Springfield Update

Illinois Association of REALTORSQuorum Call Week in ReviewJune 5, 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 of IAR Governmental Affairs, jsullivan@iar.org. Full text of legislation cited in this newsletter can be found at www.ilga.gov. “Information is the currency of democracy.”~Thomas JeffersonThe General Assembly took final action on a number of bills of interest May 27-31, 2008- the final week of the spring session. This issue of Quorum Call summarizes those bills acted upon last week. A report on the status of ALL bills of interest from the spring session “State Issues: Status Report” (Word doc) can be viewed at www.IARActionCenter.org. - The General Assembly adjourned the 2008 spring session on Saturday evening, May 31. The Senate adjourned at 7:30 p.m. and the House at 11:00 p.m. after rejecting the leasing of the lottery and the gaming expansion plan as the funding mechanisms for a massive capital spending plan. The Senate and the House did approve a budget for the new year, but at a press conference on Monday, the Governor deemed it unbalanced and thus, unconstitutional. The Governor pledged to meet with budget leaders in the Senate and the House in an effort to reach an agreement prior to the start of the new fiscal year on July 1. The approved budget did not include two revenue sources that had been earlier proposed by the Senate. These included a $530 million sweep of dedicated funds and $400 million from a refinancing of the state’s pension debt. New revenue sources OR significant cuts will have to be done to resolve the budget impasse. It is speculated that a special session will be called to act on the budget revisions. The IAR will keep you apprised of future session dates.
- NO ACTION occurred this spring session on either Senate Bill 571 or House Bill 5358 which were initiatives of the IAR to amend the Real Estate License Act. These changes sought to update the License Law to include a variety of definitional changes, educational changes and technical changes. - The Senate did NOT take action this week on a measure to clarify the Illinois Radon Awareness Act that had earlier been approved by the Illinois House of Representatives. House Bill 4789, sponsored by Representative Dan Reitz and Senator Bill Haine, added to the Act to clearly exempt transfers involving a dwelling unit located on the third story or higher above ground level, including dwelling units in condominiums and cooperatives. This legislation may have been caught up in the battle over rule-making authority between the Speaker and the Governor. The Senate did not act on a number of bills this spring that included the House language that restricted this power that began when the Governor developed regulations to enact an expansion of health care by-passing the legislative process. Thanks to those who took the time last week to contact your legislator about our opposition to Senate Bill 2287 in response to our Call to Action. As you recall, this legislation sponsored by Senator Kwame Raoul and Representative Pat Lindner, seeks to expand the Safe Homes Act to allow tenants to recover a minimum of $2,000 plus attorney’s fees from a landlord if the landlord shares “any information provided by the tenant” in exercising his/her rights under the Act to a prospective landlord. The IAR pointed to a number of concerns with the legislation including the fact that a tenant would not have to actually incur any damages in order to recover the $2,000. Representative Pat Lindner, the House sponsor was questioned about this provision in the House committee debate and she ultimately amended the bill to hold the landlord liable for actual damages up to $2,000 resulting from the disclosure- instead of liable for any damages resulting from the disclosure or $2,000, whichever is greater. Representative Lindner acknowledged that while the amendment addressed a concern raised by the IAR it did NOT remove our opposition to the bill. Representative Roger Eddy clearly articulated our concerns in floor debate. The bill was approved on a roll call vote of 84-25-5 and sent back to the Senate. The IAR appreciates those members who voted NO or PRESENT. See how your Representative voted (pdf). The Senate did NOT act upon the bill prior to the adjournment of the spring session but that could occur in the fall session that will begin in November. - NO ACTION occurred last week on another bill that was the subject of a Call to Action to OPPOSE. House Bill 2916, introduced by Representative Dennis Reboletti, sought to grant all municipalities and counties the authority to regulate and license landlords. This grants the thousands of non-home rule units unlimited regulatory powers. Despite pressure from a local community to run the bill this spring Representative Reboletti agreed to hold the bill so that further discussions could take place with the IAR and other interested parties. - Negotiations continue on Senate Bill 2128, legislation to provide for the licensure of community association mangers, though no formal action was taken on the bill last week. The IAR has some concerns with SB 2128 as currently drafted, but was supportive of the bill advancing out of the Senate and out of House committee as negotiations continued to be fruitful in crafting a compromise bill. We will keep you apprised of further developments on this legislation as they occur. SB 2128 is sponsored by Senator John Cullerton and Representative Elaine Nekritz. - The House approved Senate Bill 886 marking final action on changes to the Elevator Safety and Regulation Act. This action was taken after a lengthy debate focused on the Act itself as well as an indication from legislators that they had received a number of complaints from condominium owners and associations regarding the financial impact of the safety upgrades required by the rules and regulations adopted by the Office of the State Fire Marshal. SB 886 specifies that rules adopted under the Act requiring safety code upgrade compliance beginning in 2009 or 2011 is extended to 2013. The House sponsor, Representative