Legislative Action

THE 1975 fall legislative session and the accompanying special sessions of the 79th General Assembly have barely been completed, and already speculation is turning toward the convening of the 79th General Assembly to begin its 1976 deliberations. (A report of recent veto action will be presented next month.) The only sure prediction at this time is that this year's session will be different than the first year of the current biennium.

Around the legislature, the second year of the General Assembly is called the "off-year" session. This derives from the relatively short, late starting session due to the primary elections held in March. Legislators do not like to be in Springfield while challengers for their seats are campaigning back home. Thus very little legislative business is conducted until after the primary which this year falls on March 16.

The Illinois Constitution requires annual sessions by mandating in Article IV, Section 5 that the General Assembly "shall convene each year on the second Wednesday of January." But that does not mean that the members must sit in continuous session until the business of the year is completed. So, it is likely that the first three months of the 1976 session will be similar to those of 1974, when the 78th General Assembly met for its "off-year" session. In that "off- year," the legislature convened in January, as required, to hear the governor's state-of-the-state message and then went home to campaign. There were a handful of additional session days in late January and early February to enact the 55 mile per hour speed limit to meet federal regulations related to the energy crisis. The General Assembly also spent one day in Springfield in early March to receive the governor's budget message. But those were the only session days during the first three months of the year.

The legislative leadership generally tries to limit the calendar of the "off- year" session to bills related to the budget which must be adopted prior to July 1 for the new fiscal year. With the session getting such a late start because of the primary, they try to avoid getting bogged down with the same volume of legislation that is faced in the first year of the biennium. But that may be exceedingly difficult to enforce this year. The record number of bills introduced in 1975 led to an interim study calendar of approximately 800 bills in the House. (See Legislative Action, October, p. 313.) While most of those bills will not be brought forth for consideration in the new year, many of the sponsors expect to receive a hearing for legislation which they agreed to "delay" in order to aid a more orderly finish to the 1975 session.

Added to the size of the study calendar is the activity of the standing committees and subcommittees in the House since the close of the regular 1975 session. (See Legislative Action, December, p. 377.) Many of the committees will be reporting bills which they have looked at during the very active interim period between sessions. Thus, there is likely to be great pressure from the membership to allow substantive legislation to come up on the floor for votes in both houses in spite of the intentions of leadership to limit consideration to money matters.

It is also safe to assume that electoral politics will be interjected into the 1976 legislative session. With the governor's race and several other statewide contests added to the legislative races, the effects of the primary should be greater than in 1974 when only one statewide race was underway.

The probability of success or failure of Gov. Walker's budget, as well as his substantive proposals, is likely to vary depending on his ability to fend off the challenge he faces in the March primary. If he wins in the primary, he stands a better chance of getting his legislative proposals enacted. That assumes, of course, that the Democrats will want to begin healing their internal wounds in order to unify for the general election. But if the governor should lose the primary, he will be a "lame duck" and there will be little reason for legislators in his own party to support him during the session.

Regardless of the outcome of the gubernatorial primary, the Republicans can be expected to play the role of "loyal opposition" to the fullest. With an eye on the fall general elections, they will not want to support any legislation which might be helpful to Democratic candidates.

Finally, the very outcome of the legislative primaries has an effect on what happens in the legislative session. There are already a substantial number of legislators who have announced that they will not be seeking reelection, including Senate Minority Leader William Harris (R., Pontiac) and House Minority Leader James Washburn (R,, Morris). Incumbents who lose in the March primaries can be added to the list of lame ducks who will be able to act independently of their constituencies. Members who are not returning the following year have the luxury of not having to worry about alienating the folks back home with their votes on controversial issues.

The 1976 legislative session should prove to be very interesting although quite different from that of 1975. The March primary will cause a shortening of the session to about three months duration and the shaping of the fall campaigns will be clearly felt in the decisions emanating from the Capitol prior to adjournment. It may very well be more difficult for the General Assembly to finish its business prior to June 30 than it was last year.

It should be noted that the nature of the state's financial condition may also have an impact on what happens in the General Assembly this year. There are already two proposals for an increase in the state income tax. Coupling that issue with an election year should guarantee the type of controversies we have grown to expect whenever the General Assembly is in session. / L. S. C.