July 20, 2010

To the Honorable Members of the Illinois Senate,

96^th General Assembly:

            In accordance with Article IV, Section 9(e) of the Illinois Constitution, I hereby return Senate Bill 2544 with a specific recommendation for change.

            This legislation would allow Illinois to join the Interstate Insurance Product Regulation Compact to ensure uniformity of group annuity, life insurance, disability income and long-term care insurance product approval standards. I understand the Compact is aimed at raising standards for consumers and improving the efficiency of insurance product review, and I commend the sponsors for their hard work on behalf of the citizens of Illinois.

            Senate Bill 2544 will require the State to expend significant resources and time to adopt the Compact immediately upon signing. Implementing Senate Bill 2544 immediately is too burdensome given this period of unprecedented financial strain.  Immediate implementation would result in the unnecessary shift of personnel and other Department resources from federal law compliance efforts, including health insurance reform.  Such shift of personnel and resources would be detrimental to employers and families who purchase health insurance in Illinois, and to the industry that sells insurance.  For that reason, I recommend delaying the effective date.  

            Therefore, pursuant to Article IV, Section 9(e) of the Illinois Constitution of 1970, I hereby return Senate Bill 2544, entitled “AN ACT concerning insurance.” with the following specific recommendation for change:

On page 34, by replacing lines 23 and 24 with “Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect on July 1, 2011.”.

            With this change, Senate Bill 2544 will have my approval. I respectfully request your concurrence.

Sincerely,

Pat Quinn

Governor