Legal/Legislative Scene

Amendments to Alternate Bond Legislation signed

By Peter M. Murphy IAPD General Counsel

Amendments to the Local Government Debt Reform Act were signed into law by Gov. James R. Thompson on Sept. 9. The amendments provide that all alternate bonds authorized after Sept. 1 of this year be subject to revised backdoor referenda provisions. These provisions are as follows:

1. The number of signatures required to put the authorization question on the ballot has been lowered from 15 percent of the registered voters to 7.5 percent.

2. The time period within which a petition for a backdoor referendum may be filed has been increased from 21 days to 30 days.

3. If a local government issues alternate bonds, it must identify in a newspaper notice any revenue source used to pay off the principal and interest of the bonds. Such information is also required to be placed in the referendum question if the requisite number of registered voters petition that such a question go to a front door referendum.

While the passage of HB 3090 (PA 86-1179) is more restrictive than previous authority. It is much less stringent than the draconian provisions initially introduced in the house and senate which would have effectively eliminated the use of alternate bonds by Illinois park districts.

Family Leave
For the second consecutive year, Gov. Thompson vetoed legislation that would guarantee employees, working at least half time for the last 12 months at a business employing 50 or more persons, up to eight weeks of unpaid leave every two years for birth, adoption, caring for a seriously ill family member, or a serious health condition of their own.

Democratic sponsors of the bill will either seek to override Gov. Thompson's action in the post-election November veto session or reintroduce the proposal next year.

The measure was opposed by the Illinois State Chamber of Commerce and other business groups.

Workers Compensation
Under legislation sponsored by Reps. Jim McPike (D-112), Bruce A. Parley (D-6) and Loleta A. Didrickson (R-37) local public entities individually or jointly self insured against workers compensation liability must report beginning next January to the individual commission to their election to self insure.

Environment
HB 3325 sponsored by Reps. William E. Peterson (R-60) and Robert W. Churchill (R-62) will extend the Environmental Protection Act and the act on gasoline storage tanks to hearing oil tanks holding over 1,100 gallons. Heating and oil tanks now in existence need not have release detection until December 1998.

Bills effecting the environment which were defeated during this year's legislative session include proposals to tax disposable diapers, require gasoline vapor control on pumps, add the use of tire scraps as fuel for energy production to the list of alternatives to landfilling and require a 5 cents deposit on beverage containers. Additional legislation would have required residents of counties of over 100,000 to separate glass, newsprint, aluminum and plastic before trash pickup.

It is likely that all of these measures will be reintroduced when the 87th General Assembly convenes in 1991.

Overall, the lack of significant environmental legislation passed was quite disappointing to many conservationists and environmentalists.

College Savings Programs
Under legislation (HB 4036) introduced by Reps. Helen F. Satterthwaite (D-103) and Gordon L. Ropp (R-88) up to $2,000 of annual income from state sponsored college savings program accounts will be exempt from the Illinois income tax. State employees will be permitted to contribute directly to such a program with payroll deductions.

Bike PathGrants
We are extremely pleased about the key roll that IAPD-IPRA played in moving legislation through the Illinois General Assembly which provided a source of funding for bike path development and acquisition grants.

On Sept. 18, Department of Conservation Director Mark Frech and Secretary of Stale Jim Edgar awarded $2.25 million to 37 communities for bike path grants. The legislation, approved by the Legislature and Governor in 1989, dedicates a portion of motor vehicle title fees to a special state fund to be used specifically for bike path acquisition and development.

The proposal for funding bike paths from motor vehicle title fees was suggested by Secretary of State Edgar.

Thirty-five of the 37 grants awarded were for the development of bike trails and two were for land acquisition. More than half of the grants were awarded to communities in the six-county Metropolitan Chicago area.

Grants provide up to 50 percent of an approved project. Development grants are limited to $200,000. There is no limit for land acquisition projects. Of the $2.25 million awarded, Illinois park, forest preserve and conservation districts received over $1,912,625 and represented more than one half of the award recipients.

The continued commitment to the advancement of legislation promoting park, recreation and conservation by the Illinois districts and their boards is deeply appreciated. The high profile and outstanding programs brought to Illinois communities certainly makes it easier for us to be successful here in Springfield.

