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Legal/Legislative Scene
General Assembly faces active
The Illinois General Assembly faces a heavy workload during its 1990 legislative session in spite of the fact that House and Senate rules limit new bill introductions to appropriation matters and emergency issues necessary for the conduct of government. The list of new bill introductions which appears in this column indicates that property tax reform is one of the main focal points of legislative business this year. Proposals abound to require that units of local government use the prior year equalized assessed valuation (EAV) and/or otherwise limit the increase in property taxes levied to the lesser of 5 percent or the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index. House Speaker Michael J. Madigan has initiated a Democratic panel to study real estate tax relief proposals and in doing so sidelined the aforementioned proposals advanced by House Republican Leader Lee Daniels. GRANT AWARDS As reported in last month's Leisure Review, the grant awards, through the Department of Conservation for open space land acquisition and development, reached a total of $10.4 million. This figure includes $9.7 million from the Open Space Land Acquisition and Development program and another $685,000 in federal Land and Water Conservation Fund grants. This represents the highest number of grant awards from the Department of Conservation for local projects in over 10 years. While federal funds continue to languish as a result of a drop from a high of 14 million in funding in 1979 to a low of 685,000 in 1989, new state funding has picked up the shortfall. The OSLAD and LWCF grants will provide funding for 71 local projects, fourteen of which are acquisition projects and 57 of which are development projects. The success of the OSLAD program is a direct result of the legislative efforts of the Illinois Association of Park Districts and its close partnership with the Department of Conservation and the Illinois General Assembly. Copies of all pending legislation are available from the Illinois Association of Park Districts LOOKING AHEAD The Joint Legislative Committee is currently in the process of putting together a questionnaire to gather membership suggestions for the legislative platform for 1991. This questionnaire should reach the administrative office of every member park district by the end of May. As in years past it is critical to the success of our program that this questionnaire be shared with the entire Board of Commissioners and park district attorney and then returned promptly to the IAPD office. Your input has made the voice of parks and recreation a strong one in Illinois and with your help it will continue to be heard in years to come.
Legal/Legislative Scene New Bill Introductions HOUSE HB 3284 M. OLSON Amends act regarding investing public funds by public agencies; removes provision banning treasurers and financial officers for a public agency from having an interest in or receiving compensation from investments, or sellers of investments in which an agency may invest. HB 3288 GIGLIO ET AL Amends Criminal Code; makes it a Class 4 felony for local or state officials to knowingly let contracts that limits goods or services to a single source by name or description without allowing for alternates or substitutes of such by equal goods or services when equal alternates are available. HB 3310 STECZO Amends act regarding forest preserve districts in counties under 3 million; requires board of commissioners to file with the county clerk a certified copy of a levy ordinance by the 3rd Monday in November; other related requirements. HB 3323 MAUTINO ET AL Creates the Affordable Health Care Act; allows employers of 150 employees or less an option in providing health care benefits to employees; also amends Insurance Code to provide exceptions. HB 3361 MCCRACKEN New Act provides that no person shall be liable to an employee or former employee because the person gives truthful information to a third party in response to an inquiry about the employment record of the employee or former employee. HB 3430 MCCRACKEN ET AL Amends various Acts to require local governments to indemnify employees and officers of forest preserve districts from various civil suits arising from alleged negligent or wrongful acts. HB 3448 MCCRACKEN Amends Local Government Debt Reform Act; requires frontdoor referendum approval of double-barrelled bonds; expressly states that the referendum requirements apply. HB 3463 RYDER ET AL Appropriates $16,830,400 to the Historic Preservation Agency for fiscal year 1991. HB 3508 W. PETERSON ET AL Amends Governmental Ethics Act; raises from $35,000 to S45,000 the amount of compensation requiring the filing of a statement of economic interest. HB 3688 DANIELS ET AL New Act enacts Property Tax Levy Limitation Act; provides that levied property taxes by any districts (including home rule) in any calendar year on residential property shall not exceed levies for the immediately preceding year increased by the lesser of 5% or percent of increase in consumer price index. HB 3689 DANIELS ET AL Amends Revenue Act; provides that prior year equalized assessed