Governor Takes Bill Action

SPRINGFIELD - Governor Bruce Rauner took action today on the following bills:

Bill No.: HB 114
An Act Concerning Courts
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2017

Bill No.: HB 750
An Act Concerning Local Government
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediate

Bill No.: HB 1052
An Act Concerning Transportation
Action: Vetoed
Note: Veto message below.

Bill No.: HB 1437
An Act Concerning State Government
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2017

Bill No.: HB 4351
An Act Concerning Public Aid
Action: Vetoed
Note: Veto message below.

Bill No.: HB 4360
An Act Concerning Education
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediate

Bill No.: HB 4371
An Act Concerning Local Government
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediate

Bill No.: HB 4492
An Act Concerning Local Government
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediate

Bill No.: HB 4606
An Act Concerning Education
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2017

Bill No.: HB 5472
An Act Concerning Civil Law
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2017

Bill No.: HB 5576
An Act Concerning Regulation
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2017

Bill No.: HB 5660
An Act Concerning Finance
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2017

Bill No.: HB 5729
An Act Concerning Education
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediate

Bill No.: HB 5775
An Act Concerning Health
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2017

Bill No.: HB 5884
An Act Concerning Finance
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediate

Bill No.: HB 5898
An Act Concerning Business
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediate

Bill No.: HB 5902
An Act Concerning Education
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediate

Bill No.: HB 5945
An Act Concerning Business
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2017

Bill No.: HB 5948
An Act Concerning Regulation
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2017

Bill No.: HB 6006
An Act Concerning Transportation
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2017

Bill No.: HB 6021
An Act Concerning Public Employee Benefits
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediate

Bill No.: HB 6030
An Act Concerning Public Employee Benefits
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediate

Bill No.: HB 6060
An Act Concerning Public Aid
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2017

Bill No.: SB 211
An Act Concerning Criminal Law
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2017

Bill No.: SB 212
An Act Concerning Criminal Law
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediate

Bill No.: SB 384
An Act Concerning Local Government
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2017

Bill No.: SB 392
An Act Concerning Local Government
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediate

Bill No.: SB 629
An Act Concerning Transportation
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2017

Bill No.: SB 1059
An Act Concerning Government
Action: Vetoed
Note: Veto message below.

Bill No.: SB 1564
An Act Concerning Civil Law
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2017

Bill No.: SB 2155
An Act Concerning Finance
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2017

Bill No.: SB 2157
An Act Concerning Education
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2017

Bill No.: SB 2158
An Act Concerning Education
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2017

Bill No.: SB 2159
An Act Concerning Education
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2017

Bill No.: SB 2174
An Act Concerning Education
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2017

Bill No.: SB 2213
An Act Concerning Safety
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediate

Bill No.: SB 2228
An Act Concerning Criminal Law
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediate

Bill No.: SB 2282
An Act Concerning Criminal Law
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediate

Bill No.: SB 2321
An Act Concerning Regulation
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediate

Bill No.: SB 2407
An Act Concerning State Government
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2017

Bill No.: SB 2439
An Act Concerning Public Employee Benefits
Action: Vetoed
Note: Veto message below.

Bill No.: SB 2468
An Act Concerning Elections
Action: Signed
Effective: July 1, 2016

Bill No.: SB 2531
An Act Concerning Business
Action: Vetoed
Note: Veto message below.

Bill No.: SB 2584
An Act Concerning Public Employee Benefits
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediate

Bill No.: SB 2613
An Act Concerning Employment
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediate

Bill No.: SB 2739
An Act Concerning Finance
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediate

Bill No.: SB 2743
An Act Concerning Education
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2017

Bill No.: SB 2970
An Act Concerning Education
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediate

Bill No.: SB 2974
An Act Concerning Transportation
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediate

Bill No.: SB 3071
An Act Concerning Public Employee Benefits
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediate

Veto Message for HB 1052
To the Honorable Members of
The Illinois House of Representatives,
99th General Assembly:

Today I return House Bill 1052, which would allow the transfer of authority and control over certain private roads in Warren Township to the highway commissioner of the Warren Township Road District. Since its passage, the township and legislators have identified concerns with the bill's potential cost to taxpayers and how these private roads would comply with safety regulations. I am returning the bill to provide concerned parties with an additional opportunity to address these issues.

Therefore, pursuant to Section 9(b) of Article IV of the Illinois Constitution of 1970, I hereby return House Bill 1052 entitled "AN ACT transportation", with the foregoing objections, vetoed in its entirety.

Sincerely,

Bruce Rauner
GOVERNOR

Veto Message for HB 4351
To the Honorable Members of
The Illinois House of Representatives,
99th General Assembly:

Today I veto House Bill 4351 from the 99th General Assembly, which would amend the Illinois Act on Aging to restrict the State's flexibility in how we assess and serve Illinois's elderly and physically disabled residents.

This bill is very similar to House Bill 2482, passed by the General Assembly last year, and which I returned with an amendatory veto for many of the same concerns I raise today. Although well intentioned, this bill would lead to serious unintended consequences.

First, this bill would lock into statute that an individual with a particular threshold score on the Determination of Need (DON) assessment tool would be eligible for both institutional and home and community-based long term care services. Instead, an individual with the threshold score should be entitled to institutional or home and community-based care. Many members of the General Assembly have long worked to transition the state from a reliance on institutional-based care to a focus on community care options that improve patient quality and cost efficiency. However, House Bill 4351 inhibits this transformation in the way the State delivers services for the elderly and disabled.

