Legislative Action
The line wasn't held on spending
THE 79TH General Assembly adjourned its fall veto session on December 16 after setting records for the amount of money restored to the state's budget through the override mechanism. Added back to appropriations was $68.9 million for the current fiscal year with $39.1 million of that amount from General Revenue Fund sources.
Gov. Dan Walker reacted bitterly to the legislative action. He had failed to convince the General Assembly to hold the line on spending during the final year of his term of office. He pointed to a four-year record where the legislature had restored $144 million of the $2.2 billion that he had vetoed.
Newly elected Gov. James Thompson also tried to convince the legislators to hold back on override action with blunt warnings of the state going bankrupt by June 30, the end of this fiscal year. Although not in office at the time, Thompson met with Republican legislators prior to the final week of the session, but his arguments had little impact on the lawmakers. Some felt that he should have presented his position before the overrides had already succeeded in one house. The "damage," in effect, was half done before Thompson made his plea as governor-elect.
Thompson may also have been hurt by his early, partial support for pay raises for legislators and state officials, including the governor. He did back off that position but it may have been too late. The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Aaron Jaffe (D., Skokie) and outgoing Rep. Charles Fleck (R., Chicago), failed to get out of the House by the holidays.
The biggest "winner" in the override session was higher education. A total of $17.8 million was restored to the budgets for the universities in the state, mostly for additional pay increases averaging two per cent for faculty and other employees. In addition, about $6 million was restored to the Department of Mental Health budget, basically for community mental health programs. Those two areas accounted for about 63 per cent of the total overrides from General Revenue Fund sources.
Consideration of vetoes, however, was not the only business of the fall session. The 79th General Assembly also passed $51.5 million in supplemental appropriations, of which nearly $14.3 million was from the General Revenue Fund. Walker had earlier predicted a $100 million balance in the General Revenue Fund at the end of the fiscal year on June 30, but overrides and supplemental appropriations totaling $53.7 million were authorized from that fund. Not much leeway was left for the 80th General Assembly to respond to the expected requests for supplemental and deficiency appropriations which usually emerge early in each regular session. Dealing with increased needs for fiscal 1978 will be even more difficult.
The action of the veto session can only heighten the problems faced by Gov. Thompson in trying to avoid a tax increase for fiscal 1978. There will be little extra money to work with as he gets down to the task of preparing his first budget for presentation to the General Assembly on March 2.
One override attempt that failed was on House Bill 3858, which would have created a State Fair Board. Walker and the General Assembly feuded continually on this issue throughout his four-year term. The 78th had passed a bill creating such a board and then successfully overrode Walker's veto. However, the action was nullified by a court decision which held unconstitutional the procedures for selecting interim board members. The 79th General Assembly passed similar legislation designed to correct the defects pointed out by the judiciary. It was expected that the establishment of an independent board would remove "politics" from the operation of the State Fair. This legislation, which had received no negative votes in the Senate and only 10 in the House, was vetoed by Walker as expected. During the fall session, the House overrode his veto on a vote of 114-26. But the override attempt failed in the Senate on a 35-13 vote (60 per cent or 36 votes was required). The general belief was that Gov.-elect Thompson did not want the bill enacted into law. The partisan flavor of the State Fair question was reflected in some of the arguments put forth by Republican members who were awaiting the swearing in of the new governor less than a month after the consideration of the veto override motion.
Finally, the Equal Rights Amendment did receive a formal recorded vote in the Senate before the fall session ended. The ratification resolution, which passed in the House on a 113-62 vote on May 1,1975, was considered on the last day of the session in December. The action coincided with an appearance in Springfield by President-elect Jimmy Carter's daughter-in-law, and a phone call from Carter to outgoing Senate President Cecil Partee.
The resolution received only 29 favorable votes. Under earlier rulings from the Senate president, it needed 36 in order to carry. ERA advocates thought they were closer to the votes necessary and believe a few senators withheld their support because they thought the votes needed for passage were never there.
The 79th General Assembly is now history. Many struggles between the legislative branch and the office of Gov. Walker mirrored the major divisions within the Democratic party. The 80th General Assembly will produce a different brand of excitement. While many of the same issues are alreay reemerging, the reduced Democratic majority in the House, along with a new Republican governor, will markedly change the tone of the proceedings. The action of the veto session along with the death of Mayor Richard J. Daley can only heighten the crucial fiscal problems faced by Gov. Thompson. For the first time in over 20 years, there will be no single voice in Chicago to agree with or to fight against./ L.S.C.
February 1977 / Illinois Issues / 25