Legal/Lesislative Scene

Election Year Sets Pace for General Assembly By Peter M. Murphy IAPD General Counsel

The 1994 Legislative Session will be remembered as one of the most contentious sessions that have been held in Springfield for a long time.

The Illinois General Assembly set its adjournment deadline for May 31, 1994, pushed hard to meet this deadline by accelerating the dates for bill introductions and committee hearings, but ended up adjourning on July 12, 1994. The Illinois House experienced heightened levels of partisan bickering before finally coming to a consensus on a limited number of issues including an overhaul of the Illinois Medicaid system and the passage of a 33.3 billion dollar state budget.

Many bills fell victim to the partisan nature of the session. Of the more than 2,400 bills introduced this year, only 149 made their way through both houses and to the Governor's desk. These include 1,702 House bills introduced with 81 passing and 702 Senate Bills introduced with 68 passing and going on to the Governor.

This is the lowest passage rate in decades. In 1992 more than 500 bills passed, in 1993 more than 600 bills passed, and in 1991 more than 900 bills passed the Illinois General Assembly. Although a number of bills got caught up in partisan bickering. Senate Bill 1510 made more progress this year than in any year since its introduction.

Senate Bill 1510 received overwhelming bipartisan support in the Illinois Senate, and was passed to the Illinois House where it was released from Rules and passed the Illinois House Revenue Committee also on a strong bipartisan vote. In the closing days of session the bill received 48 yes votes to 60 no votes, a victim of partisan politics. The Association will continue to strive for a passage of this legislation in order to mitigate the hardship that park districts throughout the collar counties have experienced since the passage of the property tax cap. A number of newspapers throughout the state have supported through their editorial boards the passage of Senate Bill 1510. If you would like a copy of any of these articles, please do not hesitate to contact us.

The Association also has responded to the attempts of some legislators to characterize this issue as one which will not give voters an anticipated tax cut. It is generally agreed, however, among a majority of the members of the Illinois General Assembly that such a tax cut was not intended when the property tax cap initially passed. Voters do have a right to have a say in taxes levied by park districts if the tax rates are increased above the 1991 tax levies of collar county park and forest preserve districts.

OTHER LEGISLATION

The much heralded program initiated by the Department of Conservation termed Conservation 2000 fell victim to election year politics and was not passed during the regular legislative session. This proposed legislation was a model of cooperation among state

10 * Illinois Parks & Recreation * September/October 1994

departments and joined the interests of environmentalists, conservationists, agriculturists, recreationists and habitat preservationists in a unified effort. It is likely that this bill will be reintroduced in the next legislative session. As proposed, the legislation would have raised more than $100 million over six years for conservation land acquisition, habitat management and outdoor recreation.

Other conservation legislation which passed included SB 1191 which would make it easier for private landowners to receive tax benefits for preserving natural lands through conservation easements.

The Illinois Department of Conservation was successful in seeking the passage of legislation establishing the Illinois Conservation Foundation. On August 20, 1994 during Park District and Conservation Day at the Illinois State Fair, Governor Edgar signed Senate Bill 1708 which creates a thirteen-member Board of Directors chaired by the Director of the Department of Conservation to oversee the Illinois Conservation Foundation.

Four members will be appointed by the Governor and two will be named by each of the four legislative leaders. Board members will not receive compensation for their services, and while dollars collected by the foundation will be held privately and not subject to state appropriations, the legislation grants that the foundation funds will be audited to assure their appropriate use.

The creation of the foundation was a recommendation of the Conservation Congress and the Governor's Water Resources and Land Use Priorities Task Force.

Illinois Power kicked off the foundation's fundraising efforts with a $50,000 pledge which will be used to grow 285,000 additional trees at the Department of Conservation's nurseries. These trees will be provided to qualified landowners at a later date.

Two of the bills sent to Governor Edgar for his signature will facilitate the funding of bike projects. Senate Bill 1726 allows Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) funds to be used to construct bikeways on private lands where right-of-way agreements are in effect. House Bill 3478, which was signed into law on August 12, 1994, allows municipalities to use motor fuel tax funds as local match funds for bike projects.

