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ON SEPTEMBER 5, the U.S. Congress reconvened for about a month to wrap up this session. Within this time frame, CARA will either live or die. We hear that the Senate leadership continues to support CARA, but these legislators also are listening to senators who are against the bill and there is concern about a divisive floor fight. The congressional clock is ticking fast and spending bills will rule the debates during the first few weeks of September, sprinkled with a smattering of election-year proposals designed to give the American public a sense of what this Congress has accomplished during the past two years. That's where we come in. The Conservation and Reinvestment Act (CARA) represents the primary conservation legacy the 106th Congress can give to the American people. CARA encompasses a broad array of practical land conservation and outdoor recreation measures including full funding of the Land and Water Conservation Fund as well as a plethora of monies to states and local communities for urban parks, wildlife management and education, historic preservation, and ranch land and farmland protection, among other conservation programs. For a summary of the House and Senate versions of CARA, visit www.ahrinfo.org and click on "On Capitol Hill." In July, CARA overwhelmingly passed in the House of Representatives by a solid, bipartisan 315 to 102 vote. More recently, it was voted out on a bipartisan majority in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. CARA must next show its resolve through the full Senate. In order to keep CARA on the Senate's radar screen, we must continue to show the broad spectrum of public support for these conservation programs that has made the bill a necessary vote in the 106th Congress. We encourage you to take the time to partake in the final push to secure long-term funding for parks and wildlife. We don't have much time left. Senators Baucus (D-MT), DeWine(R-OH), Feinstein (D-CA), Warner(R-VA), Graham (D-FL) and Abraham (R-MI) are circulating a letter to the Senate leadership asking Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-MS) and Senate Minority Leader TomDaschle(D-SD)to schedule CARA for Senate consideration in September. Call your Senators Durbin and Fitzgerald today and ask them to contact the Senate leadership. Make sure that they realize how important CARA is to your agency and constituents. This is very important since neither Senator Fitzgerald nor Senator Durbin are co-sponsors of the bill. Senate rules prevent any new co-sponsors, so contacting Senate leadership is the next best action a Senator can take to get this to the floor. Fitzgerald's staff should call Paul Palagyi of Senator Mike DeWine's staff at 202.224.2315. Durbin's staff should call Jason Schendle of Senator Mary Landrieus staff at 202.224.5824. To contact Senator Fitzgerald, call 202.224.2854. To reach Senator Durbin, call 202.224.2152 Thanks for your help! The final push for CARA is here. Together let's make history. 12 / Illinois Parks and Recreation ISSUES AND INSIGHTS FROM THE LEGAL/LEGISLATIVE SCENE 2000 LEGISLATIVE SESSION SUMMARY During the 2000 regular session, which adjourned on April 19, 247 bills passed both houses. As of June, the governor had approved 112 bills, vetoed one and amenditorily vetoed one. Information on all bills from the session is available at www.legis.state.il.us/ legisnet/legislner91/ 91gatoc.html. Appropriations & State Budget. The state budget for fiscal year 2001 is nearly $49.32 billion, which is 12.7% more than last year's $43.75 billion budget. Appropriations from the General Revenue Fund rose 5.2%, from other state funds and federal sources rose 19.7%, from $22.4 billion to $26.8 billion. Criminal Law. The General Assembly voted to make exceptions to prohibitions on transporting or carrying firearms and to reenact the other parts of the Safe Neighborhoods Law; allow gang-owned real estate to be forfeited, and allow persons harmed by gangs to get triple and punitive damages; and bar person convicted of crimes against children from living within 500 feet of schools and playgrounds). Sex Crimes. Child sex offenders cannot reside within 500 feet of a school, playground, or facility offering programs or services for persons under age 18, except in a home bought by the sex offender before the effective date of this bill. For purposes of that prohibition only, the list of "child sex offenses" is broadened to include many nonsexual crimes against children (H.B. 4045; P.A. 91-0911). Environment & Conservation. Bills that passed both houses will require pumps dispensing gasoline containing MTBE to be so labeled, and restrict clear-cutting of trees near navigable waters. Clear-cutting of 400 or more square yards of mature tees within 15 yards of navigable water, except to address needs specific to the site, is prohibited unless done by a unit of local government with more than 500,000 population or by a business regulated by the Coast Guard or Army Corps of Engineers. The Department of Natural Resources can issue permits to municipalities of up to 500,000 to clear-cut for development projects. (H.B. 3093; P.A. 91-0907) Local Government. The General Assembly voted to create a Local Government Taxpayers' Bill of Rights; allows public bodies to hold closed meetings to discuss potential (in addition to actual) dangers, and requires park districts to get criminal background checks on employment applicants. (H.B. 