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September
16, 2008
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Campaign Funding Reform
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 House
Overrides Governor's Amendatory Veto of
Ethics Bill:
Rep.
Fritchey files five bills to debate
amendatory veto language appropriately
Senate
Action Unknown
Last week, the House voted to override the
Governor's amendatory veto of HB 824, the
campaign funding reform bill.
The original bill, which would have banned
businesses with more than $50,000 in state
contracts from making political donations to
constitutional officers who award the contracts
and candidates for those offices, was entirely
rewritten by the Governor. Groups such as the
Illinois Campaign for Political Reform called on
the legislature to override the Governor's
amendatory veto.
How did the
Governor rewrite (or amendatory veto) the
original bill?
1. The
Governor issued an executive order, which the
bills lead sponsor in the House
calls unconstitutional. The
original bill only banned political donations by
state contractors
to those officer holders that oversaw
the contract. The Governor's expanded this by
executive
order to ban political donations from
ANY contractor with a contract worth $50,000 or
more at
any agency from giving to not only the
Governor but all other statewide officeholder,
lawmakers
and political parties.
The amendatory veto override in the House did
not deal with the executive order because it is
believed to be unconstitutional. State
Representative John Fritchey (D-11), the lead
sponsor of the bill in the House, told CTBA
Monday he is fairly confident the executive
order is both unconstitutional and
unenforceable.
2. The
Governor's amendatory veto prohibits "Dual
Employment." The amendatory veto
states:
"No member of the General Assembly,
during the term for which he has been elected or
appointed may be employed by the State,
a municipality, or unit of local government.
This
prohibition does not extend to
employment as an elected official, firefighter,
police officer, school
counselor, teacher, or university
instructor."
3. The
Governor's amendatory veto requires lawmakers to
vote to approve a pay raise.
Currently, lawmakers pay raises go into
affect unless they vote the raise down.
4. The
Governor's amendatory veto deals with lobbying
activities by requiring legislators and
candidates for the General Assembly to
disclose lobbying activity by themselves and
their
spouses before boards, commissions, or
units of local government.
Cindi Canary, director of the Illinois Campaign
for Political Reform told the State Journal
Register, "If we are saying we should be
regulating money and politics, then step back
and do it holistically, not just carve out
groups of people, Illinois should be learning
from the best practices of other states rather
than set up some kind of cockamamie system." In
a press release issued by the Campaign, Canary
said, "If taxpayers want fairness in government
and want to stop pay-to-play politics, we're
going to have to fight for an override of this
veto. The governor claims he will strengthen HB
824 with an amendatory veto and executive order,
but it is apparent he is trying to bypass the
legislative process, rather than work towards
real reform. Some of his proposed changes have
merit and should be debated as separate bills.
In the meantime, the General Assembly should
reject his veto and put the most important
reform in state statutes." Read the entire
press release
here.
Representative John Fritchey did just what
Canary suggested. On September 10th, Fritchey
filed five more ethics bills to thoroughly
debate each issue. The first contains all of
the Governor's amendatory veto in one bill and
four others deal with each issue separately.
The new bills are:
HB 6700:
All four changes proposed by the Governor
HB 6701: Requires the General Assembly to
approve or reduce a pay raise for it to take
effect.
HB 6702: Prohibits
campaign contributions from a business entity
with a state contract of more than $50,000 to
any political committee (i) established to
promote the candidacy of a State executive
branch constitutional officer,legislator, or
candidate for one of those offices or (ii) of a
state central committee represented by a State
executive branch constitutional officer or
legislator.
HB 6703:
Requires members of and candidates for the
General Assembly to disclose information
concerning lobbying activities and
representation cases on their statements of
economic interests.
HB 6704: Prohibits members of the General
Assembly from being employed by the State, a
municipality, or a unit of local government.
Senate to Act??
The Senate now has fifteen days
to act, or HB 824 dies. Or does it? Senate
President Jones has stated he will not call the
Senate back into session to take up the
legislation.
According to the Chicago Tribune, "Jones'
reasoning is that the Senate's 15-day window for
taking action doesn't open until the House
report has been entered into the Senate record,
which will happen when the Senate reconvenes
Nov. 12. There's no reason to call his members
to Springfield sooner to second the House
action."
