Director's Desk
KENNETH A. ALDERSON, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
SJRCA 76, the Unfunded State Mandates Constitutional Amendment, was introduced in the Illinois Senate on February 7, 1996. Lead sponsors are Senator
Frank Watson (R-Carlyle), Senator Peter Fitzgerald
(R-Palatine), Senator Dick Klemm (R-Crystal Lake),
Senator Denny Jacobs (D-Moline), and Senator Adeline
Geo-Karis (R-Zion). The Constitutional Amendment
upon passage will limit unfunded mandates imposed
by the State on local government and school districts.
The Unfunded Mandates Constitutional Amendment Drafting Committee has spent the past five
months developing language for the Constitutional
Amendment. The Committee is comprised of legislators appointed by the House and Senate leadership,
legislative staff, attorneys and representatives from
municipal, county, township, park and school district
associations. SJRCA 76 must be approved by both the
Illinois House and Senate to be placed on the November ballot.
Proposed language of the Constitutional Amendment, as introduced, is as follows:
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT ARTICLE IV
After November 5,1996, no portion of any bill shall
require a unit of government or school district to establish, expand, modify, or increase its programs, activities, or services in such a way as to necessitate the
expenditure of additional public revenue by a unit of
local government or school district, unless at least one
of the following applies:
1. The State appropriates additional funds to the
unit of local government or school district that
fully fund the additional expenditures necessary
to carry out the requirement for each year the
requirement is in effect;
2. The bill passes with the concurrence of at least
three-fifths of the members elected to each
house;
3. That portion of the bill imposes a federal requirement, with no additional requirements imposed by the State; or
4. That portion of the bill creates a criminal law or
expands or modifies the application or enforcement of criminal law.
Absent express and specific authority by law no
administrative rule, regulation, or action may require a
unit of local government or school district to establish,
expand, modify, or increase its programs, activities, or
service in such a way as to necessitate the expenditure
of additional public revenue by a unit of local government or school district. This subsection does not apply
to any portion of a bill that limits or regulates the ability
of a unit of local government or school district to raise
revenue.
The Unfunded Mandates Constitutional Amendment Drafting Committee worked diligently over
many months to draft the Constitutional Amendment.
Several members of that Committee expressed their
viewpoints on the process utilized.
"In 1992 over 3,000,000 Illinois voters supported a
statewide advisory referendum requesting a Constitutional Amendment prohibiting future unfunded state
mandates," said Sen. Watson. "SJRCA 76 is the first step
in making that a reality."
"We've been meeting on a regular basis for some
time now and have discussed a wide variety of issues
and ideas," according to Rep. Phil Novak (D-Kankakee), a member of the Drafting Committee. "It
was an exceptional idea to bring together bipartisan
support from the General Assembly along with officials
from all types of local government to create this committee." "We have refined our original objective and
defined the Amendment as we set out to do," he said.
Much of the work of the Drafting Committee has
focused on what other states have done regarding unfunded mandates. "We looked at the 10 states that have
already adopted constitutional amendments and prior
attempts at passage in Illinois," said Rep. Joel Brunsvold (D-Rock Island). "We looked at a decade of debate of legislation in this state. That research helped us
to simplify the final language and keep it straightforward," he added.
"I appreciate the work the Municipal League has
done to coordinate and provide research for this effort," explained Rep. Maureen Murphy (R-Oak Lawn).
"For the first time we've had an open discussion between House and Senate members and local officials on
February 1996 / Illinois Municipal Review / Page 5
this issue. We are now more aware of what we all
consider a mandate to be," she said.
Rep. Kurt Granberg (D-Centralia) agreed that a
major difference in the current effort to approve an
Unfunded Mandates Constitutional Amendment as
opposed to previous efforts is more people are involved
in the process. "We definitely have more people involved this time," he said. "I've been involved with the
issue since 1984 and this time, with the Municipal
League taking the lead, we have all our resources aimed
directly at passage."
SJRCA 76 is now at the beginning of the legislative
process. A follow-up meeting of the Drafting Committee will be held on February 20 to iron out some loose
ends. "The Committee continues to make progress,"
according to Sen. Denny Jacobs (D-Moline), a co-sponsor. "There are still some concerns from counties
that need to be addressed, however."
The climate in the General Assembly this session for
getting the Constitutional Amendment approved appears good. "If ever there was a time to pass this, it is
now," said Sen. Watson. "It is important that municipal,
county, township and park district officials, school district officials and others contact their particular legislators and let them know how important this is."
Rep. Novak agreed. "The climate for passage is
excellent. Now we need local officials to contact their
fellow officials and legislators and get them to support
this amendment," he said.
"Local officials know what mandates can do, citizens do not," he said. "We need their help in educating
the public on this issue," Novak said.
"I applaud the Illinois Municipal League and its
membership for getting us to this point," Sen. Watson
declared. "The League has been a guiding light in this
whole process and has kept us on track towards getting
legislation introduced.
As Executive Director, I would like to extend my
wholehearted thanks to all the participants in the drafting process: to the League staff members who spent
numerous hours preparing background material and
doing research, to IML President Mayor Greg Sparrow
of DeKalb and IML First Vice President Mayor Frank
Clinton of Paris, and above all to the following Senators
and Representatives who cooperatively worked many
hours to produce the language for the Unfunded Mandates Constitutional Amendment — Senate Republican
Drafting Committee members Frank Watson and Peter
Fitzgerald, Senate Democrat Drafting Committee
members Penny Severns, Donne Trotter and Denny
Jacobs, House Republican Drafting Committee
Members Robert Churchill, William Black and Maureen Murphy, and House Democrat Drafting Committee members Kurt Granberg, Joel Brunsvold and Phil
Novak.
With the introduction of SJRCA 76 I would urge all
municipal officials, both as individuals and as municipal bodies to:
1) Contact the Senators and Representatives serving on the Drafting Committee and extend your
thanks for their participation and effort, and
2) Contact your Senator and Representative and
urge their strong support for SJRCA 76 — and at
this present time urge your Senator to also be a
co-sponsor of SJRCA 76. •
Page 6 / Illinois Municipal Review / February 1996
|