By NORA NEWMAN JURGENS

Legislative Action 'New Era' moves major bills

THE "WITCHING hour," 12 midnight June 30, came too close for legislative comfort as the Illinois General Assembly passed the first tax increase package in 14 years.

The 1983 spring session could be characterized as running as close to mechanical perfection as is legislatively possible. The year was ushered in as a "New Era" by House Speaker Michael J. Madigan, referred to by fellow lawmakers as the "compassionate computer." And perhaps it was a New Era, as senators and representatives set and met deadlines throughout the session. The House simply left about 50 Senate bills "stranded" on third reading as the June 27 deadline came and went.

Though still working on appropriation bills and conference committee reports July 1, both houses managed to churn out the legislation by midnight June 30. Along with the income and sales tax increases, an increase in highway user fees was approved just before midnight. Other major legislative issues with bills sent to the governor include public utility reform, limits on abortion, changes in education, tougher provisions in the drunk driving law and election reform. (For more coverage of the income and sales tax increases see the "State of the state," p. 4.)

New tax rates for road repairs

IT WAS LIKE a dream come true for Illinois Secy. of Transportation John Kramer. With five minutes to spare before the June 30 deadline, the Senate passed a $270 million road tax bill. The revenues will go for repair and maintenance of Illinois roads and bridges and are a crucial part of securing $435 million in federal highway funds. (For background on transportation funding, see "Money for roads and mass transit: It takes some to get more," May 1983 Illinois Issues, pp. 20-23.) The governor signed the bill July 2.

Kramer has been working on raising revenues since February, when he and Gov. James R. Thompson introduced a plan to up the tax on gas and diesel fuel, license plate fees and heavy truck registration. With no money for the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA), a perennial Democratic issue, and faced with the traditional reluctance of Republican legislators to support tax increases, Kramer and Thompson did not find a sponsor for the plan until April 15, the deadline for bill introductions.

After what must have been much soul-searching and arm-twisting, Senate Minority Leader James "Pate" Philip agreed to sponsor Thompson's tax increase package, which included the road bill and income tax and liquor tax increases. His bill, S.B. 1295, never moved off second reading in the Senate, as Philip professed continued reluctance to push the increases.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the rotunda, the Democratic leadership came up with a gas tax package of their own. One logical assumption is that Speaker Michael J. Madigan and Thompson agreed that the Democrats, with 70 votes in the House, would sponsor the road bill, as long as Thompson included a subsidy for mass transit (read RTA) with the revenue to come from an income tax increase.

So they took H.B. 1305, sponsored by Chicago Democrat Al Ronan (D-12), and amended onto it Thompson's package. The Ronan bill moved through the House with only minor changes, and only one major assault. A coalition of groups wanted a weight-distance tax on heavy trucks instead of higher registration fees. The attack was beaten off, with the help of trucking interests. (See "Eptow coalition: make trucks pay more," July 1983 Illinois Issues, p.4.)

The House passed H.B. 1305 75-42 May 26 and it crossed over to the Senate, where it waited until June 30. The drama centered late that night on the general tax increase package, but once the Senate approved that long-negotiated plan, the road tax bill came next. The Senate approved it 33-26, despite opposition from Republican and Democratic senators.

The state tax on a gallon of gas goes up 3.5 cents, from 7.5 to 11 cents under H.B. 1305. It goes up another penny July 1,1984, and still another penny July 1, 1985

Under Thompson's original plan, the tax would have continued to increase, indexed to the growth of personal income. The House version added a three-year "sunset" provision, as well as a half-cent per year "cap" on any increase. The Senate further refined the bill to its final form, eliminating the index. The total increase by the summer of 1985 will be 5.5 cents.

Car license fees also go up. Owners of large cars will pay $48, starting in 1984. Plates for small cars go up to $36 in 1984, rising to $48, the same as large cars, in 1985. Effective with the regular gas tax increase, diesel fuel users will have to pay an additional 2.5 cents. In addition, heavy truck registration fees increase 20 percent.

Opponents continue to clamor that the bill is unfair to the typical Illinois driver, who will be paying the largest part of the total package. Local governments also complain, because while they still receive 70 percent of the original 7.5 cent tax, they will only get 40 percent of the 5.5 cent increase.

