Action In General Assembly Awaits Outcome Of Mayoral Race

By Peter M. Murphy Legal/Legislative Counsel

The Illinois General Assembly has enjoyed a limited schedule to date as the result of the attention being given to the Chicago Mayoral race. However, bill introductions this year are expected to be heavier than normal as a result of the General Assembly's rules permitting the introduction of all legislation having a substantive effect, as well as those bills making appropriations.

Action on an Income Tax increase this year is doubtful, particularly in light of record tax receipts. If the proponents of a tax increase fail this year, it has been predicted that no Income Tax increase will pass for another three years as the result of the upcoming elections for statewide office, and the bearing that they will have on redistricting.

Governor's Budget Message
On March 1 the Governor set forth a proposed budget for the State of Illinois 1990 fiscal year of $21.8 billion.

The budget proposal includes estimated receipts of $180 million from a proposed 18 cent increase in the Cigarette Tax. The funds would provide $65 million for existing educational programs, $34.6 million for new education initiatives, $50 million for an attack on drug and alcohol abuse, with the remainder spent for a science and technology initiative, and a new technology investment fund program. The new budget includes a total growth in Illinois tax receipts of $900 million.

Conservation did not fare as well in its quest for new monies, as the Governor approved a budget of only $120 million for the department. This request represents a 13% decrease from last year's approved budget of $138 million. The decrease is directly due to reductions of about 30% each in the grants and capitol improvement funding levels. This translates into no new money for open space land acquisition and development (OSLAD) projects, natural areas, or habitat acquisition.

The proposed budget does include a 17% increase in general revenue funds (GRF) which is committed to operation and maintenance activities, and would enable the department to expand or open facilities at 39 State managed recreation and conservation sites. Ten of these sites were previously closed. The increase in GRF will also allow the department to fund its new "Kids For Conservation, Youth For Education" program at $400,000 for the coming fiscal year.

Illinois Supreme Court
On the morning of March 29th, the Illinois Supreme Court will hear oral argument on the case of Broeckl v. Chicago Park District. The Illinois Association of Park Districts and the Illinois Municipal League have participated in this case on behalf of the defendant, the Chicago Park District, as amicus curiae. It is likely that this case will have statewide impact in that the issues in dispute address whether or not it is discriminatory to charge nonresidents a disparate fee for the use of park district facilities and services. In addition, plaintiffs have challenged the ability of a park district to make a profit on the fees charged for the services and facilities it supplies. The IAPD has taken an active role in this case, and we will be updating the membership on the progress of the case as it occurs.

National Legislation
Congressman Morris Udall has re-introduced the American Heritage Trust Act in the 101st Congress. This new proposal can be referenced in the House as HR 876. Senator Chafee introduced identical legislation in the Senate which can be referenced as S. 370. When Morris Udall reintroduced the American Heritage Trust Act, he had 135 co-sponsors. Congressman Lipinski was the first member of the Illinois Congressional Delegation to sign on this legislation as a co-sponsor.

The American Heritage Trust Act would establish a self-perpetuating trust that would ensure, over several years, a return to the original funding commitment to the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) and the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF).

The legislation requires the Secretary of the Treasury to invest all authorized, but unappropriated, balanced to date for LWCF ($6.5 billion), HPF ($1.5 billion) into interest bearing debt securities. Annual LWCF appropriations would be distributed as follows: 30% for state and local grants; 30% for federal land acquisitions; 10% for special matching monies to serve as principal for states to establish parallel trusts, and 10% for the purposes of the Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Act. The remaining 20% could be used for any of these four purposes. Approximately 900 million to one billion dollars per year would be available from the trust each year for obligation to the aforementioned program.

This exciting national proposal, if passed, would provide a firm founda-

tion for grant money to assist state and local open space land acquisition and development.

The strength of this program is evidenced by the tremendous previous success of LWCF which has helped to acquire 5.5 million acres of recreation and parkland, including seashores, lakeshores, critical habitats, trails and scenic rivers.

The importance of such a program is further demonstrated when one looks at the loss of key natural and historic resources which continues at an alarming pace. After some slowdowns in the early 1980s, a new boom in rural and urban development is under way. It is reported that this building boom is consuming almost 500,000 acres of wetlands yearly along with 750,000 acres of farmland and forest.

Good news! Bad news! President Bush, in his budget message, stated, "I am a strong supporter of protecting our parks . . . They are America's pride and joy ... I believe we should continue the LWCF, which funds the acquisition of new parklands and wildlife refuges . . . This is one legacy which we must preserve for generations to come."

The President's statement, coupled with a budget that proposes to fund LWCF at the 1989 enacted level of $206 million in 1990, initially gave states high expectations that the shortfall of state and local funding of park acquisition would be restored to previous levels. However, the $182 million increase over the January 9th Reagan budget is strictly designated for federal acquisitions. Consequently, the $206 million request for fiscal year 1990, and a $728 million increase over the 1992-93 period, is currently limited only to federal acquisitions, based on one of the principles announced in the budget which states appropriations from the LWCF to fund state grants for recreational land acquisition and development should be foregone until such time as the federal government's backlog of authorized unfunded land acquisition is fully addressed.

If President Bush holds to this position, state matching grant programs across the country will be crippled.