows territory exactly coterminous with a county, municipality or township within the district to disconnect upon petition of 5 percent of the legal voters and referendum within the territory seeking disconnection. A disconnected territory remains liable for a proportionate share of the district's bonded indebtedness, if any. HB 3310 Hallock — Amends The Park District Code to allow park districts to lease property to others if the property will be used primarily for recreational purposes, if the property will be open to the public subject to reasonable fees, and if the park board finds the use of the property is compatible with the purposes of the park district. Effective immediately. HB 3524 Keane-Didrickson-Panayotovich — Amends the Revenue Act of 1939 to establish a uniform date for filing tax levies beginning in 1989, and to provide that the equalized assessed value for the extension of the levy for 1988 and subsequent years be the equalized assessed value for the year immediately prior to the levy year. HB 3528 Pullen — Amends the Illinois Municipal Code. Prohibits municipalities from imposing a tax or surcharge based on or added to fees imposed by a park district. Preempts home rule. Effective immediately. HB 3634 Stange — Amends The State Mandates Act relative to excluded mandates and fiscal notes on bills, amended bills and conference committee reports. Provides that language in an Act excluding reimbursement is void unless supported by required fiscal note information. Requires fiscal notes on amended bills and conference committee reports which create or expand a State mandate. Effective immediately. HB 3694 Farley — Amends the Minimum Wage Law to fix the rate of the Illinois minimum wage for employees 18 years or older at the rate established by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as amended or modified. Permits employees under 18 years of age to be paid 50 cents less per hour than such rate established by federal law. HB 3708 Wennlund — Amends the Illinois Municipal Code and The Park Disbrict Code. Prohibits municipalities and park districts from using certain procedures to annex territory unless at least one-third of the territory is used for residential, recreational or open space purposes at the time of the annexation. HB 3785 O'Connell — Creates the Local Government Debt Reform Act and amends the Municipal Code and an Act authorizing public corporations to issue bonds. Provides supplemental authority to local governmental units to issue and sell bonds to accommodate market practices and current federal income tax law. Effective immediately. HB 3811 Steczo — Amends the Open Space Lands Acquisition and Development Act, the Real Estate Transfer Tax Act and the State Finance Act. Creates a fund in the State treasury into which revenue from the Illinois Real Estate Transfer Tax is to be deposited. (Present law provides that such revenue be deposited into the General Revenue Fund.) Provides that monies in the fund shall be appropriated only for purposes of the Open Space Lands Acquisition and Development Act. Bill introductions — Senate SB 1519 Joyce, Jeremiah — Amends the Revenue Act of 1939 and the State Mandates Act to provide that the equalization factor for all assessment years beginning with 1987 shall not exceed that factor for assessment year 1985. Exempts from the State Mandates Act. Effective immediately. SB 1567 Joyce, Jerome — Amends the Environmental Protection Act. Requires all beverage containers to be returnable and to have a refund value of at least 10 cents. Requires the distributor to pay the retail dealer an additional two cents for each container redeemed. SB 1904 Woodyard — Amends the Motor Fuel Tax Law to eliminate park districts, forest preserve districts and conservation districts from receiving motor fuel tax money. SB 1916 Berman — Creates the Illinois Shoreline Relief Act. Directs the Illinois State Geological Survey Division of the Department of Energy and Natural Resources to study the impact of ice and other erosion factors on the Lake Michigan shoreline. Requires the report to be submitted to the Governor and General Assembly by Jan. 1, 1989. Effective immediately. SB 1952 Dunn,Thomas — Amends The Park District Code. Provides that a district may not annex territory within a municipality that has a recreation department. SB 1972 Holmberg-Hawldnson-Luft — Amends the Horse Racing Act to provide that downstate park districts shall be included among the museums to which four-sevenths of the monies paid into the Horse Racing Tax Allocation Fund shall be allocated; limits disbursements to those park districts within which a paramutual inner-track wagering parlor is located. SB 1977 Luft-Maitland — Creates the Responsible Property Transfer Act concerning disclosure statements on the transfer of real property. Illinois Parks and Recreation 15 May/June 1988 1988 Legislative Conference draws record crowd !
State and national legislative issues, and political contests; the President's Commission on Americans Outdoors, and the hidden threat of asbestos to public facilities were among the topics covered at the Illinois Association of Park Districts' (IAPD's) Legislative Conference on April 20. More than 200 directors and board members from park, recreation, forest preserve and conservation agencies statewide participated in the day-long educational program.
Speakers included Jim Peterson, president, National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA); Derrick Crandall, president and chief executive officer,
Illinois Parks and Recreation 14 May/June 1988 American Recreation Coalition; State Conservation Dir. Mark Frech, and Robert Shuff, first attorney general, Office of the Illinois Attorney General.
Other speakers were State Reps. Robert Churchill, David Harris and Alfred Ronan; State Sens. Richard Luft and Judy Baar Topinka, and media reporters Ben Kiningham, Springfield Bureau Chief, Tribune Radio Network, and Tim Schweizer, news reporter, WTAX Radio, Springfield. The conference concluded with a reception honoring members of the 85th General Assembly.
Illinois Parks and Recreation 15 May/June 1988 Legislative Conference
Illinois Parks and Recreation 16 May/June 1988 |
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