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STATEHOUSE INSIDER
Legislative Initiatives for Parks Advance Referendum results the April 1 Consolidated Election LEGISLATIVE ACTIVITY THIS SPRING HAS BEEN FAST AND FURIOUS as members address the large number of bill introductions. The annual Legislative Conference set attendance records and both IAPD Legislative Platform issues SB 83 and SB 1881 passed on a strong bipartisan roll call out of the House Revenue Committee. Initiatives to increase bid limits and permit park districts to explain the purposes of referendum also are moving forward. The following bill review highlights a number of measures impacting your agency. For the most recent action check out the IAPD public policy area of www.ILparks.org.
BILL WATCH
Advisory Questions
Provides that upon the adoption of a resolution, a park district, county or municipality may authorize an advisory question of public policy to be placed on the ballot at a regularly scheduled election. Effective immediately. Last Action: 3/19/03, referred to Senate Rules. Audit Report HB 2258 (Hannig) Provides that depreciation of non-proprietary fixed assets is not required in order to address the compliance and cost issues associated with GASB34. Last Action: 2/21/03, assigned to House Executive Committee Bonds SB 83 (Link, T.) Restores non-referendum bonding authority to excluded park districts. Authorizes the Cook County Forest Preserve to issue bonds in support of the zoological park and botanical garden. Last Action: 4/1/03, scheduled for hearing in the House Revenue Committee. This legislation is a reintroduction of SB 1171 acted on in the last General Assembly. Bi-partisan support in the Senate moved this bill to the House for action. Bid Limits HB 1313 (Madigan) Amends the Downstate Forest Preserve District Act and the Cook County Forest Preserve District Act. Provides that all contracts for supplies, material, or work involving an expenditure in excess of $15,000 must be let to the lowest possible bidder after notice has been published. Provides that contracts: (a) for work requiring personal confidence; (b) for work by individuals possessing a high degree of professional skill; (c) for utility service; (d) for services or supplies that require integration with existing systems or existing computer hardware and software; (e) for the purchase of magazines, books, and periodicals; (f) that by their nature are not adapted to award by competitive bidding; (g) for replacement parts or service of existing equipment that are made with the manufacturer or authorized service agent for that equipment; and (h) contracts required to meet an immediate emergency affecting the public health, safety, or welfare need not be let by competitive bidding. Amends the "Park District Code." Provides that all contracts for supplies, material, or work involving an expenditure in excess of $15,000 must be let to the lowest possible bidder after notice has been published. Last Action: 5/6/03, pending Senate Calendar 3rd reading. Change Orders HB3191 (Morrow, et al.) Creates the Public Works Change Order Act. Provides that the Act applies to a unit of local govern mentor school district that receives State funds under the Illinois Procurement Code or the State Finance Act. Provides that the Act does not apply to change orders that are the result of an emergency as determined under provisions of the Capital Development Board Act. Deletes the home rule preemption. Last Action: 4/9/03, referred to Rules. Conservation Districts HB 1514 (Franks-Froehlich) Provides that in any conservation district by ordinance of the county board or boards or by petition signed by 5% of the voters, a proposal to elect or appoint a 5 or 7 member board of trustees chosen at large or from single member subdistricts of the conservation district shall be submitted to the voters at the next general election; and (2) with respect to a 7-member board, no more than 3 members may be residents of the same township or congressional township. Effective immediately. Last Action: 4/30/03, Senate calendar 2nd reading. Criminal Background Checks HB 2471 (Millner-ChappaLaVia) Amends the Park District Code. Provides that a park district is required to do a criminal background investigation only on those applicants for employment with the district who are age 17 years or older (now, a criminal background investigation is required for all applicants.) Action on this measure was held up in the House due to concerns regarding the potential loopholes. Discussions continue so that park districts can avoid the nonsensical process of 12 Illinois Parks and Recreation seeking information on minors when none will be released. Disconnection SB 605 (Radogno) Amends the "Park District Code." Provides that, by petition and referendum, territory that is being taxed by both the park district and the municipality for recreation services may disconnect from the park district. Effective immediately. Last Action: 4/2/03, Senate calendar 3rd reading. Freedom of Information Act HB 1425 (Nekritz) Amends the Freedom of Information Act. Exempts from inspection and copying the names, addresses, or other personal information of participants and registrants in park district, forest preserve district, or conservation district programs. Effective immediately. Last Action: 4/30/03, Senate calendar 3rd reading. Progress on this initiative has been quick as the Bill was overwhelmingly approved in the House and most recently in the Senate Judiciary Committee. SB690 (Cullerton) Amends the Freedom of Information Act. For a court's awarding of attorney fees in a suit resulting from denial of disclosure of a