The Tribune also points out that, "Roughly half
of the gazillion legal experts who were asked to
weigh in on the matter Friday agreed with Jones'
interpretation of the state constitution. The
other half didn't. The General Assembly's
Legislative Research Unit came down squarely on
the side of ambiguity, pointing out that
delegates who drew up the constitution "probably
did not imagine every scenario."
Additionally the editorial states, "Before the
law goes into effect, however, one of the
lawyers who thinks Jones is wrong files a
lawsuit, to the delight of Jones and
Blagojevich. The governor is free to keep raking
in the campaign cash from contractors who want
to do business with the state while the courts
sort out the constitutional issues. In other
words, this is just another dodge."
Senator Don
Harmon, sponsor of the bill in the Senate told
the State Journal Register, he agrees
with Jones' interpretation of when the time
limit kicks in.
"I think we can take it up in November," Harmon
said. "A lot of members would be happy to go
down (to Springfield) sooner than that to get
this done."
The State
Journal Register's September 14th opinion stated,
ILLINOIS SENATE President Emil Jones' decision
to not call his chamber back to work before the
Nov. 12 veto session is profoundly
disappointing." The SJ-R also writes, "Jones
may be correct in interpreting the state
constitution as saying the Senate does not have
to consider House overrides until 15 days after
they are read into the Senate record. His
interpretation runs counter to what had been
widely accepted - that the Senate has 15
calendar days to act on House veto overrides or
the entire bill dies. But there is sufficient
ambiguity in the constitution to give Jones'
take credence.
But we wonder why Jones would want to risk
killing a state ethics bill that was years in
the making, and which passed both houses of the
General Assembly without a single no vote, over
a detail like this. Many people believe, with
good reason, that Blagojevich severely altered
the original ethics bill - he says he improved
it - so it would eventually die. By making the
bill much more far-reaching, this logic goes,
Blagojevich hoped to scare off lawmakers
entirely. Jones would be his ally in this by
squelching an override effort.
If you like conspiracies, it's a great plot.
We'd prefer simple good government in which
people who hold government contracts worth
$50,000 or more can't contribute to the
campaigns of the officials who issue the
contracts.
Background
HB 824 has awaited the Governor's action for
months. Many state officials, including
Comptroller Dan Hynes, have urged the Governor
to act on the bill. Hynes criticized
Blagojevich for accepting more than $300,000 in
campaign contributions the first half of this
year alone from holders of contracts worth at
least $50,000.
Hynes has told the State Journal Register, it
appears that Blagojevich wants to amend the
ethics legislation and send it back to lawmakers
in hopes that the revised version will die. "I
don't think the governor is at all sincere in
saying he wants to go further. They've spent the
last three years trying to stop reform," Hynes
said.
Browse Open Book, a searchable database of state
contracts and contributions.
http://www.openbook.illinoiscomptroller.com/
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Budget Cuts
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House Vote Sweeps $221 Million to Help
Restore Budget Cuts
Now Waiting on Senate Action
Last
week the House amended SB 790 to
transfer $221,250,000 from special state
funds to the General Revenue Fund (also
known as fund sweeps). The House bill
identifies which funds to sweep as well
as the dollar amount.
The fund
sweeps would be used to restore some of
the $1.4 billion in cuts the Governor
made to the fiscal year 2009 budget.
View which funds the House swept
here and
here.
Read the SB 790 here.
The
plan's sponsor, Rep. Gary Hannig,
D-Litchfield told the State Journal
Register, "That money would allow
historic sites and state parks to remain
open."
The
Senate must vote to approve the
legislation before it becomes law.
Special
State Funds are various, smaller funds
identified and held in the State
Treasury as "special funds" under in
Section 5 of the Illinois Finance Act
restricted in use to the specific
purpose for which they were created.
There
are over 300 of these special state
funds that support activities as diverse
as medical assistance and environmental
cleanup. They are, for the most part,
designed as segregated accounts,
restricted in use and funded from
specifically earmarked revenue or fee
sources. Examples include the Illinois
Affordable Housing Trust Fund, the Youth
Drug Abuse Prevention Fund and the
Brownfields Redevelopment Fund.
