IFB Quickview

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Triple Déjà vu?

Some of the events over the past few weeks makes us think that we are reliving the past. The first Déjà vu is a spending bill that contains almost identical lump sum appropriations with last year's "budget" compromise. The second Déjà vu is a bill that grants a Governor emergency budget powers. The last time this was done was in January 1992 when Governor Edgar was given emergency powers.

The Déjà vu does not last very long because you realize as you sit in a committee or in the Senate or House gallery listening to the debate on these bills that things are much worse than the two previous "flashbacks." The last time a governor was granted emergency powers the state was $649 million out of balance. That is just a "little" different from today where the state is close to $13 billion out of balance. The other "flashback" of a lump sum budget just prolongs the question of how the State is ever going to get a handle on its expenditures.

And the final Déjà vu is the biggest of them all. In the end the State "budget" is totally out of whack. We try to put the pieces together for you below in the section entitled "Budget?" In the end they still don't have all of it figured out and will be retuning yet again sometime soon. Defining soon is ambiguous at best. The Speaker said it could be in the next few days, weeks, or sometime this summer. Rumor in the Senate is they will return the next couple weeks.

Thanks To Everyone! Action Request on HB 6094 (Rep. McAsey/Sen. Wilhelmi)

We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone that responded to the action request that was sent out for HB 6094 and for contacting your State Representative and Adopted State Representative. The bill amends the Illinois Vehicle Code to allow all terrain vehicles and utility type vehicles to be used on rural roads for farm purposes. This legislation relating to neighborhood vehicles last year inadvertently removed the ability to use ATV/UTVs on rural roads for farm purposes.

We understand that your time is valuable but without you, the success of Illinois Farm Bureau would not be what it is today. Thank you again for responding to the action request and for contacting your legislators. IFB supports HB 6094. HB 6094 has passed both the House and Senate and will be sent to the Governor for his consideration.

"Budget?"

The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines "budget" as "a) a statement of the financial position of an administration for a definite period of time based on estimates of expenditures during the period and proposals for financing them, b) a plan for the coordination of resources and expenditures, or c) the amount of money that is available for, required for, or assigned to a particular purpose." ¹

A long time pundit at the State Capital publishes the New Legislative Glossary where he puts the real definitions for words in the Illinois political world. He defines "balanced budget" as "an oxy-moron."²

Looking at the outcome of the current state "budget," the latter definition is very accurate. It is probably more accurate to say that the General Assembly has approved a "spending plan" versus a "budget." The appropriation bill and corresponding implementation languages build a "lump sum" budget approach in which each agency, board, commission, or other program area receives generic appropriation for general items that is then specifically allocated by the Governor's Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

When the General Assembly broke on May 7th there were two different budget packages being considered. The House and Senate had their own packages, but each was very similar in scope

and details. The biggest difference and point of contention is how to address the $4.2 billion state pension payment obligation. One plan to address the pension payment shortage was to delay the payment and the second was to issue short term bonds to fund the upcoming payment. In the end the General Assembly did not decide the issue on how to pay the pension payment (detail of the borrowing plan is below).

We are going to attempt to explain this very confusing spending plan and its separate parts. We have had more of a challenge this year than most tracking the final appropriation legislation and corresponding supporting legislation (not that the process has even been simple).

Agricultural Related Appropriations - SB 1211(Sen. Trotter/Speaker Madigan)/HB 859 (Sen. Trotter/Rep. Hannig)

Through the month of May, two omnibus budget bills (over 2,100 pages long each) were being considered simultaneously. This caused a lot of confusion since no one knew which was the final version. Both bills included the Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA) and related "pass through" programs. The bills were drafted very similarly to last year's budget. The appropriation bill provides some break down by specific appropriation line item and IDOA receives a "lump sum" appropriation which will allow OMB to distribute to agriculture related programs.

The lump sum amount of $9,337,300 will be appropriated from the General Revenue Fund and will be used to fund programs that are not fully funded through specific line items. The challenge with the lump sum appropriation is that the total balance available is less than amounts being requested by each of the affected programs. A separate lump sum of $21,922,600 is appropriated to the Department of Agriculture for general operations of the agency. The lump sum approach transfers the decision making of which program to fund or reduce to the Governor's office.