Skip Saviano, indicated that he and Senators Harmon and Sullivan would continue to review the Act and that further legislative action may be considered in the future. - While both the Senate and the House passed legislation expanding the Energy Efficient Commercial Building Act to include construction of residential buildings, they did NOT approve the same bill in both chambers so the issue remains on the table for the fall session. You will recall from the May 23 issue that the Senate approved House Bill 1842 and sent the bill back to the House for concurrence on the negotiated amendment (supported by the IAR). While the House sponsor concurred with these changes, there was interest in also including language regarding rule-making powers. The House attached similar language to most bills this spring in a continuation of a battle with the Governor over the rule-making process by State agencies and his office. In order to do that, the House revived Senate Bill 526 (an environment bill from the 2007 session) and attached the agreed language from HB 1842 along with the rule-making language. SB 526 was approved by the House on a roll call vote of 109-5-0 and the bill was sent back to the Senate for their concurrence of this amendment. Neither chamber acted upon the concurrence motions prior to the end of the spring session. Both bills were sponsored by Representative Julie Hamos and Senator John Cullerton. - Legislation amending the Illinois Municipal Code in three distinct sections was overwhelmingly approved by both chambers the last week of session. You may recall that the Senate had approved Senate Bill 2677 in April to require a municipality to provide written notification of a planned annexation to the taxpayers within the territory proposed to be annexed. The House amended the bill to add two more provisions; one related to required examinations for certain candidates to become police officers and the second to make changes to the Municipal Code related to expedited procedures for the demolition, repair and/or enclosure of dangerous, unsafe or abandoned buildings. This latter provision, initiated by the city of Chicago, had originally been drafted in a much broader fashion in House Bill 4385. The IAR had expressed concern with that bill, in particular with the provision that allowed a city to declare a property abandoned if there has been no active water service to the property for 2 or more years. The modified provisions added to SB 2677 did NOT include the objectionable language. The bill, sponsored by Senator Maggie Crotty and Representative Al Riley, has been sent to the Governor for his consideration. - The House took quick action to approve Senate Bill 836, the “trailer bill” to the Flood Prevention District Act which was enacted into law in May for the counties of Monroe, Madison and St. Clair for levee repairs and flood prevention. The additions in SB 836 were necessary for the administration of the district, including the authority to use excess funds accumulated prior to January 1, 2008 by the Metro-East Sanitary District in their tort liability fund. The bill, sponsored by Senator Bill Haine and Representative Dan Beiser, has been sent to the Governor for his consideration. The IAR SUPPORTS this legislation. - House Bill 4683, which 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, had final action in the General Assembly. 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 Senate had amended the bill to exempt sworn law enforcement officers utilizing a facsimile smoke detector, sprinkler head, carbon monoxide alarm, heat detector, or any other similar device in furtherance of a criminal investigation. The House concurred with the Senate amendment and the bill has been sent to the Governor. The bill is sponsored Representative Elaine Nekritz and Senator Michael Noland. - While the House took final action on Senate Bill 2033, sponsored by Senator David Koehler and Representative David Leitch, the Senate did not concur with the House amendments prior to the adjournment of the spring session. This action could occur in the fall session. This measure contains two provisions for Peoria County. It authorizes the Peoria County Board to establish a stormwater management planning committee and to prescribe rules and regulations for stormwater management and stormwater runoff. Fees are authorized as well as a property tax OR sales tax for the administration of the program. The property tax/sales tax component requires the approval of the voters. It should be noted that this bill, in this final form, includes language requested by the city of Peoria to allow them to opt out by a majority vote of the city council. Secondly, the bill authorizes the Peoria County Board to propose the establishment of an economic development project (a county TIF). The county board ordinance must include findings that the project is reasonably expected to create or retain not less than 250 full-time jobs; that $15 million in private investment is reasonably expected to occur, that the project will encourage the increase of commerce and industry within the State and that the project will increase or maintain the property, sales and income tax bases of the county and the State. This bill also includes the House rule-making limitation on the Governor and the State agencies. - A similar measure to SB 2033 was House Bill 4545, sponsored by Senator David Koehler and Representative Aaron Schock. This bill was approved by the Senate the last week of session but was held on the House calendar on the order of concurrence. This action could occur in the House in the fall session. This bill included the authorization for the Peoria County stormwater committee-including the opt-out provision for the city of Peoria- and for the county TIF for the economic development project. HB 4545 also included another economic development related provision. A new Act known as the Illinois Rural Economic Development and Tourism Stimulus Act, initiated by Senator Dave Luechetefeld, which will authorize a county to create a special taxing