 By a vote of 105-5, the House overturned Rauner’s amendatory veto of House Bill
1, the Heroin Crisis Act.
The bill championed by Rep. Lou Lang, D-Skokie, and cosponsors from both parties
received overwhelming bipartisan support when it first passed the General
Assembly.
However, it was red-penned by Rauner, who largely cited its potential cost to
the state, which has been estimated at anywhere from $25 million to $60 million
annually.
Rauner praised the bill, but struck a provision to require Medicaid funding for
addiction treatment and other items. The override, if repeated in the Senate,
would re-establish the funding obligation.
“In our zeal to save money, we must not forget about human life,” Lang told
colleagues.
Just as Illinois has been Ground Zero in a nationwide heroin abuse epidemic, so
should it be in finding and implementing solutions, he said.
Child-care subsidies
House Democrats came up one vote short in an attempt to reverse administration
changes to the Child Care Assistance Program.
Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth, D-Peoria, said rules put in place by the administration
eliminated child-care assistance for up to 90 percent of those previously
eligible.
Democrats put up 70 “yes” votes , but needed 71, or a three-fifths majority. No
Republicans supported the motion to override.
Senate sponsor Toi Hutchinson, D-Olympia Fields, said the administration’s
changes mean “a parent who works full time at minimum wage now makes too much to
qualify for child-care help.” She and Gordon Booth vowed to make another effort.
Opponents said the bill effectively undermined the governor’s authority to limit
spending during a fiscal emergency, and it also lacked any cost projections.
The House passed HB 2482, which would overturn an effort by the Rauner
administration to change a key Medicaid qualifying measure known as the
determination of need, or DON, score.
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 Rep. Greg Harris, D-Chicago, and other supporters of legislation
said changing the DON score standards would disenfranchise thousands
of elderly and disabled Illinoisans who currently receive at-home or
in-facility care by way of Medicaid.
Additionally, withdrawal of certain in-community care could force
more people into institutions and cost the state more money in the
long run, they said.
Opponents argued the state must focus on rebalancing the system and
ensuring that individuals receiving state-supported services
actually need the level of support they receive.
Opponents also said the DON score change was consistent with the
2012 Saving Medicaid Access and Resources Together, or SMART, Act,
which passed with support from both parties.
The bill passed on a vote of 74 to 13, 12 members voting present. A
half-dozen Republicans joined Democrats in support of the
legislation, which is sponsored by Daniel Biss, D-Evanston, in the
Senate.
The measure previously cleared the Senate on a vote of 36 to 2 and
now goes to the governor for consideration.
DCFS services
An effort to continue certain services for wards of the state from
ages 18 to 21 failed in the House.
The motion to override the governor’s veto of House Bill 3507
received 66 votes in favor, five short of the 71 needed for an
override.
Proponents of the bill argued the services — including counseling,
job training and educational assistance — are vital for young people
who have already survived a difficult start in life if they are to
have a chance in young adulthood.
Opponents said the bill amounts to an unfunded mandate as it would
cost $100 million or more that the state simply doesn’t have.
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