When the sales tax, plus local taxes, are added to the new highway tax plan, a gallon of gasoline in Chicago will carry a tax of about 35 cents in state and local gasoline and sales taxes. This calculation came from the Midwest Petroleum Marketers Association, a group adamantly opposed to the increase. (And their projection does not include the 2.5 cents on diesel fuel.)

Meanwhile, mass transit, particularly the funding and reforming of the RTA, remained waiting in the wings on June 30. Thompson lived up to his agreement to provide a subsidy for RTA mass transit in northeastern Illinois, which has not had one from the state since 1979. In the final income/sales tax package passed June 30 is a provision to eliminate the 3 percent transfer of the state sales tax to the Road Fund. That money, about $75 million a year, would go to the authority to help ease its deficits.

But there are strings attached. The money would not flow until a bill restructuring the RTA is enacted. That bill, H.B. 1805, sponsored by House Minority Leader Lee Daniels, would maintain the current 13-member RTA board, five from Chicago and eight from the suburbs. To protect the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) from suburban control, at least nine rates would be required to approve any budgets. The bill also creates three new service boards, one each for the CTA, commute rails and suburban bus service. On July 2, a conference committee report on the bill was considered in the Senate, but the Senate vote fell short of passage, 25-29, and H.B. 1805 was put on postponed consideration. The General Assembly adjourned lhat night with the $75 million state subsidy in limbo.

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Utility changes with CUB, CWIP, coal

ONLY TIME will tell whether Illinois' new Citizens' Utility Board will be a strong voice against spiraling rate hikes or the "Edsel" of utility reform.

CUB, as it is called, received final approval June 30, in the Senate. CUB was just one provision of an omnibus utility reform bill which also included limitations on what utilities can include in their rate base, plus some reforms of the Illinois Commerce Commission (I1CC). Sponsored by Sen. Vince DeMuzio (D-49, Carlinville), S.B. 187 was originally drafted to establish an 11-member CUB, which would have solicited members via a checkoff system on utility bills. The bill also required utilities to collect contributions to the CUB and to establish an accounting procedure similar to that for municipal and state utility taxes collected.

Meanwhile, the House had its version of a CUB, H.B. 252, sponsored by Rep. Ellis Levin (D-5, Chicago). The House bill set up a 22-member board based on the state's congressional districts, but did not include a collection system for CUB contributions, and limited the CUB information to a 5/8-by-3-inch space on utility bills. Any other information via enclosures with utility bills are limited to four per year, for which the CUB would have to supply envelopes and postage.

While both houses approved their respective bills, the final version was a House amendment to the Senate bill, leaving H.B. 252 to languish in a conference committee. S.B. 187 thus became this session's attempt at utility reform, a topic which has generated almost as much controversy and rhetoric as the income tax increase. The House passed the amended S.B. 187 June 21 105-6. The Senate concurred with the amendments June 30, with separate votes on each at the request of Sen. Jerome Joyce (D-43, Reddick), a co-sponsor who, disappointed with the bill, asked that his name be removed. Joyce blasted the House amendments as a "farce and a joke." In an empassioned speech, he told the senators, "We will be guilty of trying to bilk the public one more time into thinking we have given them utility reform when we have given them nothing."

Other senators sided with Joyce, accusing the House of setting CUB up to fail. They believe a 22-member board is unwieldy, and will be heavily weighted in favor of Cook County and Chicago, which contain 12 of the 22 districts. Also, with no checkoff on utility bills and limits on information enclosures, CUB will have difficulty recruiting members, according to the dissenters.

Joyce intimated that some utilities are upset about the weakened CUB. They see a viable CUB as taking some of the pressure off the demand for an elected I1CC. The governor may hear from utility representatives about strengthening the CUB before he signs the legislation.

The bill also includes most of the other major reforms introduced this session. They are a five-year phaseout of "construction work in progress" (CWIP) which utilities use to figure their rate base; limits on types of advertising that utilities can include in the rate base; a ban on lobbying expenses in the rate base; an exemption from the Open Meetings Act of I1CC deliberations which concern "trade secrets" or federally protected information; limits on hiring of commission staff by utilities; and limits on winter shut-offs.

