August 25, 2009

To the Honorable Members of the Illinois House of Representatives,

96th General Assembly:

With this message, I am returning House Bill 613 with a specific recommendation for change.

I am supportive of the general principles embodied in this legislation. I firmly believe that the integrity of public bidding is of the utmost important. However, this bill contains certain provisions unrelated to insuring integrity in public bidding that require modification.  One provision of this bill conditions agency rulemaking authority on compliance with the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act and the procedures of the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules.  This is a remnant of a controversy involving my predecessor’s administration.  This conflict has been resolved.  When I approved House Bill 398, I committed my administration to upholding the law and respecting the constitutionally protected powers of each branch of government.  My approval of, and adherence to, House Bill 398 (now Public Act # 96-0002) renders the rulemaking conditions set forth in this bill redundant.  It is time to move past the battles between my predecessor and members of the General Assembly.  I am, therefore, deleting this language from the bill. 

Therefore, pursuant to Article IV, Section 9(e) of the Illinois Constitution of 1970, I hereby return House Bill 613, entitled “AN ACT concerning education.”, with the following specific recommendation for change:

on page 4, by replacing lines 20 through 26 with “communications with bidders.”.

With this change, House Bill 613 will have my approval.  I respectfully request your concurrence. 

Sincerely,

PAT QUINN

Governor