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State borrows money to pay bills
Senate Republicans advanced the idea
when the state began lagging in its payment of bills more than a
year ago, standing firm in its belief that the state should not be a
deadbeat bill payer. Gov. Jim Edgar successfully implemented a
similar plan five years in a row during the mid-'90s when reserves
were low and cash flow was a problem.
Short-term borrowing will help the
state meet its financial obligations. When used for cash flow
purposes in times of fiscal crisis, short-term borrowing is a good
cash management policy. Short-term loans are available to the state
at rates of 1 and 2 percent, rates far lower than the business owed
could secure until the state's bill cycle returns to normal.
Already, the state's late payment of
bills has forced many of these businesses to borrow from their local
banks at rates of approximately 6 percent. If the state continues to
delay its payments, many of those businesses could be forced to
close their doors or lay off employees.
The governor's plan calls for a
short-term loan of $1.5 billion, to be repaid within one year.
Senate
begins review of House bills
The Senate began reviewing House bills
this week. Approximately 179 bills moved over from the House, and
most are Democrat-sponsored. We now have around 1,800 House bills to
work on the rest of the session, which is scheduled to end on May
23.
To see a list of the House bills now in
the Senate, use the following Web address:
http://www.legis.state.il.us/reports/default.asp.
A few of the bills that passed to us
this week are as follows:
HB 6 -- Requires that the role of
hospitals be taken into account when disaster preparedness funds are
awarded.
HB 43 -- Requires defibrillators at
certain fitness facilities.
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HB 59 -- Forbids those who committed
specified criminal offenses from being employed at child care
facilities.
HB 76 -- Creates the Illinois
Disabilities Services Advisory Committee.
HB 92 -- Increases penalties against
those who attempt to escape from pursuing police officers.
HB 105 -- Amends the Open Meetings Act
to allow for closed meetings to consider security procedures with
respect to dangers to the public.
HB 199 -- Increases public awareness of
the dangers posed by prostate cancer.
HB 209 -- Provides for prescription
drug discounts for senior citizens.
HB 218 -- Forbids police officers from
stopping and searching vehicles solely because an occupant failed to
wear a seat belt.
HB 236 -- Requires telephone companies
to provide free directory assistance services for legally blind
customers.
HB 1338 -- Gives counties the authority
to control the use of land around air force bases in order to
protect the safety of local communities.
HB 2524 -- Adds stalking to the
definition of harassment in the Illinois Domestic Violence Act.
HB 2902 -- Increases penalties against
those who knowingly submit a false claim of child abuse.
HB 2997 -- Restricts homeowner
associations from prohibiting the display of American flags.
HB 3091 -- Increases penalties for
child kidnapping.
HB 3486 -- Forbids firing or punishing
an employee who is a victim of domestic violence for taking time off
from work to obtain judicial relief.
If you need
information on any bill, you can go to the website for the
Legislative Information System:
www.legis.state.il.us. Or
you can call my office to get the information that you need: (217)
782-6216, Springfield; (309) 664-4440, Bloomington.
[Provided by Sen. Bill Brady] |