In conjunction with the omnibus bill, two other bills limit utility companies from passing on to consumers the cost of transporting coal. Seen as a way to encourage the use of Illinois coal, companion bills H.B. 99 and S.B. 2 require utilities to seek permission from the I1CC to charge customers coal transportation costs which are now automatically passed on to consumers as part of a fuel adjustment clause. By requiring utilities to go through the hearing process, the bills' sponsors, Rep. Jim Rea (D-117, Christopher) and Sen. Kenneth Buzbee (D-58, Makanda), hope to dissuade the companies from using high priced western coal. Transporting Illinois coal costs about $5 per ton, while utilities pay up to $26 per ton to ship western coal into Illinois.

The House approved H.B. 99 94-11 May 5; it cleared the Senate 50-6 June 20. S.B. 2 received Senate approval 35-15 May 27, with the House voting it out 99-57 June 20.

Another bill affecting Illinois coal and utilities exempts the cost of pollution control equipment from the CWIP limitations. S.B. 325, sponsored by Sen. DeMuzio, allows the I1CC to consider the cost of such equipment when determining the rate base of a utility which uses Illinois coal as a primary fuel source. The bill was approved by the Senate 57-2 May 26 and cleared the House 114-2 June 24.

And reacting to what senators viewed as executive arrogance, the Senate amended a bill to order any comissioner of the I1CC they refused to reappoint to vacate the office in two weeks. The flap arose when the Senate rejected the reappointment of Helen Schmid in March. She continued to act as a commissioner for two months, leaving only after several senators wrote a terse letter to the governor saying Schmid's actions were "an arrogant repudiation of the legislative intent expressed by the Senate."

The amendment is in H.B. 1085, which was approved by both chambers.

All of the public utility reform bills went to the governor's desk.

Reforms on voter registration, fraud

AMID THE hue-and-cry to save Illinois from fiscal collapse, legislators managed to make some changes in the state's election laws this session. Bills which were passed include public financing for the governor's race, a uniform statewide voter registration card and a crackdown on election fraud.

However, legislators were still reluctant to shorten the election campaign season. Perennial bills that would change the date of primary elections in Illinois, though passed by their house of origin, once again died in the committees of the opposite chamber. According to one observer, committee members could see no "crying need" to change the dates. (For details on the bills, see "Legislative Action," July Illinois Issues, p. 27.)

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Reform "packages" sponsored by Senate President Philip J. Rock and House Minority Leader Lee Daniels experienced varying degrees of success. Rock's bills, which dealt with voter registration, generated a lot of controversy. His bill to expand voter registration opportunities, S.B. 1301, underwent several changes after it passed the Senate May 27.

Rock, under pressure from the County Clerks Association, amended out the provision which would have expanded the position of deputy registrar to include members of about 50 civic organizations. As finally passed, the bill allows temporary registration posts to be set up in welfare, job service and driver's license offices, and designates school principals and librarians as deputy registrars.

The bill also includes provisions to establish a statewide uniform voter registration record card by 1985. A voter would be able to transfer his or her registration to a new jurisdiction by showing proof of registration in the old jurisdiction. S.B. 1301 cleared the Senate 52-4 May 27 and passed the House June 24 67-49. Because the bill was amended by the House, Senate concurrence was required. The Senate agreed with the House amendments on a vote of 31-21 July 1.

Rock's other bill, S.B. 1300, would have allowed voter registration by mail. Though supported by such groups as Common Cause, the League of Women Voters of Illinois and the AFL-CIO, the bill ended up on interim study in the House Elections Committee. With opposition again coming from the county clerks, Rock admitted there were too many "problems" with the bill.

Lee Daniel's proposed "Illinois Voting Rights Act," a 16-bill package attempting to crack down on election fraud, passed out of the House May 27 with no debate. In the Senate, however, only seven of his bills survived. In what one senator described as a "partisan brouhaha," Democrats and Republicans accused each other of being afraid of reform.

