ADJOURNMENT NEARS as As the General Assembly struggles to put to bed the "must pass" legislation of this session. The scheduled adjournment date in both bodies is May 22.
At this writing 1,475 house bills were introduced this year despite the admonition of leadership for members to limit the amount of new ideas brought forward. The process was self-correcting, however, as the House only engrossed 276 bills of which it only sent 209 or 14 percent to the Senate. This passage rate is one of the lowest in many years and can be attributed not only to the election year, but also to the political turmoil that surrounded the legislative session as the final deadline for hearing House bills drew near.
In the Illinois Senate 714 bills were introduced of which 178 were engrossed (24 percent) and sent to the Illinois House.
Top 10 lists proliferate these days but attempts to limit the bills that affect your park, forest preserve or conservation district to just 10 is too difficult, even in a non-substantive year in which issues are primarily limited to appropriation matters. So here are the top 20 bills that affect parks and recreation which are being acted on in the Illinois General Assembly.
Adult Entertainment
HB2473 Black, Beaubien
Prohibits a county or municipality from locating an adult
entertainment facility within 1,000 feet of the property
boundary of any forest preserve. Last Action: 4-29-98
Passed both houses
Aggregate Extension Rate
S8 1388 C. Radogno
Amends Property Tax Extension Limitation Law; provides, for
levy years before the 1998 levy year, those taxing districts
that reduced their aggregate extension for the last
preceding levy year shall use the highest aggregate
extension in any of the last
three preceding levy years
for computing the limiting
rate; other provisions.Last
Action: 2-17-98 Referred
to Senate Rules Committee
Chicago Park District
SB1603 DeLeo
Amends Chicago Park
District Act; allows the
district to do a variety of
improvements, enter into
leases and contracts, and
grant licenses/easements
for construction purposes.
Last Action: 2-19-98
Referred to Senate Rules
Committee
Computer Immunity
HB2840 Fritchey
Creates the Local
Government Computer
Immunity Act. Provides
that no cause of action,
including, without
limitation, any civil action
or action for declaratory or injunctive
relief, may be brought against
the state or any
of its agencies,
officers or
employees or
against a local
public entity or
public employee on
the basis that a
computer or other
information system
produced, calculated or
generated an incorrect
date, regardless of the
cause of the error. Last
Action: 2-18-98 Assigned
to House Rules Committee
Golf Cart Operation
SB 1264 Klemm
Permits local governements to authorize the operation of golf carts on roadways under their respective
jurisdictions. Provides that
persons driving or in
actual physical control of
golf carts are subject to
motor vehicle DUI
provisions. Last Action: 4-
29-98 Placed on House
Calendar Order of 2nd
Reading
Family/Medical Leave
HB3477 Meyer, McKeon
Contains provisions similar
to those in the federal
Family and Medical Leave
Act of 1993, expect that it
applies to employers with
25 or more (instead of 50
or more) employees and
some of the provisions of
the federal law pertaining
to federal employees and
federal matters have bene
deleted or changed. Last
Action: 4-1-98 Senate First
Reading
Investing Public Funds
SB 1555 maitland,
Trotter Amens Public Funds Investment Act; requires
public agencies to develop
and implement policy for
such funds within their
custody or control;
includes areas the policy
must cover to address
investment safety, liquidity,
and rate of return;
requires policies be in
effect 1/1/2000. Last
Action: 4-29-98 Placed on
House Calender Order of
2nd Reading Short Debate
Labor Unions
HB3394 Phelps-Moffiff- Kenner-Saviano-McKeon Provides that for a unit of local government employing 10 through 34 employees a petition or request for recognition may be filed demonstrating that 75% or more of the employees wish to be exclusively represented in collective bargaining by a labor organization. Last Action: 3-25-98 Senate First Reading
Merging/Consolidating Districts
SB 1331 B. Fawell
Amends Property Tax
Extension Limitation Law in
Property Tax Code;
concerning merging/
consolidating of taxing
districts, provides that if
service and corresponding
portion of the aggregate
extension base transferred
to a taxing district are for
a service for which the
transferee district doesn't
currently levy, the
provisions requiring a
referendum to establish a
new levy shall not apply.
Last Action: 4-28-98
Placed on House Calendar
Order of 2nd Reading -
Short Debate
14 / Illinois Parks and Recreation
ISSUES AND INSIGHTS FROM THE LEGAL/LEGISLATIVE SCENE
Museum Disposition
SB 1292 Weaver, S.
Sets forth procedures for
the disposition of property
that has been loaned to a
museum and other
property that is in a
museum's possession and
for the determination of
ownership of the property
under specified circumstances. Provides that the
term "museum" includes
historical societies,
historic sites, landmarks,
parks, archives, monuments, botanical gardens,
arboreta, zoos, nature
centers, planetaria,
aquaria, libraries,
technology centers, and
art, history, science and
natural history museums.
