IAR Quorum Call

Illinois Association of REALTORS
Quorum Call Week in Review
April 4, 2008



Quorum Call is distributed Fridays when the Illinois General Assembly is in session. For more information, contact Greg St. Aubin, Director of IAR Governmental Affairs, gstaubin@iar.org, or Julie Sullivan, Assistant Director, Legislative and Political Affairs, jsullivan@iar.org. Full text of legislation cited in this newsletter can be found at www.ilga.gov.



“Freedom is hammered out on the anvil of discussion, dissent, and debate.”~Hubert H. Humphrey

- A relatively quiet week this week at the Capitol as lawmakers returned from their two-week spring recess. Most action occurred on the floor as both the Senate and the House debated legislation and worked toward the final passage deadline dates- April 17th (Senate) and April 18th (House).

- This week the Illinois Senate approved two measures related to foreclosures. On Tuesday the Senate approved Senate Bill 1979, sponsored by Senator Rickey Hendon on a roll call vote of 44-3-0. This measure creates the Illinois Homeowner’s Emergency Assistance Program Act to authorize the Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) to issue grants to homeowners whose property is being foreclosed due to failure to make mortgage payments. The bill establishes conditions of eligibility and limits the amount of the grant to $6,000 or 3 monthly mortgage payments, whichever is less. Another key condition is that the lender must agree to renegotiate the terms of the mortgage being foreclosed once the payment is made by the State. The bill will be sponsored in the House by Representative LaShawn Ford. On Thursday, the Senate approved Senate Bill 2566, sponsored by Senator Jacqueline Collins on a roll vote of 33-21-1. This measure directs IHDA to establish and administer a foreclosure counseling program, funded by an increase in license fees issued under the Residential Mortgage License Act. The bill adds a $500 surcharge on the license fees. Interestingly, the House rejected a similar bill House Bill 5788 on Wednesday on its initial roll call vote. The key difference in the House bill was that the surcharge was $300 and was to be in effect for only 3 years. The sponsor, Representative Esther Golar placed the issue on the “Order of Postponed Consideration”; a parliamentary procedure to allow the bill to be voted on a second time. The IAR is NEUTRAL on these bills.

- The Senate gave its approval to Senate Bill 2387 on a roll call vote 42-8-0. This bill, sponsored by Senator Jacqueline Collins, adds homeownership, including the basic process of obtaining a mortgage and the concepts of fixed and adjustable rate mortgages, subprime loans, and predatory lending, as a component of consumer education courses taught in Illinois high schools. The bill will be sponsored by Representative Karen Yarbrough in the House.

- Senate Bill 2014, sponsored by Senator Susan Garrett, was unanimously approved by the Senate on Tuesday and sent to the House for their consideration. This bill clarifies Illinois law related to those actions of local governments that are subject to de novo review. The IAR SUPPORTS this bill which will be sponsored in the House by Representative Sid Mathias.

- Also approved on Tuesday in the Senate was Senate Bill 2034, sponsored by Senator David Koehler. This bill allows a unit of local government to require homeowners who maintain a private sewage disposal system within the unit of local government to provide verification, no more frequently than once every 3 years, to the unit of local government of a valid contract with a licensed private sewage disposal system installation contractor. The legislation specifies that no additional fee may be charged for such verification. The IAR is NEUTRAL on this legislation.

- Senate Bill 2298 was unanimously approved by the Senate. This measure, sponsored by Senator Mike Jacobs and Representative Patrick Verschoore, provides the legislative authorization for the extension of two Tax Increment Financing Districts- one in the village of Milan and one in the city of West Frankfort. The IAR is NEUTRAL on this legislation.

- The House unanimously approved House Bill 5572 on Tuesday and sent the measure to the Senate for their consideration. This bill, SUPPORTED by the IAR, will require a contractor for improvements of an owner-occupied single-family residence give the owner written notice before filing a lien against any property of the owner. The measure is sponsored by Representative Kathy Ryg and Senator Terry Link.