The bills which emerged from the fray to go to the governor include: H.B. 1983, lowering the penalty for voting more than once from a Class 4 to a Class 3 felony in order to make prosecution more practical; H.B. 1990, requiring that a notice be posted in voting booths telling voters to be sure their ballots are initialed; H.B. 1991, requiring judges to initial ballots above and below perforations; H.B. 1992, requiring the use of filament tape to wrap ballot containers; H.B. 1994, barring election judges convicted of forging ballots from public employment for five years; H.B. 1995, barring public employment for five years if convicted of lying about election results; and H.B. 2228, creating a "paper trail" for ballots by giving election judges receipts when they turn in ballots.

A bill which would have "professionalized" the position of election judge was resurrected after it was killed in a House committee, but then died again on the House floor. S.B. 1234, sponsored by Sen. Edward Nedza (D-5, Chicago), would have allowed paid full-time judges to register voters and to remove ineligible voters from the rolls. Intended to apply only to Chicago, the bill was defeated by downstate legislators on both sides of the aisle, who saw it as "a foot in the door" for a new abuse. The idea, which has been around since 1979, is being pushed by Chicago Election Board Chairman Michael E. Lavelle, who said he would try again next year. Rumors July 1 that the provision might be amended onto H.B. 2014, which was in a conference committee, proved unfounded, as the bill was tabled.

The time has finally come for public financing of gubernatorial elections in Illinois, if Thompson concurs. A recurring issue for the last few years, this year's plan was in companion bills H.B. 2012 and S.B. 938. Sponsored by House Speaker Michael J. Madigan and Sen. Dawn Clark Netsch (D-4, Chicago), the bills establish a $1 checkoff on state income tax forms to fund matching grants for gubernatorial candidates. The bills also limit campaign contributions and spending.

The House passed H.B. 2012 May 27 62-52; the Senate passed it 36-23 June 27. S.B. 938 moved out of the Senate May 26 on a vote of 29-28; the House approved it June 24 64-51. Both bills went to the governor.

Two bills addressing the problem of a gubernatorial recount in close elections were also passed. Rep. Aaron Jaffe (D-56, Skokie), introduced the bills in response to a finding by the Illinois Supreme Court that the recount statute was unconstitutional. The court arrived at its decision last May when it denied Adlai E. Stevenson Ill's petition to conduct a statewide recount. Stevenson lost to Gov. James R. Thompson in the November election by 5,074 votes — a difference of less than .5 percent.

Under H.B. 731, authority is given to the State Board of Elections to conduct a recount if the vote margin is .5 percent or less in a gubernational election. It passed the House 66-43 May 20; the Senate approved it June 27 by 53-3.

The other Jaffe bill, H.B. 2013, specifically states that the legislative intent on qualifying for recount petitions is more liberal than the high court's interpretation. It passed the House 65-40 May 27 and was approved by the Senate June 27 42-15. Both of Jaffe's bills went to the governor.

School bills on bargaining, basics

SCHOOL FUNDING was ultimately part of the tax increase negotiations this session. Nonfunding issues dealt with collective bargaining for teachers, tougher graduation requirements and a four-day school week.

Collective bargaining, a high priority issue with teacher organizations for years, finally passed this session. Under H.B. 1530, sponsored by Rep. Jim McPike (D-112, Alton), teachers would be able to bargain collectively on questions of wages, hours and other working conditions. The bill establishes the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act, but a provision for binding arbitration was deleted. H.B. 1530 passed the House on a vote of 81-31 May 31. It went to the governor after a Senate vote of 34-21 June 27.

Teachers are also covered under an "omnibus" collective bargaining bill, S.B. 536, which moved to the governor's desk June 30. (More details on collective bargaining will be in next month's column.)

The governor has to choose between two bills dealing with high school graduation requirements. Companion bills, S.B. 669 and H.B. 1179, are seen by sponsors Rep. Peg McDonnell Breslin (D-75, Serena) and Sen. Earlean Collins (D-9, Oak Park) as a response to public concern about the quality of education and the competency of students. The issue has exploded into national prominence in the past few months. The two bills spell out what courses are required to earn a high school diploma.