Last Action; 4-29-98 Placed
on House Calendar Order of
2nd Reading
Park Crime
HB3783 Scully Provides for adult criminal prosecution of certain minors and enhanced criminal penalties for adults who commit specified offenses in a public park on the real property comprising a public park, or on a public way within 1,000 feet of the real property comprising a public park. Last Action: 3-17-98 Assigned to House Rules Committee
Park District Bingo
SB 1273
Walsh, L
Provides that a park
district may provide a
premises for the conduct
of bingo without obtaining a license from the
Department. Last Action:
4-28-98 Placed on House
Calendar Order of 3rd
Reading - Short Debate
Park District Bonds
HB 3647 McGuire Provides that in addition to its current meaning, "debt service extension base" means an amount equal to that portion of the extension for any park district for the 1991 levy year constituting an extension for payment of principal and interest on bonds issued by the park district without referendum, but no including excluded non-referendum bonds, but only for those park districts (i) that were first subject to this law in 1991 or 1995 and (ii) either whose extension for the 1994 levy year (A) did not include any amount for the payment of principal and interest on bonds issue without referendum or (B) was less than 51% of the amount equal to that portion of the extension for the park district for the 1991 levy year constituting an extension for the payment of principal and interest on bonds issue by the park district without referendum (but not including excluded non-referendum bonds). Last Action; 2-17-98 Referred to House Rules Committee
Public Records
HB 2864 Meyer, McKeon Provides that a public record may be disposed of after the prescribed retention period and being reproduced in a digitized electronic format if the local records commission gives written approval for disposal. Last Action: 3-31-98 Referred to Senate Rules Committee
Real Estate Sales to State
HB 2471 Stone Amends Park District Code; provides that any park district owning and holding real estate is authorized to give, sell, or lease that property to the state of Illinois or another unit of local government. Last Action: 3-31-98 Referred to Senate Rules Committee
Redevelopment Project Areas
SB 1566 Radogno Amends Tax Increment Allocation Redevelopment Act; deletes provisions concerning "blighted" and "conservation" areas and "industrial" and "industrial conservation" parks; redefines "redevelopment project area"; includes in qualifications and costs of certain EPA cleanup of hazardous waste and underground storage tanks; provides that certain plans or projects may not exceed a three- year term; requires joint review boards, plus requires public hearings; a whole bunch of other somewhat related stuff (87 pages). Last Action: 4-2-98 Placed on Senate Calendar Order of Third Reading
Taxpayer Refunds
SB 1267 Peterson, Walsh, L, Berman, Dudycz, Parker, Mahar Provides that if a certificate of error is issued under the Property Tax Code and the certificate of error certifies that the taxpayer is entitled to a refund for overpayment of taxes, the county collector shall pay the taxpayer interest on the amount of the refund at the rate of 1.5% per month from the date of the execution of the certificate of error by the chief county assessment officer to the date the refund is made. Provides that the county collector shall proportionately reduce the distribution of taxes collected for each taxing district in which the property is situated to cover the cost of interest. Last Action: 4-30-98 House Revenue Committee
Threatening a Public Official
SB 1541 Dillard Amends Criminal Code regarding threatening a public official; provides that the threat may be made by any means of communication and extends the threat to that which would place the official or family member in reasonable fear of bodily harm, sexual assault, confinement, etc.; sets penalties for violations. Last Action: 2-19-98 Referred to Senate Rules Committee
Tort Liability
SB 1628 Cullerton, Dillard Amends the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act. Makes the following changes in provisions exempting a local public entity and its employees from liability for an injury caused by a failure to supervise an activity or the use of public property: (i) creates an exception for willful and wanton conduct proximately causing an injury; (ii) deletes language relating specifically to areas used for swimming; and (iii) provides that neither a local public entity nor a public employee supervising an activity on or the use of any public property is liable for an injury unless the local public entity or public employee is guilty of willful and wanton conduct proximately causing the injury. This bill will be amended in the House to ensure passage. Effective immediately. Last Action: 5-7-98 Compromise language amended into HB 1151
Truth in Taxation
HB3027 Biggins-Fantin Requires taxing districts to hold public hearings on their intention to adopt an aggregate levy and to publish their intentions to adopt an aggregate levy in amounts more than 5 percent or the percentage increase in the Consume Price Index, whichever is less, over the amount of property taxes extended or estimated to be extended, including any amount abated by the taxing district prior to such extension, upon the final aggregate levy of the preceding year; sets a uniform date for filing appropriation ordinances. last Action: 4-28-98 Referred to Senate Revenue Committee.
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LEGISLATORS NOT RETURNING IN '99 At this time, the following current members will not return for the 1999 General Assembly. Senate
Howard W. Carroll (D-8) House
John C. "Jay" Ackerman (R-89) |
May/June 1 998 /15
May/June 1998 /16