|
February 12, 2010
Governor's Budget Address Moved to March 10th
A bill (HB 2240) to delay Governor Quinn's budget address to March 10th passed the House and Senate this week and now goes to the Governor for his signature. HB 2240 provides a new process for the FY 2011 budget. Under the terms of the legislation, the Governor is required to file a written report by February 24th that details actual revenues and expenditures for FY 2010, and estimated revenues and expenditures for FY 2011. The bill then provides that, between February 24th and March 10th, members of the General Assembly and members of the public may make written budget recommendations to the Governor. The Governor, in turn, will make those recommendations available to the public through the Governor's Internet website.
Legislative Action
The first 2010 House Revenue & Finance Committee met on Thursday, Feb. 11th. No substantive action was taken. Bills posted for committee were merely assigned to subcommittee without discussion. The Senate Finance Committee did not meet this week. House Revenue & Finance Committee is scheduled to meet again on Thursday, February 18th. The Income Tax, Sales Tax, Property Tax and Finance subcommittees will also be meeting that day. Click here, to view bills under consideration.
The deadline to file legislation for spring session was Thursday. We continue to review bills filed to determine those of interest to Chamber members and should have a complete report available for our February 19th meeting.
STAR Bond Legislation Update
House Amendment #2 to SB 2093 proposes a modified STAR Bond program for Illinois. If you will recall, Governor Quinn issued an amendatory veto of a similar bill last year. The amendatory veto was not overridden by the legislature and the bill ultimately died. STAR Bond districts are intended to assist in the development and redevelopment of major tourism, entertainment, retail, and related destination projects within eligible areas of the State by authorizing municipalities and counties to issue sales tax and revenue (STAR) bonds for the financing of the projects. STAR Bonds are to be backed by incremental sales and property taxes imposed within the district.
This week the Illinois Department of Revenue issued a Fiscal Note for the SB 2093 amendment that addresses the proposed University Town Center project in Glen Carbon, Illinois. The fiscal note estimated that between $450 million and $525 million in annual sales would be displaced from the surrounding communities to stores in the STAR Bond district once the development is completed. Mayors in surrounding metro-east areas are opposed the STAR Bond legislation and issued a letter to members of the General Assembly urging them to vote against the bill. Although scheduled, the bill was not called in the House Revenue & Finance Committee hearing on Thursday.
If you have not already done so, please RSVP for our Quarterly Meeting!
The first quarterly meeting of the Tax Institute for 2010 is scheduled for Friday, February 19th at the Illinois Chamber offices at 300 S. Wacker Drive, Chicago. The meeting will begin at 10:00 a.m. and conclude at 2:00 p.m. A working lunch will be provided. Our guest speaker will be Jeff Mays, President of the Illinois Business Roundtable. Jeff will be talking about Education Funding Reform opportunities in Illinois.
Also on the Agenda:
- Political Update (hopefully we'll have primary results)/ Candidate tax platforms.
- Legislative Update—Pending Legislation
- Illinois Chamber Re-districting efforts
- IDOR Rulemaking Initiatives
- Recommendations of the Property Tax Reform Task Force
- Tax Institute Officer nominations for 2010/2012 term
- New Business
If you are not able to attend in person, but would like to participate by conference call, please email me at cbeard@ilchamber.org and I will send you the call-in information.
HB5230 Passes Out of House State Government Committee
House Appropriations Committee Addresses Budget Deficit
Governor Quinn's Budget Goes Online
Proposed Tax Legislation More Business- Friendly
House Revenue Committee Update
Read these posts and much more at the Tax Institute blog
|