The following are some of the major agricultural related budget line items and their levels for the approved FY 2011 budget :

Line Item	FY 2009 Enacted	FY 2010 Enacted	FY 2011 Enacted
Cook County Extension	$5,360,000	$4,736,400	$0
State Cooperative Extension Service Trust Fund	$1,870,000	$1,713,900	$0
State Cooperative Extension Service Trust Fund -	$12,160,000	$12,160,000	$10,000,000
Ag Extension - 4-H	$961,400	$961,400	$786,400
Motor Fuel & Petroleum Standards Program	$22,500	$22,500	$50,000
Agriculture Assembly	$5,000	$4,900	$0
SWCD	$3,921,800	$6,133,700	$0
AgriFIRST	$250,000	$250,000	$250,000
Agrability	$190,000	$0	$0
Co. Fair and Exposition Authorities	$1,357,400	$1,357,400	$900,900
Co. Fair Rehabilitation	$2,602,000	$2,602,000	$1,301,000
Co. Fair & Agriculture Societies	$2,182,300	$2,182,300	$1,798,600
C-FAR	$2,275,000	$0	$0
Ag Leadership Foundation	$29,400	$0	$0
Grape and Wine Resources	$232,800	$0	$0
Viticulture/Enologist	$142,500	$142,500	$142,500
Pesticide Act Administration	$3,075,00	$4,400,000	$4,500,000
Pesticide Enforcement Program	$800,000	$900,000	$700,000
Animal Disease Labs Act	$700,000	$850,000	$1,700,000
Livestock Management Facilities Act	$30,000	$30,000	$30,000
Meat and Egg Inspection	$0	$0	$300,000
Farm Resource Center	$245,000	$0	$0

Before the bill was approved there were some very tense moments. 10 legislators worked to put together an additional $1.3 billion dollars in cuts. They worked to get them amended on to the spending plan. Some were introduced, but what became interesting is that late Tuesday night numerous amendments were added by Speaker Madigan. One of the amendments, Amendment #13, specifically would have reduced the $9.3 million for agriculture pass through programs by $2.2 million.

On Wednesday the House appropriations committee met and Speaker Madigan presented several of the reduction amendments. One of them was Amendment #13. In his remarks in presenting the bill, Speaker Madigan stated he was presenting the bill as a commitment he made to the members who proposed the reductions, but he was personally opposed to the cuts. In a strange outcome, the amendment was defeated because no one made a motion to approve the amendment. So in the end no change was made to the agricultural appropriations.

Emergency Budget Act of FY 2011 - HB 2428 (Rep. May/President Cullerton)

As part of the package, legislation was approved that creates the Emergency Budget Act of FY 2011. This too was like watching two tennis matches at the same time. The House and Senate before their May 7th break both had separate bills that were being amended, discussed, and voted upon. The House worked on SB 3660 (Sen. Demuzio/Majority Leader Currie) and the Senate worked on HB 2428 (Rep. May/President Cullerton). In the end the final version, after 19 amendments, was SB 3660.

The Emergency Budget Act of FY 2011 gives broad powers to the Governor to implement the FY 2011 budget. It gives the Governor broad powers to make transfers from the General Revenue Fund, Common School Fund, Education Assistance Fund, and any special fund of the State of Illinois for every part of the state. All funds transferred from a dedicated or special fund shall be repaid to the fund within 18 months. He has the ability to use this power for all boards, commissions, agencies, institutions, authorities, colleges, universities, and bodies politic and corporate of the State, excluding other constitutional officers, and legislative or judicial branch.

There are some creative items included in the Emergency Budget Act. One such item allows the State to issue bonds to be sold in the current and next fiscal year using future expected revenues from the tobacco settlement lawsuit (the 1998 agreement provided that tobacco companies had to pay damages to states). The $130 million a year from the tobacco settlement funds (currently used for tobacco cessation programs and other health care items) will be leveraged to generate at least $1.4 billion in bonds. The State will capture $1.2 billion and the remaining $200 million will be held in reserve to back the bond issuance. The bill also allows the Governor to adopt emergency rules to administer the budget powers.

The Emergency Budget Act also includes all employees, including members of the General Assembly and Constitutional officers, shall forgo 12 days of salary in the form of furlough or non-paid days depending on the individuals position. Language is included that the lost days of pay shall not detract from the total salary of an employee. This insures that employees will still be granted days of service towards their pensions and that their pension benefits will be based on their salary level before the furlough days are removed. It also blocks cost of living adjustments for General Assembly and Executive branch salaries and freezes the per diem for members of the General Assembly.