Among those local governments receiving bike path monies were:

Arlington Heights P.D. - $175,000
Batavia P.D.-$15,000
Belvidere P.D. - $84,975
Boone Co. Cons. Dist. - $175,000
Champaign P.D. - $44,000
Chicago P.D.-$100,000
Cook Co. F.P.D. - $200,000
Dixon P.D. - $37,500
DuPage Co. F.P.D. - $138,500
Fox Valley P.D.-$145,000
Homewood-Flossmoor P.D. - $117,650
Kane Co. F.P.D. - $62,650
Kankakee Valley P.D. - $82,500
Lake Co. F.P.D. - $200,000
Lockport Twp. P.D. - $40,000
Oak Lawn P.D. - $170,000
Rockford P.D. - $80,000
Round Lake P.D. - $44,850.

National Issues:

Fiscal Year 1991 Appropriations.
The National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) reports the House Committee on Appropriations approved H.R. 5769, the fiscal year 1991 Interior appropriations bill on Oct. 1. It would more than double current funds for state and local parkland acquisition and development and fund the Urban Park and Recreation Recovery program after a six-year break. Included in the bill is $46.7 million (and $3.3 million for program administration) from the Land and Water Conservation Fund for state assistance and $20 million for UPARR. The Committee report cited the "pent-up demand for recreation facilities and the need for Federal government to provide leadership in this area: as rationale for increased appropriations."

In addition to state grants, LWCF appropriations for federal agencies would include $16.2 million for the Bureau of Land Management, $93.1 million for the Forest Service, $83.7 million for the Fish and Wildlife Service, and $103.4 million for the National Park Service. The $346.4 million total is nearly $100 million more than requested by the Administration.

As of this report, H.R. 5769 has not been considered by the House. The Senate Interior Appropriations Subcommittee had not formally considered its version of the bill.

Volunteer Protection Act Of 1989 (H.R.911, S.520)
Bills by U.S. Rep. John Edward Porter, R-Ill, and U.S. Sen. Dennis DeConcini, D-Ariz., would encourage states to give volunteers on-the-job immunity from lawsuits. An additional 1 percent of states' Social Services Block Grants would be provided if statutes protecting volunteers were enacted. A survey would be conducted two years after enactment to ascertain which states were in compliance. Recent provisions are now included permitting states to require that volunteer organizations maintain insurance and excluding volunteer motor vehicle operators from immunity.

H.R. 911 was introduced Feb. 7,1989, and currently has 211 cosponsors. It is pending in both the House Judiciary and the Ways and Means committees. S.520 was introduced March 7,1989, and was referred to the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts and Administrative Practice. No further action is expected this Congress. Opposition from trial lawyers continues. NRPA has written in support of the bill.

Basic Health Benefits For All Workers Act
S. 768, introduced in the 100th and 101st Congress by U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., would mandate that employers provide certain health benefits to all employees working over 17-1/2 hours per week. The bill requires that employers pay 80 percent of insurance premiums for all employees working 25 hours or more per week and all costs for workers not earning at least 25 percent more than the minimum wage. Contributions of employees working between 17-1/2 and 25 hours weekly would be slightly higher. The Administration opposed the bill.

The House bill, H.R. 1845 was introduced by U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif. It was referred to four subcommittees and had one hearing in the Education and Labor Subcommittee on Labor/Management Relations Oct. 11-12, 1989. S. 768 had two hearings and was reported July 12 (S. Rpt. 101-217) from the Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee chaired by Sen. Kennedy and is now pending on the Senate calendar. Further action is not anticipated, but the bill will likely be reintroduced next Congress.

The Americans With Disabilities Act (P.L 101-366).
Nearly two years after its initial drafting, The Americans With Disabilities Act was signed into law by President Bush on July 26, 1990. The law extends antidiscrimination protection for individuals with disabilities to employment, public accommodations, public services, transportation and telecommunications.

The law does not require retrofitting of existing facilities but accommodations which are "readily achievable" i.e., accommodations which can be made with little difficulty or expense, are required. Most of the provisions are effective in December 1991. Regulations and accessibility guidelines are due in April 1991. Accessibility guidelines for recreation may be available for public review and comment by December 1990.