Distributed via Email: May 17, 2013
LEGISLATURE HITS THE HOME STRETCH
The Illinois General Assembly is heading into the last two weeks of the legislative session with much work left to be done. As is usually the case, the major issues have not yet been dealt with and negotiations and discussions will reach a fever pitch in the coming days over concealed carry of firearms, pension reform, gay marriage, expansion of gaming, and of course, the Fiscal Year 2014 state budget.
Negotiations on the FY 2014 budget began to heat up this week. In the House of Representatives, the appropriation committees were due to submit their recommendations to the Speaker of the House today (Friday). Similar budget discussions are ongoing in the Senate.
There was no movement this week on pension reform legislation – the dueling proposals from the House and Senate as described in previous Alliance Legislative Reports are still in play. However, House Speaker Michael Madigan held another public pension meeting Thursday on the issue of shifting the “normal costs” of the pension system from the state onto the local school districts and institutions of higher education. But this week, only universities and community colleges were discussed. Representatives from the higher education community agreed to take on these new pension costs at a rate of one-half percent of payroll per year.
Though there was no mention of elementary and secondary school districts at the meeting Thursday, the speaker is still indicating that he plans to include in the legislation a cost shift that would affect local school districts. The Alliance continues to be involved in the discussions in the Capitol.
OTHER LEGISLATIVE ACTION THIS WEEK
SB 1221 (Martinez, D-Chicago) , as amended,establishes a voluntary program creating a State Seal of Biliteracy program to recognize public high school graduates who have attained a high level of proficiency in listening, speaking, reading, and writing in one or more languages in addition to English. The bill was approved by the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee and was sent to the House floor for further consideration.
SB 1307 ( Lightford, D-Chicago) , as amended, would lower the compulsory school attendance age from 7 years to 6 years. An additional amendment has been offered extending the effective date to July of 2014. The bill, opposed by the Alliance, was approved by the Senate and sent to the House of Representatives for further consideration.
SB 1448 (Munoz, D-Chicago), as amended, creates an income tax credit for taxpayers who provide an endowment gift to a permanent endowment fund. The bill, opposed by the Alliance, was approved by the Senate Revenue Committee and was sent to the Senate floor for further consideration.
SB 1737 (Rose, R-Mahomet) provides that if a taxpayer is notified before Oct. 1 that he or she owes an arrearage of taxes due to administrative error then the county may send a separate bill which may be due no sooner than 30 days after the next installment of taxes. The bill was approved by the House of Representatives and will be sent to the governor for his consideration.
SB 1951 ( Althoff, R-McHenry) transfers 25 percent of certain surplus funds to the Common School Fund. The bill was approved by the House of Representatives and will be sent to the governor for his consideration.
HB 192 (Jackson, D-East St. Louis) allows Township High School District 113 to issue bonds that become due within 25 (instead of 40) years. The bill was approved by the Senate and was sent back to the House of Representatives for concurrence in the Senate amendment.
HB 194 (Chapa LaVia, D-Aurora) allows the city councils of Rockford, Aurora and East St. Louis to each create a promise zone which provides private funds sufficient to provide each eligible student who resides within the promise zone and who graduates from a public high school located within that promise zone with the tuition necessary to obtain an associate degree or its equivalent at the local community college. The bill was approved by the Senate and will be sent to the governor for his consideration.
HB 226 ( Sente, D-Lincolnshire) pr ovides that a person who is 17 years old on the date of a primary may vote at the primary if that person is otherwise qualified and will be 18 years old on the date of the following election. The bill was approved by the Senate and will be sent to the governor for his consideration.
HB 983 ( McSweeney, R-Cary) would require 45 days instead of 30 days for petitions to be filed causing a backdoor referendum to approve use of alternate bonds. The bill also lowers the petition signature requirement. Finally the legislation would require an entity not involved in the project to report on the sufficiency of revenues for the project. The bill was discussed in the Senate Local Government Committee but no vote was taken.
HB 1206 ( Sente) exempts from property taxation property owned by the Executive Board of the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System used for disaster preparedness and response. The bill was approved by the Senate and will be sent to the governor for his consideration.
HB 1404 (Bradley, D-Marion) requires all political subdivisions of the state engaging in public construction projects costing over $50,000 to have surety bonds. The bill was approved by the Senate and will be sent to the governor for his consideration.
HB 1446 ( Zalewski, D-Chicago) r equires that special education and related services be provided in accordance with the student’s IEP no later than 10 school attendance days (instead of the current “as soon as possible”) after notice is provided to the parents. The bill was approved by the Senate and will be sent to the governor for his consideration.
HB 1868 ( Unes, R- Pekin) makes changes regarding a provisional career and technical educator endorsement. The bill was approved by the Senate and was sent back to the House of Representatives for concurrence in the Senate amendment.
HB 2267 (Gordon-Booth, D-Peoria) makes numerous changes regarding school district reorganization, dissolution, and consolidation to facilitate school districts that wish to do so. The bill was approved by the Senate and will be sent to the governor for his consideration.
HB 2322 (Chapa La Via) allows for School Social Work to include services for establishing and delivering anti-bullying programs. The bill was approved by the Senate and will be sent to the governor for his consideration.
HB 2428 (Conroy, D-Villa Park) requires the ISBE to establish a Task Force on Civic Education. The bill was approved by the Senate and will be sent to the governor for his consideration.
HB 2768 (Welch, D-Westchester) requires principals to utilize resources of proper law enforcement agencies when the safety and welfare of students and teachers are threatened by illegal use or possession of weapons or illegal gang activity. The bill was approved by the Senate and will be sent to the governor for his consideration.
HB 3133 (Franks, D-Woodstock) , as amended, p rovides that the appropriations for the state aid formula and the foundation level shall be a lump sum. The bill was approved by the Senate and was sent back to the House for concurrence in the Senate amendment.
HB 3190 ( Osmond, R-Antioch),as amended, requires students entering grades 6 th and 12 th grade to be immunized for meningococcal conjugate. The bill was approved by the Senate and was sent back to the House for concurrence in the Senate amendment.
COMMITTEES SCHEDULED FOR NEXT WEEK
HOUSE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Tuesday, May 21, 9 a.m., Room 114, State Capitol
SB 492 (Noland, D-Elgin) , as amended, provides that moneys from the Corporate Personal Property Replacement Tax (CPPRT) may be used to permanently pay salary, stipends, and additional compensation for chief election clerks, county clerks, and county recorders; costs associated with regional offices of education and education service centers; and reimbursements by the Illinois State Board of Elections.
SB 1689 ( Biss, D-Evanston) deletes the education officers electoral board and moves the responsibility of acting on objections to petitions for nomination to serve on a school board, community college board, township board and municipality from the local election authority to the county election officers electoral board.
HOUSE REVENUE COMMITTEE
Tuesday, May 21, 9 a.m., Room 115, State Capitol
SB 1924 ( Luechtefeld, R- Okawville) exempts certain subdivision platted property designated as vacant land to remain under the vacant land assessment until the developer makes improvements to the property.
SB 2257 (Harmon, D-Oak Park) a new House Amendment #1, sponsored by Representative Franks, would require that where the EAV is less than the change in CPI for the previous year, taxing districts must approve a resolution adopting a limiting rate not exceeding that permitted by law. The new rate must be certified to the county clerk and notice must be published in a detailed format provided for in the bill.
This legislative report is written and edited by the lobbyists of the Illinois Association of School Boards to provide information to the members of the organizations that comprise the Statewide School Management Alliance.
Bill Text/Status: Illinois General Assembly www.ilga.gov
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