valuation be used for assessment purposes, plus an adjustment to reflect related additions/deletions regarding tax rolls, construction, consolidations, etc; other related requirements. HB 3803 HARRIS Amends Local Government Debt Reform Act; bans issuing double-barrelled bonds or general obligation bonds to refund or advance refund of such, with certain exceptions. HB 3902 PETKA Amends act regarding park districts and forest preserves; provides that if a district commences a proceeding to buy land by condemnation that proceeding may not be dismissed or abandoned by the district without the consent of the property owners. HB 3931 WENNLUND Amends Code of Civil Procedure; includes State and its political subdivisions in the 5-year general statute of limitations. HB 4057 HARRIS Enacts the Property Tax Limitation Act; provides that the amount of the property taxes extended for any taxing district in any calendar year may not exceed the property taxes extended for that taxing district for the preceding calendar year increased by the percentage of increase in the Implicit Price Deflator (IPD) for State and Local Government Purchases; other provisions. SENATE SB 1596 T. DUNN Amends the Open Meetings Act; provides that at each public meeting of a unit of local government at least 15 minutes be allowed for public statements and questions. Answering time of officials does not count against the 15 minutes. SB 1630 GEO-KARIS, ET AL Amends the Forest Preserve Dist. Act for counties less than 3 million; provides that a district may not acquire land in an unincorporated area of a county by condemnation without prior consent from co. bd. by 2/3 vote of total board membership. SB 1632 DUDYCZ Amends the Revenue Act; provides that assessment districts in counties over 1 million not be subject to equalization for the year of the assessment district's quadrennial assessment. Also provides that such assessment district's assessed valuations not be taken into account in the equalization process. (continued on page 27)
Legal/Legislative Scene New Bill Introductions (continued from page 12) SENATE SB 1644 T. DUNN Amends Revenue Act; allows taxing districts to abate real property taxes on single family owner-occupied residences. SB 1663 WEAVER Amends The Election Code; provides that an unconditional resignation, effective on a future date, may not be withdrawn after it is received by the officer filling the vacancy; provides that such resignation creates a vacancy in offices for the purpose of determining time period which would require an election; other related provisions. SB 1687 T. DUNN Amends Truth in Taxation Act; requires notices of tax increases to be published twice instead of once. SB 1716 RIGNEY Amends various acts; standardizes number of signatures and the filing deadlines for petitions authorizing back door referenda; filing must be 30 days after publication of the ordinance authorizing such action; other related provisions.
Amends Local Government Debt
Reform Act; bans issuing double-barrelled
bonds or general obligation bonds to refund or advance refund double-barrelled
bonds unless refunding or advance refunding bonds meet all requirements.
SB 1913 JACOBS
Amends Forest Preserve District Act
in counties under 3 million people; repeals
provision that property owned by a district
is not subject to special assessment by
another local government unit.
SB 2040 KUSTRA ET AL
Enacts the Property Tax Levy Limitation Act; provides that levied property
taxes by any district (including home rule)
on residential property shall not exceed
the immediately preceding calendar year
by the lesser of 5% or percentage of increase in the federal consumer price index
for the second preceding calendar year;
other related allowances.
SB 2072 BARKHAUSEN
New Act; provides that no person
shall be liable to a worker or former worker
because the person gives truthful information to a third party in response to an
inquiry about the employment record of
the worker or former worker; other provisions.
SB 2130 KARPIEL
Amends Forest Preserve Act in counties under 3 million people; makes a grammar change.
SB 2255 NETSCH
Amends Truth in Taxation Act; requires a 3/5 majority vote of the taxing
district for levies which are more than
110% of the prior year's levy.
SB 2271 NETSCH, ET AL
Amends the Revenue Act; establishes
a uniform date for filing tax levies beginning in 1991 and to provide that the equalized assessed value for the extension of the
levy for 1992 and subsequent years to be
equalized assessed value for the year
immediately prior to the levy year; provides quarterly billing and payments for
property taxes.
SCA 151 PHILIP ET AL
Proposes State Constitutional change
by requiring that a bill which would result
in the increase of revenue to the State must
receive a 3/5 vote of the general assembly;
defines requirements regarding such votes
on Revenue Bills.
SCA 152 PHILIP ET AL
Proposes changes in the State
Constitution to require the general assembly to provide by law for the reimbursement of state mandates to local governmental units, school districts, with certain
exceptions; requires a 3/5 vote of both
chambers to impose a state mandate.
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