TAKING ACTION ON July 19, Governor George Ryan signed into law P.A. 92-697 authorizing the Secretary of State's office to issue a special park district youth license plate. Funds from the license plate will be used to support and initiate programming for Illinois youth at recreation agencies throughout Illinois. This is an extremely exciting initiative and certainly the best news coming out of a very difficult legislative session.

During the 2002 legislative session, which adjourned on June 11, a total of 348 bills passed both houses.

This is a modest work product when you consider that the 92nd General Assembly to date has introduced more bills than any other in Illinois history. By the June 2 adjournment of the regular spring session 8,717 bills had been introduced: 6,295 in the House and 2,422 in the Senate. This was almost 2,000 more than the last highest number for the past thirty years, which was 6,748 bills in the 91st General Assembly through its final adjournment.

Bills introduced do not, however, equate bill passage. By adjournment of the spring 2002 session only 912 bills for both 2001 and 2002 had passed both houses (compared with 1,015 bills sent to the governor by the end of the 91st General Assembly). This is the lowest percentage of bills passed in contrast to the largest number of bills introduced.

There are a variety of reasons for such a larger spawn of bill introductions. For one, there's an increased concern about the Illinois Constitution's Single Subject Rule. Also, the upcoming general election affects all state constitutional officers and members of the House and Senate who are up for election following reapportionment.

Information on all bills of the session is available through the IAPD Web site Public Policy section at www.ILparks.org.

FY 2003 SPENDING AUTHORITY

As previously reported, FY 2002 stands in sharp contrast to the three prior years as state finance passed from record revenue growth and record high cash balances to falling revenue and record payment delays. Resulting from the fiscal crisis dogging Illinois, possibly the most austere general funds budget ever will be implemented in FY 2003. General fund appropriations as passed by the General Assembly totaled $22.3 billion for FY 2003. This represents a decrease of approximately $1.096 billion or 4.7 percent from FY 2002. Of the $1.096 billion decline, code departments counted for 65 percent or $721 million of the cuts.

On a positive note, the Illinois Economic and Fiscal Commission on May 8 released revenue projections for FY 2002 and FY 2003. The projected General Revenue Fund revenues for FY 2002 (now ended) are $23.65 billion, down 1.9 percent from FY 2001. The projected General Revenue Fund revenues for FY 2003 are projected at $23.95 billion, up 1.27 percent from the FY 2002 projection.

This positive projection of state revenues should fully support park district and forest preserve interests in restoring full funding for the OSLAD and Natural Areas Acquisition program. The Illinois Association of Park Districts stands committed to the restoration of this funding source. The OSLAD program has been a tremendous state grant program that has resulted in the protection of thousands of acres of open space and the development of important recreational facilities in legislative districts throughout the state of Illinois.

All park district and forest preserve district officials should be talking now to their legislators regarding their support for the

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restoration of these funds. For the General Assembly not to take this action would be terribly irresponsible at a time when open space is being gobbled up at record rates. Currently, HB 6294 is the vehicle for the restoration of these funds.

GOV. RYAN VETOS OPEN MEETINGS LEGISLATION

Governor Ryan vetoed ambiguous Open Meetings Act legislation which would have created additional burdens on local governments as it was proposed. The governor's veto message, in part, stated that:

"Numerous local officials and units of local government have expressed their concerns and questions regarding this legislation. One concern is that enactment of this legislation would cause an undue financial burden on public bodies because they would have to invest considerable time and additional resources to meet this mandate. Another concern is some provisions of the bill are vague. For example, the bill does not specify the length of time which records must be kept on the Web site. While I believe that local governments should provide this information of their own volition, I do not believe that the State should mandate it. For these reasons, I hereby veto and return Senate Bill 1756."

FISCAL GOOD NEWS

The recently enacted Federal Job Creator and Worker Assistance Act of 2002 contains a temporary depreciation bonus that will have a significant impact on federal corporation income tax collections. Because of the linkage between federal income tax liability and Illinois the reduction in federal tax would have been mirrored in lower Illinois corporate income tax liability. Driven in large part by Illinois' revenue shortfall, the General Assembly passed legislation to decouple Illinois from this federal tax break and require companies to eliminate their bonus depreciation when computing Illinois tax liability.

Public Act 92-603 is a break for local government including park districts and forest preserves. At the IAPD Public Policy Web site all agencies are listed alphabetically and numbers reflect the amount of money an agency would have lost if this legislation did not pass..

71% of registered voters in Illinois said they would support specific proposals to increase the state sales tax to fund local open space acquisition efforts at a rate of one-tenth of one percent increase (averaging $14.00 more a year for the typical Illinois household). Source: Statewide Attitudes Toward Open Space Preservation and Recreation. Richard Day Research, Inc.

NO SMALL PLANS

The Local Planning Technical Assistance Act (HB 4023) which revises Illinois' 1920s era planning statute by providing a common frame work and what to include in a local comprehensive plan and create a fund to aid municipalities and counties in updating or creating comprehensive plans. This bill was approved by Governor Ryan as P.A. 92-768 on August 6, 2002.