public record, this bill removes the requirements that (i) the record is highly significant to the general public and (ii) the public body lacked a reasonable legal basis. Last Action: 4/16/03, placed on House calendar 2nd reading. Senate Amendment #2 becomes the Bill and House Amendment #1 permits a court to award costs as well as fees to a prevailing party that fought disclosure. Minimum Wage SB 600 (Lightford, et al.) Senate Floor Amendment No. 5 provides that, from Sept. 1, 2003 through Sept. 5, 2004, every employer shall pay each employee who is 18 years of age or older wages of not less than $6 per hour. Provides that, on and after Sept. 6, 2004, every employer shall pay each employee who is 18 years of age or older wages of not less than $6.50 per hour. Effective Sept. 1, 2003. Last Action: 4/29/03, Reassigned to Labor Committee. Open Meetings SB 1204 (Harmon) Permits a public body to close a meeting to discuss its legal counsel's appointment. Last Action: 4/16/03, placed on House calendar 2nd reading. This is a welcome change to the Open Meetings Act and avoids the potential embarrassment and difficulty in discussing these topics in front of an agency's legal counsel. SB 1586 (Obama) Requires public bodies to maintain audio or video recordings of their closed meetings. Senate Amendment 2 requires that a public body make a verbatim record of all their closed meetings in the form of an audio or video recording. This record may be destroyed without notification to or the approval of a records commission or the State Archivist under the Local Records Act or the State Records Act no less than 18 months after the completion of the meeting recorded but only after the public body approves the destruction of a particular recording and the public body approves minutes of the closed meeting. Unless the public body has made a determination that the verbatim recording no longer requires confidential treatment, the verbatim record of a meeting closed to the public shall not be open for public inspection or subject to discovery. In the case of a civil action brought to enforce this Act, the court may conduct such in camera examination of the verbatim record as it finds appropriate in order to determine whether there has been a violation of this Act. Last Action: 5/1/03, House calendar 2nd reading. Property Tax Appeal Board HB 2234 (Currie) Amends the Property Tax Code with respect to the Property Tax Appeal Board. In counties with 3,000,000 or more inhabitants, for assessment year 2003 and thereafter, for valuation appeals concerning commercial or industrial property requesting a change in assessed value of $100,000 or more, requires the taxpayer to submit copies of all valuation reports within the party's possession or control concerning the property and performed within the 3 years prior to the tax year as well as certain documentation surrounding any sale of the subject property. Establishes burdens of proof to rebut the presumed correctness of a board of review decision in matters of market value and uniformity. Effective immediately. Last Action: 5/1/03, placed on Senate calendar 2nd reading. Rate Adjustment SB 196 (Sullivan) Senate Floor Amendment No. 3. Authorizes a park district board in a county with a population over 3,000,000 to increase taxes for corporate purposes for any one year if the increase is offset by a like tax rate reduction in one or more funds, makes the following changes: provides that the language applies only to a park district board lying wholly within one county; and provides that when the park district files its levy with the county clerk, it shall certify to the county clerk that it has complied with and is authorized to act under specified provisions of the Park District Code. Last Action: 5/1/03, House calendar 2nd reading. An amendment will be offered to make this proposal statewide.
Ask the White House A new service on the White House web site is "Ask the White House" http://www.whitehouse.gov/ask/, which will feature periodic live exchanges with White House officials. Golden Dot Awards The hottest sites in citizen advocacy, political campaigning, and general politics were awarded "Golden Dot" awards at GWU's recent Politics Online Conference. Check them out at http://www.ipdi.org/politicsonline/winners.html. May/June 2003 13 Referenda Clarification HB 3679 (Parke) Allows park district boards to include specific purposes or programs in the description of the referenda question for the general and recreation funds. Last Action: 5/6/03, placed on Senate calendar 3rd reading. Senior Services HB2413 (Forby, et al.) Creates the Community Senior Services and Resources Act and amends the State Finance Act. Provides for grants to be awarded by the Department on Aging to local community senior services and resource centers. Provides for a Community Senior Services and Resource Center Advisory Committee, with 12 voting members appointed by the Governor including a park district representative, to advise the Department on Aging on the administration of the Act. Creates the Community Senior Services and Resources Fund as a special fund in the State treasury. Effective immediately. Last Action: 4/3/03, assigned to State Government Committee SB 633 (Shadid) Contains the same provisions as HB 2413. SRAs HB 1103 (Daniels) Amends the Department of Human Services Act. Provides that the Department of Human Services, subject to appropriation, may make grants to special recreation associations for the operation of recreational programs for the handicapped and transportation to and from those programs. Provides that the Department must adopt rules to implement the grant program. Effective