093_HJ0024

                                     LRB093 11025 KEF 11696 r

 1                       HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION

 2        WHEREAS,  The  right  to  a  quality   education   is   a
 3    fundamental right Illinois owes to all of its children; and

 4        WHEREAS,   The  State  of  Illinois  is  over-reliant  on
 5    property taxes to fund education; and

 6        WHEREAS, This over-reliance on property taxes has created
 7    a number of problems for education funding, tax  equity,  and
 8    economic development across the State of Illinois; and

 9        WHEREAS,  In  particular,  the  State's  over-reliance on
10    property  taxes  is  a  primary  cause  of  the   significant
11    differences  between per student education funding across the
12    State; and

13        WHEREAS, The over-reliance on  property  taxes  also  has
14    created  significant  hardships for rural areas of the State,
15    for areas of concentrated  poverty  in  urban  areas  of  the
16    State,   and   for   senior  citizens  on  fixed  incomes  in
17    gentrifying areas of the State; and

18        WHEREAS, Numerous commissions and task  forces,  such  as
19    the Ikenberry Commission and the Governor's Education Funding
20    Advisory Board, have recommended that Illinois assume primary
21    responsibility for funding education by reducing its reliance
22    on  property taxes and using more State-based revenue to fund
23    education; and

24        WHEREAS, Any changes the State  makes  in  how  it  funds
25    education should ensure that:
26        (i)  Every  school  district  in the State has sufficient
27        financial resources to fund a quality education;
28        (ii)  No school district loses money as a result  of  the
29        reform; and
30        (iii)  The  State-based  revenue  sources used to replace
31        property taxes are adjusted through the use of credits or
 
                           -2-       LRB093 11025 KEF 11696 r
 1        other tax relief, so  that  the  State  does  not  create
 2        additional   financial   burdens   for   low-income   and
 3        moderate-income  families and senior citizens; therefore,
 4        be it

 5        RESOLVED,  BY  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES   OF   THE
 6    NINETY-THIRD  GENERAL  ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE
 7    SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN,  that  there  is  created  a  Joint
 8    Committee  on  Property  Tax Reform and School Funding Reform
 9    which shall be charged  with  reforming  the  State's  fiscal
10    system to ensure it is fundamentally sound, fair, and capable
11    of funding a quality education for all Illinois children; and
12    be it further

13        RESOLVED, That the Joint Committee on Property Tax Reform
14    and  School  Funding  Reform  shall  be comprised as follows:
15    seven members of the House of Representatives, the Speaker of
16    the   House   appointing   four,   with   one   serving    as
17    co-chairperson,   and   the  Minority  Leader  of  the  House
18    appointing three;  and  seven  members  of  the  Senate,  the
19    President  of  the  Senate  appointing four, with one of them
20    serving as co-chairperson, and the  Minority  Leader  of  the
21    Senate appointing three; and be it further

22        RESOLVED, That the Joint Committee on Property Tax Reform
23    and  School  Funding Reform meet at least twelve times during
24    the 93rd General Assembly  and  summarize  its  findings  and
25    recommendations  in a report to the General Assembly no later
26    than December 31, 2004.