Second, to the extent that a motivating factor behind this legislation is to preclude a raise in the minimum DON score used to determine eligibility—as originally contemplated under the SMART Act (Public Act 97-0689)—I have no intention of raising the DON score. In light of this commitment, there can be no good reason to unnecessarily restrict the State's ability to move from institutional-based care to community-based care through this legislation.

Finally, this bill would inhibit the Illinois Department on Aging from creating a new program, the Community Reinvestment Program (CRP). This program is designed to provide a multitude of flexible services for non-Medicaid individuals currently being served under the Community Care Program (CCP), and it furthers the State's commitment to serving individuals in their own home and community rather than in nursing homes. CRP is also projected to produce savings of nearly $200 million during the next fiscal year. By precluding the launch of CRP, this bill would prevent the State from managing ever-rising costs and jeopardize our ability to ensure that essential community services remain available for the approximately 44,000 non-Medicaid persons now served by CCP.

Therefore, pursuant to Section 9(b) of Article IV of the Illinois Constitution of 1970, I hereby return House Bill 4351, entitled "AN ACT concerning public aid", with the foregoing objections, vetoed in its entirety.

Sincerely,

Bruce Rauner
GOVERNOR

Veto Message for SB 1059
To the Honorable Members of
The Illinois Senate,
99th General Assembly:

Today I return Senate Bill 1059. This bill would allow retired state university employees who return to work after receiving a lump-sum retirement distribution to receive additional health benefits without making additional contributions to the retirement system.

Under current law, state university employees have the option to receive a one-time, lump-sum payout from the State University Retirement System upon retirement. A retired employee who elects to accept the lump-sum payout is not eligible to participate in the State's health care program. If a retired employee later returns to work for the State after accepting a lump-sum payout, he or she no longer contributes to the State Retirement Systems and, therefore, is ineligible to receive additional future retirement benefits.

Senate Bill 1059 would allow a retired employee who accepts a lump-sum payout and then returns to work to participate in the State's employee health care program, even though he or she would not be required to contribute to the State's retirement systems going forward. The bill would establish an unequal benefit distribution and expose the State to unforeseen, unfunded costs to the historically underfunded State Employee Group Insurance Program. Rather than increasing retirement-related costs to the State, I urge the General Assembly to work with me on comprehensive pension reform.

Therefore, pursuant to Section 9(b) of Article IV of the Illinois Constitution of 1970, I hereby return Senate Bill 1059 entitled "AN ACT concerning government", with the foregoing objections, vetoed in its entirety.

Sincerely,

Bruce Rauner
GOVERNOR

Veto Message for SB 2439
To the Honorable Members of
The Illinois Senate,
99th General Assembly:

Today I veto Senate Bill 2439, which amends the Illinois Pension Code to impose additional pension liability for police and firefighters on local governments, despite a local referendum rejecting such an expansion. It is identical to Senate Bill 763, which I vetoed last year.

Public safety workers deserve the right to earn good pension benefits. However, current law already provides a mechanism by which a municipality can provide pension benefits to police officers and firefighters. Benefits are mandatory in municipalities with the population of at least 5,000 people and can be created by referendum in those with fewer than 5,000 residents. Thus, in smaller municipalities, the decision rests directly with the people who will have to pay for additional benefits through higher property and other taxes.

This veto is necessary because Senate Bill 2439 would allow municipalities an end-run around local referendum results. If this legislation becomes law, a municipality could impose new pension obligations by a resolution of its governing body even if residents overwhelmingly reject the same by referendum. At a time when local governments in Illinois are struggling to make ends meet, we should not stifle direct democracy by permitting local governing bodies to ignore taxpayer's wishes.

Therefore, pursuant to Section 9(b) of Article IV of the Illinois Constitution of 1970, I hereby return Senate Bill 2439 entitled "AN ACT concerning public employee benefits", with the foregoing objections, vetoed in its entirety. Sincerely,

Bruce Rauner
GOVERNOR

Veto Message for SB 2531
To the Honorable Members of
The Illinois Senate,
99th General Assembly:

Today I veto Senate Bill 2531 from the 99th General Assembly to prevent yet another hindrance to economic development in Illinois.

The bill requires an economic development council that receives public money to include members of a labor council and persons from minority groups on its corporate board. Diverse representation, particularly minority representation, on corporate boards is an admirable goal and one every corporation should seek to attain. However, corporate boards should also be representative of the constituencies they serve and need flexibility to ensure that representation. Mandating certain representation on every economic development corporation that receives public monies is a one size fits all approach that ignores that many of these local and regional councils may be best served with different representation that reflects their specific mission.

Further, the vague drafting of this legislation is likely to have unintended consequences. For example, "economic development corporation" is defined as "an organization that receives public money that promotes the development, establishment or expansion of industries." This broad definition will likely lead to the inclusion of corporations whose works bears no relationship to traditional economic development. In addition, many corporations that would fall within this definition are dedicated to representing the interests of the management side of business. Forcing the inclusion of the labor representatives on such a board is in direct conflict with such a corporation's interest.

This bill is one of three pieces of legislation passed by the General Assembly this year that impose arbitrary mandates on groups trying to further economic development in Illinois. Last year Illinois lost thousands of jobs, and I continue to hear that businesses are leaving our State. Rather than imposing inflexible requirements on entities trying to bring jobs to the Illinois, I encourage the General Assembly to focus on passing legislation designed to further economic development.

Therefore, pursuant to Section 9(b) of Article IV of the Illinois Constitution of 1970, I hereby return Senate Bill 2531, entitled "AN ACT concerning business", with the foregoing objections, vetoed in its entirety.

Sincerely,

Bruce Rauner
GOVERNOR