immediately. Last Action: 5/6/03, Senate calendar 3rd reading. HB 1466 (Hamos, et al.) Amends the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law in the Property Tax Code. In each of the definitions of "aggregate extension" excludes extensions made to fund the district's expenses to provide recreational programs for the handicapped under the Park District Code. Effective immediately. Last Action: 3/13/03, re-referred to House Rules Committee. See SB 1881 for action on this issue and check out the Senate roll call vote for an indication of those supporting SRA services to the disabled. SB 1881 (Harmon) Contains the same provisions as HB 1466. Effective immediately. Last Action: 5/1/03, placed on House calendar 2nd reading. Assigned to House Revenue Committee. This is an extremely important Bill for SRA services and the Chicago Park District which would be able to initiate SRA services for the City of Chicago and its residents. HB 1525 (Daniels) Appropriates $2 from the General Revenue Fund to the Department of Human Services for grants to Special Recreation Associations. Effective on July 1,2003. Last Action: 2/11/03, assigned to Appropriations-Human Services Committee. SB 337 (Wojcik) Amends the Riverboat Gambling Act. Provides that after all other payments are made out of the State Gaming Fund, an amount equal to 3% of the adjusted gross receipts deposited into the State Gaming Fund shall be transferred monthly into the Special Recreation Services Fund. The General Assembly shall annually appropriate the moneys in the Special Recreation Services Fund to the Department of Revenue for grants to special recreation associations. Last Action: 3/27/03, referred to Senate Rules Committee State Mandate HB 43 (Burke) Creates the Physical Fitness Facility Medical Emergency Preparedness Act. Requires various physical fitness facilities, including facilities owned or operated by a unit of local government, to develop and implement a plan for responding to medical emergencies and to file a copy of the plan with the Department of Public Health. Requires each such facility to have on its premises at least one automated external defibrillator (AED) and a trained AED user. Last Action: 4/16/03, Senate calendar 2nd Reading. Taxpayer Board SB 714 (Halvorson) Senate Floor Amendment No. 2. Deletes everything. Creates the Taxpayer Action Board Act. Provides for the creation by referendum, organization, and operation of Taxpayer Action Boards in certain counties. Provides that the boards will represent taxpayers before units of local government that impose taxes and will provide taxpayer education. Effective immediately. Last Action: 5/2/03, referred to House Rules Committee. Wetlands HB 422 (Madigan, May) Amends the Inter-agency Wetland Policy Act of 1989. Federal courts have held that the Clean Water Act does not protect wetlands against many activities that can destroy them. Because Illinois has no wetland protection program of our own, this loss of federal protection directly threatens our communities with increased flooding, water pollution, loss of recreational opportunities, and wildlife habitat destruction. HB 422 would establish a statewide wetland protection program, but would allow existing county programs, such as those underway or planned in Lake, DuPage, Kane, McHenry and Cook counties to proceed. Last Action: 4/2/03, House placed on calendar order of 3rd reading - short debate. HB 2577 (Washington, Boland, Rita, Verschoore) Amends the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act. Makes the Act inapplicable to units of local government with fewer than 5, rather than 35, employees. Last Action: 5/6/03, Senate placed on calendar order of 3rd reading May 7, 2003.
NATIONAL FRONT Transportation Equity Act Reauthorization The far-reaching Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century, commonly called TEA-21, expires in September 2003, and will likely be named "SAFETEA" when reauthorized, is the massive omnibus transportation funding bill that authorizes the siting, construction, and maintenance of the nation's highways and major transportation projects. Of special interest to park and recreation agencies is the Transportation Enhancement Program that allows local governments and park and recreation departments across the country to develop, expand, rehabilitate, and construct recreation facilities, trails, wetlands, open space parks, and historic sites. These transportation enhancements support park and recreation priorities including health and wellness, disease prevention, open space conservation, air pollution reduction, and transportation efficiency. Comments to the Departments of the Interior and Transportation calling for provisions to ensure that 10% of the Surface Transportation Program be set aside for Transportation Enhancements (TE): that no new categories be added to the present 12 eligible categories; and that no transferability of TE funds to other programs be allowed. The reauthorization of the Transportation Equity Act will be a major part of the work of the 108th Congress. Periodic updates will be posted on the NRPA webpage. 14 Illinois Parks and Recreation Referendum Results - April 1, 2003 Below is a report of select referenda (those affecting park districts and forest preserves) submitted to the voters for the Consolidated Election held April 1, 2003. The data was obtained from election authorities, jurisdictional canvassing board abstracts and IAPD members. There were a total of 30 referenda proposals for park districts appearing in the Consolidated Election. 13 passed and 17 failed.
May/June 2003 15
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