Lapse period spending is increased. Currently, bills that are to be paid from a current fiscal year may be paid up until October 31st. Lapse period spending will now be allowed up until December 31st in 2010. This will allow the state to delay the payment of outstanding liabilities for an additional 2 months without penalty and stretch the backlog of unpaid bills even longer.

SB 3660 was approved by the House with 67 yes and 50 no votes and the Senate with 32 yes, 23 no, and 1 present vote.

Pension Payments - Option A or B or Nothing?

Option A - SB 3514 (Sen. Schoenberg/Rep. Currie)

One of the biggest sticking points in putting together the FY 2011 "budget" was the $4.2 billion state pension payment that will be due. One of the ideas that arose was to issue bonds to pay for the pension payment. The bonds issued to generate the pension payment amount are considered short term borrowing because they have a life of 8 years. The bonds would also be interest front loaded because the bond payments to retire the bonds in the first two years go for interest only. Now the shock is that the price of generating $4.2 billion in this manner is $1 billion. That is expensive, but one of the other plans is not to make the pension payment (HB 543 discussed in the next section).

Current law requires that transfers of GRF be made to the pensions funds automatically throughout the year. If option A and/or B are not approved, the pension systems make their payments and the fall back plan will be for the pensions systems to sell their investment assets to pay for the required continuing appropriation pension payment. This option would cost the pension systems close to $20 billion.

In an attempt to issue bonds for the pension payment, SB 3514 was amended in the House to put Plan A in place. Four different roll calls on the bill were taken to get it passed. Since the bill increases a bond authorization, a super majority in each chamber is needed. In the House that is 71 votes and in the Senate that is 36.

On May 7th the House tried twice to approve the bill. Both attempts failed, but since the bill received over 47 votes it was placed on the parliamentary procedure of postponed consideration keeping the bill alive. When the House returned this week, the bill was amended to address some of the concerns with a new approach and called for a vote on Tuesday, May 25 and failed by one vote. After some very tense negotiations by the House Democrats and Governor Quinn the bill was taken from the table by a motion to reconsider the vote. On the fourth attempt SB 3514 was approved by a vote of 71 yes, 44 no, and 2 present votes. Two House Republican members supported the measure pushing the vote to the super majority requirement.

The bill then moved to the Senate where it became obvious on Wednesday that the bill was several votes short of passage. Several Democrat Senators said publicly they did not support the borrowing in SB 3514. At the end of today the Senate adjourned without taking action on SB 3514.

Option B - Pension Payment "Deferment" - HB 543 (Majority Leader Currie/Sen. Cullerton)

Since it was not clear whether the House would approve Plan A before the May 7th scheduled adjournment, the Senate amended HB 543 to give the Governor the ability to fully fund, partially fund, or not fund at all the pension contribution in FY 2011. The Senate approved the bill with 31 yes and 26 no votes. The House did not take up action on HB 543 before it adjourned on May 7th because it was trying to approve the bond borrowing in Option A and this week did not take action on it because it was working toward the successful passage of Option A.

Option Nothing - For Now

So what is clear is that there is a gapping $4.3 billion hole in the "spending plan" and we assume that the General Assembly plans to return in the next few weeks to address this. We further assume that Option A - passing SB 3514 - is the key option the Senate will look at. You probably are saying why? After May 31st every bill for the spending plan will take a super majority vote. Option A (SB 3514) already took a super majority so the vote challenge remains the same if they would have voted on it today or after May 31st.

Option B (HB 543) would take a super majority after May 31st. So from a legislative strategy point, the House put all its negotiations into Option A, so it is unlikely they will be able to get Republican support on the option that does not at least provide a more stable, but expensive pension payment scenario.

So for now, we will all sit and wait and see what further develops on the pension front. So once again, the General Assembly will go into "overtime" session. For those of you keeping track, that is 3 consecutive years. And think, some folks thought the General Assembly would adjourn on May 7th!

Federal Fund Shell Game and Cigarette Tax Increase - SB 44 (Sen. Schoenberg/Rep. Yarbrough)

In an attempt to increase revenue, the General Assembly is considering SB 44 that enacts a 50¢ per pack (25 mills per cigarette) tax on cigarettes effective September 1, 2010 and then increases tax again by 50¢ per pack on September 1st the following year. That is the simple part of the bill.