district for economic development incentives. A final provision in this bill was the expansion of the purposes that a county can use its proceeds from a special countywide sales tax. Currently, a county may impose a county sales tax for public safety or transportation purposes, IF APPROVED by the voters. This legislation adds public facilities purposes defined as the acquisition, development, construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, improvement, financing, architectural planning and installation of capital facilities (including buildings, structures, durable equipment and real property) for use by the county for furnishing governmental services, including museums and nursing homes. - Senate Bill 2733, sponsored by Senator Dan Cronin and Representative Bob Pritchard, to restrict the use of TIF funds to demolish, remove, or substantially modify a historic resource (defined in the bill) unless no prudent and feasible alternative exists was also passed last week. The bill does contain language that would exempt certain places or structures. This bill has been sent to the Governor for his consideration. - Legislation was also approved last week to extend the life of the TIF in the city of Aurora. Senate Bill 2678, sponsored by Senator Linda Holmes and Representative Linda Chapa LaVia, has been sent to the Governor for his consideration. - Senate Bill 546, the subject of negotiations for the past two years among various interested parties including the IAR, was overwhelmingly approved by the Senate and House and sent to the Governor for his consideration. This measure, sponsored by Senator John Cullerton and Representative Jim Brosnahan, adds language to the Illinois Notary Public Act dealing with a pilot program for notarial acts involving documents that transfer title to Cook County residential properties. For the period from July 1, 2008 until July 1, 2011 notaries will be required to create a notarial record (to be kept for 7 years) of each act performed in connection with a document of conveyance. Notaries are authorized to charge up to $25 for notarial records required under this legislation. These records are not subject to inspection or copying under the Freedom of Information Act. SB 546 requires the notarial record to contain:1) the date of the notarial act;2) the type, title or description of the document of conveyance being notarized and the PIN used to identify the residential real property for assessment or taxation purposes and the common street address for the property;3) the signature, printed name and residence street address of each person whose signature is the subject of the notarial act and a certification by the person that the property is residential real property;4) a description of the satisfactory evidence reviewed by the notary to determine the identity of the person whose signature is the subject of the notarial act;5) the date of the notarization, the fee charged for the notarial act, the notary’s home or business phone number, the notary’s residence street address, the notary’s commission expiration date, the correct legal name of the notary’s employer or principal and the business street address of the employer or principal;6) the notary public shall require the person signing the document of conveyance, including an agent acting on behalf of a principal under a duly executed power of attorney, to place his/her thumbprint on the notarial record. - Senate Bill 2034, sponsored by Senator David Koehler and Representative David Leitch, was approved by both the Senate and the House and sent to the Governor for his consideration. The legislation would allow a unit of local government to require homeowners who maintain a private sewage disposal system within the unit of local government to provide verification of a valid contract with a licensed private sewage disposal system installer, no more frequently than once every 3 years, to the unit of local government. The legislation specifies that no additional fee may be charged for such verification. The IAR is NEUTRAL on this legislation. - Both the House and Senate passed legislation this spring session to enact important reforms to the downstate and suburban police and firefighter pension systems. However, the same bill was NOT approved in both chambers so the issue remains on the table for the fall session. House Bill 4905, sponsored by Representative Mark Beaubien and Senator Jeff Schoenberg and Senate Bill 2090, sponsored by Senator Susan Garrett and Representative Mark Beaubien are SUPPORTED by the IAR. - Two measures were approved last week to grant the requisite State authority to two units of local government to exercise quick-take eminent domain powers. Senate Bill 2501, sponsored by Senator Pam Althoff and Representative Mike Tryon, grants quick-take eminent domain powers for a period of one year to the Village of Lake in the Hills for the Lake in the Hills Airport runway. House Bill 3106, sponsored by Representative Naomi Jakobsson and Senator Michael Frerichs, grants quick-take eminent domain powers for a period of one year to the City of Champaign for drainage and improvements related to the Boneyard Creek Project. Both measures have been sent to the Governor. The IAR is NEUTRAL on these bills which are limited in time and specific in purpose. - House Bill 5238, sponsored by Representative Karen Yarbrough and Senator Iris Martinez, was approved by both chambers and sent to the Governor. This bill authorizes the Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) to participate as a partner or member of a partnership, limited liability company, joint venture, or other form of a business arrangement with a for-profit or non-profit developer for the rehabilitation and development or ownership, or both development and ownership, of low-income and mixed-income rental and for-sale housing. - Unless called back into special session to deal with the budget or other significant issues the General Assembly is not scheduled to be back until after the November election. 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