The right-of-way issue had stalled progress on projects approved for ISTEA funding in Cook, DuPage, and Lake counties. The current Illinois Bikeways Act lets IDOT build bikeways on public land, but according to the Department's Chief Counsel Edward Gower, "Leased property is not included as public land under the Bikeway Act."

SB 1726, an end-of-session "Christmas tree" bill, includes the provisions of House Bill 3814 (CBF News, Jun '94) by allowing bikeways to be built on private lands where right-of-way agreements are in effect. SB 1726 expands the list of public agencies which can receive or spend bikeway funds to include conservation, park and forest preserve districts. It also allows DuPage, Cook and Lake counties to use motor fuel tax funds for bicycle projects, including lanes and paths. Currently, only bike route signs have been eligible for these funds.

House Bill 3520, which would have required that children wear helmets while riding, was also introduced in this session. It never passed beyond a second reading in the House.

Legislation affecting property taxes include:

SB 1191 (Klemm-Syverson) Provides that a taxing district may abate taxes on the property of a commercial or industrial firm to a maximum aggregate amount of $3 million (currently $1 million). It also provides for an assessment valuation of 8 1/3 percent of the fair cash value of land that is encumbered by a conservation right and provides certain public benefits. SB 1285 (T. Dunn, et al.) Allows downstate park districts with an intertrack wagering licensee located in the district to use its museum allocation, if it has no museum, for general purposes. (Provisions are also contained in SB 1477.) SB 1365 (Senate Revenue Committee) Contains numerous noncontroversial property tax and assessment provisions, including setting forth legislative purposes for the Truth in Taxation Law. SB 1369 (Topinka, et al.) Establishes a Senior Citizens Tax Freeze Homestead Exemption wherein persons age 65 years or older with a household income of less than $35,000 annually can receive an exemption from their property taxes that is the amount of the difference between their current equalized assessed valuation (EAV) and either the 1993 EAV plus value of improvements or the EAV in the year the taxpayer became eligible for the exemption plus value of improvements. (A similar provision is contained in HB 410.)

Governor Edgar vetoed both Senate Bill 1369 and House Bill 410. In doing so he indicated that senior citizens are granted 1.4 billion annually in special property tax relief through homestead exemptions above and beyond the general homestead exemptions which are already provided. He also indicated that if this legislation were to become law, tens of millions of dollars in property taxes would be shifted from seniors to other property taxpayers and that schools and other local government units that are already taxing at the

Illinois Parks & Recreation* September/October 1994* 11

maximum rate would lose tens of millions of dollars. An analysis of the legislation indicates that local government would lose more than $30 million in the first year of this program.

The bill also amends the Longtime Owner- Occupant Property Tax Relief Act to allow the corporate authorities of a county to establish additional criteria for qualifying for a property tax deferral or exemption under the act and creates the Illinois Research Park Authority with power to support and develop university-related research parks and to issue bonds.

SB 1726 (Geo-Karis-R. Dunn) Contains numerous noncontroversial provisions relating to the administration of property taxes. The bill also increases the maximum homestead improvement exemption from $30,000 to $45,000. HB 410 (Steczo, et al.) Contains similar elements of the Senior Citizens Tax Freeze Homestead Exemption discussed in SB 1369 (above). (Total Veto, Aug. 19,1994.) HB 2627 (Currie) Provides that taxes levied under the Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act are exempt from the rate limitation for taxes levied for county purposes; validates certain taxes already levied. HB 3804 (Steczo-Kubik) Provides that all property of the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority is exempt from taxation by the state or tax- ing units of the state. (PublicAct 88-556.)

VETO SESSION SCHEDULE

1994 Tuesday, November 15, 1994 - Thursday, November 17, 1994 Tuesday, November 29, 1994 - Thursday, December 1, 1994 1995 Monday, January 9, 1995 - Inauguration of Governor Tuesday, January 10, 1994 - Last day of 88th General Assembly Wednesday, January 22, 1994 - Swearing in of the 89th General Assembly

12 * Illinois Parks & Recreation * September/October 1994