Governor Weighs Spending Reductions
As the Spring Legislative session ended, the Governor was given a FY2012 budget that authorizes $400 million less spending than last fiscal year. An attempt to increase the budget by $430 million in the Senate was rejected by the House. The Governor must now decide if he will veto the bill and call the General Assembly back into special session to approve government funding past July 1.
The Governor has to make a decision which runs counter to his genetic composition. He doesn't know how to balance a budget, make the type of choices everyone else has to make and delay or cut certain expenditures. In addition, over the past few years the General Assembly has abdicated its responsibilities by passing lump sum budgets which let Governors Blagojevich and Quinn decide which programs to fund and by how much.
This year was different from the very beginning. For the first time since 1991, House members were allowed to craft the budget. We reviewed programs line-by-line, set priorities and lived within available revenue. The Senate meanwhile continued its partisan procedures, excluded Republicans from discussions and appropriated more money than was available without really evaluating program effectiveness.
Austere budgeting isn't going to be a one year process. If we hope to pull back from the brink of bankruptcy and get out of our fiscal hole, we need to change the expectation that government can solve all of our problems. Individuals once again must assume more responsibly to support non-essential programs and help their neighbors.
I spoke about this change of attitude with Department of Human Services Director Saddler recently. Her staff is faced with telling people and local agencies that state funding won't be available to provide all the programs to as many people as have been served. She agreed that everyone needs to be involved in helping those in need.
The Governor could lead a campaign to re-engage our neighborhoods: urge organizations to help their members, foster neighbor to neighbor interaction and channel ways for individuals to respond to our American values of helping the less fortunate.
As we wait for the Governor's decision about the budget, I hope he will surprise us with an uncharacteristic response-- a call for personal responsibility, personal interaction and personal sharing.
New Health Insurance Plan Moves Forward
Despite attempts by the legislature to slow down the transition to new state health insurance providers, the Governor is determined to move forward on July 1. Governor Quinn will likely veto HB 178 which among other things would have extended the current provider contracts for two years.
As a result of the latest action, state employees and retirees must sign up for health insurance plans by June 17. Their choice is between keeping their current doctor and paying a higher premium or moving to the new Open Access Plan and different medical providers. The Governor's staff is confident that current doctors will sign-up with the new insurance providers in the next few months.
I am very disappointed that the Governor did not rebid the contract for health insurance since none of the respondents met the request for proposal. It is obvious that he is more concerned about the possibility of saving money with the new providers than with the disruption that a change in providers will cause for patients.
Employee and Retiree Pension Reforms to be Studied
Legislation to reform state pensions and health care benefits was tabled for further negotiations this summer. SB512 and SB175 stimulated a lot of anxiety among current and retired state employees and heated communication with legislators. I worked with the sponsors to encourage this process for developing long-term solutions.
The bills, which advanced without discussions with all affected stakeholders, were aimed at reducing the cost of employee benefits. For years the state has enhanced employee benefits and not set aside the full cost for those benefits. Now as those benefits need to be paid, the state finds the cost too high. Pension payments alone will soon exceed the state's investment in education.
Among the big questions to be decided by the legislation are fair employee compensation and legality of making any changes to current employee benefits. This is where negotiation with the affected parties is critical. Lawsuits can be avoided and benefits can remain fair through this process.
Private companies have adjusted employee compensation—including wages, pension and health care—over the years in response to market conditions. Public sector employee compensation has been very slow to change and usually is enhanced through contract negotiations.
Public sector wages that once were considered low when compared with the same type of private sector jobs are not now generally the case. Public sector employee health care benefit costs have grown greatly as people live longer, use modern procedures and medications, and experience increased cost of services.
I encourage representatives of all stakeholders to engage in thorough, sincere efforts to find a sustainable, fair compensation package. I will be sharing your views with negotiators.
Bills Promote Capturing Energy in Coal
Among the several bills dealing with coal that passed the legislature was SB 2062 creating the Clean Coal FutureGen for Illinois Act. The bill provides the FutureGen Alliance with adequate liability protection, land use rights and certainty to facilitate siting of the facility. It also requires the Alliance to maintain a minimum reserve of $100 million for liability actions. This provision addresses the concerns that consumer groups had regarding inadequate liability protections for the carbon dioxide sequestration.
SB 1533 encourages a $3 billion green technology investment on Chicago's southeast side to produce pipeline-quality substitute natural gas from Illinois coal and petroleum coke. Led by the Chicago Clean Energy Project (CCEP), the initiative's purpose is to bring thousands of jobs and economic development, clean coal technology and consumer energy savings to Illinois.
The idea behind the site is to produce alternative natural gas through a clean method (gasification) of utilizing local materials such as coal. At this current time natural gas is not produced in Illinois.
It has been noted that the CCEP would save consumers between $100 million and more than $ 1 billion over the contract term as natural gas companies purchase gas from the CCEP plant.
SB2169 encourages the construction of a synthetic natural gas plant in southern Illinois. The bill makes changes to legislation vetoed by the Governor earlier this year by offering hard caps on consumer prices, an account to pass savings along to consumers, and review of the project by several state agencies. The bill also increases environmental protections through enhanced penalties for failing to capture 90 percent of the carbon dioxide.
Proponents continue to stress the job creation component of the project and use of abundant Illinois coal.
All of these bills contend that energy will become scarcer as older coal-fired generation plants cease operation in 2015 due to new federal environmental regulations. By increasing energy generation, these plants will moderate the rise in consumer prices and stabilize supply.
Legislative Action as Session Ends
Extending Time to Pay Bills
SB2172 passed both chambers authorizing the payment of FY2011 bills until December 31. Without this authority, outstanding liabilities as of June 30, 2011 could not be paid after August 31. The state currently owes $6.2 billion in unpaid bills.
Legislators Take Pay Cut
Under SB 266 that passed the House, legislators would forfeit one day of compensation each month during the 2012 fiscal year. The legislation would also make reductions to lodging and meal per diems, as well as travel reimbursement rates.
Pre-Funeral Arrangement Database Approved
SB 675, as sent to the Governor, would require any contract in advance of funeral services to be registered in a database with the State Comptroller. The bill seeks transparency in these arrangements and better oversight by the Comptroller.
DREAM Act Is Confusing
SB 2185 was passed by both chambers to offer access to financial assistance for undocumented youth to attend college. The name of the bill is identical to a national initiative with very different goals dealing with citizenship. SB 2185 allows families of undocumented students access to several state managed financial savings programs for college expenses and sets up a privately funded college scholarship program.
Cemetery Oversight Act Amended
SB 669 was passed with some of the reforms demanded by local cemetery boards. The original law that became effective March 2010 provided onerous fees and regulation on all cemeteries. Now most small cemeteries are exempted from many provisions of the law.
Watch for Ratings
June has been declared a month for parents to become aware of the ratings and labeling of video and computer games as well as websites their children use. I introduced a resolution (HR 411) to help promote this awareness in response to a website that encouraged violence and was based upon the Northern Illinois University student shootings.
The Coalition of Entertainment Retail Trade Association rates most interactive entertainment software, including video and computer games. The ratings are an indication of the violence and sexual content of software that is inappropriate for children under 17 years of age.
With public awareness of the ratings and strong negative consumer response, the creators of these games and websites moderate their offerings. My resolution urged these entertainment creators to refrain from creating games based upon real-life tragedies and violence against children.
Bob |
