STATEHOUSE INSIDER ISSUES & INSIGHTS FROM THE LEGAL/LEGISLATIVE SCENE IAPD Forms Coalition to Fight for OSLAD and NAAF Funding Budget and other bills concern parks and recreation agencies

PETER M. MURPHY IAPD General Counsel

The 93rd General Assembly set an all-time record for bill introductions with a two-year total from both the House and Senate of more than 10,664. This exceeded the 92nd General Assembly by more than 1,908 bills. In spite of the large number of bills introduced, the actual number advancing through the process is much more manageable, as a majority of the legislature's time has been spent focusing on budget issues.

The adjournment date for both the House and Senate is scheduled for May 21, 2004, but likely will be extended if budget issues have not been resolved.

Partners for Parks and Wildlife Fight to Save OSLAD

The Illinois Association of Park Districts is a founding member of a coalition to fight for OSLAD and NAAF called Partners for Parks and Wildlife and is campaigning to preserve Illinois' open space. Members have redoubled their efforts to preserve OSLAD funding, and, as of this writing, this issue is up for grabs.

The IAPD Legislative Conference for Parks/Earth Day served as the focal point of a great amount of legislative advocacy on this issue. More than 400 IAPD members attended the conference and more than 50 agencies participated in Parks Day at the Capitol to demonstrate how OSLAD has benefited their operations.

If you have not personally written your senator, representative or the governor, I ask that you do so now. It is imperative that each of us is heard on this issue. The state's commitment to open space preservation is minuscule, but if it goes away this year it's unlikely to return in the near future. As representatives of park and recreation agencies with our own constituencies, it is important that we speak out in a loud and unified voice so that the hands of time do not turn back.

Bill Watch

In light of the governor's proposed holiday from the Open Space Land Acquisition and Development Program, funding for the protection of open space is the number one issue for our organization. However, the association is lobbying on your behalf on several other issues before the legislature as well.

Bid Limits
Legislation to increase bid limits from $10,000 to $20,000 for park districts and forest preserves (HB 4469) passed the Illinois House and was approved unanimously in the Senate Local Government Committee. It will now advance to the floor of the Senate for final action.

Conservation Districts
Authority for conservation districts to serve liquor on district-owned property (HB 4055) has advanced as well, and, as of this writing, has been assigned to committee and is awaiting release.

Sports Officials
Two measures (HB 4023 and HB 4120) increasing criminal penalties for the assault of sport officials and/or coaches have both advanced out of the Illinois House.

House Bill 6618 changes the requirement that a parent or guardian accompany a 12- or 13-year-old minor who is officiating youth sports activities for a not-for-profit youth club, park district or municipal parks and recreation department. It provides that the requirement is also satisfied if an adult designated by the parent or guardian accompanies the minor. This legislation passed out of the House and is now in the Senate Rules Committee.

Defibrillators
House Bill 4332 requiring an Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) at all indoor fitness facilities throughout the state and grounds adjacent thereto is also pending in the Senate. This bill mirrors the governor's amendatory veto language of last year's attempt to require AEDs.

Open Meetings
In an effort to clean up problems with the interpretation of last year's verbatim recording bill, HB 4247 has advanced and will ensure that local governments do not have to perform a double review of both the written minutes of a closed session and the actual tape recording.

Legislation to set forth rules for the electronic attendance of public

10 Illinois Parks and Recreation

meetings failed to advance in both the House and Senate.

Storm Water Management and Tax Caps

Storm water management authority (HB 5884 and SB 2196), which allows an increase outside the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law Act (PTELL) for storm water management purposes, advanced in both the House and the Senate.

Also on the positive side, additional tax cap relief is pending in the form of House Bill 4224. This initiative provides a change for determining the increase in the tax levy from a formula using the Consumer Price Index (CPI) to one using the Workers Employment Wage Index, which has consistently been at least 1 to 2 percent greater than CPI. This bill is pending action in the Illinois House.

Camp Counselor Background Checks
House Bill 6951, which has moved to the Senate, would require additional scrutiny for camp counselors. This bill requires a fingerprint check of all camp counselors 18 years of age and older and requires filing with the state police and FBI. Clearly, the increased unfunded cost of this measure would be a burden to both public and private camps throughout Illinois.

Prior to House passage, the bill was amended to eliminate the requirement for volunteers.

Follow the Action Online

The highlights of the bills we're watching are expanded upon at the Illinois Association of Park Districts' web site: www.ILparks.org. Members can access this information through the Public Policy page. This page sorts bills in two ways. The first, Short List/Priority Bills provides a synopsis and last action on bills of particular interest to park districts, forest preserves, conservation districts and recreation agencies. The second is the Bill Review Database, which provides a listing of all bills that the association is tracking during this session of the General Assembly. These bills are hosted on the State of Illinois Legislative Information System (LIS). By clicking on this section and inputting the IAPD password, you will open up a treasure trove of information on these bills. If you click "view" then "preview," you will see a short synopsis and last action on all bills. You can readily expand on this information by clicking on "Report Options." This page will allow you to print out a synopsis report. The synopsis report includes a complete synopsis and last action. Due to the large volume of bills that we track, it will take a few moments to load.

May/ June 2004 11