Here is where it gets into the creative finance activities. Each month, revenue from the cigarette tax increase will be deposited into the Education Assistance Fund. Then an amount shall be transferred from the General Revenue Fund (GRF) to the Healthcare Provider Relief Fund (Medicaid) equal to the amount deposited into the Education Assistance Fund. Now to complicate it even more, whenever the State receives reimbursements from the federal government for moneys expended from the Healthcare Provider Relief Fund, a transfer from the Healthcare Provider Relief Fund to the Education Assistance Fund in an amount equal to the federal reimbursement attributable to transfers from GRF to the Healthcare Provider Relief Fund will be made. All funds deposited into the Education Assistance Fund will be used only for mandated categorical aid payments to school districts.

The actual amount of revenue that will be generated is not known specifically for several reasons. One is there are expectations that increasing the tax on cigarettes will drive down the demand, thus lowering the taxes collected. Also there is no clear indication as to what the Healthcare Provider Relief Fund (Medicaid) will receive from the federal government. Combining the increased cigarette tax revenues and the federal matching funds for Medicaid could generate as much as $320 million. SB 44 passed the Senate and is on 2nd reading in the House.

State University Short Term Borrowing - SB 642 (Sen. Haine/Rep. Bradley)

In addressing the continued fiscal stress on the state university system, SB 642 was approved to provide short term anticipation bonding or line of credit authority for the state's universities. Each board of directors of the individual university must approve the issuance of the short term bonds or line of credit.

The funds generated from the sale of the short term bonds or lines of credit will be used to pay salaries and unpaid bills incurred. The borrowed funds will have to be repaid in full one year after issuance. The bonds or lines of credit will not carry a guarantee of the State of Illinois. The maximum interest rate shall be the lower of the rate established by the Bond Authorization Act or 9%, whichever is lower.

The universities authorized are the University of Illinois, Southern Illinois University, Chicago State University, Eastern Illinois University, Governor's State University, Illinois State University, Northeastern Illinois University, Northern Illinois University, and Western Illinois University. SB 642 was approved by the House with 87 yes, 28 no, and 2 present votes and by the Senate with 43 yes, 11 no, and 1 present votes. The bill has been sent to the Governor.

Hold Harmless for Children Requiring Special Education - HB 2270 (Rep. Bradley/Sen. Forby)

In every budget cycle in recent history, several school districts lose funding based on the General State Aid formula for schools. To address this $17,141,600 will be appropriated to the State Board of Education by HB 2270 to hold harmless funding for children requiring special education services. The bill passed both chambers as a component of the FY 2011 budget on May 26th.

End of Session Big Ticket Items

As always is the case there are some "big ticket" items that get considered in the closing days of session. Here are a few of the issues:

Paying Sales Taxes on Out of State Purchases - SB 459 (Sen. Harmon/Rep. Moffitt)

Current law requires each person in Illinois who purchases an item to pay sales tax (officially the Use Tax). This is on any item, whether it is purchased at the local farm supply store, from a catalog, or over the internet. If the sales tax is not collected at the time of the purchase, a person is required to pay the sales tax by filing the Illinois Department of Revenue Form ST-44 for items purchased. This payment is due annually, on or before April 15, if a person's purchases are $600 or less in a year. If they are over $600 in a given year, a person is required to pay the sales tax in the month following the purchase.

To help simplify this process, SB 459 has been approved that will now place on the individual income tax form a section to allow sales taxes under $600 or less in a given year to be paid when a person files their individual state income taxes. The intent of the bill is to increase the awareness of the requirement that all sales are subject to the state sales tax and provide a more convenient way to pay for the sales tax. If a person purchases over $600 a year which sales taxes are not collected the person will still have to file their tax payment and the ST-44 the month after the purchase.

SB 459 also allows individuals to pay back sales taxes on items purchased without the penalty of having to pay for the fines and penalties for tardy payment. SB 459 has been approved by the House and Senate.

