Legal/Legislative Scene

Legal/Legislative Scene

Governor Thompson
Approves OSLAD
Funding!

By Peter M. Murphy
IAPD Legal Counsel

On September 5, 1989, Governor James R. Thompson signed into law Senate Bill 1463 which, for the first time in Illinois' history, establishes a dedicated source of funding for local park land acquisition and development.

This is a tremendous achievement for Illinois park districts, and everyone of you who took the time to contact the Governor's office on this issue deserves the strongest congratulations. You have helped Illinois Park Districts make history in this State, and Senate Bill 1463 stands as a legacy to your hard work.

Park District Levy Date

The Governor also approved House Bill 1148 which changes the filing date for park district tax levies from the third Tuesday in September to the third Tuesday in December. Note that this change is effective immediately. (Public Act 86-346.)

In addition, two more Legislative Platform items were signed into law: House Bill 1305 which permits park districts to enter into multi-year contracts for the employment of professional staff can be referenced as Public Act 86-193, and House Bill 1149 which provides for a one year residency requirement prior to qualification for election as a park commissioner can be referenced as Public Act 86-347.

Bikeway Funding

As previously reported, the General Assembly approved Senate Bill 787 which provides that the State fees for motor vehicle Certificates of Title, Duplicate Certificates and Corrected Certificates of Title be raised from $3 to $5. The $2 increase will raise a total of $7 million annually which will be deposited in the Illinois Department of Conservation's Park and Conservation Fund to pay for the development of bike paths. The Governor signed this legislation at Pere Marquette State Park on August 31, 1989. The Bikeways Bill can be referenced as Public Act 86-466.

Sketch of the Capitol Building

In doing so, the Governor stated that, "Compared to Illinois' 154,000 miles of roadways, the State has only 267 miles of bicycle trails. This legislation will now allow the Department of Conservation, park districts and other units of local government to acquire and develop many additional bike paths."

The IAPD staff is currently working closely with the Illinois Department of Conservation to develop guidelines and regulations for the distribution of these monies.

1989 Legislative Highlights

Highlights of 1989 legislative action also include a 20% Income Tax increase on the rate for individuals and corporations until June 30, 1991. The Motor Fuel Tax will also increase by 6 cents per gallon, the Cigarette Tax will increase by 10 cents to a total of 30 cents per pack, and a 5% tax on mass produced computer software will help retire bonds for capital projects which include $10 million for the OSLAD program.

Defeated Bills would have restricted the use of assault weapons, legalized river boat gambling, moved the primary election date from March to September, and rewritten the Workers Compensation Act.

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Illinois Parks and Recreation

September/October 1989

Legal/Legislative

Other Legislation

The General Assembly passed House Bill 494 (Public Act 86-502), which requires that the State minimum wage must be at the same level or in excess of the Federal minimum wage. Currently both the Illinois and Federal minimum wages are $3.35 per hour.

House Bill 1328/Public Act

86-358 was also passed, requiring that the application of lawn chemicals be posted when used on residential lawns. Golf courses must post notices that chemicals are applied periodically.

Another issue hotly debated was that of parental leave. The General Assembly passed Senate Bill 292 which requires businesses with 50 or more employees to give employees up to 8 weeks of unpaid leave every two years for the birth, adoption or serious illness of a child, parent or spouse. Employees must have worked more than 20 hours per week and have been employed at the business for a year.

Relief was also provided to local governments from the onerous and ambiguous Criminal Statutes governing bid rigging as the result of the passage of House Bill 1453 (Public Act 86-150).

Truth In Taxation Amendment Pending Approval

Currently House Bill 1926, which makes several important changes to the law in relation to the requirements set forth in the Truth In Taxation Act, is pending the Governor's signature. It is predicted that he will be signing this legislation. The proposed changes are as follows:

Amendments to Section 8 of the Truth In Taxation Act now require the filing of a certification even if the Act is inapplicable, and such certification must note the inapplicability of the provisions of Sections 4 through 7 of the Act.
Tax bills must now reflect a separate statement of the dollar amount of tax due which is allowable to a tax levied under the Illinois Pension Code.
The definitional sections of the Act have been expanded in order to specifically define "aggregate levy", "special purpose levy", and "debt service."
Truth In Taxation hearings may not coincide with the hearing on the proposed budget of a taxing district.
The notice required to be published in the newspaper has been expanded to include information on:

a) The person (name, title, address and telephone number) who may be contacted by any person desiring to appear at the public hearing and present testimony.
b) The dollar amount of property taxes extended for debt services in the preceding year, and the estimated property taxes to be levied for debt service in the current year, as well as an indication of the percentage increase or decrease over the previous year.
c) The total property taxes extended for the preceding year, and the estimated total property taxes to be levied for the current year, and the percentage increase or decrease over the previous year.
d) The legislation specifically addresses the type of information which may be included in the notice, and limits it to the information specified in the Act. Note that any additional information added to the notice would invalidate it.

Copies of all legislation approved by the Governor are available from the IAPD offices.

Bill Introductions

Bill introductions during the 86th General Assembly were down slightly from the 1987 legislative session. However, more than 4,286 Bills were introduced. Of these, the House passed 716 Bills for a passage rate of 25%, and the Illinois Senate passed 431 Bills for a total passage rate of 29%. Overall, the General Assembly passed 27% of all Bills introduced compared with 26% in 1987.

