March 12, 2009—Issue 10

Governor’s Budget Address Next Wednesday

On Wednesday, March 18, the Governor will present his budget in a Joint Session of the General Assembly.  Given the State’s fiscal deficit of at least $8.1 billion, speculation is mounting as to what the Governor will propose.  In light of this, on Tuesday, March 10, the Governor mentioned that the State needed a two-tiered pension system going forward (new employees would have a second tier of less benefits).  Such a plan could save money in the future and has been advocated by the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago and TFI.

SB 1975—REIT Bill

SB 1975, sponsored by Senator Don Harmon, is the real estate investment trusts (“REIT”) bill proposed by TFI.  SB 1975 attempts to make definitional changes regarding what constitutes a captive REIT so as not to regard legitimate REITs, in this case partnerships and certain foreign entities, as captive REITS, which were the targets of last year’s tax legislation.  SB 1975 is very similar to SB 2643 of the 95^th GA, which was also sponsored by Senator Harmon.  On Thursday, March 12, SB 1975 passed out of the Senate Revenue Committee on a vote of 07-00-00.  SB 1975 may be accessed at the following link:  click here.

Quick Bill Links

This week marked the deadlines for bills to get out of committees in the chamber of origin.  Following are quick links to some key bills that passed out of committees this week:

·         SB 1643 (Sen. William Delgado)—Comptroller Hynes’ Section 25 Reform Bill:  click here 

·         HB 1 (Rep. John Bradley)—Motor Fuel Tax Surcharge to Fund a Capital Program:  click here

·    HB 250 (Rep. Kevin Joyce)—Cook County Property Tax Reassessments:  click here

·         HB 3798 (Rep. Kevin McCarthy)—GARS DC Plans:  click here. 

Recently Released Information

The Legislative Research Unit (“LRU”) has released the 25^th Edition of the Illinois Tax Handbook for Legislators, which may be accessed at the following link:  click here.

The Institute for Illinois’ Fiscal Sustainability at the Civic Federation has released a report on how the Governor could handle the State’s fiscal concerns.  The report, entitled “A Fiscal Roadmap for Creating a Sustainable State Budget:  Actionable Recommendations for Governor Pat Quinn and the Illinois General Assembly,” may be accessed at the following link:  click here.

The Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability (“COGFA”) has released “A Report on the Financial Condition of the State Retirement Systems,” which may be accessed at the following link:  click here.

And Finally . . .

The Annual TFI Spring Symposium is scheduled for March 24 and 25 in Springfield.  The Symposium will be highlighted with a distinguished group of speakers:  Senate President John Cullerton, Auditor General Bill Holland, House Revenue and Finance Chairman John Bradley, and COGFA Executive Director Dan Long.  Further information regarding the Spring Symposium may be accessed at the following link:  click here.  Further, an on-line registration form may be accessed at this link:  click here.