390; P.A. 91-885) FOIA. A bill that would authorize the Attorney General to review denials of Freedom of Information Act requests passed the House but was nor assigned to a substantive Senate committee (H.B. 3469; referred to Senate Rules 2-25-00). Bonds. A standardized referendum format is authorized for any bond issue under the Local Government Debt Reform Act. Local governments are now also permitted to buy investments and related services by installments and related services by installment contract, enforceable without appropriation (S.B. 1627; EA. 91-0868) Open Meetings Act. Public bodies can close meetings to discuss security procedures for reasonably potential (instead of only actual) dangers, and need not describe such dangers in morions to close meetings (H.B. 3881; PA. 91-0730). Park Districts. Legislation permits that when both a municipality and a park district tax the same territory for park or recreation purposes, the municipality can pay some or all of the park districts tax on that territory for up to 10 years. In other legislation specific to park districts, the General Assembly now requires park districts to get criminal background checks on applicants for employment. Park districts cannot employ applicants with major convictions (H.B. 390, PA. 91-885, effective July 6, 2000) Records Destruction. A local public agency can copy a public record on microfilm as an alternative to digitized form. It can also dispose of any copied record if the copy (in addition to being unchangeable as under current law) will be usable for as long as the record is needed; but it must give notice to the local records commission when doing so. (H.B. 840; PA. 91-0055) State Property Leases. In counties of 500,000 to 800,000 (currently consisting of Lake and Du Page), the Department of Transportation can lease property to another government for up to 25 years instead of the usual 5 years (S.B. 1291; P.A. 91-0783). Revenue. Bills that passed both houses will liberalize the "circuit breaker" and Pharmaceutical Assistance programs; offer corporations tax credits to establish and operate facilities caring for employees' children; and promote simplification of the collection of sales, use, and occupation taxes, both in Illinois and along with other states. Income Tax Rebate. Homeowners will receive, in 2000 only, a rebate on their Illinois income tax, equal to their Illinois tax credit on 1999 income (5% of property tax paid), up to $300 (H.B. 3876; P.A. 91-0703). September/October 2000 ¦ 13 STATEHOUSE INSIDER
Every day when the mail arrives on Capitol Hill, a ritual unfolds in House and Senate offices. Harried staffers take the letters, packages, reports, press releases, information kits, flyers, and invitations that continually bombard their offices, and proceed to go through all this stuff while standing next to the trash can. Only a fraction of the mail escapes the circular file. As one participant in a recent focus group of Capitol Hill staff said, "I have one small stack I keep, and everything else gets tossed." "Honestly, I throw away about 90 percent of my mail," added another focusgroup participant. Their comments reflect the challenge associations face as they try to break through the clutter and deliver messages to elected officials via self-focused staffers. Although inundated with mail, phone calls, e-mail, and visitors, these staffers actually rely on associations to help them do their jobs. The Power of Information On the Hill, information is power. Hill staffers' top priority is finding information, broken down by issue area and localized by state or district, that helps them do their jobs and helps their bosses succeed. Said one Hill staffer: "(Associations) give you information about the impact of a particular bill, so I can go see my senator and say, 'Here's what the bill does, here's the up side, here's the down side, and here's what these groups are saying it means to our state.'" Tips for Communicating with Impact More than 570 million pieces of mail and 6 million phone calls were logged on Capitol Hill in 1997staggering numbers that reflect just how many groups and people are vying for the attention of elected officials and their staffs. Here are a few tips for effective communication that emerged from research of Capitol Hill staff. Keep information concise. Trying to deliver an all-encompassing message in a long report or a thick press kit is a waste of time. Keep materials to one page with bullet points, and refer readers to your Web site for more information. Localize messages. Whenever possible, break information down by state, district, county, or municipality, depending on the office you are contacting. Messages delivered by well-informed constituents invariably get more attention than those from outsiders. Match messages with job tides. Press secretaries want to know about media events and speaking opportunities, while legislative directors are more interested in background on issues. Make information available on Hill staffers' terms. Internet sites, directories, and hot lines allow Hill staff to access information when they want it, rather than information arriving unsolicited when staffers don't necessarily need it. Positioning your agency as an information source is the most effective way to get your foot in the door and start cultivating relationships with Capitol Hill staff. by Peter M. Murphy 14 / Illinois Parks and Recreation |Home|
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