LEGISLATIVE ACTION
More on what the General Assembly did and didn't do

LIKE A reformed sinner, what the legislature did this session was not as impressive as what it decided not to do. Most of the more earthshaking proposals were rejected again, among them the Equal Rights Amendment, decriminalization of marijuana and governmental ethics bills.

And while the 80th General Assembly did pass laws restoring the death penalty and cracking down on child pornography, the lawmakers declined to approve the wide-ranging criminal justice packages before them. But, they will be back in Springfield October 24 to reconsider crime bills in a special session called by Gov. James Thompson. Another loser was the governor's proposed sunset legislation to make all state agencies justify their existence or "get out of town."

A number of consumer-oriented ideas failed too, including those to curb abuses in auto repair, allow for branch banking, and permit no-fault auto insurance. Also on the skids was an environmentalist bill to stop the use of throwaway bottles and cans, by requiring a nickle deposit on all such containers sold.

The fate of some of the significant bills is summarized below. Other action was reported in this column last month. Roll call votes are listed for some of the bills on page 29.

As of July 28 the governor had signed only 151 of the more than 1,300 bills passed by the legislature this session. Thus Public Act numbers are not yet available on most bills, and some may never be — on bills that are vetoed outright. Nonetheless the October issue will include P.A. numbers for most of the bills mentioned this month, along with information on which bills were vetoed. A complete analysis of appropriations will also appear next month.

September 1977 / Illinois Issues / 27