 Senate Bill 2288, approved by the Senate Education Committee on
a party-line vote of 6-3, would increase the state income tax rate
by 67 percent. Individual rates would go from 3 percent to 5 percent
and the corporate rate from 4.8 percent to 8 percent. No Republican
senators voted for the tax hike.Bomke said that the income tax
increase, estimated to cost taxpayers nearly $8 billion, comes at a
difficult time, given the sluggish Illinois economy and the
worsening jobs climate. Senate Republicans opposed the income tax
hike in committee, expressing concern that increasing taxes will
only make Illinois a more difficult place to start or expand a
business and create jobs. The proposal also contains a provision for
a modest family tax credit of between $45 and $240 and statewide
property tax relief of $2.9 billion.
Also at the Capitol last week, the Joint Committee on
Administrative Rules, a bipartisan, 12-member panel made up of
senators and representatives, met Feb. 26 and again struck down an
attempt by the Blagojevich administration to unilaterally expand
taxpayer-funded health care.
For the second time is as many weeks, a large majority of members
opposed the governor's actions to expand the program without the
approval of the entire Illinois General Assembly. Although committee
members are in agreement with the idea of improving access to health
care, they also argued that the governor's FamilyCare program should
not be expanded in a year when state revenue projections are
forecast to decline and Illinois already has a nearly $2 billion
backlog in overdue bills, of which the majority is for Medicaid, the
state's public health care system.
Other legislation approved by Senate committees last week:
Senate Bill 1850 -- Creates two new state license plates, one for
U.S. Navy veterans and another for U.S. Army veterans.
Senate Bill 1864 -- Creates the Council on Responsible Fatherhood
Act of 2008. Requires the council to study and establish a
responsible fatherhood program. This measure was previously passed
into law but repealed in July of 2006.
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 Senate Bill 1893 -- Mandates coverage for acupuncture for
individuals covered under the Comprehensive Health Insurance Plan, a
state plan designed to provide insurance to high-risk people who are
otherwise unable to obtain insurance coverage.
Senate Bill 1979 -- Creates a Homeowners Emergency Assistance
Program Act to give grants to people in danger of losing their
homes. The grants, funded with public tax dollars, would be provided
through the Illinois Housing Development Authority. The maximum
amount of grant assistance would be $6,000 or three monthly mortgage
payments, whichever is less. There are no income restrictions.
Senate Bill 2098 -- Authorizes the state treasurer to create the
State Treasurer Financial Education and Savings Not-For-Profit Corp.
for the purpose of promoting financial literacy and savings among
the residents of Illinois. Also provides grants and scholarships for
those educational purposes.
Senate Bill 2199 -- Sets a Sept. 30 deadline for the development
of a plan to restructure the state's service delivery system for
older adults. Requires the plan to protect the rights of all older
Illinoisans to services based on their health circumstances and
functioning level, regardless of whether they receive their care in
their homes, in a community setting or in a residential facility.
Senate Bill 2301 -- Provides a tax credit to businesses that
engage in health wellness programs for their employees.
Senate Bill 2314 -- Allows a qualified voter who is sick or
injured and unable to travel to the polling place to have a relative
or another person deliver an absentee ballot to the homebound
individual within five days of an election.
Senate Bill 2321 -- Increases the fee that county boards may
impose for using the county law library. The bill provides that the
county board may impose a maximum fee of $18 in 2008, $19 in 2009
and $21 in 2010. The current maximum fee that a county may charge is
$13.
[Text from file sent on behalf of
Sen.
Larry Bomke by Illinois
Senate Republican staff] |