Under the bills, students would have to successfully complete three years of language arts, two years of math, one year of science, social studies and either music, art, vocational education or a foreign language. These specific courses are not included under current state law, though many school districts already require them.

The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) opposed the legislation, which is backed by teachers' organizations. State Supt. Donald Gill said that simply requiring such courses would not ensure quality education. The requirements are too vague, Gill said, and would place an additional burden on already over-mandated districts.

The ISBE is working on a series of "outcome statements" which will detail "what students need to know" before they can graduate. Results of this project, however, are not expected until next year. H.B. 1179 passed the House 110-6 May 12, winning Senate approval 34-24 June 28. Its companion, S.B. 669, was voted out of the Senate 34-25 May 25, and cleared the House June 27 66-43.

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The attempt to help financially strapped school districts to have a four-day school week was stalled in the Senate when the sponsor couldn't get enough votes. The bill, H.B. 477, sponsored by Rep. Richard Mulcahey (D-69, Durand), would have allowed a district with a population of less than 500,000 to petition the state board for permission to establish a four-day week — for one year only, and only in case of a fiscal emergency. Instead of five 5-hour days, students would attend classes for four 6-hour days.

The ISBE and teachers' organization opposed the four-day week because of possible detrimental effects on the quality of education. The bill, however, does specify that teachers are not to lose any compensation or benefits.

Though H.B. 477 passed the House 104-7 May 10, the bill ran into vigorous opposition in the Senate. During debate, one senator remarked that the bill would be like giving a "loaded pistol" to school boards, who could threaten taxpayers with a four-day week if they turned down referenda to increase school funding. Senators voted 29-24 on the bill — not enough for passage but enough to keep the bill alive for possible future consideration.

Opposition to a bill allowing before- and after-school programs for children forced the sponsor to request a second conference committee. In an effort to do something about the problem of "latch-key" children, who are left unattended at home before or after school, H.B. 1178, sponsored by Rep. Breslin, would permit schools to set up supervised programs. Parents would be charged for the services.

Though it passed the House 105-0 May 26 and was approved by the Senate 54-0 June 24, amendments added in the Senate sent it back to the House for concurrence. Breslin requested a conference committee to correct technical errors in the Senate amendments, but when she asked for House concurrence, opposition was strong enough to produce a vote refusing to concur with the amendments. Breslin requested a second conference committee in an attempt to overcome the opposition, and H.B. 1178 was approved via the second conference committee report.

All of the proposed education programs depend on funding. Yearly attempts to change the school aid formula, usually one of the last issues addressed, were highlighted this session by attempts to correct problems with the method of counting children who qualify for federal Title I education programs. Because of changes in income levels among poor families, the state will lose about 40,000 Title I-eligible children from the aid formula for local districts in the next school year.

One recommendation would allow districts to either stay with the number of children under the 1980 census, or take 85 percent of the 1970 census, which ever would result in a smaller loss. As of July 1, lawmakers were working on a bill which would make several changes in computing the school aid formula, including the weighting correction.

Funding for higher education, also a part of the tax increase negotiations, was not officially settled June 30 as appropriations for all items went into the conference committee process July 1.

One bill, however, generated much controversy. While increasing the amount of money for scholarships, the bill was amended to require 18-year-old men to show proof of registration with selective service to be eligible for scholarships. The legality of the requirement is in question, depending on the ultimate decision on a case before the U.S. Supreme Court. The bill, S.B. 263, sponsored by Sen. Aldo DeAngelis (R-40, Olympia Fields), passed the Senate 43-11 May 27 and the House 85-15 June 21.

Assembly tightens rules of the road

LEGISLATION strengthening an already tough drunk driving law was sent to the governor this session. A group of bills introduced by Secy. of State Jim Edgar address problems which arose since the enactment of the law last year.

While the law last year stiffened penalties for conviction of drunk driving (DUI), Edgar found that many judges are reluctant to convict, placing drivers instead on supervision. In an attempt to keep track of possible repeat offenders, a bill was introduced to require courts to give the secretary of state the names of persons, not convicted, but placed on supervision. The current law requires reporting only those drunk drivers who are assigned to an alcohol program.