Since FY
2003, the state has transferred almost
$1 billion from these Special State
Funds to the General Revenue Fund.
However, this is not new revenue, it is
simply a transfer of revenue from
Special State Funds into the General
Fund. This revenue swap would not be
available next year without legislative
approval.
Read
more about how the state transfers
revenue from special use state funds to
the General Fund on page 25 of the CTBA
report,
Citizens Guide to the Illinois State
Budget and Tax System.
The report contains a wealth of
information on all of these budget
issues.
The
Senate would have to approve any fund
sweeps bill passed in the House.
Background
Two weeks ago Governor
Blagojevich announced that 450 state
workers will be laid off along with the
closure of 12 historic sites and 11state
parks. The cuts come as a result of the
$1.4 billion in cuts the Governor made
to the fiscal year 2009 budget.
Four departments will be hit with the
lay offs, including 300 positions at the
Department of Children and Family
Services, 75 at the Department of Human
Services, and another 75 from the
Department of Natural Resources and the
Historic Preservation Agency.
According to the State Journal Register
(SJ-R), the lay offs will be effective
December 1st. The historic sites will
close Oct. 1st and state parks Nov. 1st.
The union that represents the laid off workers,
the American Federation of State, County and
Municipal Employees (AFSCME) along with state
lawmakers told SJ-R the layoffs and closings
were unnecessarily heavy just a couple of months
into the new budget year that began July 1.
"Every time I think he can't do something worse,
he does," Sen. Larry Bomke, R-Springfield, said
of the governor.
AFSCME warned that the cuts will put abused
children and needy families at risk and further
hurt parks and historic sites. It urged
lawmakers to return to the Capitol soon to try
to reverse them.
"These cuts are irresponsible, and they are
deep," AFSCME executive director Henry Bayer
said.
Department of Natural Resources spokesman Chris
McCloud told the SJ-R, "This is a tough day for
DNR and Illinois." Jonathan Goldman, executive
director of the Illinois Environmental Council,
said state parks had about 45 million visitors
last year, and the resulting loss in economic
activity probably will outweigh any savings.
The following
Department of Natural Resources sites are
scheduled to close Nov. 1:
Castle Rock State Park, Oregon
Lowden State Park, Oregon
Hennepin Canal Parkway State Park, Sheffield
Illini State Park, Marseilles
Channahon Parkway State Park, Channahon
Gebhard Woods State Park, Morris
Hidden Springs State Forrest, Strasburg
Kickapoo State Park, Oakwood
Moraine View State Park, Leroy
Weldon Springs State Park, Clinton
Wolf Creek State Park, Windsor
SJ-R: A list of how the cuts will affect
historic sites.
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From the Capitol
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House Votes to Lease Lottery/Fund Capital Plan
Last Wednesday The House passed
SB 2595, legislation to lease the State
lottery to fund a capital program. The bill
calls for leasing 80% of the lottery for 50 to
60 years at the sum of $10 billion. Of that, $7
billion would be used to fund a capital program
(transferred into the new, GROW Illinois Fund,
Capital Workforce Development Fund and Regional
Transportation Authority Infrastructure Fund).
The remaining $3 billion would be invested in an
education trust fund to replace lottery revenues
that currently go toward schools (the money
would be invested to send $600 million to
schools each year).
The legislation requires the Governor,
Comptroller, and Treasurer approve the lease
agreement, eliminates the possibility for the
new lessee from operating lottery games on the
internet, creates the new Office of Gaming
Enforcement, contains ethics provisions and
requires that certain contracting parties must
meet employment goals with respect to minority,
female, and low-income employees.
No capital appropriation bill is moving right
now. House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Curry,
D-Chicago, said to the Daily Journal that the
measure only creates a potential funding source
for the capital bill, but does not authorize any
spending and that it was important to first see
the bids from potential investors before
spending the money.
"I would love to put a shovel in the ground
tomorrow," Currie said. "There's no way we would
have money to do that under this bill. The worst
thing we can say to the people of the state of
Illinois is, 'Here comes your capital program.
Break out the shovels.'"
Curry added that before the spending portion of
the capital bill is approved she would
anticipate a project-by-project spending plan
would be voted on by lawmakers.
