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Approved in Senate Bill 1903/Public Act
93-0032, the wide-ranging fee hikes include such items as pet food,
used tires and boat registrations. Owners of coin-operated games
will see a doubling of fees for each machine they operate, while
farms face higher fees on feed and fertilizer. Nursing homes,
hospitals, factories, insurance agents, construction companies and
trash haulers are a few examples of groups that will encounter fee
increases under the Democratic plan.
Senate Republican lawmakers opposed the
increases, citing the effect on small business and consumers. These
hikes, coupled with the loss of many tax incentives, could force
businesses to pass costs on to consumers, lay off employees or
simply move out of state, taking jobs and paychecks with them.
In response to two other recent bills
many businesses and trucking companies have already expressed their
desire to move to neighboring states with more favorable tax laws.
The passage of a state death tax (Senate Bill 1725/Public Act
93-0030) and the narrowing of the rolling stock tax exemption on
trucks (Senate Bill 841/Public Act 93-0023) both went into effect on
June 20.
In other legislation, a measure also
taking effect July 1 provides senior citizens an opportunity to
enroll in a prescription drug discount program, regardless of their
income. Passed by the General Assembly in May, Senate Bill 3/Public
Act 93-0018 creates a new, voluntary program that places a ceiling
on drug costs at all participating pharmacies. It also requires the
state to negotiate rebate agreements with drug manufacturers,
allowing Illinois seniors to obtain their prescription drugs at a
discounted price.
Any senior citizen 65 years or older
qualifies. As participants in the program, seniors will pay a $25
enrollment fee to participate and help pay for the program. Those
already enrolled in the Circuit Breaker program are not required to
pay the enrollment fee, and under the bill, they will automatically
be enrolled and have access to discounts on medications not covered
by Circuit Breaker.
Senate Bill 3 was approved without
opposition by the legislature, and seniors should begin receiving
discounts by January 1, 2004.
In other business, Senate Bill
744/Public Act 93-0021 implements the state's education spending for
next year and contains a mixed bag for the students of Illinois. On
the plus side, it raises the foundation level of education spending
-- the minimum guaranteed to each Illinois pupil -- by $250, from
$4,560 to $4,810 annually. However, many worthy programs, such as
gifted education, family literacy, and substance abuse and violence
prevention, are eliminated, despite Republican objections.
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House Bill 2750/ Public Act 93-0014
gives community health providers who provide treatment to
individuals with developmental disabilities a 4 percent
cost-of-living adjustment. It also funds community-based addiction
treatment services and other programs that help people overcome
problems associated with drugs, alcohol, gambling and other
addictions.
Thanks to Republican efforts, House
Bill 2750 also provides $100 million in grants for school districts
that were overlooked in the Democrats' education budget.
Changes to Illinois' crematory laws
will help Illinois avoid a situation like last year's controversy in
Georgia, where an unlicensed crematory improperly disposed of human
bodies and provided families with false remains. House Bill
4696/Public Act 92-0675 establishes licensing requirements for
Illinois' 64 crematories, encompassing the current regulatory
efforts of state agencies.
House Bill 4911/Public Act 92-0629
creates intrastate fleet license plates, saving time and money for
companies with large fleets of cars or trucks used for intrastate
commerce. Under the new law, these companies will be able to
register fleet vehicles in the same manner as interstate companies.
House Bill 5615/Public Act 92-0775
requires drivers who repeatedly drive without liability insurance to
provide proof of financial responsibility or risk losing their
license. Current law requires all vehicles to have proof of
insurance in the form of an insurance card, but the new law will
require those convicted of driving uninsured vehicles three or more
times to provide the state with a written certificate from an
insurance carrier certifying that it has issued a motor vehicle
liability policy. If the policy lapses during the year, the
insurance company will notify the state, and the driver will lose
his or her license.
House Bill
5906/Public Act 92-0794 licenses treatment facilities to assure that
patients in the end stages of renal disease receive quality care.
End-stage patients undergo dialysis in the last stages of their
treatment, and the new licensing will require such facilities to
have trained doctors or nurses on-site to oversee patient care,
adequate staff to meet medical and non-medical patient needs, and a
minimum set of standards to ensure patient safety.
[News
release]
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