Cigarette Tax/Increase OSLAD Funding Source Reduction
HB 539 (Madigan/ M.) Amends the Cigarette Tax Act and the Cigarette Use Tax Act. Increases the tax from 29 mills per cigarette sold or used in Illinois (58 cents per pack of 20) to 49 mills per cigarette sold or used in Illinois (98 cents per packet 20). Provides that the revenue from the real estate transfer tax shall be deposited as follows: 50% into the Illinois Affordable Housing Trust Fund (same as now); 20% into the Open Space Lands Acquisition and Development Fund (now, 35%); 5% into the Natural Areas Acquisition Fund (now, 15%); and 25% into the General Revenue Fund (now, none). Effective immediately. Last Action: 6-9-02 Public Act 92-536

Liquor Sales
SB 1282 (Roskam) -Authorizes the delivery and sale of alcoholic liquor on any golf course owned by a park district organized under the Park District Code, subject to the approval of the governing board of the district. Effective immediately. Last Action: 6/26/02 Public Act 92-583

Fines
SB 1735 (Syverson, Burzynski) Amends the Park District Code. Authorizes park districts to prescribe fines and penalties not to exceed $1,000 (currently $500) for ordinance violations. Effective immediately. Last Action: 7/8/02 Public Act 92-614

Forest Preserves
SB 2149 (Rauschenberger) -Amends the Downstate Forest Preserve District Act to provide that no district with a population less than 400,000 (now 600,000) may purchase, condemn, lease or acquire an easement in property within a municipality without concurrence of the municipality, except for a linear park or trail. Provides that the board of a forest preserve district within a county of not more than 500,000 population (now 360,000) may trade parcels of land and in counties with a population of not more than 500,000 population (now 400,000) may sell parcels that are less than 1 acre in size. Last Action: 8/ 21/02 Public Act 92-824

IAPD Legal Symposium
November 7, 2002
Hamburger University; Oaf BrooK

Don't miss this important opportunity to learn about the new laws and legal cases affecting the operation of your agency. Call IAPD to register or see www.ILparks.org.

September/October 2002 15

NATIONAL ISSUES

Park and recreation leaders across the country are asking Congress to support strong funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) and the Urban Park and Recreation Recovery program (UPARR). The current request for funding levels for stateside LWCF is at $154 million and UPARR requests are at $30 million. These figures coincide with the U.S. House of Representatives' action which is pending approval in the Senate.

CPI Overview
Following is a historical overview of the Property Tax Cap limitation as it relates to CPI.

1991	5.0%*
1992	3.1%**
1993	2.9%
1994	2.7%
1995	2.7%
1996	2.5%
1997	3.3%
1998	1.7%
1999	1.6%
2000	2.7%
2001	3.4%
2002	1.6%*
* CPI was 6.1% **For Cook County, the limitation for 1994 was 5.0%

www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/ archives/archives.html

If you have ever wondered how to cut back on the space your agency's records take up, then this site is for you. The records management section of the Illinois State Archives provides information about the procedures to dispose of local government records including contact names and numbers. Downloadable forms and certificates are also available. All local and state official records—courts, schools, land, taxation, elections, births, deaths, marriages and much more—are archived, by law, in the Illinois State Archives depository of public records, managed by the Office of Secretary of State Jesse White. The Public Domain Land Tract Sales Database is available online as are many other databases of interest. This a great site, too, to start your family's genealogy research.

THE LEGISLATIVE BIENNIUM The two-year period covered by each General Assembly consists of distinct periods, each devoted to different legislative purposes. As we head to a new Legislative Biennium marked by a general election following reapportionment, these distinctions are important. It should be noted as well that leadership controls each session's legislative schedules. In recent years both the Senate President and House Speaker have done an excellent job in managing the calendar so that the session stays on schedule and adjourns in a timely manner. Regular Session, Odd Year The General Assembly convenes on the second Wednesday in January as prescribed in the Illinois Constitution. After it elects officers and hears the Governor's "State of the State" message, it meets infrequently until early March. This period is used for organization of committees, introduction of bills, and assignment of bills to committee; some committee hearings may be held. The Governor's budget message is presented in early March, and the appropriations process begins with the introduction of bills to fund the state. By late March, committee work begins to decline and floor sessions get longer. Late March to the end of May is the period of heaviest legislative activity. Rules of each house require bills of the other house to be introduced (or to be out of committee) by early May so as to reduce the "logjam" of bills at the end of the session. Thus May is spent working on bills that have passed the first house and are being considered in the second house. This involves another round of committee hearings and floor debate. Legislative efforts to reconcile differences between the versions of a bill passed by the two houses dominate the final scheduled week of the spring session. Regular Session, Even Year The General Assembly reconvenes in the second (even-numbered) year on the second Wednesday in January. The Governor usually delivers his "State of the State" message then. The even-numbered session is often called a limited session because of House and Senate rules controlling what kinds of bills can be considered. Generally these rules allow the hearing only of revenue or appropriation bills; bills of importance to the operation of state government; and emergency bills. The rules committee of each house determines whether each bill is eligible. Unless there are matters requiring immediate legislative attention, the General Assembly meets periodically after the "State of the State" message in January through the "budget" message in early March, and does not reconvene until after the March primary election. From then on the schedule is about the same as in the first year: heavy committee work, followed by extended full sessions, climaxing in resolution of budget issues and differences in substantive bills between the two houses. Veto Session The fall session each even-numbered year begins after the November election. After adjourning in early December, legislators return for a brief session in January to finish the work of that General Assembly and adjourn sine die ("without day" or without setting a date to return).

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