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Statehouse Insider
Veto Thwarts Will of General Assembly
Peter M. Murphy
IAPD General Counsel
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Late this summer Governor Rod Blagojevich vetoed two pieces of legislation that would have given a much needed financial boost to special recreation associations and to certain park districts adversely affected by the Property Tax Extension Limitation Act, commonly referred to as the tax cap.
On August 25, 2003, the governor vetoed Senate Bill 1881, which provided additional funding opportunities for special recreation associations providing critical services to disabled persons throughout Illinois.
The bill would have allowed locally elected officials to determine the appropriate funding level for SRA services within the statutory rate of .4 cents to which all park districts and municipalities are limited.
Since the tax cap's inception, the unfunded mandates of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the demand for inclusion by the disabled community has risen dramatically. The General Assembly recognized the need to address this serious issue by overwhelmingly approving Senate Bill 1881.
The governor's veto will leave disabled children and adults on program waiting lists throughout the state.
Governor Blogojevich also on August 26, 2003, vetoed Senate Bill 83. That bill would have returned legislative authority to issue limited non-referendum bonds to those park districts that did not have a bond extension rate on the tax rolls in 1994, when tax caps went into effect.
The governor's action is puzzling in light of the fact that Senate Bill 83 was intended only to place all park districts on a level playing field with regard to their ability to issue debt. The General Assembly had previously addressed this issue in 1995 for the majority of park districts and other units of local government in the state. Senate Bill 83, as the Illinois General Assembly recognized, would have only extended this previously granted authority to approximately sixteen park districts and the Cook County Forest Preserve.
Park district advocates throughout the state were extremely disappointed by the governor's action and remain committed to seeing both of these initiatives become law.
For the latest news on IAPD and IPRA legislative initiatives, check the IAPD web site at www.ilparks.org or the IPRA web site at www.ilipra.org.
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