The bill, H.B. 817, sponsored by Rep. Carl E. Hawkinson (D-94, Galesburg) passed the House 63-34 May 20. The Senate approved the bill 35-13 June 22.

Penalties for convictions under the DUI law were also stiffened. S.B. 125, sponsored by Sen. Charles Chew (D-16, Chicago), a major proponent of DUI legislation, would impose a mandatory two-day jail term or 10 days of community service work for a second DUI conviction. The bill passed the Senate 54-0 May 19 and was voted out of the House 106-0 June 21.

Another Chew bill, S.B. 174, would mandate a seven-day minimum jail sentence for anyone convicted of drunk driving on a revoked license. The bill passed the Senate 59-0 May 27, with House approval coming on a vote of 99-4 June 21.

Bills providing cost- and time-savings to motorists were also pushed by Edgar. S.B. 490, sponsored by Sen. James Rupp (R-51, Decatur), would increase the lifespan of a regular driver's license from three to four years. While it also increased the cost from $8 to $10, the yearly cost is less ($2.50). The bill sailed through the Senate (59-0) May 24 and the House (116-0) June 20.

Senior citizens (69 and older) with good driving records would be exempt from taking the written part of the driver's license exam under S.B. 90, sponsored by Sen. Clarence Darrow (D-36, Rock Island). Seniors are still required to take road and vision tests. Good drivers under 69 were exempted when renewing their licenses from the written test requirement last year and are also exempt from taking the road and vision tests. S.B. 90 passed the Senate 59-0 May 19 and was voted out of the House 114-0 June 20.

Proving that legislation never really dies, an attempt to institute probationary licenses for 16- and 17-year-olds was resurrected from interim study as an amendment to another bill, H.B. 1704. The sponsor of the amendment, Sen. John Davidson (R-50, Springfield) said it would suspend a teen driver's license for three months for a first traffic violation and for one year for a second offense. While the amended bill was passed by the Senate, the House refused to concur with the amendment. The next step would be a conference committee, but the record showed none was appointed by July 2.

Legislation was passed that, in effect, overrides Gov. James R. Thompson's amendatory veto last year of a child passenger restraint law, which took effect July 1. This year's bill, H.B. 1, sponsored by Rep. John Cullerton (D-7, Chicago), requires parents of children three years old and younger to put them in approved restraint car seats, and children ages four and five have to wear seat belts. The bill also restores a $25 fine for the first violation, with $50 for a second.

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H.B. 1 passed the House 83-23 April 7, winning Senate approval by a vote of 41-15 June 20. Opponents say the bill is unenforceable and see it as interfering with parental responsibility. But Thompson bowed to legislative and public pressure, signing the bill into law June 26. It is now P.A. 83-0008.

LEGISLATION requiring parental notification before performing an abortion on a minor passed this session, although lawmakers defeated attempts to establish a "squeal" law requiring parental notification when minors seek birth control.

In the latest round of attempts to limit abortions in the state, two bills would have required state-funded agencies to notify parents at least 72 hours before providing birth control or abortion services to their children. The bills, H.B. 1612 and S.B. 737, sponsored by Rep. Ralph Capparelli (D-16, Chicago) and Sen. Richard Kelly (D-39, Hazel Crest), mirrored a controversial federal regulation, which was blocked by a federal court injunction in February. Both bills were defeated in their house of origin in May.

Though labeled by opponents as unconstitutional, two other antiabortion bills received legislative support. Sponsored by Sen. LeRoy Walter Lemke (D-24, Chicago), who has championed antiabortion bills in the past, and Rep. John T. O'Connell (D-47, Western Springs), S.B. 521 and H.B. 720, which was eventually incorporated into S.B. 521, would require a 24-hour waiting period while parents are notified that a minor child has requested an abortion.

Lawmakers defeated an amendment to include notice to the parents of the father of the unborn child. Questions on the constitutionality of parental notification were refuted by O'Connell, who said a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down waiting periods referred only to adult women. S.B. 521 passed the Senate 44-8 May 24 and the House 82-28 June 24, but a conference committee was required. It passed July 1, and S.B. 521 went to the governor.

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