April 12, 2016

To the Honorable Members of

The Illinois House of Representatives,

99th General Assembly:

Today I return House Bill 5785, an amendment to the Urban Weatherization Act, with specific recommendations for change. House Bill 5785 is identical to House Bill 3194, which passed last year, and to which I proposed the same changes.

Among other things, House Bill 5785 would require projects funded by weatherization grants to comply with federal prevailing wage rates. The proponents of House Bill 5785 want federal, not Illinois, prevailing wage rates to apply because Illinois rates are significantly higher than the federal rates for this type of work. This demonstrates the deficiencies and potential waste of the Illinois prevailing wage system.

But whether or not federal prevailing wage rates apply should be determined under federal law, not state statute. And if federal rates do apply, Illinois rates should not.

Therefore, pursuant to Section 9(e) of Article IV of the Illinois Constitution of 1970, I hereby return House Bill 5785, entitled “AN ACT concerning finance”, with the following specific recommendations for change:

On page 2, by replacing lines 13 through 16 with the following: “subdivision thereof.  Works financed or funded in whole or in part with grants awarded under this Article shall not be considered public works for purposes of the Prevailing Wage Act.”; and

On page 8, by replacing lines 2 through 8 with the following: “the weatherization program. Works financed or funded in whole or in part with grants awarded under this Article shall not be considered public works for the purposes of the Prevailing Wage Act.”.

With these changes, House Bill 5785 will have my approval. I respectfully request your concurrence.

Sincerely,

Bruce Rauner

GOVERNOR