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Republican lawmakers are leery of
backing the massive borrowing plan until more details are provided
on the plan's risk and how it fits into an overall proposal to
balance the state budget.
According to Bomke, Republicans remain
open to the concept but want full details before they approve a
borrowing plan that will more than double the state's debt.
Republican lawmakers want to fully review the details to ensure
Blagojevich's plan will not put Illinois' finances in further
jeopardy. A similar bonding plan recently backfired in New Jersey.
Over Republican objections, the Senate
passed 247 proposed laws with a single vote and without any debate.
Republican lawmakers expressed disappointment that all discussion
was denied on issues ranging from taxes to gambling expansion to
Chicago pension sweeteners.
In other business, the Senate continued
final passage of Senate bills this week on issues ranging from
ethanol to public financing of elections to sexual assault. The
following are among those measures approved by the Senate this week.
Ethanol (SB 46) --
Extends the sales tax credit on ethanol and bio-diesel fuels through
2013.
Home repair fraud (SB 240) --
Increases penalties and lowers monetary triggers for home repair
fraud committed against senior citizens and disabled individuals.
Judicial elections (SB 1415) --
Allows public financing of judicial
elections to ensure the integrity and impartiality of the bench.
Traffic lights (SB 21) --
Prohibits the sale, installation or unauthorized operation of a
traffic control signal pre-emption device.
Metro East Sports Authority (SB 210) --
Creates the Metro East Sports Authority Act.
Deer hunting (SB 257) --
Allows the use of handguns during open season for deer.
Property tax appeals (SB 270) --
Gives Cook County homeowners more time to file a tax objection
complaint.
Handguns (SB 356) --
Requires the Illinois State Police to publish a list of handguns
that melt or deform at a temperature of less than 800 degrees
Fahrenheit.
Children's health (SB 359) --
Licenses children's community-based health care centers to provide
care for medically frail, technologically dependent, clinically
stable children in a homelike environment.
Mercury (SB 371) --
Prohibits the sale of mercury fever thermometers after July 1, 2004.
Sexual assault (SB 406) --
Clarifies that consent to sexual relations may be withdrawn at any
time.
Sex offenders (SB 641) --
Provides apartment and condominium residents with grass-roots
information about how to access the sex offender registry.
Vision screening (SB 805) --
Provides parents with information about school vision screening and
encourages them to also seek comprehensive eye exams for their child
at the same time as other school health examinations.
Needles (SB 880) --
Allows any adult to purchase up to 20 sterile hypodermic syringes or
needles at pharmacy without a prescription.
American flag (SB 1147) --
Prohibits condominium associations or homeowners associations from
restricting the display of the American flag or the installation of
a flagpole on which to display it.
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Farm development (SB 1166) --
Allows more farmers and agribusiness to qualify for financing and
refinancing of debt. (SB 1211) -- Increases state backing for
the loans, providing incentive for banks to offer better interest
rates.
Freedom Trail Commission (SB 1363) --
Creates the Freedom Trail Commission to promote and preserve the
history of the Freedom Trail and Underground Railroad in Illinois.
Tax checkoffs (SB 1401) --
Creates an income tax checkoff for asthma and lung research to
benefit the American Lung Association's Asthma Clinical Research
Program. (SB 1044) -- Creates an income tax checkoff to
benefit Lou Gehrig's disease (ALS) research.
Meth (SB 1578) --
Holds a person convicted of the manufacture of methamphetamines
liable for the cost of any emergency response connected with their
crime.
Earned income tax credit (SB 4) --
Extends a tax credit for working low-income families.
Teen drivers (SB 58) --
Limits the number of passengers 16- and 17-year-old drivers may
travel with during the first six months they have a license.
Property tax freeze (SB 466) --
Allows disabled individuals to qualify for the Senior Citizens
Assessment Freeze Homestead Exemption.
Senior citizens homestead exemption (SB
505) -- Prorates a senior
citizen's property tax assessment on a new home for the first year
after they move.
Courts (SB 75) --
Establishes separate circuit courts and adds judges for overburdened
counties.
Eating disorders (SB 601) --
Adds eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia to the list of
mental disorders that must receive the same insurance coverage as
biologically based illnesses.
Technology in the classroom (SB 897) --
Provides grants to schools to buy computers and upgrade technology.
Car titles (SB 1149) --
Requires banks to return car titles more quickly after a loan is
paid in full.
Insanity defense (SB 1342) --
Requires inpatient treatment and extends conditional release
requirements for criminals found not guilty by reason of insanity to
ensure they receive the proper treatment for their illness and do
not relapse, putting themselves and others at risk.
Budget stabilization (SB 1757) --
Requires the state to budget
no more money than the previous year's revenues if the revenue
estimates exceed that level, putting the excess money into funds for
emergency use when revenues do not meet expectations and to pay off
state debt.
State revenue (SB 1758) --
Creates the Revenue Estimating Council, consisting of the
comptroller and the directors of the Bureau of the Budget and the
Economic and Fiscal Commission.
State debt (SB 1759) --
Requires the state to budget funds to repay certain debt from the
previous fiscal year, beginning in fiscal 2006.
Appellate
Court building (SJR 4) --
Names the 4th District Appellate Court building in Springfield after
Justice Benjamin Miller.
[News
release] |
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Sen. Larry Bomke, a sponsor of the
proposal, says Senate Bill 406 makes Illinois law clear on
withdrawal of consent.
"Senate Bill 406 simply ensures that
Illinois law does what most people think it already does," said
Bomke, R-Springfield. "It clears up any ambiguity in Illinois law
concerning consent, making it clear that consent may be withdrawn at
any time."
It took the California courts nearly
three years to come to that conclusion. Illinois law is very similar
to the California statute. While our courts have not debated the
issue, Senate Bill 406 will eliminate the need for future debate
over the intent of the law.
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"We tell our kids that 'no' means 'no'
-- end of question. It is what everyone believes the law already
says, yet it took California three years to make that decision,"
said Bomke. "With Senate Bill 406, we can be certain Illinois law
says what we already think it does."
Senate Bill 406 simply clarifies that a
person may withdraw consent, but it does not change the definition
of sexual assault or the process to prove what was said or
communicated. Those charges will still be decided in a court of law.
Senate Bill
406 gained approval in the Senate March 24 and advanced to the House
of Representatives for further approval.
[News
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