Springfield Update

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.

“Private property began the instant somebody had a mind of his own.”
~e. e. cummings
- While the Speaker of the House, Michael Madigan, announced on Thursday that the House would return Sunday to consider SJRCA 70- the resolution that provides for the constitutional amendment to be placed on the November ballot to authorize the recall of State executive officers, members of the General Assembly, judges and local elected officials the measure FAILED in the Senate by 3 votes. The measure needed 36 votes to pass but it was defeated on a roll call vote of 33-19-2. This measure differed from the House version (HJRCA28) in that it included judges and local elected officials. The House resolution was held in the Senate Executive Committee and there was no final vote. As we previously reported, under the provisions of our constitution an initiative to amend the constitution would have had to be approved in the same form in both chambers by May 4th to be on the ballot in November. See how your Senator by viewing the official roll call:
http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/votehistory/95/senate/09500SC0070_05012008_002000T.pdf

- The House Revenue Committee unanimously approved for consideration House Bill 5730, a measure that extends the life of the TIF district in the village of Hoffman Estates. The bill has been sent to the House. The IAR is NEUTRAL on this proposal.

- On Wednesday, the House approved Bill 5503 on a roll call vote of 83-26-0. This measure, sponsored by Representative Skip Saviano and Senator Don Harmon, makes changes to the Real Estate Timeshare Act to further clarify provisions requiring that resale agents be licensed under the Real Estate License Act. The IAR SUPPORTS this legislation which has been sent to the Senate for their consideration.

- The House overwhelmingly approved House Bill 4683 this week and sent the measure to the Senate for their consideration. The bill creates the Fire and Life Safety Device Act to establish penalties for the manufacture, installation or sale of any fake smoke detector, sprinkler head, carbon monoxide alarm, or heat detector used for life safety or fire protection. The measure permits inspection of the devices to ensure compliance with the Act by municipalities, fire protection districts, counties, licensed fire sprinkler contractors and licensed engineers BUT no such inspection can be conducted in any room or suite of rooms used for human habitation, including any single family residence, living unit of a multi-family residence or living unit in a mixed use building. The IAR appreciates the efforts of Representative Elaine Nekritz to address concerns that the IAR had with the original proposal. The bill will be sponsored in the Senate by Senator Michael Noland.

- Also approved this week was House Bill 4789. The underlying bill creates the Radon-Resistant Building Codes Task Force, made up of 13-members (including a member of the IAR) charged with making recommendations to the Governor, the Illinois Emergency Management Agency, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, and the Pollution Control Board concerning the adoption of rules for building codes. At the request of the IAR the bill also includes clarifications to the Illinois Radon Awareness Act, including a provision that clearly exempts transfers involving a dwelling unit located on the third story or higher above ground level, including dwelling units in condominiums and cooperatives. The bill now moves to the Senate for their consideration. The bill is sponsored by Representative Dan Reitz and Senator Bill Haine. The IAR SUPPORTS this bill.

- House Bill 5701 was unanimously approved this week in the House and sent to the Senate for their consideration. This bill, sponsored by Representative Julie Hamos and Senator Iris Martinez, appropriates $6 million from the Rental Housing Support Program Fund to the Illinois Department of Revenue for rent subsidies to property owners who rent to low-income tenants and for operational support of the Rental Housing Support Program administered by the Illinois Housing Development Authority. The funds from this program, established by law in 2005, are generated by a flat $10 surcharge on recorded real estate-related documents.

- On Thursday the Senate Financial Institutions Committee unanimously approved for further consideration House Bill 4191. This bill, sponsored by Senator Jacqueline Collins, accelerates the effective date of Senate Bill 1167 approved in the 2007 spring session. You will recall that this comprehensive predatory lending measure was slated to take effect in mid-2008. That measure enacted new predatory lending regulations that were the initiative of Attorney General Lisa Madigan and revised the predatory lending database provisions originally enacted in House Bill 4050. Under HB 4191, the new effective date of the Attorney General’s provisions would be on the date it is signed by the Governor (rather than June 1) but the predatory lending database provisions would still be effective July 1, 2008 due to a stated effective date for those provisions. Another section of HB 4191 amends the Deposit of State Moneys Act to grant the State Treasurer the ability to expand the “Our Own Home” program which provides assistance to home owners at risk of losing their homes due to a financial hardship. The bill has been sent to the Senate floor for further consideration. This measure, sponsored in the House by Speaker Michael Madigan, was approved in that chamber in January. The IAR is NEUTRAL on HB 4191.

- Also approved by the Senate Financial Institutions Committee was House Bill 1361. This bill, sponsored by Senator Rickey Hendon, makes changes to the Real Estate License Act related to escrow monies. This bill from the 2007 session, sponsored in the House by Representative LaShawn Ford who is also a REALTOR was the product of negotiations between the IAR and the sponsor. HB 1361 provides that in the absence of the filing of a claim in a court of competent jurisdiction, escrow monies being held by a broker shall be deemed abandoned and transferred to the State Treasurer to be handled as unclaimed property after 6 months have elapsed from the receipt by the broker of a written demand for the escrow monies by either principal. The IAR SUPPORTS this bill which has been sent to the full Senate for their consideration.

- This November voters statewide will be asked if a constitutional convention should be convened. A recent poll by the University of Illinois on the question of the convening of a constitutional convention indicated 16% strongly support, 23% support, 10% oppose, 8% strongly oppose. But a very high number of those polled- 43%- remain undecided. According to Brian Gaines, the political scientist at the University of Illinois who coordinated the poll, frustration with state government is reflected in the poll results as both recall and term limits (which could be considered by the convention) were strongly supported by poll respondents. See the poll results at the following link: http://www.igpa.uillinois.edu/opinionmonitor/results4.asp The IAR Leadership recognizes the importance and statewide implications of the convening of a constitutional convention. In March the Leadership team directed the Public Policy and Government Affairs Member Involvement Group to establish a Task Force to develop policy recommendations and to report same to the Leadership Committee. The eleven-member Task Force, chaired by Public Policy and Government Affairs MIG chairman Chuck Wiercinski, has been established and will be meeting in early June.

- The General Assembly is in session next week. The House will reconvene on Tuesday and be in session through Friday while the Senate will meet Wednesday through Friday.



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.