Oil Company Gross Profits Tax - HB 3659 (Rep. Verschoore/Sen. Kotowski)

The Senate introduced an amendment to HB 3659 that would have placed a new tax of 12% on the gross profits of any company that is primarily in the business of the petroleum or petroleum derivatives. This would have directly increased the cost of petroleum products and products made from petroleum. Some petroleum companies reported they may choose not to operate in Illinois, which could have caused less supply of petroleum fuel and thus increasing prices of fuel.

A large coalition lead by the Illinois Petroleum Council, including representatives from numerous manufacturing, business, labor, tax groups, and agriculture, opposed Senate Amendment #2 to HB 3659. Illinois Farm Bureau and Growmark joined the coalition in opposing the measure. At the end of the day the sponsor chose not to call the measure for a vote. HB 3659 was held in the Senate Executive Committee. IFB opposes Senate Amendment #2 to HB 3659.

Illiana Expressway Act - SB 3659 (Rep. Verschoore/Sen. Kotowski)

In an attempt to connect interstate I-55 in Illinois with interstate I-65 in Indiana the General Assembly approved legislation to allow the creation of public/private agreements to move forward to develop the proposed highway connection. The Indiana Department of Transportation has been the lead agency studying the possibility for several years, in cooperation with the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP), and the Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning commission (NIRPC). Last fall the Illinois Expressway Feasibility Study was completed and released by the groups (the study can be found on the internet by visiting http://www.in.gov/indot/2355.htm ).

SB 3656 is a general authorization granting IDOT the ability to enter into agreements with contractors to develop, finance, construct, manage, or operate the Illiana Expressway. IDOT may use any statutory authority it currently has in participating in the agreements. SB 3659 was approved almost unanimously by the House and Senate.

McCormick Place Reform - SB 28 (President Cullerton/Rep. Riely)

In a bipartisan effort the General Assembly made changes to the way McCormik Place in Chicago is run and funded. Over the past several months it has come to light that the largest convention magnet in Chicago, McCormik Place, has been losing large conventions to other cities. To address this the General Assembly entered into negotiations to make sweeping changes. The changes include removing the current board of directors and replacing it with new board, making steps to gain control of the unions who provide services for conventions and the charges for services provided, allowing the board of McCormick place to sell naming rights, increasing the tax on transportation services in the metropolitan area (which will be distributed 25% to the Rosemont Donald Stephens convention center and 75% to the McCormick Place), and other changes. SB 28, as amended, has been approved by both the House and Senate. On May 26th Governor Quinn used his Amendatory Veto powers to veto the bill. On the following day the House and Senate voted to override his veto.

STAR Bonds - SB 2093 (Sen. Forby/Rep. Bradley)

SB 2093 would allow the use of Sales Tax and Revenue (STAR) bonds to help fund and entice retailers for a large development complex near Marion, Illinois. The complex is proposed to be located on several hundred acres along Interstate 57 in an area of Marion known as The Hill. Retailers such as Cabela's and Nebraska Furniture Mart have been referenced as possible anchors of the development.

STAR bonds can be issued to fund up to 50% of the project and/or incentives used to realize the development. A team of developers led by Swansea builder, Bruce Holland have been working with the local governmental entities in the area in order to garner support for the development and the issuance of STAR bonds to fund it. It is estimated that this initiative could pull in over $1 billion in revenues over a 20 year period. STAR bonds is a new way to fund bonds in Illinois. The process is very similar to a Tax Increment Finance district, but instead of using property tax increment growth to pay for bonds, STAR uses a local sales tax that would be adopted. The new increment in sales taxes collected would then be used to pay for the bonds.

Controversy over the location and use of the bond money slowed the passage of the bill. Several legislators spoke against the bill sighting a host of concerns including the negative impact that this very targeted approach will have on surrounding areas. It was asserted that this would create a supercharged development on steroids. Many mayors not within the immediate area are either opposed or very concerned. The most recurring theme was concern over the bill being moved so hastily, not allowing this to be vetted in the areas surrounding this development.

Several legislators spoke to the concerns that this is nothing more than a way for developers to pocket a lot of cash straight from the State's depleted coffers. Many other legislators lauded the use of a new economic development tool. The bill passed both the House and the Senate.