- House Resolution 1002, sponsored by Representative Renee Kosel, was defeated this week in the House Railroad Safety Committee. The resolution called for a study to be conducted on the traffic patterns and the necessary upgrades that will be needed to safely operate the EJ & E Line as part of the Canadian National Railway Company system. It further urged the Canadian National Railway Company to acknowledge that the train traffic increases that they are proposing will put a significant burden on the citizens of the listed counties and that the U.S. Surface Transportation Board take into account the severity of the increases in rail traffic in the affected communities and to make decisions regarding this acquisition that will maximize the quality of life of the citizens within the listed counties. It is expected that there will be additional discussions on this issue this year in both the Illinois General Assembly and in Congress.

- On Thursday, April 3rd, the Senate advanced amendments to House Bill 473 on a fast track to authorize the Governor to raid special funds up to $530 million as a means to fill the gaping multi-million dollar budget deficit. Senate Amendments 3 and 4 to HB 473 provided that the Governor could not transfer funds out of certain funds. The twenty one specified funds were primarily related to veterans but also included the Road Fund and the Open Space Lands Acquisition and Development Fund (OSLAD). The measure was approved on a partisan roll call vote of 37-21-0; all Democrats voting Yes and all Republicans voting No. However, the fate of this measure in the House is uncertain. A spokesman for the Speaker stated that it made no sense to tap into restricted accounts due to the number of lawsuits that have been filed challenging that authority. You will recall that in June of 2006, the IAR filed a lawsuit in the Circuit Court, Seventh Judicial Circuit, Sangamon County, Illinois, against six officials of the State of Illinois challenging the constitutionality of the Fiscal Year 2007 Budget Implementation Act to the extent the Act authorizes removing moneys from the Real Estate License Administration Fund and transferring it into the General Revenue Fund. The State of Illinois entered into a stipulation in the case that precludes the State from transferring any funds from the Real Estate License Administration Fund to be used for any purpose other than those specified in the Illinois Real Estate License Act of 2000 without giving IAR 21 days notice. This would provide an opportunity for IAR to obtain a hearing in Sangamon County Circuit Court to have a preliminary injunction barring the transfer of the funds.

- The House approved three measures this week that the IAR had no formal position on but may be of interest. House Bill 4294, narrowly approved on a roll call vote of 63-46-0, authorizes the counties of Will, Kendall, Boone, Lake, DeKalb, and Grundy to impose a county motor fuel tax IF approved by the voters. The bill is sponsored by Representative Pat Lindner and Senator Maggie Crotty. House Bill 4687, unanimously approved, authorizes the board of trustees of any fire protection district to establish a program to award grants to certain property owners who install and maintain sprinkler or other fire suppression systems. This bill is sponsored by Representative Mike Boland. House Bill 5209, sponsored by Representative Wyvetter Younge, is an appropriation of $1,125,000 from the General Revenue Fund to the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity for the purpose of making grants to promote housing development and construction in East St. Louis.

- The Senate unanimously approved Senate Bill 2622, sponsored by Senator Matt Murphy to provide that the Cook County Board may by resolution provide that if a person has been granted a Senior Citizen Homestead, the person qualifying need not reapply for the exemption. The law currently authorizes this for all counties except Cook.

- An interesting story was reported in Inman News this week out of Montana. According to the story the Montana Board of Realty revoked restrictions enacted in August of 2007 that had prohibited real estate licensees from paying a cash rebate, cash gift, or cash prize due to an investigation by the United States Department of Justice. The assistant attorney general in charge of the Antitrust Division of DOJ stated, “As we have consistently seen in other states, the repeal of rebate bans leads to increased competition between brokers and lower prices for consumers of real estate brokerage services.” You will recall that the IAR was strongly OPPOSED and applauded the defeat of HB 4313 that was promoted by a group called the “Homeowners Club of America” that sought to amend Illinois’ Real Estate License Act to enact a similar prohibition.

- The General Assembly is scheduled to be in session next week Tuesday, April 8-Friday, April 11th.




For more information, contact Greg St. Aubin, Director of IAR Governmental Affairs, gstaubin@iar.org, or Julie Sullivan, Assistant Director, Legislative and Political Affairs, jsullivan@iar.org.

Contact information for members of the House and Senate, notice of committee hearings, text of legislation and roll call votes are all available on the Illinois General Assembly’s Web site, www.ilga.gov.