Illinois Government Affairs Report: St. Louis Regional Chamber
By Kevin Riggs Consultant to the St. Louis Regional Chamber
The Illinois General Assembly had several measures to consider during the week of Nov. 5, the second week of Veto Session.
Among them:
– Senate Bill 336 (Andy Manar, D-Bunker Hill): Creates the Illinois Rehabilitation and Revitalization Tax Credit Act. Creates a credit against taxes imposed under the Illinois Income Tax Act and the Illinois Insurance Code in an aggregate amount equal to 20 percent of qualified expenditures incurred by a qualified taxpayer pursuant to a qualified rehabilitation plan on a qualified structure, provided that the total amount of such qualified expenditures exceeds the greater of $5,000 or the adjusted basis of the property. Provides that credits may be carried forward for a period of five years, or carried back for a period of one year. Provides that credits awarded for each qualified rehabilitation project shall be limited to a maximum of $3 million and that credits may be assigned or transferred. Effective Jan. 1, 2014. Has passed the Senate and now is in House Revenue & Finance Committee.
– House Bill 924 (Jay Hoffman, D-Belleville, and Don Harmon, D-Chicago) would insert the “responsible bidder” provision from the Illinois Procurement Code into the Illinois Prevailing Wage Act. Businesses seeking to bid on public works projects would be required to have an affiliation with a United States Department of Labor apprenticeship program in order to be eligible to work on a project. Responsible Bidder requirements currently only apply to Illinois Department of Transportation and Capital Development Board contracts covered by the state’s Procurement Code; they currently do not impact public works projects bid at the local and private levels. Has passed the House and now sits in Senate Labor Committee.
Additionally, several state agencies have requested The General Assembly to give them additional funding than was originally budgeted for the year. The Department of Corrections wants an extra $40 million to pay for inmates’ food, clothes and medical care. The Department of Transportation wants $17 million to help offset the costs of providing reduced fares to seniors and the disabled, as mandated by the Legislature. The Illinois Emergency Management Agency wants nearly $6 million to cover Illinois’ share of flood costs. Illinois State Police want an extra $2 million — $1.8 million for cadet training and $200,000 for the funding of a concealed carry license review board. The General Assembly approved a $35 billion budget in May. They have not voted on supplemental funding requests.
The first week of Fall Veto Session was held on Tuesday and Wednesday, Oct. 22 and 23. Both Chambers had a short week by cancelling Thursday. The highly publicized pension reform legislation was not called for a hearing and the joint conference committee report is still not complete.
During that first week, the General Assembly did address a trailer bill (Senate Bill 1955,William Haine, D-Alton): Amends the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis pilot Program Act, which tweaked technical issues with the implementation of the Act by passing it out of the House Judiciary Committee and sending it to second reading on the House Floor.