Bomke: Critical budget issues need to be addressed in fall veto session

[November 15, 2008]  SPRINGFIELD -- Senate lawmakers arrived in Springfield on Wednesday to begin the annual fall "veto session," though a lack of legislation made for a light week in the Illinois Senate, according to state Sen. Larry Bomke, R-Springfield.

While there may not be many bills on the Senate calendar, Bomke said there are critical budget issues that need to be addressed. Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes recently sent a letter to Gov. Rod Blagojevich warning that the state's massive overdue bill backlog has reached almost $4 billion -- and that number could increase to $5 billion by spring.

At this time, vendors and Medicaid providers are waiting up to 12 weeks to receive payment from the state. If Illinois' financial problems aren't rectified soon, Hynes says the "crisis" could affect schools, prisons, mental health facilities and law enforcement.

The comptroller is urging the General Assembly to approve legislation that would make it easier for the state to borrow short-term in order to pay overdue bills. But the comptroller's suggestion that the state borrow more money was met with skepticism by budget negotiators from both parties. Many lawmakers feel that borrowing alone is not a solution and the state must bring spending under control.

Lawmakers are particularly disturbed by the Blagojevich administration's continued health care expansions -- which the governor unilaterally put into place over the legislature's objections. The governor has proceeded to expand the state's taxpayer-funded health care program, although a Cook County judge ordered the Blagojevich administration to halt an expansion of the FamilyCare program in October. However, the Illinois Supreme Court has now intervened to allow the administration to temporarily continue the program.

Some lawmakers say that growth of the program is fiscally irresponsible, pointing to the country's foundering economy, the state's burgeoning backlog of unpaid bills and the possible revenue shortfall predicted for the 2009 fiscal year by the governor's own administration.

The comptroller's warning coincides with disturbing economic projections from the governor's office, which show that reductions in the amount of income tax, corporate income tax and retail sales tax that the state expects to take in during the remainder of the fiscal year could lead to an $800 million hole in the state budget.

Blagojevich officials point to the potential budget hole as the reason the governor has not approved $230 million in budget cuts he made in August, which will lead to the closure of over two dozen state parks and historic sites. But lawmakers also disagree with that assessment, pointing out that the money to reopen parks and historic sites would come from existing funds already sitting in special accounts that are not available to pay general state expenses.

Legal action also continues over the proposed closure of Pontiac Correctional Center, as members of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees filed two lawsuits this week in an effort to keep the facility from closing.

One lawsuit filed against the state proposed that Illinois officials neglected to adhere to union bargaining that is necessary before proceeding with any layoffs or facility closures. A second lawsuit pertains to security issues related to the impending closure.

A number of state lawmakers and local officials have been working diligently to prevent the closure of the Pontiac prison, arguing that overcrowding in the state's correctional system makes closing a facility nonsensical.

Bills passed by the Senate this week:

Abandoned property (SB 2536) -- Provides that any person or company offering to collect abandoned property on behalf of the owner in exchange for a fee must provide the owner with a written disclosure; establishes guidelines for those fees.

Community development (SB 2015) -- Creates a New Markets Development Program Act and establishes a credit for investment in any qualified, active low-income community business.

Juvenile justice (SB 2275) -- Raises the age of juvenile court jurisdiction from 17 to 18 years for misdemeanor offenses and creates the Task Force on Juvenile Justice Jurisdiction.

Medicaid rates (SB 2492) -- Amends the Public Aid Code to increase the Medicaid rate paid for inpatient psychiatric services.

Pay phones (SB 2031) -- Eliminates 911 surcharges on pay phones.

Police cameras (SB 450) -- Requires the Illinois State Police to install in all patrol vehicles video and audio recording equipment that is capable of recording 10 or more hours; contains a $1 increase in license registration fees for cars, pickup trucks and motorcycles, to fund new cars for the state police.

Public construction bonds (SB 1890) -- Establishes that bonds for state contracts are required for public construction contracts of any kind costing over $50,000 and for public works contracts costing over $5,000 for political subdivisions of the state.

Sales tax (SB 1290) -- Allows counties to impose a sales tax for public facilities by a front-door referendum.

Truancy (SB 2743) -- Allows student records to be released to authorities in order to track down truants.

Emergency preparedness (SB 2688) -- Mandates that schools conduct a minimum of one law enforcement drill to address and prepare students and school personnel for incidents.

[Text from file sent on behalf of Sen. Larry Bomke by Illinois Senate Republican staff]