Friday, January 04, 2013
Login
Sine Die - Latin for "without day," meaning "without any future being designated (as for resumption): INDEFINITELY." Sine Die marks the end of the 97th General Assembly, which is good since the Inauguration of the 98th General Assembly is tomorrow.
As we laid out several weeks ago, there was a large buildup of items the General Assembly wanted to cover in its very short "lame duck" session. In the end, most of the "big ticket" items were not dealt with. There were calls for dealing with pension reform, gun control, legalization of same sex marriage, supplemental appropriations, driver's licenses for undocumented immigrants, and a host of other issues. After days of meetings, negotiations, and discussions, most of the issues are exactly where they started.
As the House and Senate were conducting their business, the State House staff was putting up red, white, and blue bunting and other celebratory decorations for tomorrow's inauguration. This definitely set an interesting background for all the undertakings of the day.
It is safe to say that the 97th General Assembly was interesting and we anticipate the 98th General Assembly will only be even more interesting.
After a weekend of discussion between the Governor and legislative leaders, another pension reform proposal was announced on Sunday. A key component of the new plan was the removal of what became known as the "swap." The provision of earlier pension proposals that would have shifted the state paid employee portion contributions to local school districts was removed from the discussion table when Speaker Madigan indicated it was not a required component of pension reform. That move opened the door for a renewed push before the end of the lame duck session.
The released proposal was an amendment to SB 1673 and would have made changes to the pension benefits for individuals in the State Employee Retirement System, State University Employee Retirement System, Teachers Retirement System, and the General Assembly Retirement System. The bill would suspend all Cost of Living Adjustments (COLA) for six years, remove the current 3% compounding interest provisions for the COLA, apply the COLA (3% simple interest) to only the first $25,000 of a person's pension, cap the salary for pensionable purposes at $113,700, and increase the employee's pension contribution by 2%. The proposal would have fully funded the pension system by 2043. It also contained provisions to guarantee that the State would make its annual pension payments by establishing a contractual obligation between the pension systems and the State. If the State did not make its payments, the pension systems could take the state to court to force the payment. The Governor's office estimated that this would reduce the unfunded pension liability between $25 and $30 billion and would save the state up to $140 billion in payments over the 30 year life cycle of the reform.
Illinois Farm Bureau reviewed House Amendments #10 and #11 to SB 1673 and chose to support them because the proposal was a significant move forward in addressing the State's financial crisis and unfunded pension liability. The proposal did not include all the reform ideas that had been laid out, but it did move the state in a positive direction. It was clear that the proposal would meet with stiff opposition but it was a commendable effort by the Governor, the four legislative leaders, and members of the General Assembly.
By Monday it became evident that the proposal was several votes shy from gaining passage, even after a large effort was made to push the bill. There was uncertainty if the Senate would return and take the issue up and the opponents were aggressively working against the proposal. On Tuesday there was the heavy anticipation that the bill would be called for a vote, but that was suddenly shattered when a new set of amendments were proposed that changed the entire direction of the pension reform issue.
In the final House Amendment #15, a pension commission of eight individuals would be created who would meet and make recommendations on how to reform the pension system. The eight individuals would be appointed by the legislative leaders; two by each of the four leaders. They could be legislators or members of the public. The commission had until April 30, 2013 to make their recommendations and, once submitted, they would become law unless the General Assembly voted to disapprove the recommendations. The amendment was approved for floor action by the House Personnel and Pensions committee.
The pension commission met with strong opposition by many groups. Illinois Farm Bureau did not support House Amendment #15 because it was felt that this would not bring about meaningful reform. After several hours of intense lobbying by the Governor and his staff, the measure was not called for a vote and the House adjourned "sine die."
With a new General Assembly starting tomorrow it will be interesting to see how the new make- up changes the dynamics of this issue. Proponents of pension reform feel that the challenges for reaching an accord will not only be different, but could also be more difficult. Illinois Farm Bureau will continue to call for the reform of the state pension systems so the state's budget and economic climate can be restored.
A change to the Illinois Farmland Assessment law was sought by the Illinois Department of Revenue (IDOR) to maintain the fair and equitable assessment of farmland. The proposal would make a change in the process of how the certified values of farmland are determined. It would limit changes in the certified values of soils to 10% of Illinois's median cropland soil rather than the 10% limit now imposed across all soil productivity indices. Illinois Farm Bureau supported the Illinois Department of Revenue proposal.
IDOR attempted to seek this legislative change during the "lame duck" session of the General Assembly, however, the proposal was not considered due to the time directed towards other legislative matters. The time commitment directed to the major issues of pension reform, gun control issues, same sex marriage, and a few others did not allow for much more on the legislative docket. IDOR will pursue this legislative change in the upcoming spring legislative session.
Much like what happened in the Senate last week, an amendment to a bill was proposed in the House that would restrict the use and sale of certain types of firearms. An amendment to SB 2899 would have limited the ownership and use of large capacity ammunition feeding devices and assault weapons. Like the amendments that surfaced in the Senate, the bill also required those who owned large capacity feeding devices and assault weapons to register their ownership with the State Police.
The amendment to SB 2899 was to be heard in the House Judiciary I Committee on Sunday afternoon. However, at the beginning of the hearing, the chairperson announced that no action would be taken on the bill in committee and that no action would be taken on the bill for the remainder of the 97th General Assembly. No further gun control legislation was proposed. IFB opposed SB 2899, House Amendment #1.
As was reported last week, no action was taken in the Senate on same sex marriage legislation. Following the lack of action in the Senate, the proponents of the legislation announced that they would not seek passage in the House during this week's lame duck session. It is expected that same sex marriage legislation will resurface during the 98th General Assembly. IFB opposed the same sex marriage proposal (Senate Amendment #2 to HB 4963).
The right to obtain a driver's license as an undocumented immigrant in the State of Illinois took center stage for much of the morning and early afternoon Tuesday. SB 957 allows the Secretary of State to issue temporary visitor's driver's licenses to applicants that meet the following requirements; applicant must have resided in the State for more than one year, applicants must have the inability to obtain a social security number and applicant must have the inability to present documentation issued by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services authorizing the person's presence in this country. The legislation also outlines requirements the applicant must adhere to in order to be granted driving privileges, including that all applicants will be subject to Vehicle Code regulations, insurance requirements, and there is also a stipulation that prevents the temporary driver's license holder from using the documentation as proof of identity.
After much debate, the House passed SB 957 with 65 yes and 46 nays. Illinois Farm Bureau had no position on SB 957.
For More Info Contact:
Pension Reform
Farmland Assessment
Gun Control
Same Sex Marriage
Immigrant Driver's Licenses