Gubernatorial Action

Many questions have arisen as to the process by which Bills are approved by the Governor. The following is a short synopsis of that process.

At the end of session, all Bills passed by the Governor have 30 days in which to be enrolled and presented to the Governor, who then has 60 days to act. If the Governor does not act at the end of the 60 day period, or the "drop date" (as it is referred to), then the Bill automatically becomes law. The Governor also has the authority to veto a Bill in a number of ways as outlined below:

Veto Procedure

The Illinois Constitution provides the Governor with four possible veto alternatives. They include a total veto, an item veto, a reduction veto and an amendable veto.

Total Veto — The Governor can veto an entire bill by returning it with his objections to the house of origin. The General Assembly can override this veto by a vote of 3/5 of the members elected to each house.

Item Veto — The Governor can veto any item of appropriations in a bill by returning it to the house of origin. The General Assembly can override this veto by a 3/5 vote of the members elected to each house. Portions of the bill not vetoed become law.

Reduction Veto — The Governor can reduce any item of appropriations in a bill by returning it to the house of origin. An item reduced in amount can be restored to its original amount by the General Assembly by a vote of a majority of the members elected to each house. The portions of the bill not vetoed become law. If a reduced item is not restored, it will become law in the reduced amount.

The Governor can return a bill with his specific recommendations for change to the house of origin. The recommendations may be accepted by

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Illinois Parks and Recreation

September/October 1989

the General Assembly by a vote of a majority of the members elected to each house if an immediate effective date is not desired. It requires a 3/5 vote of the members if the bill is to become effective immediately.

The bill is re-presented to the Governor in its amended form. If he certifies that the amendment conforms to his recommendations, the bill becomes law. If the Governor does not certify the bill, it is returned to the General Assembly as a vetoed bill and is treated as a total veto. The General Assembly has the second option of overriding the Governor's amendatory veto by a 3/4 vote of the members of each house.

All vetoed Bills will be considered in the Veto Session which begins on October 4, 1989.

Effective Dates

All Bills passed by the General Assembly before July 1, automatically take effect on January 1, 1990, unless they contain a different effective date or an immediate effective date. The latter category take effect upon the Governor's approval. If a Bill is passed after June 30, it cannot become effective until July 1, 1990, unless it provides otherwise and was passed by at least 3/5 vote.

Editor's Note: The Park District Calendar published in IPR's July/August issue contained a few printing errors. In an effort to provide the most accurate and up-to-date information for our membership, please substitute the previous Calendar with the following revised edition.

F E A T U R E L E G A L A R T I C L E

Park District Consolidation Defeated

In what is being called an important victory for Illinois park districts and the Illinois electorate, Judge Joseph Schneider of the Circuit Court of Cook County, pursuant to a decision of the Illinois Appellate Court, entered an order June 7, 1989 declaring null and void the election results of a public referendum proposing the formation of a new park district in the Village of Maywood to supercede the two existing park districts in the Village. On May 5, 1989, Judge Michael Coccia of the Fifth Division of the Illinois Appellate Court First District ruled that every petition seeking submission of a public question at an election must contain an appropriate circulator's certification and oath and headings which properly inform the intended signatories of the question sought to be submitted to the voters.

An expedited appeal from a prior order of Judge Schneider certifying the petition for referendum was brought on behalf of the West Maywood Park District by Charlene Holtz, Gregory Friedman, and Evdoxia Beroukas of the law firm of Friedman & Holtz. The Appellate Court stayed certification of the April election results pending disposition of the appeal.

The appeal challenged the Cook County Circuit Court's action certifying for inclusion at the April 4, 1989 election in Maywood a referendum seeking the dissolution of the existing West Maywood and Central Area Park Districts and the creation of a new park district to supercede them. None of the petitions submitted to the court contained any indication of the circulator's identity or the circulator's verification or oath. The petition headings did not indicate or advise the intended signatories that the petition had for its purpose the creation of a new park district which would in fact supercede the existing park districts, with those park districts of necessity being dissolved should the referendum pass.

The petitions were circulated by a group calling itself the "Citizens for a Unified Park District". The group was represented both in the trial court and on appeal by attorneys for the Village of Maywood who were paid for their efforts by the Village of Maywood.

Quoting from the Appellant's brief, the Appellate Court ruled that the certification and oath requirement is mandatory because it significantly reduces the opportunity for fraud through the use of illegal signatures on petitions. The Court further held that the heading requirement is necessary to protect the signatories and electorate from misrepresentation and fraud and to make certain that they are fully informed as to the question of public policy they are being asked to support.

This decision represents an important resolution by the First District of two conflicting decisions rendered by the Second and Fourth Districts. The Second District held that The Park District Code provision applicable to referenda of this type alone governs the form of the petition. That section does not include a requirement that petitions contain a circulator's affidavit or oath or headings. The Fourth District held that The Park District Code requires petitions of this type to comply with both the specific requirements of The Park District Code and the general requirements of The Election Code.

Over the arguments of the Village's attorneys, Friedman & Holtz urged the First District to adopt the public policy rationale of the Fourth District. The First District agreed, stating that if The Election Code safeguards "did not apply, fraud would be more difficult to detect, at best; at worst, fraud would be tacitly encouraged."

Illinois Parks and Recreation

September/October 1989