|
Senate
week in review
Send a link to a friend
Aug. 20-24
[August 25, 2007]
SPRINGFIELD -- After weeks of delay,
the governor finally acted to implement the state budget, removing
$306 million from state agency operations, according to state
Sen. Larry Bomke, R-Springfield. At first glance, these cuts appear
to be very widespread and cover thousands of individual items. "In
the coming days, we will be reviewing them to see what specific cuts
he has recommended and what the potential impact might be," said
Bomke.
|
|
While the governor has previously said he opposed the inclusion of
projects advocated by individual legislators, he apparently made an
exception for his close ally Chicago Democrat Emil Jones. Unlike all
of the other legislative leaders, Jones refused to list his
priorities in the budget, making it difficult to know what spending
for Jones' interests may have been left untouched. In years past,
Jones has earmarked taxpayer dollars for such items as exercise
classes and even gave a grant to the sister of one of his
legislative leaders. Earlier this month the governor approved a pay
raise that Jones sought. With the governor's budget action, it
appeared he may also have preserved the senator's pork barrel
spending as well.
Also, in other budget news, this week Senate Republicans filed an
amendment to House Bill 3860 to ensure that 23 school districts will
receive the funding that they were promised since fiscal 2002. The
legislation will re-appropriate $150 million in school construction
funding for fiscal 2008, making the grants free to move forward.
The governor approved this exact appropriation authority for
fiscal 2007 by signing Senate Bill 241 into law on Aug. 13.
However, the governor has stated that he cannot get these grants out
to the schools in fiscal 2007, based on an accounting technicality.
By simply reauthorizing this spending authority for fiscal 2008,
the technicality that is preventing the governor from making these
grants will be removed.
A number of legislative measures were signed into law by the
governor recently, including the following:
Senate Bill 172 strengthens the state's graduated driver
licensing program for young drivers. Specifically, the bill
increases the required permit phase for drivers younger than 18 from
three months to nine months, proposes a stricter driving curfew for
new drivers, and sets tough penalties -- including license
revocation and vehicle impoundment -- for drivers who are involved
in street racing.
Senate Bill 132 increases the penalty for a person who commits
the crime of false impersonation of a state or federal employee to a
Class A misdemeanor. If a person commits the act while engaging in
the commission of a felony then the penalty is increased to a Class
4 felony.
Senate Bill 199 makes the "GoldRush" apple the official fruit of
the state of Illinois.
Senate Bill 550 requires the Illinois Department of Natural
Resources, in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture, to
devise procedures to control the inflow of firewood into this state
in an attempt to eliminate the emerald ash borer.
[to top of second column]
 |
 Senate Bill 441 creates a new traffic offense -- failure to stop
for or yield the right of way to a pedestrian in a crosswalk in a
school zone.
House Bill 519 allows parents of a minor to view the minor's
driving record through a computer connection.
Senate Bill 364 requires county sheriffs to disclose all
pertinent information, including name, address and workplace, on
registered sex offenders and registered violent offenders against
youth to libraries located in the county where the offender is
required to register or is employed.
Senate Bill 273 increases the penalty for unlawfully making a
video or transmitting live video of another person, without consent,
when the person is pictured in a restroom, tanning bed, tanning
salon, locker room, changing room or hotel room. The penalty will be
a Class 4 felony punishable by one to three years in jail.
Currently, the penalty is punishable only by a jail sentence of less
than one year.
Senate Bill 80 requires that the driver of a vehicle overtaking a
bicycle or individual proceeding in the same direction on a highway
must maintain a distance of at least three feet between the vehicle
and the bicycle or individual.
House Bill 147 amends the Insurance Code to mandate coverage for
breast exams.
House Bill 161 authorizes the secretary of state to issue special
license plates designated as "Iraq Campaign" and "Afghanistan
Campaign" to people who have earned the Iraqi Campaign Medal or the
Afghanistan Campaign Medal and authorizes "Paratrooper" license
plates.
House Bill 194 creates the Missing Persons Identification Act and
requires law enforcement to accept in-person reports of missing
people and provide the reporting person with contact information for
the national centers for missing people. Effectively strengthens
police response times to dealing with missing people.
House Bill 1425 creates the Illinois Radon Awareness Act
requiring sellers of residential property to disclose the presence
of any known radon hazards on the property prior to accepting an
offer to purchase the residential property. A seller is not required
to have the property tested for radon but must furnish the buyer
with a copy of any radon tests conducted on the property.
House Bill 1741 requires new reporting requirements for the
distribution and sale of fertilizers, which can be used for
bomb-making.
[Text from file sent on behalf of
Sen.
Larry Bomke by Illinois
Senate Republican staff] |