Any legislation passed by the House must be
debated and passed by the Senate. It is unknown
when if the Senate will convene prior to their
scheduled veto session days.
The Center for Tax and Budget Accountability
testified against leasing the Illinois State
Lottery due to concerns over lost revenues for
education. Lottery revenues for schools usually
increase each year. Any proposal that sets up a
flat funding mechanism to replace those revenues
would mean a funding decrease for schools after
accounting for inflation. Further, sale or
lease of a long term revenue generating asset to
cover ongoing operational expenses is
questionable fiscal policy. Once the asset is
sold or leased and the money spent the state
loses all or most of the ongoing revenue,
putting pressure on other revenue sources to
cover the lost revenue.
Read: Sale
of lottery won't be a panacea for state's woes,
by CTBA Executive Director Ralph Martire.
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School Funding Reform
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House to
Hold Education Funding Hearings
House Elementary and Secondary Education
Committee chairman Mike Smith (D-Canton)
announced that he will convene a series
of hearings regarding proposals to
reform the state's approach to funding
public education.
The public is invited and encouraged to
attend the hearings to voice their
opinion on this very important issue.
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Oak Park: Sept. 18, 1:00 p.m., Oak
Park Village Hall, 123 Madison
Street
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South Holland: Sept. 30, 6:00 p.m.,
Thornwood High School, 17101 S. Park
Avenue
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Chicago: Oct. 2, 6:00 p.m., Loyola
University, 6525 N. Sheridan Road
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Lincolnwood: Oct. 6, 7:00 p.m.,
Lincolnwood City Hall, 6900 N.
Lincoln Avenue
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Springfield: Oct. 9, 1:00 p.m.,
State Capitol Room 118
"School funding is one of state
government's primary functions and has
wide-ranging ramifications for Illinois'
future," Smith said. "We are going to
take the debate over education funding
reform to the public and give taxpayers,
education professionals, business and
labor organizations, and civic groups a
chance to have their say. Through the
information gathered at these hearings,
lawmakers will be able to better weigh
proposals to modify the state's
education funding system."
CTBA will testify at several of the
hearings as well as many of our partners
at the A+ Illinois campaign.
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Calendar
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WHAT:
Money Matters School Funding Forum
WHEN:
September 18, 2008
WHERE:
Union League Club of Chicago
INFO:
A public forum, data release and panel
discussion convened by the Center for Tax and
Budget Accountability, Community Renewal
Society, Catalyst Chicago, and The Chicago
Reporter
Come hear new
analyses of school funding inequities-including
new data-in Illinois and what they mean for
children Listen to prospects for legislative
and court action Ask questions about these
crucial issues.
Event Schedule
8:00 - 8:30
Registration & continental breakfast
8:30 - 9:00
Presentation of data
9:00 - 10:00
Panel discussion and Q&A
The panel
discussion will include:
State Sen. James
Meeks (I-Chicago),
State Rep. Roger
Eddy (R-Hutsonville),
State Rep. David
E. Miller (D-Dolton),
a representative
from the Chicago Urban League,
and other key
stakeholders and decision makers on the subject
of school reform.
The panel
moderator is former State Sen. Dawn Clark Netcsh,
who campaigned for school finance reform as part
of her 1994 bid for Governor of Illinois.
Register on the CRS website here.
WHAT: Dupage Federation on Human Services
Reform, Making the Connection: Accessing Public
Benefits for Low Income Persons
WHEN: October 1, 8, 15, 22, 29
February 18, 25
March 4, 11, 18
June 3, 10, 17, 24
July 1
WHERE: All trainings held at NIU
Naperville, 1120 Diehl Road, Naperville, IL
INFO: Making the Connection training
sessions contain information in an
easy-to-understand format regarding many
programs available to assist low income persons.
Individuals who register for a Making the
Connection training session now receive
membership access to the Federation's newly
developed Making the Connection Illinois
website, www.mtcil.org.
To register and for more information please
visit www.dupagefederation.org.
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Do you have something to add to the
Weekly Review?
email Chrissy Mancini @
cmancini@ctbaonline.org
___________________________________________________________________________
Center
for Tax and Budget Accountability
70 East Lake Street, Suite 1700
Chicago, IL 60601
312-332-1041
www.ctbaonline.org
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