Taxpayer Action Boards, Veterans' Homestead Exemption Extension, and Cook County General Homestead Exemption Extension - SB 3638 (House Majority Leader Currie/Sen. Link)

A newly introduced bill in the closing days of session garnered a lot of media coverage dealing with property taxes. The final bill contains two major sections: 1) Creates 7 Taxpayer Action Boards in Cook and the collar counties, and 2) Amends the Property tax code to extend the general homestead exemption for one year in Cook and extends the Disabled Veterans' Homestead Exemption. A broader bill, HB 6863 (Rep. Bradley), was introduced a few days earlier that would have created independent Taxpayer Action Boards with greater authority in the 7 counties. No action was taken on HB 6863. SB 3638 was approved in the House with 107 yes and 10 no votes and in the Senate with 54 yes and 4 no votes.

The details of the bill are as follows:

1) Taxpayer Action Board (TAB) - Each TAB will be an individual board within the Illinois Department of Revenue.

• Each TAB (7 in all) will be created for Cook, Lake, DuPage, McHenry, Kendall, Kane, and Will Counties.

  • Each TAB will have 7 members serving 2 year terms. They will be appointed by the Governor. TAB members will receive no compensation.

• Duties of the TAB will be:

  • To implement the items of Public Act 96-0122 that requires more detail be put on individual taxpayer notices. They will also oversee the requirement that each board of review in the affected counties must make the rules and procedures of the board of review's process.

  • Conduct a study, with at least two public hearings, that 1) evaluates the way the county assesses residential property, and 2) looks at the accuracy of computer-assisted mass appraisal practice. The report is to be issued within 180 days of the bill becoming law.

  • To maintain a website cataloguing taxpayer assistance information.

  • Propose the respective county government and the Illinois Department of Revenue changes it feels are needed in the property tax policies and procedures.

Other Changes to the Property Tax Code

• Extends the Disabled Veterans' Homestead Exemption for 2010 equal to 70%.

• Extends the Cook County Senior Citizen Homestead Exemption in 2009 to $20,000, in 2010 to $16,000, and in 2011 to $12,000. These amounts will also apply to the Cook County if general assessment year of the the property is 2007 or 2008.

Other End of Session Issues

E15 Tax Incentive- HB 4652 (Sen. Frerichs/Rep. Bradley)

Presently the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) is looking into increasing the amount of ethanol allowed to be blended in gasoline from the current 10% blend up to a 15% blend. HB 4652 provides a system to simplify the process for allowing a higher fuel blend rate to be implemented and qualify for the state sales tax incentive. Under the current state sales tax structure a 20% sales tax incentive is granted to fuel blenders who blend fuels at a 10% ethanol/90% gasoline blend. The sales tax incentive is based on the gallons of fuel sold, so increasing the blend rate between 10% and 15% ethanol will not change the fiscal impact to the state. HB 4652 has passed the House and Senate. IFB supports HB 4652.

Illinois Fresh Food Fund - SJR 72 (Sen. Collins/Rep. Davis)

Senate Joint Resolution 72 would create the Illinois Fresh Food Fund that was recommended by the Illinois Food Marketing Task Force. The task force will be formed in order to take a look at the need for grocery stores and access to proper nutritional food in disadvantaged neighborhoods. These areas are primarily located in the Chicagoland area but it would also be looking at any underserved area in the state.

The task force would be composed of two members from the Senate appointed by the President and minority leader, two members from the House appointed by the Speaker and minority leader and a representative from the Governor’s office. The Illinois Fresh Food Fund is to look into how to create a grant and loan program that would support local supermarket development projects in low to moderate income neighborhoods. SJR72 has passed the Senate and the House.

Primary Election Date Change- SB 355 (Sen. Demuzio/Rep. Nekritz)

The General Assembly passed and the Governor signed SB 355 to restore the primary election date from being held on the second Tuesday in February back to the third Wednesday in March. As you may recall, this change was made in order to help Barack Obama with his Presidential quest. After the Presidential election, many people in Illinois felt that this date change was an impediment to voter education and turnout. They felt that the time from January 1^st to the first Tuesday in February was too short of a time frame for voters to educate themselves on the candidates running for office and that the March date allows adequate time and has worked well in the past. SB 355 passed both the House and the Senate and was signed by the Governor on March 17, 2010. It is now Public Act 96-0886.

QuickLook

The following is a short description of bills with the current status and position on each bill.

Questions

If you have any questions on the items listed in this edition of QuickView or on other state legislative matters please contact us. The State Legislative Team can be reached at (309) 557-2308 or by e-mail at statelegislation@ilfb.org.